The All-Federation Star Battle Network Challenge was fiercely competitive, as shown when A Ruheng was just eliminated by Mu Xi, followed shortly by Xia Yi being knocked out by Gu Yue.
This left everyone marveling at the intense level of competition in the Star Battle Network All-Federation Challenge.
Especially in the Central War Zone, which not only included Shrek City, but also major cities like Heaven Dou City nearby.
These two places were hotspots for geniuses.
Shrek City in particular—even though Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect had been destroyed—remained the area with the highest concentration of soul masters on the continent.
Aside from the now-rising Spirit Transmission Tower, even the Blood God Legion, the most elite legion in the federation, had been stationed in Shrek City.
Top elites from the Blood God Legion would also sign up for the Star Battle Network.
Having fought with abyssal creatures, every soldier in this army was among the top tier of their level.
Trying to reach the finals of the All-Federation Challenge from the Central War Zone was incredibly difficult.
As for Xia Yi, at least he "lost to" Gu Yue, a well-established powerhouse—and his own woman at that—so it wasn't too humiliating.
If someone had bad luck like A Ruheng, running into a dark horse and getting knocked out, they wouldn't even have a place to cry.
The fates of A Ruheng and Xia Yi served as a wake-up call for many powerful participants.
To achieve a good result in the Star Battle Network Challenge, luck and strength were both indispensable.
Even the Sun-Moon Federation didn't dare to be too obvious in their manipulation. After Xia Yi was eliminated by Gu Yue in the Soul Master competition, they didn't dare push things further by making Gu Yue and Mu Xi face off just yet.
They wanted to save that matchup for the finals, where the two women would knock one another out.
As for who would remain, the Sun-Moon Federation didn't care.
In the following elimination rounds, Gu Yue and Mu Xi didn't encounter any further opponents.
Xia Yi's Mecha battle also proceeded smoothly; he didn't encounter any challengers either. All three advanced to the finals.
In the finals, there were no more regional divisions—every finalist was an elite from each war zone.
Xia Yi didn't have to worry about his mecha battles—those were handled by Heart of Ice God, who fought on his behalf.
So he didn't think the competition was particularly difficult.
But Gu Yue and Mu Xi were different.
Gu Yue's very first match in the finals was against a formidable opponent: the Southern War Zone's top powerhouse, known as the Storm Blade Demon.
Gu Yue had always trusted her own strength and never cared who her opponent was.
If she had paid attention beforehand, she definitely would have been intrigued by the Storm Blade Demon.
His real identity had already been revealed—Simajin Chi, commander of the Storm Division in the Southern Legion.
The Southern Legion, much like the former Sea God Legion and North Sea Legion, was controlled by a noble family within the federation.
The Sea God family controlled the Sea God Legion through Chen Xinjie, while the Shen family controlled the North Sea Legion.
The Le family (a.k.a. the Holy Angel Clan) controlled the Southern Legion.
Although their martial soul had fallen from Six-Winged Angel to Holy Angel, it remained powerful, and the family had deep foundations.
The current head of the family was a Ninety-Eighth-Level Super Douluo, who also possessed four-word battle armor, a rare asset even among Limit Douluos. His combat power was not inferior to them.
In the Southern Legion, Simajin Chi was nearly undefeated—except against the legion commander and a few top figures, no one could match him.
Among all the three-word battle armor masters at the eight-ring level in the legion, no one was his equal. Even many Titled Douluo-level powerhouses were no match.
His Storm Division was the ace unit of the Southern Legion, traditionally composed of mecha pilots. But oddly enough, Simajin Chi himself couldn't pilot a mecha. He relied solely on his Dragon-Slaying Blade and two-word battle armor to dominate the battlefield.
That was because the legion commander had deliberately held him back from becoming a three-word battle armor master, so he could build a deeper foundation.
The commander once said: if Simajin Chi broke through to Titled Douluo, he'd be one of the top powerhouses of the era. If he advanced to Super Douluo, he might even be able to challenge Limit Douluos.
He was destined to become the brightest star of the Southern Legion.
Unfortunately, Simajin Chi was already over forty, and had never been able to break through to Titled Douluo.
As both competitors entered the stage, Simajin Chi and Gu Yue were simultaneously transported onto the battlefield.
Though the Dragon-Slaying Blade was his martial soul, Simajin Chi already had it in hand, slung over his shoulder as he walked out.
"The Dragon-Slaying Blade!" Gu Yue's eyes narrowed sharply—she could sense that Simajin Chi's weapon was the real Dragon-Slaying Blade, once forged by the Dragon God from his own horn.
What she couldn't understand was how it became Simajin Chi's martial soul.
But Simajin Chi was even more shocked than Gu Yue.
At the moment he saw her, he knew that Gu Yue possessed dragon blood, or that her martial soul was definitely related to dragons.
He had never seen a dragon martial soul user remain so calm in his presence.
What he didn't know was that the Dragon-Slaying Blade was never a weapon for killing dragons, but a blade of judgment, wielded by the Dragon God's favorite—the Light Dragon King—to carry out punishments within the dragon race.
So the souls wailing within the blade were those of dragon sinners, not victims of a slaughter.
Since Gu Yue was an incarnation of the Dragon God, she naturally wouldn't be suppressed by it.
"Five… four… three… two… one! Match start!"
With the sound of the electronic countdown, Simajin Chi struck first.
Holding the massive Dragon-Slaying Blade at his side, a series of soul rings rose from his feet—four purple, four black—and his aura surged rapidly, like a black cloud rolling out from him.
The terrifying pressure caused the air to tremble, even space seemed to fracture slightly.
A black mist wafted around the Dragon-Slaying Blade, and the sorrowful cries of past dragon sinners echoed from its edge.
The blade was one of righteous judgment, solemn and dignified.
The wailing came from the dragon souls punished for their crimes, long sealed within the blade. Whenever it was activated, their cries would shake the hearts of the wicked, causing hesitation and fear.
"Very well. I'll help you. Whether or not you can break through to Titled Douluo depends on your own fate." As she looked at the Dragon-Slaying Blade in his hand, silver dragon wings slowly unfurled behind Gu Yue.
"Dragon wings? Isn't Gu Yue's martial soul Elementalist? How does she have dragon wings? And what kind of dragon are they from? I've never seen these before." The audience was full of stunned expressions.
"Could it be that Gu Yue had been hiding her true strength all along and never revealed her complete martial soul? And now facing Simajin Chi, she feels pressured enough to go all out?" someone speculated.
That idea gained traction quickly. Another added, "I think that's highly likely. Judging by her wings, Gu Yue's martial soul is definitely dragon-related. Since the Dragon-Slaying Blade suppresses dragon souls, plus Simajin Chi has two-word battle armor, it makes sense that Gu Yue doesn't dare hold back anymore."
They weren't wrong. The martial soul Gu Yue had shown before wasn't complete. This was the true form of her martial soul after she underwent transformation.
It was also the first time Gu Yue revealed her complete martial soul.
But it wasn't because she feared Simajin Chi.
She simply wanted to help him.
From the moment she saw his martial soul, Gu Yue understood why he couldn't break through to Titled Douluo.
Without the help of a high-level dragon being, Simajin Chi would never advance.
At this point, Gu Yue no longer had any reason to hide her power.
She had nothing to fear from exposure.