Having already surrendered the team battle, if they were to lose the individual elimination round as well, they would be completely stripped of any chance at the championship.
Could Shrek's millennium-long streak of victory truly be brought to an end during her generation?
Ma Xiaotao was thoroughly unwilling to accept it.
Right at that moment, Huo Yuhao spoke up, lowering his voice. "Sister Xiaotao, I actually have an idea."
"What idea? Speak up, quickly!" Ma Xiaotao urgently pressed upon hearing this.
"When you step onto the stage later, don't rush to settle the match with Feng Piaoling. You only need to maintain a distance. I'll seize the right moment to perform the Power of Hao-Bin with Second Brother, and then unleash a Spiritual Shock. That might create a momentary opening in Feng Piaoling's defenses, allowing you to strike with full force to finish him."
Huo Yuhao laid out his plan.
His words brought a sudden spark of hope to the eyes of Ma Xiaotao and Dai Huabin, though the others present furrowed their brows in distaste.
"I'm heading up now. If you try to cheat for me up there, I will report you myself."
Xi Xi and Ling Luochen exchanged a brief glance before Xi Xi stepped onto the tournament arena ahead of Ma Xiaotao.
At that exact moment, Dai Yaoheng was brought to the Shrek waiting area, supported by two Star Luo Empire soldiers.
Dai Yaoheng clutched his chest, his face written with indignation. "Dammit, that kid is far too cunning! He even stole my White Tiger Soul-Refining Sabre. Xiaotao, everything rests on you now."
Ma Xiaotao nodded solemnly. Reassuring herself with the thought of Huo Yuhao and his Spiritual Shock, her signature confidence flooded back into her expression.
Meanwhile, Xi Xi went all out the moment she stepped onto the stage. Unfortunately, while her strength was hardly inferior to Ling Luochen's, her martial soul was ultimately not an elemental type. Under the keen observation of Feng Piaoling's Heaven-Reaching Demon Eyes, her movements were riddled with flaws.
Pfft!
Feng Piaoling's silhouette burst apart into multiple figures that swooped toward Xi Xi at high speed. In an instant, Xi Xi was entirely unable to distinguish the real body from the clones. Without a sound, a stroke of sword light grazed past Xi Xi's neck, severing a strand of her hair that floated gently to the ground.
"I lose."
This time, it was merely a strand of hair. Next time, it could very well be her head. Xi Xi let out a long breath and decisively surrendered.
At the same time, after casting a quick glance in Huo Yuhao's direction, she parted her lips and quietly warned, "That Huo Yuhao isn't a good person... watch your back in a moment."
"I know." Feng Piaoling naturally knew what foul scheme Huo Yuhao was brewing. He cast a glance back at Huo Yuhao, a look of utter confidence adorning his face.
Xi Xi was never one for unnecessary talk. Seeing that he had a handle on the situation, her mind was put slightly at ease.
A moment later, Ma Xiaotao took the stage.
If she won, Shrek Academy would still retain a glimmer of hope for a comeback; if she lost, there would truly be no saving the situation.
"Make your move." With the Green Lotus Sword in hand, Feng Piaoling stood a hundred meters away from Ma Xiaotao.
Ma Xiaotao's expression was grim. Before the semifinals had begun, she had never taken Feng Piaoling seriously, thinking he was nothing remarkable. But the sheer level of power he was demonstrating now weighed heavily upon her mind.
"Defeating Dai Yaoheng is nothing to brag about. Prepare to lose!" Ma Xiaotao was particularly wary of Feng Piaoling's close-combat prowess.
A pair of fiery wings spanning three meters sprouted from her back. With a sudden flap, she shot high into the sky and unleashed her sixth spirit ability: Phoenix Meteor Shower.
The scorching flames caused the temperature inside the tournament arena's protective barrier to surge violently. Phoenix meteors—each five times larger than Dai Yaoheng's White Tiger Meteors—rained down from the heavens. Not only were they densely packed, but they also stirred up roaring waves of fire.
The air above the entire arena warped and twisted from the heat. The 108 barrier-maintaining spirit masters were forced to exert their full spirit power to hold the shield together.
