Chapter 145

Yu Mengdi's pretty face turned pale; she hurriedly flapped her wings, constantly retreating backward.

She knows her own limits; close combat is actually not her forte at all.

The reason she was sent to the front line is simply that, besides her, the two Soul Kings are all long-range; without her withstanding the pressure Dai Yaoheng brings, this Soul Emperor Dai Yaoheng would carve a path through alone.

But the problem is, she obviously can't withstand this pressure alone!

Seeing her in danger, the teammates nearest to her rushed to help.

Blood Wolf's body swelled, his hair stood on end, and with a howl he lunged at Dai Yaoheng.

Yang Yifan's dagger in hand spat out a cold gleam, tracing a fierce arc as he stabbed at Dai Yaoheng's throat.

Yan'er raised huge fireballs in both hands, her eyes showing a mad expression.

They knew they posed no threat to a Soul Emperor, but as long as they could buy Yu Mengdi a moment to unleash her big move, they at least stood a chance of heavily wounding the Soul Emperor before them.

Facing the several attackers, Dai Yaoheng suddenly laughed.

As his fourth soul ring flared, dozens of meteors suddenly appeared on the stage.

White Tiger Meteor Shower! Dai Yaoheng's sole group-target soul skill, guided by Huo Yutong's spiritual detection, struck the people of Zhengtian Academy with an eerie precision.

Ah——

The one closest to Dai Yaoheng, Yang Yifan, who seemed about to be hit, had no way to dodge; he was struck squarely, let out a miserable cry, and was flung away.

Damn!

Seeing his teammate lose all fighting power from the blow, and the Blood Wolf about to be hit as well, he cursed and then shouted loudly:

Referee, save me!

The referee, who had been on standby nearby, immediately intervened and saved him.

Yan'er's fireballs had just risen when she was forced to use them against Dai Yaoheng's meteors; but she could only condense three fireballs in a short time, while Dai Yaoheng's meteor shower numbered dozens, and even if five were allotted to her, she couldn't cope, and the referee also escorted her out of the arena.

Shangguan Can in the distance was just about to shake his soul‑seizing bell when he saw several meteors also hurtling toward him.

He widened his eyes in terror; as a spiritual‑type soul master, his frontal combat ability was basically the weakest in Zhengtian Academy, and with his poor defense, his slight frame meant one hit would likely knock him out.

Glancing at his other teammates, Yu Mengdi was desperately dodging the meteor shower's main force, Yang Yifan had been eliminated, Blood Wolf and Yan'er were rescued by the referee, Tang Xiaolei knelt on the ground unable to stand, and Ye Wuqing was entangled by Dai Yaoheng after he released his fourth soul skill, unable to break free—it was practically a scene from hell.

Helpless, Shangguan Can could only shout, 'Referee, I forfeit too!'

Thus, as the referee pulled Shangguan Can to safety, Zhengtian Academy lost another member.

Shangguan Can exhaled in relief, then stared in shock as the meteors originally aimed at him reversed course and slammed into Yu Mengdi not far away.

Shit… Did that Shrek Soul Emperor turn on a cheat?

In a sense, Dai Yaoheng did 'turn on' something, but it wasn't a cheat—it was full‑map vision.

With Huo Yutong present, his control over his soul skill greatly increased; he didn't even need to think, and could precisely direct each meteor.

The match was effectively over at this point.

Yang Yifan, Blood Wolf, Shangguan Can, and Yan'er—four Soul Ancestors—were swept away by Dai Yaoheng's burst; Tang Xiaolei still hasn't recovered, Yu Mengdi is exhausted fending off the White Tiger Meteor Shower, and Ye Wuqing has no power to resist Dai Yaoheng's close combat. In less than half a minute, Shrek ended the match, setting the record for the fastest finish in this tournament.

The contestant benches of all the academies fell into utter silence.

They were all deeply shaken by Dai Yaoheng's strength.

Regardless of the facts, at least on the surface, six of the seven people eliminated in this match were taken down by Dai Yaoheng.

Such a crushing victory displays absolute strength; Soul Emperor Dai Yaoheng indeed brings immense pressure.

Only the atmosphere at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy was different.

Ma Rulong asked in a low voice, 'Xiao Hongchen, what do you think of Dai Yaoheng, the starting team captain?'

Xiao Hongchen lazily picked at his ears.

'He's a very strong Soul Emperor, but that's about it—not strong enough to be unbeatable. I have to say, Shrek certainly knows how to package a powerhouse.'

Unlike other academies, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy genuinely possesses Soul Emperor strength, so they have a certain mental preparation for how strong a Soul Emperor can be, and they weren't intimidated by Dai Yaoheng's performance.

On the surface, Dai Yaoheng alone easily tore through Zhengtian Academy, but the truth isn't necessarily so.

In fact, the only ones he quickly settled by himself were Yu Mengdi, a Soul King, and a few Soul Ancestors; Tang Xiaolei was already defeated by Huo Yutong at the start of the match, and half of Ye Wuqing's attacks were blocked by He Caitou, so those two Soul Kings never got a chance to show their strength before losing.

Of course, being able to suppress a Soul King and four Soul Ancestors like that is impressive, but Ma Rulong could do the same; he just can't do it as easily as Dai Yaoheng, far from the invincibility it appears to have.

Ma Rulong nodded in approval, then asked:

'How do you think we should deal with him?'

'How to deal with him…' Xiao Hongchen glanced at the absent‑minded Meng Hongchen beside him and said, 'Let Meng take care of it.'

'Huh?'

Meng Hongchen snapped back to attention, looking bewilderedly at her older brother.

Xiao Hongchen smiled.

'Relax, I'm not asking you to actually beat him; you just need to poison him—of course, if you can really knock him out of the match, that's even better.'

Meng Hongchen's poison is highly advantageous in the finals' match mechanics.

Because as long as her poison touches someone, even if she steps down and forfeits, the toxin she leaves in the enemy's body keeps acting, preventing them from participating in the next match.

If she can disable Dai Yaoheng, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy is sure to profit; if they can actually defeat him, that's an unexpected bonus.

Although Shrek now looks strong, it still can't hide its weakness of over‑relying on top‑tier powerhouses; once Dai Yaoheng loses his fighting ability, the only one left to shoulder the burden is Huo Yutong alone.

As for Huo Yutong, after these matches her mysterious veil has basically been lifted; the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy has reached a consensus: her six red rings are definitely fake, she cannot be a six‑red Soul Emperor, at best she's on par with an ordinary Soul Emperor, possibly even weaker.

Such a her could never defeat Ma Rulong.

(End of chapter)