Douluo Continent: The Celestial Star, Ruler of the Stars

Chapter 17 Martial Soul Fusion Skill, Xu Xinghan's Key Focus

Xu Xinghan responded that after scanning around, there were five, making six including himself.

One is missing.

Xu Xinghan's eyelid twitched.

Who else could be missing besides Xu Jiujiu?

……

Half an hour later.

"bump!"

The gate to the arena was kicked open.

"Hehe, I'm here!"

A long, loud noise burst from the doorway, and the person rushed in like a gust of wind.

Today, instead of her signature light gold dress, she wore a sleek silver-white combat suit, her long hair tied in a high ponytail that swept behind her as she ran.

She rushed into the arena and saw five people standing there in a row.

Xu Xinghan stood in the very center, his face gloomy, looking exactly like a judge.

"Hehe." Xu Jiujiu paused, then slowed down with a grin. "Um... Second Brother, I didn't mean to be late. I promise next time..."

"Wow!"

Before she could finish speaking, a paper bag she was carrying flew out of her hand.

A large hand, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, silently patted her shoulder.

Xu Xinghan had somehow appeared behind her.

After a long while, he let out a howl and jumped three feet to the side.

The paper bag flipped over in mid-air, spilling its contents all over the floor.

A thick stack of papers lay scattered on the dark red granite table.

"Second...Second Brother..." Xu Jiujiu patted his chest, his smile clearly guilty. "Why do you walk so quietly?"

Xu Xinghan didn't reply, looking down at the papers scattered on the ground.

His gaze paused for a moment.

Luo Xiaoqian was the first to react, bending down to pick up a piece of paper, her light blue skirt brushing gently against her feet.

Her pupils contracted slightly when she saw what was written on the paper.

"Huh? This is... Shrek Academy's information?"

Upon hearing this, everyone gathered around.

Luo Xiaomei took the paper from her sister's hand, her bright red tight-fitting clothes creating a gust of hot air as the cuffs drew out.

She glanced at it and frowned.

Chen Xiaojie picked up a few more sheets from the ground, his eyes darting around as he looked at them one after another.

……

"Captain, is there something wrong with this data?" Luo Xiaomei looked up, her speech quickening. "Why does the Shrek team only have three members above level 50? The rest range from level 20 to level 40. This configuration is clearly a reserve team."

Xu Xinghan picked up a piece of paper and glanced at the numbers on it.

He knew this information better than anyone else.

In the original story, Shrek Academy was attacked by the Grim Reaper on their way to Star Luo City, and their main force was almost completely wiped out.

The team standing here now is a makeshift substitute lineup.

Of the original Shrek Seven Devils, apart from Dai Yueheng, Ling Luochen, and Ma Xiaotao, the other four were either dead or injured.

He had already watched the live broadcast using an observatory.

After a long while, she finally recovered from her shock, dusted off her skirt, put on a mysterious expression, and whispered as she moved closer to the crowd.

"I heard there was an accident."

"What happened?" Chen Xiaojie was the first to come over, his eyes shining with gossip.

"Shrek Academy's team for this competition was originally supposed to have seven people, but on their way here, they wiped out a group of evil spirit masters..." Xu Jiu paused for a long time, made a throat-slitting gesture, but his expression was not serious at all. "I heard that something terrible happened. Apart from the three who came, the remaining four are all dead."

The arena fell silent for a moment.

This was followed by another heated discussion.

……

After the small talk, we got down to business.

As the host, Xingluo National Academy enjoys the privilege of directly advancing to the semi-finals.

They don't need to play any of the previous knockout matches; they can just wait for the semifinals to start.

This means they have more time to observe their opponents.

"In this competition, we only need to pay attention to two teams," Xu Xinghan said, holding up two fingers. "Shrek and Sun Moon."

Everyone understood.

Shrek is a timeless brand, while Sun and Moon are emerging rivals.

Starry Sky is sandwiched in the middle; if it wants to get ahead, it has to climb over both of these mountains.

Xu Xinghan paused, his gaze lowered slightly, as if he were turning a page of a calendar in his mind.

The age limit for participating in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Battle Tournament is twenty, and he is already eighteen.

This match was the last major competition of his Soul Master career.

He'll be too old for the next competition and won't have the chance to stand on that fighting stage again.

The road ahead is the prince's road, the road of the Star Luo Empire, and has nothing to do with the Soul Master Competition.

Before that, he wanted to fight a spectacular comeback for himself and for the Star Luo Empire, starting with this competition.

Xu Xinghan flipped through the documents on the stone pier, took out several student lists, and placed them on top in order.

"Shrek Academy, we're focusing our attention on these two individuals."

His finger was pointing at two documents.

Everyone crowded around, their eyes fixed on the paper:

Huo Yuhao, a second-ring Soul Master, is a control-type Soul Master; Wang Dong, a third-ring Soul Master, is a power-attack-type Soul Master.

Everyone: ?

Luo Xiaomei spoke first, "Captain, are you serious? One's on the third ring road and the other on the second?"

There was no sarcasm in her tone; it was genuine confusion.

A rookie of this caliber wouldn't even make the bench at the Star Luo National Academy.

The other team members, including Xu Jiujiu, had the same reaction.

Second Ring Road or Third Ring Road?

This roster is indeed inferior even to their academy's reserve team.

Xu Xinghan didn't explain, but simply pulled out two more sheets of paper and placed them on the table.

"The Royal Soul Master Academy of the Sun Moon Empire, Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen, both of them are at the fifth ring."

Luo Xiaoqian tucked her long, dark purple hair behind her ear and asked softly:

"Captain, you pointed out something special about these four people, right?"

Xu Xinghan nodded and continued the conversation:

"That's right, all four of them possess Martial Soul Fusion Skills."

Upon hearing this, everyone's expression changed.

The confused expression vanished instantly, replaced by a serious one.

A Martial Soul Fusion Skill is not something that two Soul Masters can unleash simply by standing together.

It requires a high degree of compatibility between martial spirits and a level of tacit understanding between the two people that is almost telepathic.

It requires talent, luck, and timing; none of these can be lacking.

Any combination that possesses a Martial Soul Fusion Skill is worth studying as a core opponent.

Luo Xiaomei frowned, her fingers unconsciously stroking the fiery red belt around her waist.

Chen Xiaojie put away all his joking expressions, his falcon-like eyes fixed on the soul power levels of Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong in the data.

Although the soul power was pitifully low, the words "Soul Fusion Skill" made those numbers meaningful.

After a long while, resting his chin on his hand, he stared at the two documents for a long time before suddenly blurting out:

"Second Brother, you're showing us all this because you've already figured out how to deal with them, haven't you?"

All eyes turned back to Xu Xinghan.

……