Chapter 179: Soul... Soul Sage!!! Everyone Was Stunned
"Dai Mubai!"
Zhu Zhuqing's fists clenched slightly upon hearing Dai Mubai's words.
She knew that with her current strength, she might not be Dai Mubai's match, but since they were both Soul Kings now, she had nothing to fear.
"Traitor! Today, I'll make sure you understand the consequences of betraying the Star Luo Empire!"
Dai Mubai continued to glare coldly at Zhu Zhuqing.
Just yesterday, he had received news from the Star Luo Empire that his elder brother, Dai Weisi, had been crowned as the Crown Prince.
Dai Mubai knew very well that, at the latest, he would have to return after this tournament. The Star Luo Empire would not allow him to roam freely any longer.
Failure in the competition meant he had to accept the punishment for that failure.
Yet, while he faced such a grim fate, Zhu Zhuqing—who had chosen betrayal—would escape unscathed. How could Dai Mubai tolerate this?
Why should you get off so easily?
Thus, Dai Mubai decided to take matters into his own hands and make Zhu Zhuqing pay for her betrayal.
"Betrayal? Back then, you fled alone to the Heaven Dou Empire, leaving me behind in Star Luo. Wasn't that your betrayal of me?"
"If you want to fight, then fight. Stop wasting words. How annoying!"
Zhu Zhuqing remained unmoved by Dai Mubai's words, instead responding with a disdainful snort.
"You—!"
Dai Mubai was instantly enraged.
BOOM!
In his fury, Dai Mubai immediately unleashed his martial soul, the powerful pressure of his soul power radiating outward.
"Hmph!"
Zhu Zhuqing snorted coldly and released her own martial soul, completely unfazed by Dai Mubai's soul pressure.
"Ahem—"
"Hold on! Contestant Dai Mubai, it doesn't seem to be your turn yet!"
"After Ma Hongjun conceded and left the stage, it should now be the Heaven Dou Royal Academy's turn to send someone up!"
Just as the two were about to clash, the host stepped in to stop them.
Dai Mubai: "..."
Dai Mubai was momentarily stunned, his expression turning extremely awkward.
He had ordered Ma Hongjun to step down precisely because he wanted to take his place and fight Zhu Zhuqing himself, so he hadn't thought much about the order.
Only now did he realize he had messed up the sequence.
Whoosh—
At that moment, Su Mo's figure flashed onto the stage.
"Dai Mubai, it seems it's not your turn yet!"
Su Mo smiled at Dai Mubai after appearing on the stage.
"Contestant Dai Mubai, please step down for now. There's no need to rush—you'll definitely have your chance to fight later!"
The host also spoke up, gesturing for Dai Mubai to leave the stage gracefully.
Dai Mubai froze in place, unsure whether to retreat or stay.
He didn't want to leave because he knew Zhu Zhuqing was no match for Su Mo.
If he stepped down now, he would lose his chance to fight her.
"Dai Mubai, come down now!"
Below the stage, Yu Xiaogang frowned at the situation and called out to Dai Mubai with a hint of sternness.
He understood Dai Mubai's intentions, but disregarding the tournament's rules would only make him look disgraceful.
"Damn it!"
Dai Mubai shot Zhu Zhuqing one last resentful glance before reluctantly turning to leave.
Staying on the stage any longer would only embarrass him further.
"Alright! Now, both contestants, please release your martial souls!"
"The loser will enter the elimination bracket, while the winner will have a chance to advance directly to the finals!"
Seeing Dai Mubai leave, the host quickly resumed control of the match, addressing Su Mo and Zhu Zhuqing.
After speaking, the host slowly retreated from the stage.
Soon, only Su Mo and Zhu Zhuqing remained on the platform.
"Su Mo, I've never had the chance to thank you properly."
"If it weren't for you back then, I would have ended up like Dai Mubai—forced to return and face the punishment for failing the family competition."
"You showed me a way to escape my family's fate."
"Thank you, Su Mo."
Instead of immediately summoning her martial soul, Zhu Zhuqing first expressed her gratitude sincerely to Su Mo.
Su Mo was slightly surprised by her words. He hadn't expected Zhu Zhuqing to thank him so openly.
