Douluo Dalu 2: The True God King

The injuries sustained by Chen Yun and the others were extremely severe. Not only were their bodies covered in external wounds, with damage to their muscles and bones, but even their internal organs had suffered significant trauma. It was clear that they would be unable to engage in any strenuous activity for at least half a month, let alone compete in any matches.

This enraged Wang Yan, who valued Shrek's honor more than his own life. While he had decided to heavily injure opponents if necessary, he couldn't accept the same from the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy team. How could they inflict such severe injuries on Chu He and the others? It was outrageous.

Having been nurtured at Shrek Academy, Wang Yan had undoubtedly inherited the essence of their ancestor Tang San's philosophy, complete with flexible double standards.

Yan Shaozhe's face was dark as he said, "I understand. Stabilize their injuries for now."

Wang Yan nodded hastily, taking out medication from his soul storage to treat Chen Yun and the others. Yan Shaozhe stood quietly, his gaze fixed on the competition platform, his eyes glinting with a cold light.

At this moment, amidst the endless white mist, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy team continued their relentless onslaught. Dai Yueheng activated his first, third, and fifth soul rings, unleashing White Tiger Barrier, White Tiger Vajra Transformation, and White Tiger Demon God Transformation. These three powerful body-enhancing skills combined barely allowed him to hold off the attacks.

Yet, even so, the ferocity of their assaults left him with significant injuries. Ling Luochen conjured ice walls to shield herself, attempting to evade danger, but they were torn apart by the overwhelming firepower. Even she was entangled by Su Yu's ice threads and turned into an ice sculpture. Despite Ling Luochen's martial soul being based on ice, it paled in comparison to Su Yu's Ultimate Ice.

As for Xu Sanshi, his tortoise shell provided temporary protection, and Mi Jia's attacks didn't manage to harm him much at first. But when Xiao Hongchen specifically targeted him, Xu Sanshi's shell was forcibly shattered. Unfortunately, a miscalculated blast sent the broken shell flying backward, stabbing directly into Xu Sanshi's backside. (TL: It's always the backside lmao!)

For a moment, the scene was both absurd and painful. Xu Sanshi rolled on the ground, howling in agony.

Meanwhile, Ma Xiaotao, who had been frozen, finally broke free. With a resonant phoenix cry, she soared into the air. Although her Phoenix Evil Fire was severely suppressed in the white mist, she unleashed it with all her might. The golden-red flames turned incandescent as she launched another Phoenix Meteor Shower, aiming to strike her enemies with this large-scale soul skill.

But Su Yu gave her no chance. His first soul ring flashed, and the Ice Emperor's Decree was unleashed once again. Ma Xiaotao was frozen into another ice sculpture and plummeted to the ground.

"Clean up the battlefield," Su Yu said calmly. The group around him, including Ma Rulong, grinned menacingly. Xiao Hongchen unleashed his full firepower, focusing on Dai Yueheng. Even as a Soul Emperor, Dai Yueheng couldn't withstand the unseen attacks and was overwhelmed, coughing up blood. He was swept off the platform.

Watching Dai Yueheng fall, Wang Yan's heart sank. If even Dai Yueheng was defeated, how could the others stand a chance?

His fears were confirmed as another ice sculpture flew off the platform and crashed into the barrier before rebounding onto the ground. Encased within the ice was a familiar flame, revealing Ma Xiaotao.

"Xiaotao!" Wang Yan shouted in shock, and Yan Shaozhe immediately stood up. Even Ma Xiaotao had been eliminated?

Unable to sit still, Yan Shaozhe hurried toward Ma Xiaotao. The ice shattered, revealing her figure. Shivering, she opened her eyes.

By this time, the battle was over. Su Yu stepped on Xu Sanshi's head, grinding his foot into it before kicking him off the platform like trash. The white mist dissipated, revealing the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy team standing in formation. Not far away, Ling Luochen remained frozen, unable to break free from Su Yu's ice threads.

The outcome of the match was clear. The Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy team had utterly crushed Shrek Academy. All seven of Shrek's members were injured, some severely.

The Sun Moon team had perfectly achieved their goal.

"The match is over. This team battle is won by the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy team," announced the Sky Fiend Douluo. "In one minute, the individual elimination rounds will begin. Each team, please decide your participants. Once selected, they cannot be changed."

The Sky Fiend Douluo's voice declared Shrek Academy's defeat, sparking an uproar in the audience.

Shrek Academy had lost?

Even though everyone knew the Sun Moon team was strong, it was still shocking for Shrek Academy to be defeated. Shrek, the symbol of invincibility, how could they lose?

Many passionate fans shouted angrily. The stronger Shrek's popularity had been, the harsher the backlash was now.

"Silence!" The Sky Fiend Douluo's commanding voice, backed by the pressure of a Title Douluo, silenced the chaotic crowd.

He turned to Su Yu. "Please unseal this participant's ice."

Su Yu glanced at Ling Luochen and snapped his fingers, shattering the ice around her. Ling Luochen trembled, feeling an unfamiliar chill despite being an ice-element soul master. She cast a wary, curious glance at Su Yu before stepping off the platform.

Su Yu and his team also descended. Yan Shaozhe watched Su Yu thoughtfully. Initially, he hadn't given it much thought amidst the chaos and injuries. But now that the match was over, he became strangely calm.

Staring at Su Yu, his eyes grew deep. A full set of ten-thousand-year soul rings—he had seen them before. Could Su Yu be from that place?

But wasn't Su Yu childhood friends with Jiang Nannan? How could this be possible?

