"The Anomaly"

That deadly streak of light woven from pink blue and golden light was so swift, so dazzling, so... inevitable!

Wang Dong poured all her pride and conviction into this surprise attack! She trusted Long Yao's judgment even more than she trusted her own strength! Those butterfly wings, sharp as blades and wrapped in sacred golden radiance, had already locked onto the petite figure hidden behind the dust filling the sky, the one controlling the Spirit Skill!

Just one instant!

Just a tenth of a second! Then she could completely cut down that Food System Soul Master, who only pretended to be cute, beneath her wings!

However, in the very instant before her gorgeous yet lethal "Side Wing Saber" was about to tear through the dust and taste the fruit of victory—

A burly figure, filled with despair and resolve, massive as a mountain, suddenly charged out of that chaotic cloud of mingled gray and earth yellow dust without the slightest warning!

It was Tie Shi!

That honest yet resolute face of his was filled with towering fury at having been toyed with, and a near-bestial, instinctive madness to protect! He did not look at Wang Dong's attack trajectory at all, nor did he make any motion to block!

He only let out a roar filled with wildness and determination, then threw his broad, heavy back, covered in hard Rock Armor, toward that deadly streak of light that could sever everything, without hesitation, like the most loyal, sturdiest shield!

He was actually using his own body to block this fatal strike for his Teammate!

"Riiiip—!!!!!"

A sharp, piercing sound of friction that set teeth on edge and made scalps go numb, like the sharpest diamond scraping hard across the toughest rock, exploded with a boom!

Everyone saw it extremely clearly: that dazzling pink blue streak of light and that heavy earth yellow figure collided viciously in midair in the most tragic, most heroic way!

Brilliant golden light and heavy earth yellow Soul Power erupted like two stars crashing head-on, bursting into a great expanse of dazzling, eye-stinging radiance!

Wang Dong's all-conquering, incomparably sharp butterfly wings sliced fiercely into Tie Shi's indestructible, heavy Rock Armor!

"Crack... crack-crack..."

Crisp cracking sounds, like shattering colored glass, rang out extremely clear!

Tie Shi's proud "Rock Armor," sturdy enough to withstand a thousand-jin Heavy Hammer, began to split from the point of impact before the butterfly wings condensed with the Goddess of Light's sacred cutting power, cracking open with hideous spiderweb-like fissures as though it were porcelain struck by a Heavy Hammer!

Immediately afterward, along with a dull pffft like leather being torn apart, bright red, scalding blood gushed out from beneath the shattered Rock Armor like a flood through a broken dike! In midair, it bloomed into a shocking, demonic flower of blood!

"Ugh—!!!"

A muffled groan filled with endless pain, like that of an injured beast, squeezed uncontrollably out from deep in Tie Shi's throat! His tall, burly body was hurled forward by that tremendous impact, drawing a wretched arc through the air like a kite with its string cut, until finally, with a heavy bang, he smashed down at the other end of the Soul Fighting Platform, kicking up a vast cloud of dust.

Wang Dong was also shaken by the enormous recoil coming from Tie Shi's back until her blood churned. She could no longer keep herself steady and staggered back seven or eight steps in a row before barely managing to prop her butterfly wings against the ground and steady herself.

Her pretty face, a little pale from attacking with all her strength, was filled with undisguisable shock and disbelief!

She... had been blocked?

That fatal strike of hers, certain to succeed, flawless, delivered with all her strength, had actually been forcibly blocked by the other side in the most barbaric, most tragic way?!

On the Soul Fighting Platform, the dust that had filled the sky after the boulder shattered finally settled slowly.

Everyone's gaze subconsciously turned toward that petite figure who had not moved a single step from beginning to end.

Tang Wan'er was still standing quietly in place. The golden-yellow "Maltose Net" in her hand had already vanished without a trace.

Only...

The cute, harmless, sweet smile that had always hung on her face, sweet enough to melt an iceberg, was gone.

Gone without a trace.