After all, when they first met, his impression of her hadn't been particularly favorable.
Of course, Zhu Zhuqing's first impression of him hadn't been great either.
"That was your own choice."
"I only mentioned it casually back then."
Su Mo responded with a faint smile.
His initial suggestion had been self-serving—he had wanted to test whether he could persuade Zhu Zhuqing to leave, further dismantling the Shrek Academy team.
But in the end, Su Mo felt no guilt.
Joining the Spirit Hall had been a good path for Zhu Zhuqing.
"Regardless, I still want to thank you."
"I know I'm no match for you, but I still hope to have a serious fight with you!"
"Zhu Zhuqing, 51st-rank Soul King. I seek your guidance!"
Hum—
After speaking, Zhu Zhuqing summoned her martial soul and activated her spirit fusion.
Her body underwent subtle changes, her already alluring figure becoming even more captivating.
Su Mo couldn't help but glance at her a few more times.
The Zhu Zhuqing before him had clearly matured significantly compared to five years ago.
"Come, then. Let me see how much you've improved over the years."
Su Mo simply twirled his Soul Hunting Spear, its tip pointing directly at Zhu Zhuqing.
Even against a Soul King like Zhu Zhuqing, Su Mo didn't immediately release his spirit rings.
Zhu Zhuqing wasn't angered by this—she knew Su Mo's confidence stemmed from his strength.
His previous matches, where he had effortlessly defeated Soul Ancestors without using spirit rings, had already proven this.
Though she wasn't offended, Zhu Zhuqing still felt a surge of competitiveness.
She wanted to force Su Mo to reveal his spirit rings.
"Fourth Spirit Skill—Shadow Clone!"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Zhu Zhuqing immediately activated her fourth spirit skill, splitting into multiple shadow clones that charged at Su Mo from all directions.
"Second Spirit Skill—Hundred Ghost Claws!"
"Third Spirit Skill—Ghost Slash!"
While her clones served as distractions, Zhu Zhuqing's true body unleashed a series of rapid strikes aimed at Su Mo.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Facing Zhu Zhuqing's assault, Su Mo merely swung his Soul Hunting Spear, effortlessly deflecting each of her attacks.
Here's the revised text without bold formatting:
Chapter 180: Soul... Soul Sage!!! Everyone Was Stunned
However, Zhu Zhuqing was ultimately a Soul King with considerable strength, especially in terms of speed.
With her Shadow Clones in play, Su Mo realized that continuing without using his soul power would be an obvious underestimation of Zhu Zhuqing.
"Impressive. It seems you've made great progress over these years!"
"You wanted to force me to use my soul rings and soul skills, didn't you? Well, you've succeeded!"
After repelling Zhu Zhuqing once more, Su Mo suddenly stopped and praised her.
Hearing this, Zhu Zhuqing also halted her attacks, waiting for Su Mo to release his soul rings.
She was genuinely pleased to receive Su Mo's praise, but what she wanted to know even more was Su Mo's actual soul power level - why had he been hiding it all this time?
"Is Su Mo finally going to release his soul rings?"
"Finally! We'll get to see his true rank..."
"Do you think he's a Soul Emperor or a Soul Sage?"
"Soul Emperor, surely. How could he be a Soul Sage at just 19?"
"Don't be so sure. Did you see how it took a Soul King to force him to reveal his rings? If he were just a Soul Emperor, he wouldn't be this strong..."
"That makes sense..."
"No way, absolutely no way..."
"..."
As Su Mo prepared to release his soul rings, the audience perked up, their eyes fixed on him, eager to see what he would reveal.
"At best, he's a Soul King or Soul Emperor. What's the big deal?"
"Always hiding his strength, acting all mysterious..."
Among the Shrek Academy team, Oscar watched the spotlight on Su Mo with a sour tone.
"Exactly! He can't be higher than a Soul Emperor!"
Ma Hongjun nodded in agreement.
"Your judgment is likely correct. Su Mo is, at most, a Soul Emperor."
Yu Xiaogang smiled confidently upon hearing Oscar and Ma Hongjun's words.
Although Su Mo's combat prowess seemed unusually strong, he had always been someone whose fighting ability surpassed his rank. Yu Xiaogang didn't think much of it.
