Douluo Continent, my martial soul is a mushroom.

Chapter 63 The Pope, His Delaying Plan

After the third round, the fourth round began, with the six teams drawing lots to determine their opponents.

Compared to the elimination of the two seeded teams in the third round, the situation in this round was much more peaceful.

The Spirit Hall Academy team and Shrek Academy team, whose strength was clearly not on the same level as other academies, did not encounter each other. The Divine Wind Academy team and Blazing Fire Academy team, after being reorganized, defeated their opponents and successfully advanced with a brand-new look.

……

The bright sunshine bathed the earth, making the Papal Palace appear even more magnificent.

In front of the Papal Palace, two rows of paladin knights stretched from the entrance to the foot of the mountain, their gleaming silver armor and heavy swords adding to the imposing presence of Papal Mountain.

The eliminated teams have all left, not even allowed to watch the final day's battles. Only the truly young and powerful are qualified to step onto the plaza in front of the Papal Palace.

Early in the morning, the three teams that had advanced to the final three were already waiting quietly in front of the Papal Palace. The teachers from the three academies were not allowed to stand in the square and could only wait on the perimeter.

The 21 finalists stood quietly in the square, waiting for the final moment to arrive.

Soon, Pope Bibi Dong walked out of the Papal Palace, followed by Chen Xin, Chrysanthemum Douluo, and Ghost Douluo, with Ning Fengzhi and Xue Qinghe following even further behind.

All members of the Spirit Hall knelt before Bibi Dong, as did the students of the Divine Wind Academy, who also knelt on one knee. The students of Shrek Academy, led by Chi Ping, nodded in respect to Bibi Dong.

Under Bibi Dong's manipulation, the two great empires gradually declined, while the Spirit Hall grew to the point where it could rival them. For this alone, she was a worthy opponent. Acknowledging an enemy is nothing to be ashamed of; only the strong can be enemies with the strong.

But that's all there is to it.

While everyone else dared not look directly at the Pope, the Shrek members raised their heads and stood tall.

Chi Ping calmly looked at Bibi Dong.

Bibi Dong quickly found Chi Ping in the crowd.

The moment her gaze fell upon Chi Ping, Chi Ping clearly felt as if his soul was being ripped away, and his body trembled slightly.

Calm your mind and focus your attention; let your intuition fully open.

Chi Ping didn't understand anything about soul skills; he simply focused his mind and endured Bibi Dong's mental probing. Then, he calmly met Bibi Dong's gaze.

Bibi Dong withdrew her probing, realizing that mental annihilation was ineffective.

Behind Bibi Dong, Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo also turned their gazes to Chi Ping, their killing intent subtly concealed. As Bibi Dong's confidants, they were naturally aware of the threat Chi Ping posed. However, they couldn't come up with a good solution for the time being and could only watch helplessly.

—Is your arm better yet?

Maintain a balanced mindset.

"You are Chi Ping?" Bibi Dong asked calmly.

Chi Ping nodded. "Yes."

"You're very good."

"Thank you for the compliment, Pope."

"Would you be willing to join my Spirit Hall?"

"I don't want to."

"How dare you be so disrespectful to His Holiness the Pope!" a cardinal attending him shouted angrily.

Bibi Dong raised her hand, and the cardinal immediately shut his mouth.

By observing small details, one can gain insight into the power and influence of this female pope.

Bibi Dong turned her gaze elsewhere; she already knew Chi Ping's determination.

Her attitude towards Chi Ping was solely focused on ruthlessly eliminating him once she had found a way to break through his defenses.

With a faint smile on her face, Bibi Dong gazed at Tang San. "So you're Tang San, the disciple of Grandmaster?"

After exchanging a few words with Tang San, Bibi Dong lightly waved her scepter, and three soul bones floated in mid-air.

They are a right arm bone, a skull, and a left leg bone, each shimmering with fiery red, pale blue, and dark green light, respectively.

Standing behind the Pope, Ghost Douluo spoke in a deep voice: "The three soul bones are the Wisdom Skull of Spiritual Condensation, the Right Arm of Explosive Burning Flames, and the Left Leg of Rapid Advancement. All three originated from ten-thousand-year-old soul beasts. Among them, the Wisdom Skull of Spiritual Condensation came from a soul beast that was over fifty thousand years old. It was personally killed and obtained by the previous Pope, making it a top-grade soul bone, second only to external soul bones and the top-tier soul bones produced by one-hundred-thousand-year-old soul beasts."

The Pope said calmly, "There can only be one victor, and the same goes for the champion. Therefore, these three soul bones will belong to the final champion team. I hope that the three academies that have entered the final three will give their all and earn this honor."

