Lu Jingming was confident in his control.

After all, under his sword instructor, he had mastered precise control. His earlier attack was only enough to break her skill, not harm her—so what paralysis?

But since Meng Hongchen didn't mind, Lu Jingming was happy to hold her soft body. After all, he was hardly at a disadvantage.

Boom!

Meanwhile, Xiao Hongchen was dodging Firefly's attacks.

Suddenly, a purple blade flashed at him with a chilling death aura.

Xiao Hongchen's face went pale with despair. He had no choice but to activate his trump card—his fifth soul ring's Fifth Soul Skill: Gold's Attachment.

He instantly turned into a pool of golden liquid, dodging the fatal strike, then retreated from Firefly.

Reforming his body, tired, he looked up—only to see his sister lying in Lu Jingming's arms, blushing.

Boom!

The sight was a thunderbolt to Xiao Hongchen's heart.

He stared, trembling, and could only stammer, "Meng, you, you—!"

The next moment, everything went black for Xiao Hongchen. Having exhausted his soul power and seen his sister in Lu Jingming's arms, he collapsed.

"Brother!" Meng Hongchen cried, leaping from Lu Jingming's arms, moving with no sign of paralysis.

She ran to Xiao Hongchen, anxiously helping him up.

Lu Jingming looked at the fainted Xiao Hongchen, feeling sympathy.

He knew Xiao Hongchen wasn't beaten by Firefly—they'd simply shocked him into fainting.

"Match over! Semifinal team battle: St. Freya Academy wins!" Dan Heng announced calmly to the cheering crowd.

The cheers erupted, almost shaking the arena.

Ma Rulong and company, exhausted and injured, were carried off.

Lu Jingming led St. Freya's team off the stage.

As they left, the arena's memory metal repaired itself, piecing together the broken floor and sealing cracks as if the intense battle had never happened.

After all, Shrek Academy and Dou Ling Academy's team battle was next, and the arena had to be in perfect shape.

"Xiao Ming, was it comfortable being hugged by Meng Hongchen?"

Back in the rest room, March 7th stood hands-on-hips, glaring at Lu Jingming.

"Hmm? Little March is jealous?" Lu Jingming was surprised.

In his mind, March 7th was always lively, so what was this? Had she finally become a lovebrain too?

"Jealous your head, you big playboy!" March 7th gritted her teeth, exasperated.

To her, Lu Jingming was surrounded by girls, yet still flirted outside—he was a real scoundrel.

Lu Jingming could only shake his head. He'd never hidden his intentions; he just wanted a big harem, since every one of these girls was his 2D wife—how could he pick just one?

"Alright, little March, you like Meng Hongchen too, don't you? I see you two get along well," Robin interjected to smooth things over.

"That's different, Robin!" March 7th sighed.

She didn't understand how Lu Jingming's harem was tolerated by most girls around him—it annoyed her.

"Fine, I give up!" March 7th sighed, giving up the struggle.

If she couldn't change things, she might as well go with the flow.

Gu Yue looked a little disappointed.

March 7th, can't you show some fight and rein in this scoundrel?

Meanwhile, Jinhsi silently observed everyone's reactions.

Robin was accepting, March 7th pouted, Firefly was focused on her cake but still glanced at Lu Jingming, Castorice seemed unconcerned, while Gu Yue and March 7th were both frustrated but resigned.

Lan Susu, Lan Luoluo, and Ye Guyi were outsiders, just watching.

As for Jinhsi herself, she thought, "Like Master said, just go with the flow."

She took out a steaming basket of soup dumplings and began to eat—after all, after such an intense fight, she was hungry.

To her, there was no point worrying about such things. Life was long, and this was just the beginning.

If she took it seriously, every time a new girl showed up, they'd be cheated again.

So, best to relax and be herself; let everything else happen naturally.

Shrek Academy and Dou Ling Academy's team battle went as expected—Shrek dominated handily.

Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yaoheng, and Ling Luocheng all participated, their advantages clear.

Dou Ling's Jiang Peng was strong, his martial soul—the Shaking Heaven Axe—famous among Soul Masters.

But he could only match Dai Yaoheng, and quickly lost to Soul Sage Ma Xiaotao.

The first day's semifinals ended in high spirits, and next came the individual knockout rounds.

The next morning, sunlight bathed the city of Haiyuan, giving it a golden glow.

Lu Jingming led his team early to Sea Abyss, ready for the individual matches.

Sun Moon Academy, having lost in their specialty—team battle—knew their journey would likely end at the semifinals.

But as the Soul Master world's eternal runner-up, they were resilient and didn't give up, deciding to compete in the individual rounds.

Xiao Hongchen even challenged Lu Jingming by name.

To him, Lu Jingming was the man seducing his sister, and he refused to lose.

But reality was harsh.

Lu Jingming readily accepted the challenge, but the result was a crushing defeat for Xiao Hongchen.

Xiao Hongchen's famed metal manipulation was perfectly countered—Lu Jingming's decomposition could easily destroy his soul tool cannons, and his electromagnetic control left Xiao Hongchen completely suppressed.

In the end, as Xiao Hongchen was knocked off the stage, he was filled with disbelief.

He couldn't believe Lu Jingming was so ruthless, not even sparing his future brother-in-law.

He decided—he'd never agree to this marriage!

But Lu Jingming didn't know about Xiao Hongchen's thoughts and showed no mercy, swiftly defeating the rest of Sun Moon's contestants.

When Meng Hongchen's turn came, she quickly chose to forfeit.

She knew that even if she wasn't distracted by his looks, she couldn't win.

She didn't want to lose like her brother had.

Thus, the individual rounds ended smoothly, and St. Freya advanced to the finals.

In the afternoon, Shrek also won decisively, securing their own finals ticket.

Just like the last tournament, St. Freya Academy and Shrek Academy would meet in the finals.

The only difference was that last time, St. Freya had the Soul Sage; this time, it was Shrek.

The audience eagerly awaited the showdown—which of the two academies was truly stronger?