Ignoring the furious waves of fire, Feng Piaoling sprang into motion, charging straight into the flames. Mid-surge, a flick of his Green Lotus Sword sent a flash of dark-gold sword light slicing through the inferno, parting the fiery waves.
Clang!
Sparks flew across the sky. Before Ma Xiaotao could fully deploy her Phoenix Meteor Shower, Feng Piaoling's sword shattered the assault at the exact moment when her previous force was spent and new power had yet to form.
Seizing the initiative with a single strike, Feng Piaoling shifted his posture fluidly. Holding the Green Lotus Sword with a heavy, explosive momentum, he slashed across the air. The intense golden sword light resembled a roaring thunderclap and a surging sea of clouds.
Every technique, every stance carried an overwhelming aura of invincibility.
"Damn you! Phoenix Cloud-Piercing Strike!" Ma Xiaotao was both shocked and enraged. She had not expected Feng Piaoling to completely shift his battle style, becoming fiercely aggressive and sharp as a blade.
In previous matches, Feng Piaoling had clearly been the type to react and counter, rarely initiating the offensive.
Worse yet, the tournament barrier imposed a strict height limit, making it impossible for her to fly beyond the reach of his sword qi.
Seeing her Phoenix Meteor Shower broken apart, she resorted to the single-target Phoenix Cloud-Piercing Strike, which boasted far greater destructive force.
Accompanied by a piercing phoenix cry, a flaming phoenix with a wingspan exceeding a meter burst forth, pursuing Feng Piaoling.
The flaming phoenix detonated savagely, sending shockwaves of heat blasting in every direction.
"Doppelgänger Phantom (Shadow Clone)!"
Countless overlapping silhouettes burst outward as Feng Piaoling evaded the blast radius of the flaming phoenix. Moving with supreme agility, he materialized mid-air directly to Ma Xiaotao's right.
Startled, she instinctively folded her fiery wings inward to protect herself.
With a flick of his wrist, Feng Piaoling unleashed a cascade of dazzling sword light. Every strike seemed precisely measured, each aimed at a lethal point.
Pfft! Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!
Ma Xiaotao's Phoenix wings were sliced thin until only a frail layer remained, filling her heart with sheer terror. Unlike Dai Yaoheng—whose White Tiger Vajra Transformation and White Tiger Demon God Transformation enhanced his physical body while leaving his external spirit power defenses relatively weak, save for the single barrier of White Tiger Shield—she was the exact opposite. Her wings, composed entirely of Phoenix Flames, served as both her weapon and her armor. Out of caution, she had even activated her second spirit ability, Bathing Phoenix, in advance to boost her fire properties.
Yet, under Feng Piaoling's relentless onslaught of sword light, her defenses showed signs of collapsing.
How could she not be terrified?
The paper-thin Phoenix wings could no longer support her weight in the sky.
Unable to leverage any momentum in mid-air, Feng Piaoling dropped back toward the ground, executing another swift sword slash as he descended.
"Phoenix Fireline!"
Without time to think, Ma Xiaotao summoned even hotter, fiercer flames that condensed into a concentrated beam of Phoenix fire, spewing it forth from her mouth.
Pfft!
The sword light was repelled by the Phoenix fire, unable to advance another inch.
"Seeking the Gap!"
With unpredictable footwork, Feng Piaoling stepped forward, closing the distance instantly. The Green Lotus Sword in his grip slashed upward diagonally and thrust forward at a speed invisible to the naked eye.
Pfft!
The Phoenix Fireline was deflected off course. The fierce blade beam pointed straight at Ma Xiaotao's chest.
"You push me too far!" Ma Xiaotao roared in fury.
As the individual with the highest spirit power in this entire tournament and the captain of the Shrek Academy team, no one had ever pushed her to the point where she couldn't even launch a proper attack. Rage surged within her. At this moment, she cast aside all thoughts of dodging, ignoring even the threat of her internal evil fire backfiring, as she unleashed another Phoenix Meteor Shower at point-blank range.
She was prepared to endure Feng Piaoling's attack head-on to deal him a fatal blow.
Even if she had to die today, she would never lose this match.