In her large, round eyes, like black grapes, that had always been filled with innocence and curiosity, the pure and guileless smile had frozen completely, like a glacier sealed in an instant, never to melt in ten thousand years.

Replacing it was a pure, cold... killing intent that chilled people to the bone, utterly at odds with her adorable appearance.

What kind of gaze was that!

Cold, indifferent, without the slightest shred of human emotion, as though a lofty Deity were indifferently looking down at the lowly, pathetic ants beneath his feet that had dared to offend his divine might.

She looked at Tie Shi in the distance, who was struggling and trying to climb up from the ground, drenched in blood, with a hideous, terrifying wound on his back so deep that bone could be seen. In those cold eyes of hers, a barely perceptible trace of complex emotions flashed by, something like "heartache" and "anger."

Then she slowly lifted her still somewhat baby-fat, porcelain-fine small face, and the cold gaze, enough to freeze a person's soul, fell viciously on Wang Dong like the sharpest knife.

Her small, cherry-like crimson lips curved up slightly, sketching an eerie arc utterly different from her previous sweet smile, filled with coldness and cruelty.

In a soft, sweet, sleep-talk-like tone, as though humming a lullaby, she said gently:

"Oh my..."

"You actually... broke the favorite toy I worked so hard to raise..."

"How... are you going to compensate me?"

"Pretty... little brother?"

"So she's a pink-cut-black." Long Yao looked at her and slowly smiled.

That lightly laughing comment, as though he were joking with old friends, entered the ears of everyone on the Soul Fighting Platform with extreme clarity.

Hearing that comment, full of slang from another world yet terrifyingly precise, a faint expression like "surprise" appeared for the first time on Tang Wan'er's delicate small face, which had been as cold as ten-thousand-year frost.

Her cold eyes, devoid of the slightest emotion, flickered slightly.

Immediately afterward, the cruel curve of her slightly raised lips grew wider. It was the sick, delighted, excited smile of someone who had found a kindred spirit.

"Heehee..." She let out a silver-bell-like light laugh, yet it made people's hair stand on end. "Big brother, you... really know a lot~"

"Let this strike be your curtain call!"

The instant Long Yao's words fell, his entire aura underwent another earth-shaking change! It was an aura more condensed, more terrifying, more... lethal than at any point before!

The Soul Breaking Spear in his hand moved as if it were a living spirit, tracing a gorgeous yet complex arc. The spear tip pointed downward, the Spear Tail upward, and he shot into the sky like an eagle breaking free of the earth's restraints!

When he leapt to the highest point in midair, the second deep Purple Halo beneath his feet, Representing a thousand years, suddenly erupted with an unprecedented, Dazzling, eerie crimson light, as if it meant to dye the entire world blood-red!

The Pitch Black Soul Breaking Spear in his hand seemed, in that moment, to be completely soaked in sacrificial blood. Its whole body turned Crystal Clear, as if Carved from the purest, finest ruby! Across the Spear Body, strange demonic patterns even appeared, pulsing like blood vessels and filled with an ominous meaning!

An indescribable aura—one that twisted cause and effect, reversed the order of time, and brimmed with the laws of "certain hit" and "certain death"—swept across the entire Soul Fighting Platform with terrifying force!

He aimed that long spear, now completely demonized and condensed with all his strength and Killing Intent, at the petite figure on the ground who looked utterly incapable of resisting!

"Second Soul Skill! Whirlwind Spear: Gáe Bolg!"

(Gáe Bolg!)

"Whoosh—!!!!!"

The crimson demonic spear, filled with an ominous aura, left his hand!

It was no longer flying!

The instant it was thrown, it had already... struck its target!

It tore through space, ignored distance, and reversed the logic of "cause" and "effect"! In everyone's eyes, the spear's trajectory became blurred and uncanny, as if from the very beginning, it had been destined to pierce that Young Girl's heart!

This was a sure-kill strike! This was a law of deathly causality that could not be dodged, could not be blocked, and could only be taken head-on with one's life!

