Douluo Dalu II: The Peerless Tang Sect

Chapter 359 Shrek Team in Mingdu!

The competition venue was as lively as ever, even more so than a few days ago, with an invisible fighting spirit permeating everyone's hearts, whether they were spectators or contestants.

Starting today, the tournament enters its second round of elimination matches, where 92 teams will be selected from 184 to advance to the third round. The first match of this second round is undoubtedly the highlight of the competition, as Shrek Academy is about to make its appearance.

As the saying goes, a person's reputation is like a tree's shadow; Shrek Academy's title as the number one academy on the continent is not undeserved. Even some traditional sects, with their pride and arrogance, have to take this academy, which holds a pivotal position on the continent, seriously. Therefore, at this moment, all the teams have gathered in the players' rest area.

The last time all the team members were present like this was at the opening ceremony five days ago. In the days that followed, the teams that advanced were too lazy to come, and the eliminated teams were not qualified to come, so the team was not very complete. Today's complete attendance shows that Shrek Academy is indeed well-known.

However, the greater Shrek Academy's reputation, the happier the people of the Sun Moon Empire were. From any perspective, they didn't have a good impression of Shrek Academy, especially since those who came to Mingdu to watch the Soul Master Competition were mostly powerful and influential people in the Sun Moon Empire, and they had even less goodwill towards Shrek Academy.

In the eyes of these nobles of the Sun Moon Empire, it was precisely because of the existence of Shrek Academy that they were unable to upgrade from the nobles of a single country to the nobles of the entire continent, so their goodwill towards them was naturally not very high.

"The second round of the knockout stage is about to begin. Please be quiet. The Shrek Academy team, the champions of the previous tournament, or rather, the champions who have won the championship for many years, will make their appearance in the first match today."

As the referee announced the decision, a chorus of malicious boos erupted from the stands. This angered the few boys from the Shrek Academy preliminaries who had already entered the waiting area, and their faces flushed with rage.

"Stay calm," Zhu Ziyang said calmly, observing the boys' reactions. "If you get angry, then you've already lost."

The boys were taken aback and began to ponder Zhu Ziyang's words. Zhu Ziyang, however, stopped paying attention to them and looked towards another waiting area. At this moment, the players from Taining Advanced Soul Master Academy team, their first opponent in this competition, were sitting there upright. Even from dozens of meters away, Zhu Ziyang could feel their tension.

Taining Advanced Soul Master Academy is considered a veteran team in the Soul Master Competition. Their best result so far seems to be reaching the quarterfinals. Unfortunately, they had bad luck in this competition and encountered Shrek Academy in the second round of the knockout stage. No one believed that they could defeat Shrek Academy, including themselves. Their team leader told their players that they could lose to Shrek Academy, but they could not lose to themselves!

The meaning of this sentence is obvious: they cannot surrender without a fight. The team leader's fighting spirit successfully inspired the Taining team members. They all straightened their spines. Although their muscles were still visibly tense, at least they were no longer as stiff as before.

When Zhu Ziyang looked over, their team leader was also looking at the Shrek Academy team leader. Their eyes met, and the Taining Academy team leader immediately showed a somewhat simple and honest smile. Zhu Ziyang also smiled and nodded at him.

This action aroused the curiosity of Jiang Nannan and Ma Xiaotao, who both looked over. They saw a tall, strong-looking young man with a simple and honest smile on his face. Jiang Nannan didn't recognize him and was even more puzzled, but Ma Xiaotao's expression changed, revealing a smile of surprise and joy.

"Ziyang, that's..." Ma Xiaotao looked at Zhu Ziyang excitedly and called out.

"Don't be so impetuous, Sister Xiaotao." Zhu Ziyang smiled, pressed Ma Xiaotao down, and said, "Let's talk about it after the competition."

"Oh, oh!" Ma Xiaotao finally gave up, but the joy on her face made the team members next to her turn their heads.

"Ahe, you'll be the first to go in this match!" Zhu Ziyang said to Zhou Tianhe as he began arranging the match.

"Alright!" Zhou Tianhe jumped up excitedly. He was undoubtedly a warmonger, and watching other teams fight to the death these past few days, while his own academy never got a chance, had been incredibly frustrating. He shouted excitedly, "Watch me take on seven opponents in one go!"

Zhou Tianhe stepped onto the ring, and on the other side, a contestant from Taining Academy also stepped onto the ring. He was a very strong young man, and his temperament was somewhat similar to Zhou Tianhe's. Obviously, he was also a power-type contestant.

"Both sides, announce your names!" The referee in charge of the match was an elderly man with a goatee and a Soul Saint cultivation level.

"Shrek Academy, Zhou Tianhe!"

"Taining Academy, Niu Wei!"

After both sides announced their names, the match officially began, with Zhou Tianhe and Niu Wei simultaneously releasing their spirit rings and martial spirits.

