Compared to the Sky Soul Team, the lineup of the Shrek squad was simply an eyesore.
In the eyes of many, among the top 16 teams of the competition, Shrek Academy was by far the weakest.
However.
When Ma Xiaotao at the forefront of the Shrek squad displayed her six Soul Rings, everyone's opinion changed.
"Is that really a Soul Emperor?"
"Isn't Shrek cheating again?"
"..."
Many people started murmuring with doubt in their hearts.
But soon, someone dismissed their thoughts.
"This time you've misunderstood Your Majesty, I guarantee with my integrity, there's absolutely no insider information."
"Don't talk nonsense if you don't understand, that girl at the forefront of the Shrek squad was a main member of the last Soul Master contest, and her strength was terrifying."
Very quickly, someone stood up to defend Xu Jiawei.
"You actually reached the Soul Emperor Level?"
The captain of the Sky Soul Team was also very surprised.
Then, he remembered.
Xu Jiawei had mentioned before that one of the two Soul Emperors from Shrek had suffered a severe injury.
So that meant Ma Xiaotao was the other surviving Soul Emperor.
"Enough talk, let's see what strength you possess now and whether you've made any progress compared to the last championship."
Ma Xiaotao impatiently gestured with her hand.
Right at that moment, the referee loudly announced the start of the match.
The battle was about to explode.
On the Sky Soul Team's side, the first to act weren't the assault-type or agile-attack class Soul Masters.
But one of the two Assistant Soul Masters hiding at the very back and center of their team.
In his hands, a sceptre appeared.
With the sceptre raised high, a beam of light descended from the sky, landing on Ma Xiaotao, Wang Dong, Beibei, Jiang Nannan, Xu Sanshi, and others.
A feeling of weakness surged over everyone's hearts.
Ma Xiaotao immediately realized that her attacks were at least weakened by 20%.
"What kind of Assistant Soul Master is this?"
"That's too underhanded."
Xu Sanshi also noticed the problem and complained dissatisfiedly.
"Stop talking, be careful and deal with it."
As Ma Xiaotao spoke, flames suddenly erupted from her body.
Her eyes fixated on what was ahead.
Because.
The captain of the Sky Soul Team led the charge.
He had already transformed into a half-man, half-tiger figure.
He exuded a sense of immense strength.
Meanwhile, the agile-attack class Soul Master was not to be underestimated either, as he possessed the rare flight-type Martial Soul.
Ma Xiaotao recognized it at a glance – it was the Qinglin Eagle.
A rare beast soul.
It had sharp attacks, could control the Wind Element, and also possessed decent defensive capabilities.
The defense-class Soul Master was no slouch either.
He was over two meters tall with a burly build and clad in a layer of silver armor.
His Martial Soul was the Silver Armor Rhino.
It was said that such a Soul Master carried a part of a dragon's bloodline.
Aside from exceptional defensive abilities, their strength was also quite considerable.
Strictly speaking, this was a Martial Soul that balanced both strength and defense.
And their intentions were clear – they aimed to target Ma Xiaotao.
What of it, being a Soul Emperor?
Can one defeat three Soul Kings?
Even if she could, it wouldn't matter.
What if she faced additional assistance?
"The three of you really think you've got me cornered, huh? Far from it!"
Ma Xiaotao snorted coldly, and her first Soul Ring lit up.
She spat out a stream of fire, targeting not the captain of the Sky Soul Team but the tough and hardy.
Never mind his tough exterior, but his slow movements meant a 100% hit rate.
Indeed, that was the case.
The Silver-Backed Rhino Soul Master was hit squarely by the Phoenix Fireline and immediately enveloped in dense flames.
Seeing this, Ma Xiaotao revealed a satisfied smile at the corner of her mouth.
She didn't expect her Phoenix Fireline to instantly kill the Silver-Backed Rhino, but this guy would at least be delayed for a while, right?
In that case, she just needed to deal with the Sky Soul Team Captain and the Green-Scaled Eagle Soul Master first.
Unfortunately.
The dream was full, but reality was harsh.
From behind the ranks of the Sky Soul Team, another Control Soul Master made his move.
A burst of cold air erupted from his body, and the temperature on the stage dropped suddenly.
He stretched out his hand towards the Silver-Backed Rhino Soul Master from a distance and shouted, "Ice Armor!"
Immediately after, crunching noises came from within the flames, and then the Silver-Backed Rhino Soul Master burst out through the fiery blockade.
And furthermore.
Ma Xiaotao also noticed that on the Silver-Backed Rhino Soul Master, over the layer of thick silver armor, there was another layer of blue ice crystals.
It looked extraordinarily magnificent, like a piece of artwork.
Unfortunately.
Ma Xiaotao's heart had no desire to admire it; instead, she felt even more furious.
"Damn it."
"Their Control Soul Master actually has ice attributes; this way, the power of my flames is greatly reduced."
Before the match began, Ma Xiaotao still felt hopeful about leading everyone to an easy victory, but now it seemed to be more difficult.
"You dare to be distracted during the match?"
Just then, the Sky Soul Team Captain had already appeared in front of Ma Xiaotao and suddenly launched his first soul skill, "Tiger Roar Mountain Forest!"
A loud tiger's roar echoed throughout the venue.
This was a spiritual type of soul skill, aimed to stun.
The lower the cultivation level of the target and the closer the distance, the longer the duration of the stun.
Conversely, the effect decreased.
For example, Ma Xiaotao now felt dizzy and her vision went dark momentarily.
But after all, she was of Soul Emperor Level cultivation, and she sobered up in the blink of an eye.
However.
What entered her vision was a dense array of green wind blades.
It was the Green-Scaled Eagle Soul Master who had launched the attack.
"Is there no end to this?"
Ma Xiaotao was extremely annoyed.
But she couldn't just stand there and take the hits, could she? She had to keep dodging.
"Hey, can one of you come over and help me out?"
"Even if you're not strong, just take a couple of hits for me," she shouted while backing away.
She realized her teammates this time really weren't up to the mark.
Weak strength was one thing, but they didn't even have a little awareness, just lying down. Was she supposed to carry them all by herself?
However.
After dodging a few more attacks, Ma Xiaotao suddenly realized that nobody was responding to her.
What's going on?
Even if they couldn't help me, they should at least say something.
She subconsciously glanced over in the direction of Beibei and the others, and her heart suddenly sank.
She didn't see their figures.
Not that they had been eliminated.
But a giant wall of ice had appeared out of nowhere, splitting the entire battlefield into two halves.
She was on this side of the ice wall, and Beibei and the others were on the other side.
If one listened carefully, one could even hear Xu Sanshi's pained screams.
Only then did Ma Xiaotao notice that another assault-type Soul Master from the Sky Soul Team was missing.
If nothing unexpected had happened, he should be on the other side of the ice wall, attacking Beibei and the others.
"These guys, six of them can't beat a single assault-type Soul King?"
"What trash!" she couldn't help but curse aloud.
Seeing Ma Xiaotao in a rage, the Sky Soul Team Captain laughed, "Hehe, who said it was just one assault-type Soul King?"
"What if there was also an agile-attack class Soul King?"
"Not to mention, there are two Assistant Soul Kings and one Control Soul King assisting?"
Ma Xiaotao's face turned pale instantly.