After the opening ceremony, a draw was held to determine the competition order. With Qin Ming absent, Yu Tianheng, as the team captain, naturally assumed the responsibility of leading the team and checking the match details.
As he returned, the others quickly surrounded him and asked "Tianheng, who are we facing in the first round of the finals?"
Now that the competition had entered the elimination stage—where one loss meant elimination—even the Emperor Team didn't dare to be careless.
"We're in the fifth match today. Don't worry, our opponent isn't a big deal. They're from Longkui Academy of the Xingluo Empire. Even if Xiaotian and Gu Ran sit this one out, I could take down their entire team myself" Yu Tianheng said with ease.
He hadn't planned to involve Jun Tianlin in the first match. But upon hearing the academy's name, Jun Tianlin suddenly turned and asked "Tianheng, what did you say the academy's name was?"
"Longkui. Why?"
"Tianheng, I *have* to fight in this match—or my sword will be angry with me" Jun Tianlin said decisively. Although his Demon Sword didn't house a sword spirit, hearing the name Longkui caused it to tremble slightly inside his body.
Jun Tianlin wasn't being hostile toward Longkui Academy just because of its name. After all, this was the Douluo Continent, not the world of Sword and Fairy. No one here knew who Longkui was, and naming the academy as such carried no malice. But since the Demon Sword stirred, he had no choice but to fight—and show some mercy.
"Just the first match and you're already itching to fight?" Yu Tianheng looked surprised. He doubted Jun Tianlin was truly influenced by a name—or by a temperamental sword. More likely, he simply wanted a good fight "Alright, I'll update the roster. You'll fight this round. I'll sit out."
Yu Tianheng had no interest in facing a weak team like Longkui. Swapping himself out for Jun Tianlin was no big deal
The Emperor Team was scheduled for the fifth match. Four matches came before it, including one featuring the Spirit Hall Team. However, their golden generation didn't participate. Weak opponents weren't worth their time.
Still, the Spirit Hall team was made up entirely of Spirit Ancestors above level 45. Including the golden generation would push their average level above that of the Emperor Team.
In the fourth match, Shrek Academy faced Team One from the Heaven Dou Royal Academy—a twist of fate. Originally meant to clash during the preliminaries, this meeting was a result of Jun Tianlin's earlier intervention. Team One just couldn't catch a break.
They had barely qualified for the finals, only to be knocked out in the very first round.
This match also revealed Oscar's newly acquired fourth soul skill—not another amplified excitement sausage, but something far stranger: the Invisible Sausage.
As the name implied, eating this sausage rendered one invisible for three minutes—body and aura completely undetectable. A powerful soul skill indeed. At the match's start, the Shrek Seven Devils all vanished, leaving the Heaven Dou Royal Team unable to locate them.
Shrek launched a surprise attack and won in one swift strike
It was no surprise—this was a spirit ring chosen by Ning Fengzhi himself. The skill was particularly deadly in a seven-person skirmish. On a battlefield, it could be a terrifying tool for ambushes. Even more frightening, it could be combined with the flying mushroom sausage, creating a short-term super assassin who had speed, stealth, and power.
The only flaw was that it was ineffective against those with high spiritual awareness. Though invisible, Jun Tianlin could sense every one of them through their mental fluctuations.
"Let's go, xiao tian. It's our turn."
After Shrek's match came the Emperor Team's. It was Dugu Yan's first appearance, and she looked eager to fight.
Dugu Bo, standing beside Ning Fengzhi, wore a rare smile filled with pride
"Tianheng's not playing? Maybe he's saving his strength" Yu Yuanzhen said, somewhat disappointed that his grandson wouldn't be on the battlefield
"No, I don't think that's it. Otherwise, Jun Tianlin wouldn't be in the lineup. He must be itching for some action" Ning Fengzhi said with a chuckle. He wasn't far off—Jun Tianlin's urge to fight was driven more by the restlessness of his Demon Sword than anything else.
