Battle with Ye Xinglan

Three Soul Rings appeared beneath Lin Xiuran, each a different color: green, red, and blue.

The once ordinary Wind Bird now held its head high. Its formerly small body had grown enormous, its feathers lush and vivid, transformed from a single dull color into soft, tricolored plumage.

It no longer looked weak. Three elemental powers swirled around it, giving it an air of nobility and elegance. It truly bore some resemblance to a Phoenix.

Below the stage, Xie Xie stared in shock. They had been watching Lin Xiuran's individual matches all along, but seeing all his Soul Rings appear at once was truly astonishing.

It was not just them; the entire audience was stunned. Who had ever seen Soul Rings in three strange colors? One was red, but it was clearly not a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring. After all, it carried none of the corresponding pressure. If it truly were a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring, never mind whether Lin Xiuran's body could withstand it—once it was released, the pressure alone might force Ye Xinglan to her knees.

Even so, the unusual colors of those Soul Rings made her even more wary.

Moreover, Ye Xinglan had never expected Lin Xiuran to have three rings. At only ten years old, he had already reached the cultivation of a Soul Elder. His talent might be no less than hers.

Even she, who had been accepted into the Inner Court, only had two rings. Yet Lin Xiuran, who was the same age as her, already had three.

It seemed she had underestimated Eastsea Academy. Tang Wulin alone had been enough to shock her. She had not expected there to be another Lin Xiuran.

But she did not feel intimidated. Instead, her fighting spirit grew even stronger, because she knew full well that this battle would be extraordinary.

Other than her battle with Tang Wulin, where she had been somewhat careless, she had never experienced such a satisfying fight against someone her own age.

Today would undoubtedly be a hard battle.

Ye Xinglan held the Stargod Sword horizontally before her. Her eyes brightened, and a flash of sword light seemed to pass through them as several streams of sword qi rose and circled around her.

Ye Xinglan had watched Lin Xiuran's matches. Although he had not revealed his Martial Soul or Soul Skills then, one thing was clear: he was definitely a long-range attacker.

As long as she got close, she would have a great chance of easily defeating Lin Xiuran. With the Stargod Sword in hand, she had that confidence.

Taking half a step forward, Ye Xinglan used her right foot as a pivot and explosively launched herself forward.

Her longsword stood before her as she thrust it out, specks of yellow starlight trailing behind it. With boundless force, it shot straight toward Lin Xiuran's face.

When Ye Xinglan normally fought, her swordplay was light and swift. Yet this strike was clearly brimming with power, fully showing how seriously she regarded this battle with Lin Xiuran.

Lin Xiuran moved just as smoothly. Wind Element suddenly surged forth, wrapping around Ye Xinglan's sword and slowing her swing. At the same time, he enhanced himself with Wind Element and instantly retreated, widening the distance to avoid close combat.

At the same time, several Ice Spikes rose from the ground, directly blocking Ye Xinglan's path and forcefully cutting off her advance.

"Two elements?"

Ye Xinglan was clearly surprised, but only for an instant. The next moment, she swung the Stargod Sword, and a slash of sword light cut every Ice Spike on the ground apart.

But Lin Xiuran had already opened the distance between them. Therefore, she did not hesitate at all as the first Soul Ring beneath her feet rose.

Golden light wound around the Stargod Sword, and with a swing, a cluster of starlight flew directly from its tip.

A round Ice Shield instantly formed in Lin Xiuran's hand, blocking the cluster of starlight. However, the shield shattered immediately afterward.

Moreover, Lin Xiuran could feel that some of the starlight had entered his body, leaving him rather uncomfortable.

At that moment, Lin Xiuran ignored everything else. Power instantly gathered within him, while tricolored light flickered in his eyes.

Blue-green light flashed in his hand as he directly condensed a whirlwind. Before long, it had grown to two meters in length.

Ice chips and Ice Spikes swirled within the whirlwind as well, turning it into an Ice Tornado.

The sudden drop in temperature instantly made Ye Xinglan uncomfortable. It felt as though even the goosebumps across her body had frozen, and as if her Soul Power itself were being frozen solid.

Yet Ye Xinglan's gaze remained steadfast. She could sense the power of Lin Xiuran's attack, and she clearly understood the formidable spiritual power required to sustain such an Ice Tornado.

But she felt no fear!

Ye Xinglan gently closed her eyes. At the same time, her second Soul Ring flared brightly, and a protective barrier filled with specks of starlight enveloped her body.

As the barrier formed around her, Ye Xinglan swung her sword. With every motion of the Stargod Sword, several streams of starlight rose to circle around her. At that moment, she seemed to stand at the center, while the entire arena around her appeared to be surrounded by countless stars.

She took a step forward, and her speed suddenly more than doubled. The Stargod Sword in her hand seemed to transform into thousands of stars. As she thrust it out, that force struck directly at the Ice Tornado.

The sword light and Ice Tornado collided head-on. The impact was so powerful that the entire arena seemed to tremble.

Neither side gained much from the clash, but neither was injured either. Their fighting spirits only burned brighter.

Ye Xinglan attacked first once more. The Stargod Sword shifted through countless transformations as thousands of stars swirled around it, scattered sword light converging upon this single strike.

Fiery light flickered in Lin Xiuran's eyes. Countless fireballs suddenly formed above him and fell like a rain of flames, crashing down toward Ye Xinglan.

Ye Xinglan's sword light blocked many of the fireballs. Her sword flashed more than a dozen times in an instant, nearly sweeping away every fireball that came near.

But at this rate, she had no chance of winning. The countless fireballs alone could exhaust her to death.

"Damn it!" Ye Xinglan gritted her teeth. She truly could not figure out how much Soul Power Lin Xiuran possessed, that he could release elemental attacks on such a massive scale.

And he even looked as though he were doing it with ease.

Ye Xinglan hesitated no longer. She could only gather her strength for a decisive strike and gamble on it. Otherwise, if this continued, she would be the only one who could lose.

All the starlight gathered upon the blade, and even the Soul Power within her body continuously flowed toward the center of the sword.

The next moment, carrying an unstoppable force, she charged forward. Her sword intent reached its peak as she thrust out like a gigantic, spiked energy sword.

Before Lin Xiuran, scarlet flames instantly gathered around his entire body before gradually rising into the sky. The flames slowly took shape, eventually forming a massive crimson Phoenix.

The heat of the flames made even the air begin to quiver. The crimson Phoenix descended directly from the sky.

Flames scattered across the ground wherever it flew. Amid a cry of the phoenix, it crashed straight toward Ye Xinglan.