"This morning will be the individual elimination rounds, with each of your three teams fielding seven players. The team that remains will have an advantage. Tomorrow, the championship match will begin directly. The two losing teams will compete for the other final spot this afternoon. Now, you can send out your first player."

A row of gilded chairs was placed in front of the Papal Palace, with Bibi Dong sitting in the center. At her signal, Ning Fengzhi and Chen Xin sat on her left, while Ghost Douluo Gui Mei and Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan sat on her right.

Each of the three academies sent out its first player. Shenfeng Academy sent out Huo Wushuang, the captain of Chihuo Academy; Wuhun Hall Academy sent out a level 40+ Soul Master with a short, crew-cut hairstyle; and Shrek Academy sent out Chi Ping.

The individual elimination tournament is not a three-way free-for-all. Instead, one person is first chosen by drawing lots to receive a bye. The remaining two compete to determine the winner. The loser is eliminated, and the winner defends their position and accepts a challenge from the person who received a bye. After the winner is determined, the loser leaves the stage and is replaced by another academy. This cycle continues until two academies are completely eliminated.

"Shall I go on stage?"

Chi Ping was the first to draw a fortune slip and strode to the center of the arena.

The students from the Spirit Hall followed closely behind and took to the stage.

The referee announced, "Both sides, get set, go!"

Martial Soul Possession - Extreme Ice Frost Toad! Thousand-Year Soul Skill - Frost Toad Ice Poison!

Shrek Academy only has eight students, and they fight fairly and squarely, always trying to overpower others with brute force. After much hard work, the Spirit Hall Academy was able to figure out almost everyone's fighting style and the effects of their spirit skills.

"My poison is so potent that it can be applied instantly!" the crew-cut man sneered.

— Hopefully, this guy will be fooled.

The short-haired guy's soul skill can inflict cold poison on enemies who get close to him. The cold poison will slow down their bodies, but it will not take effect immediately.

According to the Spirit Hall's intelligence, Chi Ping is a food-type spirit master who does not have any antidote spirit skills. His fighting style leans towards an offensive beast spirit master who does not rely on spirit skills but has a set of strange, self-created spirit skill moves.

The best way to deal with this type is to use poison. The crew-cut guy's task is to inflict Chi Ping with the cold poison of his martial soul, then stall for time for the cold poison to take effect, allowing his teammates to finish him off.

—Quickly resolve this!

Intuitive Lock-On, Six Forms of Soul Power - Shave!

Chi Ping's mycelium had already covered the entire Spirit City. Apart from the Hall of Offerings, what energy was there that could hinder the mycelium?

Within the mycelial coverage area, Chi Ping is confident that it is unbeatable in its class!

With explosive speed, faster than the man with the buzz cut could react, Chi Ping arrived beside him and landed a punch in his abdomen.

Soul Power Six Styles - Finger Pistol - Steel Fist!

Watching the short-haired guy fly backward, Chi Ping said calmly, "If you're going to fight, then fight! Stop talking nonsense!"

—How could I not get close!

Huo Wushuang glanced at Chi Ping solemnly, then, without stepping onto the stage, said directly to the referee, "I concede."

The referee, doubting he'd heard correctly, asked, "Are you sure? Huo Wushuang, are you sure you want to concede?"

"I'm sure!" Huo Wushuang said decisively.

Despite this, the referee repeatedly checked the information, taking a full five minutes before allowing the second student from the Spirit Hall to take the stage.

This student's martial spirit also possesses a poison attribute, but the type is different from Xiaopingtou's; it is a mind-altering poison.

Poison-attribute Soul Masters generally don't have very good physical abilities, because poison can harm both others and the user.

Chi Ping didn't linger and sent him to his death with a few punches and kicks.

Kamikaze Academy sent out a second person, who also conceded defeat, and the referee delayed for another five minutes.

The third student from the Spirit Hall was a speed-type agility-attack Spirit Master. After entering the arena, he did not fight Chi Ping, but instead kept circling around the field.

"These guys are despicable!" Ma Hongjun said indignantly.

It was obvious to everyone that the Spirit Hall was planning to stall for time until Chi Ping's poison took effect. Even the referee was covering for the Spirit Hall.

"The organizers have an advantage!" Dai Mubai exclaimed, then chuckled softly, "But they definitely don't know that Pingzi has specifically researched methods to suppress toxins."

Tang San nodded in agreement. Back when he was taking the entrance exam, his poison had absolutely no effect on Chi Ping!

Two years later, Ikehira's methods of preventing poisoning must have become even more sophisticated.

(End of this chapter)