"Are you looking down on me?"
Ma Rulong's face was dark, his voice filled with anger.
Liuying shook her head gently and said, "Captain Ma Rulong, are you ready? I might not hold back when I strike."
Ma Rulong's veins bulged on his forehead as he growled, "Hmph, bring it on then."
"Firefly, Charge Toward Death!"
"Boom! Bang—!"
Liuxing slightly turned his head, unable to bear watching Ma Rulong's miserable state.
Xiao Hongchen broke out in a cold sweat, secretly grateful that Liuying hadn't been serious during their previous match.
Michael, who had already woken up with bandages wrapped around his chest, stared wide-eyed at the scene, watching his captain being beaten to a pulp.
Old Ma's eyelids twitched. Ma Rulong was his grandson, and seeing his grandson being pummeled like a sandbag filled him with mixed emotions.
The battlefield was now littered with rubble, fragments of soul tools, and the once-solid ground was riddled with pits and craters, some of which even resembled human shapes.
"Boom!"
Ma Rulong was slammed into the ground, his soul tool armor in tatters. It was worth noting that this was a full set of level-six soul tools!
"Cough! S-stop, I surrender!"
Ma Rulong opened his swollen eyes, a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth. He coughed a few times and hurriedly pleaded.
The silver-white mech-covered fist stopped just an inch away from Ma Rulong's face.
The wind from the punch caused his hair to stand on end like a porcupine's quills, and the flesh on his face trembled, revealing blood-streaked teeth.
"Thud!"
Ma Rulong knelt on the ground, still shaken, his eyes filled with fear and disbelief.
"Gulp!"
The main team members, seeing their captain in such a state, collectively took a step back and swallowed hard.
The remaining main team members who hadn't yet taken the field looked at Liuying as if she were a demon, then turned their terrified gazes toward Liuxing and the others who hadn't fought yet.
Liuying emerged from the flames, as if the silver demon who had just brutalized Ma Rulong wasn't her at all.
With a gentle smile, she returned to Liuxing's side, looking at him like a student eagerly awaiting her teacher's praise.
"Well done."
Liuxing reached out and gently brushed aside the silver hair that had fallen over Liuying's forehead.
Seeing the terrified looks in the main team members' eyes, he knew Liuying had successfully established her authority.
Watching Liuying, who had just wreaked havoc like a god of destruction, now acting like an obedient girl in front of Liuxing, the main team members rubbed their eyes, wondering if they were seeing things.
"Shall we continue?"
Liuxing looked at the main team members.
"No, there's no need. I admit, you are stronger. She was right, you are more qualified to represent us than we are."
Ma Rulong, supported by Chen An, stood up and spoke solemnly to Liuxing.
The following battles were unnecessary.
He knew very well that after his defeat, along with Michael and Chen Fei, the others stood little chance of winning.
Liuxing, as the captain of the reserve team, was undoubtedly strong.
Xiao Hongchen's strength was also well-known to Ma Rulong.
As for Xue Nu and Ye Guyi, it was clear they were not to be trifled with.
Continuing the fight would be pointless.
The difference in strength was already evident.
"We can give up our spots as main team members, but I hope you will definitely win."
Ma Rulong glanced at the main team members, his expression complicated.
"Wait, Captain Ma, we never said we wanted to take your spots as main team members!"
Liuxing was taken aback. While he had indeed intended to assert dominance and secure the initiative in front of the main team members, he had never planned to outright take their positions.
Ma Rulong shook his head and said,
"Liuxing, do you know how many second-place finishes our Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy has had?"
Liuxing fell into silence, and the main team members also became deathly quiet.
Those who had initially wanted to speak up after Ma Rulong offered to give up their main team positions now also remained silent.
"Our current main team was actually the reserve team from the last tournament. Back then, we witnessed firsthand how the senior main team members were defeated, how they lost to Shrek Academy."
Thinking of that stunning figure bathed in silver moonlight, Ma Rulong felt a heavy weight in his heart.
Although he was now a level-six soul engineer, he had not an ounce of confidence that he could defeat the captain of Shrek Academy's team from that time.
Even though their current team was exceptionally strong, with one Soul Emperor and six Soul Kings, Ma Rulong had little confidence in winning.
They had all seen the might of Shrek Academy with their own eyes.
Seeing the solemn expression on Ma Rulong's face and the silent main team members, Liuxing understood.
Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy had lost too many times.
Losing had become the norm, as if they weren't competing for the championship but rather for second place.
There was no helping it!
The Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament was held once every five years.
Four thousand years ago, the Sun Moon Empire was defeated and integrated into the Douluo Continent, renaming the Sun Moon Continent to Douluo Continent.
Since then, the Sun Moon Empire had also participated in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament.
To date, they had participated over seven hundred times, but in those seven hundred times, they had never once defeated Shrek Academy.
Seven hundred times! What a terrifying number.
Losing to the same opponent over seven hundred times, anyone else would have long since been crushed by such a record.
