"In order to make you become Shrek's loyal dog without any lingering attachments, and to turn you into his great-great-grandson's child bride, Mu En pulled the strings behind the scenes. On one hand, he had your rival family exterminate yours, and on the other, he conveniently appeared to save you."
"Otherwise, do you really think you could have survived a massacre just by hiding under a bed?"
"Furthermore, have you never questioned why Mu En, whose body was already in such a wretched, dying state, didn't stay at Shrek to await his end? Why did he travel all the way to the Heavenly Soul Empire, and just so happened to run into you right after you narrowly escaped death?"
"Don't you think everything was just a bit too coincidental?"
Hearing Feng Piaoling's words, Zhang Lexuan finally recalled the details she had overlooked all those years ago.
She vaguely remembered asking Mu En back then if she could take revenge with her own hands.
However, he had refused, claiming that children should not stain their hands with blood too early.
Then, with a single breath of his dragon breath, he had turned the family that slaughtered her entire clan into nothing but ash.
Recalling it now, she finally realized that his actions back then seemed a bit too rushed.
He had seemed even more eager to eliminate that family than she, the actual victim, was.
Looking at the dazed Zhang Lexuan, Feng Piaoling said nothing more, turning to leave the teahouse.
Not long after he left, the screams of the one-eyed, middle-aged man echoed from inside the teahouse.
Feng Piaoling paid it no mind and pushed open the door to the adjacent private booth.
Tang Ya sat inside alone, enveloped by a faint barrier of light, her eyes already brimming with tears.
"Did you hear everything just now?" Feng Piaoling walked into the barrier and spoke softly.
"Yes," Tang Ya murmured. Protected by the mental barrier of a Class 9 Soul Tool, Kong Deming, who was next door, had not detected her presence.
"Then let's go," Feng Piaoling said, turning to lead her away, but his body suddenly stiffened.
Looking back, he saw Tang Ya clutching his sleeve, her face covered in tears as she pleaded in a tone bordering on despair, "Will you deceive me like Bei Bei did?"
Feng Piaoling paused for a moment before replying, "No. At least, not until you betray me."
"Alright, then I will go with you." Tang Ya wiped away her tears, her gaze turning firm once more.
The next day, the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Duel Tournament proceeded as scheduled.
Unlike the previous elimination rounds, there was no rest time between matches during the semi-finals.
Teams had to select a fixed lineup of seven members to compete continuously in a team battle followed by individual elimination rounds. If the two rounds resulted in a tie, a two-two-three combat format would serve as the tiebreaker.
The victor would advance to the grand finals.
The grand finals would require all three formats—the team battle, the individual elimination, and the two-two-three format—with the best two out of three matches determining the champion.
Zhang Lexuan still attended today's match, but unlike before, her expression was visibly indifferent. The look in her eyes as she watched the Shrek students lacked its previous warmth, replaced entirely by an endless chill.
Her gaze was particularly freezing whenever it landed on Ma Xiaotao.
Aside from that, a new face had appeared among the Shrek Academy lineup. Feng Piaoling had never seen this person before, but judging by their aura, it was not hard to tell they were a Soul King. Unsurprisingly, this was a Soul King selected by Shrek Academy overnight to reinforce their ranks.
When Feng Piaoling arrived at the waiting area to anticipate the start of the match, Zhang Lexuan's voice transmission echoed in his ear. "What happened yesterday was my fault. To show my apology, I did not listen to my granduncle and leave immediately. Instead, I went back and told Xuan Zi that you agreed to return to Shrek Academy, but only after the tournament ends. After this, you should take the people from the Soul Hall and leave the Star Luo Empire immediately, or else Xuan Zi will not let you go."
"We are even," Feng Piaoling replied indifferently.
Right at that moment, a burst of cheers erupted from Star Luo Plaza.
Under the watchful eyes of the massive crowd, Emperor Xu Jiawei of the Star Luo Empire ascended the imperial city wall.
After introducing the protector Douluo of the Star Luo Empire, the Fiend Douluo, who would serve as the referee for the semi-finals and finals, a powerful elder stepped onto the competition platform.
Facing the waiting area, he called out in a deep voice, "Will the captains of the four teams please come forward for the draw."
The top four teams were the same as in the original timeline: the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, Shrek Academy, the Star Luo Imperial Academy, and the Di'ao Academy, which was the predecessor of the Heavenly Soul Imperial Academy.
Representing Shrek Academy was Ma Xiaotao; for the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, it was Ma Rulong; Di'ao Academy sent a broad-shouldered youth of medium build; and the representative for the Star Luo Imperial Academy was Princess Jiujiu, whom Feng Piaoling had previously seen at the auction.
The results of the draw were as expected. Shrek Academy would face the Star Luo Imperial Academy, while the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy would face Di'ao Academy.
The first match was Shrek Academy versus the Star Luo Imperial Academy.
Shrek Academy fielded Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yaoheng, Ling Luochen, Xi Xi, Dai Huabin, Huo Yuhao, and the newly arrived Soul King.
Even though the Star Luo Imperial Academy had acquired a substantial number of soul tools from the Illustrious Virtue Hall by using the Ice Bear King embryo as leverage during the auction, they were still no match for the heavily advantaged Shrek Academy.
Under the assault of Huo Yuhao and Dai Huabin's martial soul fusion skill, the Frozen Abyssal Tear, the Star Luo Imperial Academy ultimately collapsed and lost the match.
However, the members of Shrek Academy did not have an easy time either. Ma Xiaotao's evil fire was on the verge of erupting, while Huo Yuhao and Dai Huabin had completely exhausted their soul power and collapsed unconscious.
Following that, the match between Di'ao Academy and the Sun Moon Royal Academy began.
Stepping onto the platform for Sun Moon were Feng Piaoling, Meng Hongchen, Xiao Hongchen, Ma Rulong, and three Class 5 soul engineers at the Soul King level.
Up on the imperial city wall.
"Brother, I am not satisfied with this. We should have won this match," Princess Jiujiu, who had just lost, complained petulantly to her brother, Xu Jiawei.
Xu Jiawei, however, took it in stride. "What is there to be unsatisfied about? A loss is a loss."
Princess Jiujiu said resentfully, "I hadn't even used my strongest skill yet. This is all because of that disgusting martial soul fusion skill between Huo Yuhao and that second-generation playboy from the Dai family. I heard Huo Yuhao is actually Dai Hao's illegitimate son. It's hard to imagine that two biological brothers could execute such an unsettling martial soul fusion skill. It clearly looks like an aggressive, frozen ape-tiger creature, yet they named it 'Slaughter in the Deep Freeze: Abyssal Tear.' I think calling it 'Incestuous Brotherhood: Sparks Flying' would be far more appropriate."
Xu Jiawei spoke with earnest gravity, "It is indeed formidable, but Shrek's raw strength is right there. Even if you gained an upper hand temporarily by relying on the advantage of your soul tools, and even without Huo Yuhao and Dai Huabin's martial soul fusion skill, their fundamental strength remains superior. Even if you had used your full power, your chances of winning were still slim."
Princess Jiujiu snorted coldly, clearly still unconvinced.
Xu Jiawei smiled faintly and said, "Alright, don't be angry anymore. Although you lost this time, Shrek Academy might not have an easy time either. That Master of the Soul Hall is not someone to be trifled with."
Princess Jiujiu raised an eyebrow but did not dispute his words.
If there was anyone she found completely unreadable, it was Feng Piaoling. Throughout the entire tournament so far, he had not even revealed his martial soul.
No one knew just how powerful he truly was.
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