The same thought naturally occurred to everyone from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy. This included Ma Rulong; the students who had previously found Feng Piaoling disagreeable and refused to accept him now looked at him with a newfound touch of respect.
Ma Rulong turned with a self-deprecating look toward Meng Hongchen, who had long since transformed into a total fangirl, her eyes practically overflowing with affection. With a bitter smile, he said, "Meng Hongchen, I think I finally understand why you chose him."
Meng Hongchen blanked for a moment, then actually nodded in earnest, handing him a metaphorical rejection card. "You're actually really nice too, Ma Rulong. But I'm sorry, you're just a good guy."
Ma Rulong felt as though his heart had instantly sustained ten thousand points of critical damage.
Compared to Ma Rulong, the official captain of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy, the mood among the Shrek Academy crowd was not any better.
Aside from Zhang Lexuan, and Wu Feng and Wang Dong'er—whose eyes were similarly overflowing with affection—everyone else looked as grave as could be.
We absolutely cannot let Feng Piaoling get into close quarters!
This was the collective, resounding thought in their hearts at this very moment.
"Brother Tianmeng, if you possessed my body, could you defeat Feng Piaoling?" Huo Yuhao asked Tianmeng Ice Worm within his mind.
"I probably could, but doing so would expose my identity. Yuhao, I'm sure you wouldn't want to see me exposed just for the sake of a single match."
This was not the first time Tianmeng Ice Worm had refused Huo Yuhao.
Initially, Huo Yuhao had accepted these refusals humbly, but he was gradually growing impatient. "Then surely you can manage to increase the age of my soul rings. The first soul ring of my Spirit Eyes martial soul is already beyond saving. Conveniently, your spiritual origin can enhance ice-attribute and spiritual-attribute soul rings. I want to upgrade my third Spirit Eyes soul ring and my first Glacier Congregate Ape soul ring to the hundred-thousand-year level."
"Still impossible. Your body cannot withstand the energy of a hundred-thousand-year ring yet," Tianmeng Ice Worm refused yet again.
"Then what about unsealing the original energy of the Glacier Congregate Ape soul ring to raise it to fifteen thousand years? That should be fine, right?" Huo Yuhao asked, suppressing the fury in his heart.
Tianmeng Ice Worm fell silent for a moment before replying, "That is doable, but it can only be raised to five thousand years. Any higher than five thousand years, and your body won't be able to bear it."
"Fine." Five thousand years was fine. Something was better than nothing.
On the other side of the stage, the Dou Ling team had finally recovered from their shock.
"We lost. Thank you for holding back just now."
The Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Duel Tournament ten thousand years later was different from the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament of ten thousand years past.
Killing was permitted here.
Feng Piaoling had chosen a method that caused them the least amount of harm—in fact, they hadn't really been harmed at all; their necks had merely been grazed, drawing a single drop of blood.
He had truly shown mercy.
"Good match." Sheathing his sword, Feng Piaoling turned and walked down from the competition stage under the awe-struck gazes of the crowd below.
Shortly after stepping down, he passed by Shrek Academy's rest area.
Zhang Lexuan opened her mouth, wanting to call out to him, but Feng Piaoling wore the complete expression of a spurned lover experiencing a 'failed romance.' Without so much as a glance in her direction, he walked straight past and headed toward the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy's rest area.
Watching Feng Piaoling's retreating figure, Ma Xiaotao uncharacteristically showed a look of disdain. Perhaps provoked by the strength Feng Piaoling had just displayed, she stood beside Zhang Lexuan and whispered:
"Eldest Senior Sister, did you notice? The Dou Ling team isn't weak at all; they were just unlucky today to run into a close-combat freak like Feng Piaoling."
Zhang Lexuan nodded slightly. "No wonder Elder Xuan thinks so highly of him. With this kind of strength, he will indeed be a formidable enemy for Shrek. When you face them in the finals later, you must be extremely careful."
Ma Xiaotao frowned deeply, her voice sinking. "His close-combat ability is indeed formidable. If he gets close, I can't guarantee I'd be his match either. But if we keep our distance, he absolutely cannot withstand my Phoenix Flame."
Changing the subject, Ma Xiaotao gave Zhang Lexuan a half-smile. "But then again, Eldest Senior Sister, I can tell that Feng Piaoling really likes you. Even though he's surrounded by so many girls, he hasn't committed to a relationship with any of them because of it. Why don't you consider him?"
Zhang Lexuan's expression turned cold. "Do not speak nonsense. I promised Elder Mu that I would protect Shrek Academy with my life. In this lifetime, I will not marry anyone..."
She intended to take care of Bei Bei for the rest of her life.
Ma Xiaotao shrugged. "Yes, yes, yes... But you still have to figure out a way to pull him back to the academy. Elder Xuan and my teacher are waiting for your good news."
"Tomorrow," Zhang Lexuan sighed. She still felt a heavy psychological burden when it came to trifling with someone else's feelings.
Ma Xiaotao just gave an 'oh' and said no more. She was only following the arrangements of her teacher, Yan Shaozhe, to urge her along.
On the other side, Teacher Ma grew somewhat anxious upon seeing that Feng Piaoling had ignored Zhang Lexuan entirely. He transmitted his voice, saying, "Piaoling, why didn't you go call Zhang Lexuan out? Elder Kong is waiting."
Feng Piaoling caught the conversation between Zhang Lexuan and Ma Xiaotao clearly with his ears, the corner of his mouth curving slightly. "Don't worry, there's no need for me to look for her. Tomorrow, she will come looking for me on her own."
The next day, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy and Dou Ling Academy held their individual elimination round.
The outcome went without saying.
Even with seven people working together, Dou Ling Academy had been no match for Feng Piaoling.
In a one-on-one format, it was even more impossible. After successively defeating three of their members, including Captain Gu Jianzhu, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy successfully advanced to the final four.
By this time, Shrek Academy had also defeated Justice Heaven Academy.
Looking at Yu Mengdi from Justice Heaven Academy, who possessed the Two-Winged Angel martial soul, Feng Piaoling fell into deep thought.
Xiao Hongchen teased from the side, "What's the matter, Captain? Have you taken a liking to another young lady?"
Feng Piaoling nodded. "That girl named Yu Mengdi possesses the Angel martial soul. I do intend to recruit her into the Soul Hall. I just don't know if she will join."
Meng Hongchen said, "I think it'll work. With your abilities, Boss, plus the Soul Hall disciples you personally brought up, I don't believe she could possibly refuse."
"Then let's go give it a try," Feng Piaoling said as he stepped forward, walking toward the members of Justice Heaven Academy.
"Boss, I'll go with you." Meng Hongchen never missed an opportunity to spend time alone with Feng Piaoling.
At that moment, the golden-haired Yu Mengdi was walking down the stage with her teammates, looking utterly despondent.
It wasn't that their Justice Heaven Academy lacked strength, but rather that Shrek was simply too powerful. Just those two Soul Emperors and two Soul Kings formed an insurmountable chasm.
In contrast, their Justice Heaven Academy only had three Soul Kings, making their overall strength quite a bit inferior even to Dou Ling Academy.
Seeing Feng Piaoling and Meng Hongchen walking toward them, the members of Justice Heaven Academy immediately cast wary glances their way.
Conversely, the Shrek crowd, who were currently brimming with complacency after defeating Justice Heaven Academy, showed surprised expressions.
Justice Heaven Academy's captain, Ye Wuqing, frowned and asked, "Mengdi, do you know Feng Piaoling?"
Ever since the match began, he had noticed that Feng Piaoling kept paying attention to Yu Mengdi, and now he was walking straight over.
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