The fact that Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy still maintained its drive to defeat Shrek Academy was already quite remarkable.
All the main team members were disheartened.
They had all experienced the last tournament, and the dominance of Shrek Academy was still fresh in their minds.
Liuxing found it hard to imagine just how strong Shrek Academy had been in the last tournament to make Ma Rulong, already a level-six soul engineer, show such an expression.
However, for a force that had been passed down for ten thousand years, and one that had intricate ties with a former protagonist who had become a god, such dominance was to be expected.
Still, winning for ten thousand years without a single loss was truly exaggerated!
Liuxing secretly clicked his tongue, but the more he thought about it, the more excited he became.
Only such an opponent was worth defeating.
The thought of shattering a glory that had been maintained for ten thousand years made Liuxing unable to suppress an excited smile.
This was really, truly interesting.
He couldn't wait to face that seemingly invincible Shrek Academy in the eyes of others.
At this moment, the reserve team, with their eyes shining with excitement and their fighting spirit burning, stood in stark contrast to the main team, who were dispirited and silent.
Old Ma suddenly understood why Jing Hongchen had arranged this, why he hadn't allowed him to stop the conflict between the regular and reserve teams.
"Whether we're main team or not doesn't matter. I just want the championship."
Liuxing looked at Ma Rulong. Whether they were regulars or not, he had no intention of losing.
"If you can win, I'm willing to be a substitute."
At this moment, Michael, clutching his chest, stepped forward, his eyes filled with a sense of relief.
He had already lost to Gu Yuena. What was the point of still holding onto a main team position?
"Yeah, second place or whatever, forget it."
Chen An said in a low voice. They were proud individuals.
Competing for anything less than the championship was simply unacceptable.
"I lost, fair and square. So you must win!"
Chen Fei also spoke up. He had lost to Xiao Hongchen and accepted it wholeheartedly.
At this moment, even Gu Yuena's expression softened slightly.
She had expected them to be resentful, to complain, or even to harbor hatred, but she hadn't expected this...
"Old Ma, what do you think?"
Liuxing looked at Old Ma. This wasn't something they could decide on their own.
The academy was the one who had the final say.
"If you've all made your decision, then the academy will respect your choice."
A voice came from the entrance of the underground training ground.
"Grandpa?"
"Director."
"Principal!"
Jing Hongchen, accompanied by Lin Jiayi, walked in slowly and said with a smile, "In the history of the academy, it's not unheard of for reserve team members to replace main team members. Of course, a situation like yours is a first."
"What the academy wants is victory, is to defeat Shrek Academy. Whether you're main team or reserves, as long as you win, the academy will prepare generous rewards for you."
"From now on, the reserve team will become the main team, and the main team will become the reserve team. The upcoming matches will be up to you."
"Yes, Principal."
Hearing Jing Hongchen's words, the former main team members also perked up.
Although they had lost their main team positions, if they won, the rewards would still be substantial. How could they not be excited?
"In that case, Ma Rulong, your reserve team no longer needs to hide your strength. As for Liuxing, your main team should try to conceal your strength until you face Shrek Academy. This time, we will pull them down from their divine throne."
Old Ma's eyes gleamed with intensity as he spoke in a deep voice.
"Yes, Old Ma."
Seeing the students' high morale, Jing Hongchen smiled with satisfaction and said, "This year's Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament is different from previous ones. Due to the spread of long-distance communication soul tools, this tournament will be broadcast live across the entire continent. Millions, of people will be watching this tournament."
Hearing this, Ma Rulong and the others were shocked. In previous tournaments, the matches were held in the capitals of the four empires, with at most a few hundred thousand spectators.
But a live broadcast across the entire continent? What did that mean?
Fighting under the gaze of most of the continent's population, the thought alone made Ma Rulong and the others feel immense pressure.
"How interesting. This is the perfect stage for us to make our debut!"
Liuxing smiled, and Xiao Hongchen also laughed, "That's right. Defeating Shrek Academy in front of the entire continent, letting everyone know that Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy is the number one academy on the continent."
Jing Hongchen nodded. He didn't mention that those watching the tournament wouldn't just be from their side of Douluo Continent.
They could send people to the other side, and the other side could also send people to theirs.
Long-distance communication soul tools, which could connect across dimensions, were something the other side would never give up on.
So the Sun Moon Empire had long been prepared for the other side to obtain these tools.
But this was also within their expectations, even something they had tacitly allowed.
Because not everyone from the other world was necessarily an enemy.
In this continent, the Sun Moon Empire was ostracized by the original three empires of Douluo and Shrek Academy, forcing them to cooperate with the hidden evil soul masters.
So why couldn't they cooperate with people from another dimension?
As long as there were common interests, humans could even cooperate with soul beasts, let alone other humans from another dimension.
In the beginning, weren't the people of the Sun Moon Empire, in a way, also people from another dimension to those of Douluo Continent?