When Zhu Ziyang shattered the Absolute Defense spirit tool, the situation on the arena was at a stalemate.
The Star Luo Team had six members remaining. Although Huang Heyun was injured by Ma Xiaotao's outburst, he still had the strength to fight. With the assistance of the wind element Spirit King Wang Shiying, he could still contend with Ma Xiaotao, preventing her from threatening Princess Xu Jiujiu or supporting Jiang Nannan, which greatly annoyed Ma Xiaotao.
On Jiang Nannan's side, she could originally suppress Chen Xiaojie with her speed and Spirit advantage, but with Dugu Shangshan joining, Jiang Nannan fighting two opponents became somewhat strenuous. She could only rely on flexible footwork and agile movements to weave between the two, occasionally landing a punch or kick from behind them. While unable to achieve substantial results, it still greatly annoyed Chen Xiaojie and Dugu Shangshan.
As for the last two, Sheng Yi always stayed close to Princess Xu Jiujiu; his only task was to protect Princess Xu Jiujiu. Princess Xu Jiujiu, on the other hand, no longer had time to worry about Huang Heyun and the other three, because after Zhu Ziyang broke the Absolute Defense spirit tool, he charged directly towards her.
Princess Xu Jiujiu didn't hesitate, immediately releasing her second Spirit Ability. Large patches of starlight rained down on Zhu Ziyang, but he easily dodged them all.
When Sheng Yi noticed Zhu Ziyang charging towards them, he dared not be careless in the slightest. His fifth spirit ring immediately lit up, and the dark gray giant wings on his back instantly enlarged, then converged into a semicircle, protecting Princess Xu Jiujiu and him within.
Zhu Ziyang looked at Sheng Yi's actions, smirked dismissively, and with a lunge, rushed above them. The Pacifying Life-Reaping Scythe in his hand slashed down without hesitation. The first strike only caused a slight tremor in the giant wings, but Zhu Ziyang immediately swung a second time. The Pacifying Life-Reaping Scythe, emanating a faint aura of Kill, landed heavily on the giant wings. This time, the giant wings trembled even more violently.
Sheng Yi, beneath the giant wings, turned pale from the impact. Before he could recover, an even more powerful third strike followed. This time, Sheng Yi could no longer hold on. His legs trembled, bent, and a trace of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.
Princess Xu Jiujiu looked at Sheng Yi's tragic state, her pretty face pale and helpless. This was the helplessness of a support system Spirit Master; once the situation became critical, she could do nothing but watch her companion suffer.
She truly had the will but lacked the power now, and could only say with a bitter smile, "Sheng Yi, give up. Don't force yourself any longer!"
Sheng Yi raised his head, revealing a tragic smile. He opened his mouth, intending to say something, but his expression instantly froze. The next second, his robust body crashed down, and his giant wings rapidly retracted, finally disappearing. He had actually fainted!
Princess Xu Jiujiu couldn't help but be stunned. Then, after Sheng Yi fell, she saw Zhu Ziyang floating in mid-air. Zhu Ziyang had a smile on his face and said, "This Sheng Yi is quite good; he actually managed to withstand four of my strikes!"
"You..." Princess Xu Jiujiu stared blankly at Zhu Ziyang, her delicate body subconsciously retreating a few steps.
Zhu Ziyang looked at Princess Xu Jiujiu, said nothing, and raised the Pacifying Life-Reaping Scythe. The spearhead of the Pacifying Life-Reaping Scythe pointed at her, and the Reign Over The World aura was instantly released. The terrifying pressure directly fell upon Princess Xu Jiujiu through the Pacifying Life-Reaping Scythe.
Princess Xu Jiujiu stumbled, directly falling to the ground, her eyes filled with terror and blankness, her delicate body trembling slightly.
"Your Royal Highness, you have lost." Zhu Ziyang had a sunny smile on his face, but the action of his hand made Princess Xu Jiujiu want to curse loudly. He controlled the scythe in his hand, its spearhead passing directly under Princess Xu Jiujiu's leg, then with a slight force, instantly sent her flying.
Princess Xu Jiujiu was stunned. After being caught by Huang Jinxu, she stood there in a daze for several seconds before regaining consciousness. Then, a strong sense of shame and anger welled up in the princess's heart. She suppressed the urge to curse loudly, gritted her silver teeth, and said, "How utterly ungentlemanly!"
Zhu Ziyang's act of flipping the princess with his scythe was witnessed by everyone. In the Imperial City Tower, Emperor Xu Jiawei showed a wry smile and said, "This time, Jiujiu has truly made a fool of herself!"
"Your Highness, this might not be a bad thing!" Old Luo, however, had a different opinion. He said with a smile, "Although Jiujiu's talent is not as good as Zhu Ziyang's, she can definitely rank highly in Shrek. If we..."
"Old Luo, you mean..." Although Old Luo didn't finish, Emperor Xu Jiawei immediately understood. His eyes flickered with a strange light, contemplating the possibility of this matter.