Most importantly, he simply couldn't believe Su Mo had reached Soul Emperor.
Tang San, too, stared coldly at Su Mo.
He didn't refute Yu Xiaogang's words because he thought the same.
Su Mo had only gone to the Star Dou Great Forest after leaving Slaughter City, where Xiao Wu had been forced to sacrifice herself and become his sixth soul ring.
Thus, Tang San knew for certain that Su Mo had only broken through to Soul Emperor at that time.
With barely over a year since then, there was no way Su Mo could have reached Soul Sage.
The more Tang San thought about it, the angrier he became, his Slaughter Domain nearly flaring up again.
Hum—
Under the gaze of the entire audience, Su Mo finally released his soul rings for the first time in public.
Yellow, Purple, Purple, Black, Black, Red, Red!
When all seven of Su Mo's soul rings appeared, an overwhelming soul pressure swept across the arena, forcing many to stagger back in shock.
"R-Red soul rings...?"
"Those are hundred-thousand-year soul rings! And he has two of them!"
"Good heavens! Su Mo is a Soul Sage—and one with two hundred-thousand-year soul rings!"
"How is this possible...?"
"..."
The moment Su Mo's soul rings were revealed, the entire crowd was stunned, gaping at him in disbelief.
Some even rubbed their eyes repeatedly, wondering if they were seeing things.
But no matter how many times they blinked, the sight before them remained unchanged—Su Mo, a Soul Sage with two hundred-thousand-year soul rings.
"No way..."
"This is too insane!"
"..."
Even Tang San and the rest of the Shrek Academy team stared in utter disbelief.
Tang San, in particular, never imagined Su Mo would progress so quickly.
His gaze locked onto Su Mo's sixth soul ring—he knew that was the one formed from Xiao Wu's sacrifice.
At this sight, Tang San's Slaughter Domain nearly erupted again.
"You... You've already reached Soul Sage?"
"And you have two hundred-thousand-year soul rings? How did you do it?"
The one who felt the impact most directly was Zhu Zhuqing, standing opposite Su Mo.
She could clearly sense the oppressive pressure from those two hundred-thousand-year soul rings.
Under their weight, even standing before Su Mo felt difficult.
When Su Mo first revealed his soul rings, she had been forced back several steps, barely keeping her balance.
"Just luck."
Su Mo smiled as if it were no big deal.
"..."
Zhu Zhuqing didn't know how to respond.
If sheer luck could lead to such rapid progress, she wanted some too!
But luck wasn't something everyone could rely on.
Hers had been terrible—born into the cold, ruthless Zhu family of the Star Luo Empire.
"Shall we continue?"
Su Mo casually twirled his Soul Hunting Spear and asked Zhu Zhuqing calmly.
"..."
Zhu Zhuqing fell silent again.
Truthfully, after seeing Su Mo's soul power level and soul ring configuration, she had lost all confidence.
Originally, even knowing she was no match for Su Mo, she had still hoped to exchange a few moves with him.
Now, she realized Su Mo had never been serious—otherwise, she wouldn't have had any chance to attack at all.
Continuing the fight despite knowing Su Mo's overwhelming strength would be foolish.
Surrendering now would be wiser, conserving her strength for the elimination bracket's team battles.
"Let's continue!"
Yet, after a brief pause, Zhu Zhuqing raised her head, her beautiful eyes fixed firmly on Su Mo.
"First Spirit Skill—Ghostly Pierce!"
"Fifth Spirit Skill—Shadow Chain!"
Without hesitation, she launched another assault at Su Mo.
Surrendering might have been the easier choice, but Zhu Zhuqing refused to lack the courage to fight at all.
She would rather be defeated than admit defeat willingly.
"Well said!"
Su Mo admired her decision.
In many situations, surrendering when outmatched was indeed the wise choice.
But this was just a tournament—defeat here wouldn't mean death.
If one lacked the courage to face a stronger opponent even here, that would be true cowardice.
"Seventh Spirit Skill—Soul Hunting Spear Avatar!"
Hum—
In recognition of Zhu Zhuqing's bravery, Su Mo activated his seventh spirit skill, preparing to defeat her with his martial soul avatar.
...
(End of Chapter)
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