Douluo's ice devil Yuhao

Chapter 620 Shrek vs. Sun and Moon

The semi-finals will be held over two days, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The match between Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy and Shrek Academy will be the first match of the semi-finals, while the match between Ming Dou and Tian Hun will be the second match in the afternoon. After a day's break, the semi-finals and the final will be held in one day.

On one side is the reigning champion, and on the other is a team that has won glory for over ten thousand years. Will Sun Moon Academy be able to defend its championship prestige, or will Shrek Academy be able to make a triumphant return? Everything is on the minds of the people of Douling.

Even before the competition was officially launched, a massive amount of Gold Soul Coins flooded into the betting markets of major casinos.

Thanks to years of propaganda from Shrek Academy and Douling, most Douling fans firmly believe that the Sun Moon Empire stole the championship that should have belonged to Shrek Academy through a conspiracy in the previous competition, and that the victory was unfair.

Although the scene where Elder Xuan and Yan Shaozhe were humiliated by Huo Yuhao had somewhat shaken the high-class image of Shrek Academy, few people would question their strength.

While minimizing the exposure of their main players, Shrek Academy still managed to defend their title in several individual elimination matches during the group stage using only two or three, or even just one, players. In team battles, almost none of their players lost their fighting ability, thus achieving the highest score among all teams and leading the standings by an absolute advantage, which further garnered the support of the audience.

The day of the semi-finals arrived quickly. With more than half an hour to go before the match, the square was already packed with people, creating a scene comparable to the finals of previous years.

The chief referee of the competition, Tianyang Douluo, has also arrived at the scene, which is enough to demonstrate the importance that Douling officials attach to this competition.

Huo Yuhao and the Mingdou team members arrived at the team's viewing area early and instructed them: "Watch and learn carefully, and observe the main information of your semi-final opponents in advance."

"Yes, team leader." The team members responded in unison, especially team leader Ning Yuan, whose expression was particularly serious. As the team's commander-in-chief, he was responsible for overall control on the stage.

Huo Yuhao nodded in satisfaction, and then did not give any further instructions.

Huo Qiu'er glanced at the team members who had started discussing and asked in a voice only the two of them could hear, "If they are at a disadvantage, will you cover for them?"

Huo Yuhao scoffed and whispered, "I'm the team leader and teacher, not their magic touch."

In fact, he was fully capable of doing everything for the team members on his own, revealing all the information about the opponents in advance, including not only their martial spirit and soul skills, but also their weaknesses.

He could even use his mental power to assist them from the sidelines, or... directly attack his opponents, thus winning the match effortlessly.

With his current level of mental strength and the precision of his control, even Tianyang Douluo and Xuan Lao could not find any clues. He only needed to interfere slightly at the crucial moment of the battle to manipulate the entire match.

But Huo Yuhao would never do that. Apart from adhering to the rules of the competition, he felt from the bottom of his heart that it would be meaningless to do so.

"They deserve their place, no matter what. As long as they've done their best, I'll praise them. Do they really think I care about this lousy championship?"

Huo Qiu'er remained expressionless and gave a soft hum, but Huo Yuhao could clearly sense that she was actually smiling.

During the conversation, a noisy cheer erupted from the crowd outside as both teams entered the preparation area one after another.

Huo Yuhao used his mental detection to check Xiao Hongchen's condition.

Xiao Hongchen remained as arrogant as ever, showing no sign of tension or unease. His eyes were filled only with fervor and confidence in defeating Shrek Academy.

Huo Yuhao couldn't help but smile. He thought that while Hongchen was arrogant, there was also a side to his arrogance that was worth appreciating.

It was this arrogance that made Xiao Hongchen almost never seek help from outsiders. When Huo Yuhao spoke with him last night, he didn't even have the slightest thought of asking Huo Yuhao to provide more information about the opponents to improve their chances of winning.

Xiao Hongchen never believed that he and the Sun and Moon team would lose.

The scheduled time finally arrived, and after a brief address by the chief referee, Tianyang Douluo, the competition officially began.

Shrek Academy, leading in points, chose the order of matches first: individual matches followed by team battles. Sun and Moon Team, on the other hand, opted for a more conservative winner-takes-all format.

Shrek Academy sent out a powerful offensive-type Soul Emperor, whose Martial Soul was a leopard-type Soul Beast, while the Sun Moon Team sent out a Level 5 Soul Master.