Zhou Tianhe's body suddenly swelled, his height increasing to three meters. Thick hair covered his arms and legs, and his muscles resembled coiled dragons, a truly astonishing sight. Behind him were six spirit rings: two yellow, two purple, and two black. A Spirit Emperor level cultivator! The strength Zhou Tianhe displayed caused some observant individuals to nod in approval, their hearts filled with suppressed admiration. Shrek Academy's first contestant was a Spirit Emperor; indeed, he was not to be underestimated.

At the same moment, Niu Wei was also releasing his martial soul. His body swelled up, his muscles grew explosively, a thick and hard white horn appeared on his forehead, and he had five soul rings behind him, two yellow, two purple and one black. He was the captain of the Taining Academy team, a level 56 offensive type soul king, and his martial soul was the Plate Armor Giant Rhinoceros.

Two incredibly burly men began to wrestle. Both tacitly refrained from using soul skills or soul power, relying solely on their physical strength to fight. They were both giving it their all. Niu Wei's arms were bulging with veins, while Zhou Tianhe's body was covered by hair, making it impossible to see the details, but it was estimated that he was not in much better shape.

Zhou Tianhe was, after all, a Soul Emperor, and his physique was much more robust than Niu Wei's. Therefore, in the first round, a pure contest of strength, Zhou Tianhe emerged victorious. Veins bulged on his forehead, and with a roar, he suddenly exploded, sending Niu Wei flying. Niu Wei staggered back several meters before finally managing to stop.

Knowing each other's strength, the two stopped holding back and activated their soul skills. Four soul rings lit up behind Niu Wei, and his aura suddenly increased several times over. Zhou Tianhe was not to be outdone; he also activated all his amplification soul skills, and the surge in power allowed him to generate a gust of wind with a wave of his hand.

The two clashed again, their brutal, hand-to-hand combat thrilling the spectators, who cheered with excitement. However, the fight lasted only a dozen seconds before ending with Niu Wei unable to defend himself. Regardless, Zhou Tianhe was a top student in Shrek Academy's inner court. He had initially been eager to spar with Niu Wei, a fellow student, and hadn't taken it seriously. But now that he was serious, a crushing defeat was only to be expected.

Niu Wei decided to make one last gamble. His fifth spirit ring lit up, which was his only offensive spirit skill. A huge white rhinoceros phantom appeared behind him, and the single horn on its forehead emitted a white light, directly doubling in size, looking quite eerie.

The fifth soul skill, Raging Rhinoceros Horn Strike, gathers all of one's power into the horn and then releases it with full force.

Zhou Tianhe looked at Niu Wei, who was charging towards him, and a look of seriousness appeared on his face. His fifth spirit ring lit up, and his hands suddenly grew several times larger. After clenching into fists, they were like a pair of bronze hammers, which slammed hard into Niu Wei's body.

With a loud thud, Niu Wei collapsed to the ground, groaning. His back was covered in bruises, but he seemed to be unharmed. Zhou Tianhe had held back his strength; he had no grudge against Niu Wei, and on the contrary, they were somewhat sympathetic to each other, so he naturally wouldn't kill him.

Zhou Tianhe won the first match.

Without delay, the second match began immediately. The second contestant from Taining Academy was a girl specializing in agility attacks. Although she was also a Soul King, she was only level 52. At first, she was able to use her speed advantage to make Zhou Tianhe somewhat embarrassed. However, after Zhou Tianhe changed his strategy and waited for the rabbit to come to the tree stump, the outcome of the match was no longer in doubt.

In the second match, Zhou Tianhe won again.

The third contestant from Taining Academy was also a Soul King, and this was the last Soul King in their team. He was a level 53 Soul King with a control-type Soul King. Facing Zhou Tianhe, a power-type Soul Emperor, his control methods were all soft controls, which were difficult to use and ultimately he could only fail.

In the third match, Zhou Tianhe emerged victorious. At this point, he was in excellent form, and if Taining Academy did not choose the number of players, he was confident that he would achieve the first one-versus-seven victory in this tournament.

However, just as Zhou Tianhe was preparing to welcome the fourth contestant, he heard Zhu Ziyang's order to make a substitution. He was very surprised and confused, but he could not disobey Zhu Ziyang's order. He had no choice but to walk off the stage with a displeased expression and hand over the position to Dai Huabin from the preliminary team.

"Boss, why did you suddenly change the player? I could have easily defeated all seven of them!" Zhou Tianhe complained to Zhu Ziyang as soon as he came down.

"Haha, there will be plenty of opportunities later, one more won't make a difference." Zhu Ziyang laughed and patted Zhou Tianhe on the shoulder, saying, "The opposing team is a senior's team, we have to give them face!"

(End of this chapter)