Zhu Ziyang didn't care about Princess Xu Jiujiu's emotional reaction. After sending her off the arena, he turned to help Jiang Nannan. However, he was surprised to find that Jiang Nannan didn't seem to need his help, because at some point, Chen Xiaojie, who was attacking her, had been sent off the arena by her.
It turned out that just as Zhu Ziyang burst out of the Absolute Defense spirit tool to attack Princess Xu Jiujiu and Sheng Yi, the other members of the Star Luo Team had already had their minds disturbed by him. There was no helping it; the deterrent power of a hundred-thousand-year spirit ring was at play.
Seeing the plan to isolate and attack fail, Chen Xiaojie lost focus for a moment, and Jiang Nannan instantly seized the mistake. After catching him with Silver Moon Sky Flash, she directly threw him off the arena.
After dealing with Chen Xiaojie, the remaining Dugu Shangshan no longer posed much of a threat to Jiang Nannan. Seeing this, Zhu Ziyang prepared to go help Ma Xiaotao.
However, Ma Xiaotao no longer needed his help either. Ma Xiaotao was being held back by Huang Heyun and Wang Shiying. These two, one an offense type and one a control type, cooperated so tacitly that Ma Xiaotao was quite disheveled. But she didn't lose her composure because of it; instead, she actively sought out their weaknesses.
Then, Ma Xiaotao very precisely seized the interval between their attacks and unexpectedly dealt with the relatively weaker Wang Shiying. Without Wang Shiying's assistance, Huang Heyun naturally couldn't be Ma Xiaotao's opponent.
The outcome of the match was already clear. As Ma Xiaotao dealt with Huang Heyun and Jiang Nannan dealt with Dugu Shangshan, all seven members of the Star Luo Team fell.
"The first match of the semifinals, team battle, Shrek Academy wins against Star Luo Royal Academy!" Celestial Fiend Douluo Huang Jinxu returned to the arena and announced loudly.
With the end of the team battle, the match between Shrek Academy and Star Luo Royal Academy was basically settled. For the afternoon's individual matches, if they wanted to save a shred of face, then conceding was the best option. After all, on Shrek Academy's side, both Zhu Ziyang and Ma Xiaotao were in excellent condition. In contrast, among Star Luo Royal Academy's seven members, only Princess Princess Xu Jiujiu was in perfect condition; the other six had sustained injuries of varying degrees and would certainly be unable to continue fighting.
And indeed, this is how things unfolded. The leader of the Star Luo Royal Academy didn't even wait until the afternoon; he went directly onto the stage and said something to Celestial Fiend Douluo Huang Jinxu.
This scene was witnessed by Zhu Ziyang and the other two, who had already returned to the lounge area. They all smiled in unison and said to Wang Yan, "Teacher Wang, it seems the afternoon matches can end early."
"That's a good thing!" Wang Yan replied with a smile.
Sure enough, not long after Zhu Ziyang and the others finished speaking, Celestial Fiend Douluo Huang Jinxu on the arena announced loudly, "Given that the Star Luo Royal Academy's team members are not in sufficient condition to participate in the afternoon's individual matches, and after their internal decision, Star Luo Royal Academy forfeits the afternoon's individual matches. Therefore, I announce that Shrek Academy wins the final victory and advances to the grand finals!"
When the announcement fell, everyone's reaction was calm, because Star Luo Royal Academy's concession was seen by everyone as a very correct choice. With Zhu Ziyang and Ma Xiaotao, how could any academy defeat Shrek Academy in the individual matches?
Upon learning that the afternoon's individual matches were canceled, the audience in Star Luo Plaza dispersed, and the four major teams also rose and left through their exclusive team passages.
"Alright, children, let's head back to the hotel too!" Wang Yan's face was full of smiles as he said to the team members.
Everyone rose and left the rest area, heading towards the team passage. And by a strange coincidence, as they entered the team passage, they happened to encounter the members of the Star Luo Team, who were dejected and looked like typical defeated opponents.
"Zhu Ziyang!" Princess Xu Jiujiu spotted Zhu Ziyang at a glance and immediately gritted her teeth and called out.
"Oh! It's Her Royal Highness!" Zhu Ziyang heard Princess Xu Jiujiu's shout, immediately looked over, and said with a chuckle.
"You're very good, I'll remember you!" Princess Xu Jiujiu said, a blush spreading across her pretty face, whether from anger or shyness, it was hard to tell.
"Is that so? That truly is my honor!" Zhu Ziyang heard this and immediately showed a smile that annoyed Princess Xu Jiujiu, he said.
"Hmph!" Princess Xu Jiujiu was very displeased with Zhu Ziyang's attitude. She stomped her delicate foot, let out a cold snort, and turned to leave.
"Hahaha!" Zhu Ziyang watched Princess Xu Jiujiu's retreating figure and finally couldn't help but laugh. But then his joy turned to sorrow as his soft ribs on both sides were pinched by two different delicate hands.
"Her Royal Highness is very beautiful, isn't she, Brother!" Compared to Ma Xiaotao's glaring eyes, Jiang Nannan was much gentler. She said with a beaming smile.