The moment this young Soul Emperor from Shrek Academy displayed his spirit rings after activating his spirit, he caused a stir among the crowd. He was the second Soul Emperor to appear in this tournament, besides Prince Xue Lan.

Shrek Academy is finally no longer hiding its strength and is about to showcase the rich foundation of the continent's number one academy. A six-ringed member versus a five-ringed member—the gap in strength is insurmountable. Even though this Sun Moon Academy member is already exceptionally talented and equipped with a powerful and advanced soul tool, he is no match for the Shrek Academy member.

Therefore, he quickly began to use the mobility advantage of his own soul tool to try to deplete the opponent's soul power as far as possible. However, speed was also the opponent's forte, and he was soon defeated by the Shrek Soul Emperor who seized the opportunity.

In the Sun and Moon training area below the stage, Xiao Hongchen's expression became more solemn, but the arrogance in his eyes remained undiminished.

Shrek Academy has many Soul Emperor level experts, but Mingde Hall also has its own trump cards, so it's still uncertain who will emerge victorious.

Soon, the second member of the Sun Moon team took the stage. He was also a level 5 Soul Master, but strangely, his hands were empty when he entered the arena.

This wasn't the first time the audience had seen this scene, and they all guessed what kind of soul tool he would display.

With a command from Tianyang Douluo, the fifth-level Soul Master spread his arms wide and activated his storage Soul Tool, instantly creating a huge gray metal giant standing in front of him.

The audience was already familiar with this metal figure; it was the humanoid soul tool that Mingdou Academy had previously demonstrated when facing Douling. Its superior multi-directional performance far exceeded their understanding of soul tools.

However, compared to Mingdou Academy, the humanoid soul tool displayed by the Sun and Moon Team has a more sharp and aggressive appearance, while its specific functions are unknown.

The humanoid soul tool is not only Ming Dou's trump card, but also Sun Moon's secret weapon.

Soon, the two began to engage in a fierce fight.

The formidable defensive power provided by the metal gave the Sun Moon team members the confidence to engage in close combat with their opponents. Even a Soul Emperor would find it difficult to defeat him in a short time.

Soon, both teams stopped holding back and unleashed one soul skill after another. Soul tools beams burst forth, and several different lights flashed back and forth on the stage, dazzling the audience.

The audience cheered with excitement, as such visual stimulation was rarely seen in previous matches, and the Sun Moon and Shrek will bring even more exciting battles in the future.

In the Ming Dou spectator area, Huo Yuhao asked his teammates with great interest, "Can you tell what's different about the Sun and Moon's humanoid soul tool?"

The team members racked their brains when Qianfeng suddenly spoke up: "Their humanoid soul tools and ours already belong to two different branches."

"Excellent, you've observed very carefully," Huo Yuhao praised.

Both originated from the initial Project No. 1, but after verifying the possibility of success, the first batch of humanoid soul tools were left to be researched at Mingde Hall and Mingdou Academy respectively, and the two began to develop in different directions in subsequent research.

Although the underlying logic is similar, when it comes to the specific core magic arrays, internal structures, external designs, and weapon configurations, after years and countless iterations, the two sides have clearly developed into two different systems.

"I see it now. The core array and power system of their humanoid soul guide device are different from ours." Ning Yuan observed carefully for a while and then suddenly realized.

Huo Yuhao nodded in satisfaction. Ning Yuan's talent for soul tools was exceptional.

At this moment, Ning Yuan suddenly paused and asked, "Team leader, I have a bold idea."

"Say it directly."

Ning Yuan looked somewhat excited, but kept his voice low: "The different structures mean that the weaknesses of the two types of humanoid soul tools are also different."

"If Shrek wins this match, they will definitely develop a strategy specifically targeting the weaknesses of humanoid soul tools based on their research on the Sun Moon team."

"Then, we can deliberately expose the same weaknesses as the Sun and Moon team in the afternoon's match against Tianhun."

"So in the semifinals, they will deliberately target the weaknesses of the Sun and Moon team, but in fact, these weaknesses are almost ineffective against Ming Dou."

Seeing Ning Yuan's excited expression, Huo Yuhao raised an eyebrow. He liked this kind of genius who dared to think and act: "Good lad, choosing you as captain was definitely the right choice."