Douluo: Martial Soul of Lightning

Feng Xiaotian gave a light cough as his teammates stared at him in disbelief, their expressions twisted with confusion. "I really did just go to cheer them on."

"What?! Captain, you went to cheer for them?" the guy who had spoken earlier looked like he'd seen a ghost.

"Cheer them on?" The rest of the team blinked, equally stunned.

Feng Xiaotian grinned. "What's the problem? As long as Shrek wins and ends up facing us, we'll beat them then—and at that point, I'll..."

He trailed off, his thoughts drifting off into fantasy.

"Captain, you'll what...?"

But Feng Xiaotian was already smiling in that pure, blissfully unaware way of his, lost in daydreams. His teammates called out to him again, but he just stood there, grinning like a lovestruck fool. Everyone around him looked at him as if he'd lost his mind.

Meanwhile, the members of Shrek Academy were calmly reviewing their battle strategy against Canghui Academy. Not that much discussion was needed—it was mostly Lin Jie telling them what to look out for.

Soon, the first two matches of the day concluded, and the third officially began. The Shrek team returned to the waiting area to prepare. When the staff arrived to escort them, they stepped onto the stage.

The two teams entered the arena together, eyes locked on one another. Canghui Academy's team was composed entirely of men, all dressed in identical pale moon-white uniforms.

Lin Jie took a glance at them and noticed something odd—each one of them carried a chilling, hostile aura. Their eyes burned with hatred, as if they were ready to devour the Shrek team whole.

On their way toward the Spirit Arena stage, Shrek's group happened to cross paths with none other than the Blazing Academy team, who were just exiting.

And more specifically, they ran into Huo Wu.

Lin Jie's gaze naturally shifted toward her—and, as expected, she was staring right back at him.

Her expression was... complicated. There was bitterness, anger—and buried within it, a trace of reluctant admiration.

She was bitter because she had lost. Angry because Lin Jie's current formation looked even stronger than when he fought them. And that glimmer of admiration... it was because Lin Jie's strength had thoroughly surpassed her own.

"Hmph." Huo Wu gave a soft snort and turned her head, walking right past the Shrek team.

The members of Canghui Academy had been hoping a conflict might break out between Shrek and Blazing Academy. If they clashed now, it would count as a violation of tournament rules—Canghui would win without fighting. But to their disappointment, nothing happened.

Soon, both teams stepped onto the Spirit Arena platform. As they did, a thunderous cheer erupted from the stands—clearly in support of Shrek Academy.

After all, Shrek was the biggest dark horse in the entire competition. Every match they fought was essentially a headline event. Naturally, today's battle was scheduled on the main arena.

"Crush them, Shrek!"

"Twelve wins in a row! Let's go for twelve!"

"Shrek will win! Shrek will win!"

The roaring cheers brought faint smiles to the faces of the Shrek team members. These cheers were earned through strength—they had every right to be proud.

In stark contrast, Canghui's team stood grim-faced, their eyes cold and hostile.

On the VIP platform, the commentator quickly began his introduction in response to the crowd's excitement. "Today marks the twelfth day of the preliminary round, and we're now entering the third match of the day! Shrek Academy needs no introduction—undefeated through eleven matches. Will their twelfth battle continue the streak, or will it finally end in defeat? Canghui Academy has posted decent results so far, but compared to Shrek, it's clear they fall short. In my personal opinion, this match is already a foregone conclusion. What I'm more interested in is... how long can Canghui last?"

The announcer's words were harsh but not biased—he simply voiced what most of the crowd believed.

His commentary only stirred the audience further, the cheering and shouting growing even louder.

Back on stage, all the judges had taken their positions. The referee gave the signal—the match had officially begun.

What the audience loved most was that first moment when Spirit Rings lit up, each type producing dazzling lights that thrilled everyone watching.

Shrek's team was once again made up of three Spirit Elders and four Spirit Masters.

Canghui, on the other hand, had only one Spirit Elder; the rest were Spirit Masters. Shockingly, three of them even had the outdated yellow-yellow-yellow configuration.

And judging by their appearances, those three looked like they were in their thirties at least.

The seven from Canghui moved cautiously. The moment the match began, they clustered together. Their captain stepped to the front, while the other six arranged themselves in a tight hexagon, eyes wary.

When Tai Long saw the configuration of their Spirit Rings, he burst out laughing. "What, did Canghui run out of real Spirit Masters? Look at that garbage ring setup!"

Dai Mubai's expression was equally strange. He hadn't expected to see such substandard ring combinations in this kind of high-level tournament.

Lin Jie remained still, silently observing Canghui's formation with a calm smile. This match, for him, posed no real challenge.

Although they had swapped out four of their members right before the match began...

Tang San frowned slightly. He had done his research and agreed with Lin Jie—Canghui wasn't as simple as they appeared. Grandmaster had always taught him: never underestimate your opponent.

The seven members of Canghui stood huddled together, eyes locked on Shrek. Or more precisely—on Lin Jie. He could clearly see the fear in their eyes.

They were afraid.

Even so, Lin Jie didn't act rashly. While he was confident they couldn't hurt him, the same couldn't be said for his teammates.

"Regroup," Lin Jie said quietly.

Hearing his order, the others were surprised. Lin Jie had never been this cautious before. Still, they didn't question him. The six immediately moved to gather around him.

"Tang San," Lin Jie called.

"Got it." Blue Silver Grass burst from Tang San's palm and wrapped around his teammates protectively.

Tai Long stared at the Blue Silver Grass coiled around his waist, confused. "We're being this careful against Canghui? Why don't we just charge in and end it?"

Xiao Wu and Dai Mubai, however, had no complaints. They trusted Lin Jie's judgment completely. So far, his command had never led them wrong.

"Tai Long, it's not that simple," Lin Jie replied calmly.

Tang San narrowed his eyes and observed Canghui's formation again.

On the other side, the Canghui team looked a little disappointed that Shrek hadn't charged in blindly—but their expressions quickly returned to calm.

The referee, seeing that every other match had already begun, finally called out, "Both sides, please begin the battle!"

Up in the stands, Blazing Academy had been watching with rising frustration. When facing them, Lin Jie hadn't been nearly this cautious. Yet here he was, setting up a full defensive formation against Canghui?

Was he saying that Blazing was weaker than them?

Huo Wu bit her lip and clenched her fists, anger flaring in her eyes.

Standing nearby was Feng Xiaotian of Divine Wind Academy. Seeing Huo Wu so riled up, he smiled inwardly.

The more furious she is at Shrek, the better. When I help her take them down, she'll definitely be grateful to me... and that'll be my chance!

With that thought, he silently cheered Shrek on—from the shadows.

On the VIP platform, Emperor Xue Ye noticed the delay. "Sect Master Ning," he asked, "why aren't either team making a move? Aren't they being a bit... too cautious?"

Ning Fengzhi chuckled softly. "Perhaps this is only on the surface. That Lin Jie boy is steady and observant. I'd wager he's already noticed something."

At that moment, the silence broke.

The first to move wasn't Shrek—it was Canghui.

Their captain suddenly took a few steps backward, retreating into the center of the hexagon.

The six others also stepped back in unison, widening the formation.

Their movements were clean, practiced—this was clearly a formation they had trained extensively.

With their captain now at the center, the seven activated their Martial Souls in perfect unison.

To everyone's surprise, the Martial Soul of all seven was... a stone.

PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin