Douluo Continent: Little Huo Niang Taken Away by Di Tian

Chapter 269 Shrek Academy vs. Sun Moon Royal Academy (Part 1)

The arena was bustling with noise.

The results of the second round of draws were announced. Xiao Hongchen stared at the match list, a bitter smile curving his lips.

Fate? This is more like a cursed fate.

Being in the same group in the group stage was bad enough, but in the first round of the individual competition, they ran into the entire "Shrek Gang" from the Spirit Tower. And now, in the second round, it's Shrek again.

He glanced across at the other side, where the young faces were filled with composure and arrogance.

Leaving aside Huo Yutong's outrageous existence, the soul ring configurations of Wang Dong, Tang Zang, Dai Huabin, Zhu Lu, and Ning Tian alone are enough to overturn the common sense of the soul master world.

After watching Shrek Academy's matches, all the mentors who accompanied the team rubbed their eyes repeatedly to confirm, afraid that they had misread the colors of the spirit rings.

"This year's Shrek Academy is too difficult to deal with," Xiao Hongchen sighed inwardly.

The pride we once had seems so pale in the face of these numerical monsters who can be called "rule breakers".

But his gaze immediately hardened. Since there was no way to avoid it, then let's fight! Only through combat can we measure the gap; only through defeat can we know our weaknesses.

To prevent any irreversible damage that might result from the fusion of their martial souls, Chief Referee Zheng Zhan, the Unbreakable Douluo, personally stepped into the arena and solemnly announced, "Please, both contestants, come to the stage!"

"Sun and Moon Royal Academy, Dream of the Mortal World!"

Meng Hongchen gracefully stepped onto the stage, a chilling aura emanating from her. However, when she clearly saw her opponent, her delicate brows furrowed slightly.

"Shrek Academy, Xu Sanshi!"

Although Xuanming's substitution technique was powerful, facing a Soul Master with the ability to fly, and especially one like Meng Hongchen who possessed deadly poison, Xu Sanshi was extremely straightforward. Before his Soul Power could even be stirred, he threw his head back and laughed loudly, "I surrender!"

Clean and efficient, without any hesitation or fuss.

Meng Hongchen was stunned for a moment, then gritted her teeth in anger.

Xu Sanshi, however, wore a knowing look on his face and whispered, "Miss Meng Hongchen, the poison of your Zhu Qing Ice Toad is deadly. Besides, my tortoise shell can't buy a flying fairy, so why waste everyone's time?"

Zheng Zhan's lips twitched slightly, but he still announced the verdict according to procedure: "Meng Hongchen wins! Sun Moon Royal Academy gets one point. Shrek Academy's next contestant will enter the stage in one minute!"

"Shrek Academy, Zhu Lu!"

"Sun and Moon Royal Academy, Dream of the Mortal World!"

"The match begins!"

However, Zhu Lu is even faster!

"Netherworld Cat, possess me!"

The black robe suddenly billowed, revealing sharp claws that gleamed coldly.

With four purple and two black rings, the six soul rings erupted without reservation, and the overwhelming soul power pressure caused Meng Hongchen's movements to pause slightly.

But this is just the beginning.

"Speed ​​God's Domain, open!"

Om-!

An invisible, pale golden ripple suddenly spread out from Zhu Lu's center, instantly enveloping the entire platform.

Within the area, the light was distorted, and the air seemed to be extremely compressed and then instantly sucked out.

Meng Hongchen felt the resistance around her increase, while her opponent seemed to have broken free of his restraints.

Just as she was about to raise her hand to release the soul tool, a black afterimage flashed before her eyes in a zigzag pattern that defied common sense, moving faster than her nerves could react!

A cold sensation suddenly hit my neck.

Zhu Lu's figure solidified behind her, her sharp claws firmly pressed against Meng Hongchen's throat, just a hair's breadth from her skin.

Even now, Meng Hongchen's martial soul possession effect has only lit up halfway, and the soul guide shield has not even shown any signs of warming up.

The entire room fell silent.

On the referee's stand, Zheng Zhan's pupils shrank, his heart trembling: What terrifying speed! In that split second, Zhu Lu's burst of power had already touched the threshold of an agility-based Soul Douluo! How exactly did these little monsters from Shrek Academy train?

"Zhu Lusheng! Shrek Academy scores one point!" Zheng Zhan took a deep breath, suppressing his shock, and announced loudly, "One minute from now, please welcome the next Shrek Academy contestant to the stage!"

Meng Hongchen stood frozen in place, the chill on her neck lingering for a long time.

She slowly turned her head, looked at Zhu Lu's indifferent profile, and then looked at the Shrek team's seats. For the first time, she realized with absolute clarity that the so-called "genius" could be worlds apart under the definitions of different camps.

"Shrek Academy, Zhu Lu!"

"Sun and Moon Royal Academy, Nana!"

As soon as Zheng Zhan announced the outcome, a cold glint flashed in Zhu Lu's eyes, clearly indicating her intention to replicate the crushing victory of the previous match.

However, this time, her opponent was completely different.

"Ghost, possess me!" Nana shouted, and her six perfectly matched spirit rings lit up. Her figure flickered in the void, swaying like a reflection in water.

She was prepared, focusing all her mental energy on her senses to anticipate the deadly shadow.

Even so, at the moment of the domain's suppression, Nana still felt her breath catch in her throat.

With a tearing sound, the left sleeve of her level-five soul-guided armor was ripped open, leaving five bloody marks that instantly stained her sleeve with blood.

If she hadn't reacted so quickly, that blow would have been far more than just a scratch.

"So fast!" Alarm bells rang in Nana's mind, knowing she couldn't fight them head-on.

She lightly touched the ground with her toes, and her figure suddenly sank downwards, completely merging into an inconspicuous shadow on the arena like a drop of water merging into the ocean—it was her powerful soul skill, Shadow Concealment!

Zhu Lu's attack missed its mark, and she frowned slightly.

She did not pursue, but instead lightly touched the ground with her toes and leaped to the center of the arena, her tail drooping, her eyes scanning the constantly moving black shadow at her feet like radar.

She could sense that the shadow was moving faster and faster, like a persistent, insidious infection, drawing one strange arc after another on the arena.

"It's here!" Zhu Lu felt a chill run down her spine as she sensed the dark shadow approaching the shadow beneath her feet at an alarming speed.

Just as the shadows were about to merge, Nana suddenly launched an attack!

She gripped a level-five soul-guided melee dagger that gleamed with a cold light in both hands, and thrust it out fiercely from Zhu Lu's shadow, aiming straight for Zhu Lu's back! The angle was tricky, and the timing was perfect.

Zhu Lu twisted her waist at an incredible angle, and her cat claws collided violently with the dagger with a whooshing sound.

"clang--!"

Sparks flew and air surged.

However, at the very moment the weapons clashed, Nana suddenly closed her eyes.

A tiny flashbang that she had been holding on the tip of her tongue was precisely spat out, so close that it almost exploded against Zhu Lu's face!

"Bang!"

A blinding white light burst forth without warning, its brightness far exceeding that of natural sunlight, instantly piercing through Zhu Lu's not-yet-fully-closed eyelids.

"ah--!"

Zhu Lu let out a shrill scream. She covered her eyes tightly with both hands, tears streaming down her face. She staggered backward, completely losing her ability to fight.