Jun Tianlin simply wanted to assure the sword that Longkui was not *that* Longkui.
Longkui Academy had three Spirit Ancestors and four Spirit Elders. Against a team like Emperor, they posed no real threat. Even the Spirit Hall didn't bother sending scouts—the match wasn't expected to force Jun Tianlin to reveal even a fraction of his true strength.
The Emperor Team adopted a 1-4-2 formation: Jun Tianlin at the front, Yufeng and Osler flanking either side, Dugu Yan at the center, Ye Lingling at the rear, and the defensive twins Shi Mo and Shimo guarding the two girls.
In short, Jun Tianlin would have to break through the enemy formation alone.
Many academies in the audience found this arrogant. Though Longkui was weak, they were still finalists. Surely, they had *some* strength.
"If I can handle this alone, so can Xiaotian" Yu Tianheng said with a grin
On the spirit battle stage, Longkui Academy looked nervous. But even a clay statue has some temper. Seeing Emperor deploy such a formation made them feel underestimated.
More importantly, Longkui had three Spirit Ancestors—two attackers and one controller—specifically effective against lone fighters.
"Come on," Jun Tianlin said calmly, swinging his Demon Sword as five soul rings appeared. Their brilliant colors left the Xingluo academy in awe. The spirit ring configuration was beyond anything they had imagined.
Longkui Academy no longer dared attack first. So, Jun Tianlin advanced.
**Lunar flow strike**
He hadn't used the Shushan Basic Sword Technique in a long time, but he chose it now. The Seven Killing Sword Technique and the Shushan Advanced Sword Technique were far too deadly. These opponents wouldn't stand a chance.
"Fourth soul skill: Flaming Punch!"
"Fourth soul skill: Crazy Sand!"
Longkui's two Spirit Ancestors attacked together. One used Sand Hippocampus; the other, Flaming Boxing Gloves. Both launched their strongest soul skills from the start.
Normally, even a Soul King would have dodged. But Jun Tianlin didn't flinch.
His Demon Sword met the flaming gloves first. The extreme fire within the sword instantly extinguished the flames, rendering the gloves ordinary.
"What?!"
Before the Flame Soul Master could react, Jun Tianlin's sword swished forward—slashing his wrist. Though he withdrew the blade in time, sparing the man's arm, the injury took him out of the fight.
Suddenly, a cloud of sand engulfed Jun Tianlin.
"First soul skill—Green Scale and Red Poison!" Dugu Yan acted quickly. Surprisingly, she used her auxiliary poison skill—not on a teammate, but on the sand-user.
Feeling his strength and speed surge, the man was confused. Then came another burst of poison from Dugu Yan's Ice and Fire Green Scale Dragon.
Her poisons, while enhancing, had dangerous side effects. They couldn't be used repeatedly in a short time.
Now used twice in succession, the sand user lost his mind from overexcitement—lashing out wildly, unable to tell friend from foe.
The arena was soon buried in chaotic sand.
Jun Tianlin broke free.
With a sweep of his leg, a whirlwind tore through the sandstorm—not a soul skill, but raw wind energy from his soul bone.
Everyone except the sand soul master was caught in the tornado and blown out of the ring.
Finally, Yufeng and Osler charged forward. One grabbed the sand-user's arm; the other flung him out of bounds.
"What? That's it? Emperor Team already won? Did they even use any soul skills?" someone in the audience asked, stunned
"Dugu Yan used her first soul skill—twice. That's all. The two defenders and Nine Hearts Flowering Apple didn't even move."
The crowd sighed. Longkui Academy had made it to the finals, but Emperor's win was just too easy.
Dugu Yan's control was vastly different from Huanyin's, whose soul skills needed charging. Back then, Emperor had been a slow-paced team.
Now, Dugu Yan's poison acted instantly, and Emperor's offensive nature was fully unleashed.
This was the true power of the Emperor Team.