Doubt clouded Yan Shaozhe's mind. While Su Yu's identity seemed undeniable, greed made him hesitate. Deep down, he didn't want to accept the possibility that Su Yu came from Ice God Palace. Otherwise, Shrek Academy would have no chance. He preferred to believe Su Yu's Ultimate Ice was a wild anomaly, but the scene before him shook his confidence, leaving him caught in a dilemma.

"Dean!"

Wang Yan turned to Yan Shaozhe beside him.

"Let's head back!"

Upon returning to the rest area, Yan Shaozhe immediately began inspecting everyone's injuries.

Ling Luochen only suffered minor external injuries and hadn't sustained any internal damage, so her combat ability remained mostly intact.

Ma Xiaotao was virtually unharmed and still combat-ready.

Dai Yueheng, although heavily injured after being targeted by multiple opponents, retained enough strength to keep fighting due to his naturally strong physique.

Xu Sanshi, once again, was left with a very sore and wounded backside. However, the rest of his body remained unscathed, so his fighting ability wasn't greatly affected.

After administering a healing pill to Xu Sanshi, his condition improved significantly.

"Wang Yan, I'll leave the arrangements for the individual matches and the 2-2-3 strategy to you," Yan Shaozhe said.

Wang Yan nodded and began explaining his selections.

"After careful consideration, I've decided on the following participants for the individual matches and the 2-2-3 formation: Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng, Ling Luochen, Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, Dai Huabin, and Zhu Lu!"

The named individuals straightened up, their spirits lifting, but those who weren't chosen looked puzzled—especially Shi Yue, who gazed at Wang Yan in confusion.

She was a Soul King! How could she not be given a chance to compete, while Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu, both Soul Elders, were chosen instead?

As if anticipating objections, Wang Yan explained, "I understand your confusion, so let me clarify."

"First, regarding why I didn't choose Caitou or Nannan, there are specific reasons.

"Although Caitou has strong explosive capabilities, our opponents are soul engineers. They're most familiar with the combat style of soul engineers, and Caitou would be completely suppressed by the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy. That's why I didn't select him."

"As for Nannan, it's because of the 2-2-3 formation. Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu possess a martial soul fusion technique. Dai Huabin is close to the Soul Ancestor level, and Zhu Lu has reached the strength of a Soul Elder.

"With their current abilities, their martial soul fusion technique is powerful enough to threaten a Soul King. Furthermore, since they haven't appeared much in previous battles, their sudden inclusion will catch the opponents off guard, giving us an edge.

"In contrast, Nannan's combat style has already been studied by the enemy, so fielding her would yield little advantage.

"As for you, Shi Yue," Wang Yan continued, addressing her directly, "you're a support-type soul master. If you were an assault-type soul master, you'd naturally be in the lineup. However, in the individual matches, you'd have no real value, potentially even less than Zhu Lu, who can deplete the opponent's soul power by keeping them on the move."

In the 2-2-3 strategy, Wang Yan explained his rationale further:

Ling Luochen and Ma Xiaotao would pair up, combining control and explosive power to secure a win.

Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi, with their balanced offense and defense, could potentially defeat even two Soul Kings.

Lastly, Dai Yueheng would team up with Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu. The combination of a Soul Emperor and the Nether White Tiger was expected to dominate.

Wang Yan was confident in his strategy, believing it to be both logical and highly effective. Shi Yue's auxiliary abilities, while useful, weren't strong enough to justify her inclusion.

Though Shi Yue remained unsatisfied, the decision was final, and she couldn't change it.

...

The one-minute preparation time quickly elapsed. Both teams submitted their lineups to Skyfiend Douluo, ensuring fairness.

"Su Yu, why did you choose to compete second? Isn't that too early?" Ma Rulong asked, perplexed. From his perspective, it would have been better for Su Yu to save his strength for later.

Smiling faintly, Su Yu replied, "It's not too early. I was considering going first. But this way, we'll finish them off during the individual matches."

Ma Rulong frowned but didn't argue further. The lineup had already been submitted, so there was no room for changes.

Skyfiend Douluo soon announced the first matchup: "The first competitors are Bei Bei of Shrek Academy and Chen Fei of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy!"

The Sun Moon team had swapped out Xiao Xiafeng and Lin Xi, replacing them with Chen An and Chen Fei.

Sending Bei Bei out first demonstrated Shrek's determination to secure an early win. Bei Bei, as the captain of Shrek's reserve team, was no easy opponent.

The match began swiftly. Chen Fei used his superior speed to suppress Bei Bei early on. As a Soul King facing a Soul Ancestor, he had an inherent advantage. However, Bei Bei bided his time, waiting for the right moment. When Chen Fei grew complacent, Bei Bei unleashed his Bright Sacred Dragon bloodline, evolving into the Bright Thunder Tyrant Dragon. With the power of his Tyrant Dragon Domain, he dealt a devastating blow to Chen Fei.

Chen Fei, heavily injured but alive, was carried off the stage, his hair standing on end from the electric shocks.

"Fool! Arrogance cost him the match, losing to a Soul Ancestor," Ma Rulong scolded furiously.

Su Yu intervened, his tone calm. "Enough. What's done is done. Scolding him won't change anything."

Chen An cast a grateful glance at Su Yu before helping his brother off the stage.

"Su Yu, it's your turn." Skyfiend Douluo's voice resonated as Su Yu stood.

"Don't underestimate your opponent," Ma Rulong warned.

"Understood," Su Yu replied calmly, stepping onto the stage.