Faced with this fatal strike beyond common sense, one enough to fill any soul master below the Soul Ancestor realm with despair and trembling fear, every trace of expression finally vanished completely from Tang Wan'er's Small Face, which had always worn that strange smile.

Her icy Eyes locked firmly onto that crimson Death Streamer, which was already destined to hit her.

Then the two yellow halos beneath her feet, Representing a hundred years, were forcibly compressed by some stronger, more Domineering Power until they... shattered!

"Crack—!"

A crisp sound of breaking rang out!

Immediately afterward, two Purple Halos—far deeper, heavier, and more powerful than the two previous yellow halos by who knew how many times, Representing a thousand years and filled with an eerie hue—rose thunderously from beneath her feet!

She... she was actually a Soul Grandmaster too! And both of her Spirit Rings were Thousand-Year Level!

Yet that still was not the most terrifying part!

The most terrifying part was that the plump, white, incomparably cute-looking "Bun Spirit" that had been floating above her palm all along underwent an incredibly bizarre transformation at that moment, one that made the scalp crawl!

The cute Smiling Face on top of that "bun" rapidly and grotesquely melted downward like a melting candle! Across the bun's fair, soft "skin," ferocious, Pitch Black Cracks appeared one after another, like a Spiderweb-like pattern!

"Clack... clack clack..."

A strange sound, like an eggshell about to break, came from inside that "bun"!

A pure, evil black demonic energy, filled with the aura of devouring and destruction, as if it came from the deepest depths of hell and was dense to the extreme, surged madly out from those Cracks!

"Bang—!"

With a dull explosion, that adorable "bun shell" was completely burst apart!

In its place was a true Gluttonous Demon Bun, Ink-Black from top to bottom, its surface covered in countless strange crimson demonic patterns that seemed alive—something that made one feel as if their very soul would be sucked in with a single glance!

It was no longer food!

It was a living, evil Demon, filled with endless greed and malice!

"Heh. As expected, I wasn't wrong about you." Long Yao's voice drifted out slowly, as if he had anticipated this.

At the center of that "Gluttonous Demon Bun," a huge, hideous Giant Mouth suddenly split open, filled with countless fine sharp teeth and gaping like an abyss! In the middle of that Giant Mouth was a single unique, crimson eye, flickering with cruel and brutal light!

"Roar—!!!!!"

A roar that was neither human nor Spirit Beast, filled with endless greed and the desire to devour, a Demon God's roar from Primordial Chaos, burst thunderously from that abyssal Giant Mouth!

The instant that roar rang out, the crimson deathly demonic spear, already destined to pierce Tang Wan'er's heart, finally crossed the last stretch of distance!

Facing this sure-kill strike, that fully demonized "Gluttonous Demon Bun" actually made a movement that scared everyone out of their wits!

It opened that demonic mouth capable of devouring all things and actually... charged straight at that crimson streamer and bit down hard!

It wanted to... devour this attack?!

"Boom—!!!!!!!!!"

A massive roar, louder, more terrifying, and more deafening than anything before, exploded thunderously!

The crimson light of destruction, filled with the law of "certain death," and the Ink-Black Evil Aura, filled with the law of "devouring," slammed fiercely together at the center of the Soul Fighting Platform in the most primitive, savage, and unreasonable way possible!

A violent Energy Storm instantly swept across the entire Soul Fighting Platform! Under the impact of that terrifying energy, the hard granite surface was lifted, torn apart, and pulverized layer by layer like fragile biscuits!

The spectators closest to the Soul Fighting Platform were even knocked head over heels by that violent Shockwave, and screams and cries of alarm rang out in a continuous wave!

Wang Dong, who was in the center of the explosion, bore the brunt of it! She only felt a terrifying energy mixed with destructive aura and evil devouring aura rush toward her face, nearly suffocating her! On instinct, she crossed her magnificent Butterfly Wings in front of her chest and used every bit of her strength before she barely managed to steady herself within that violent Energy Storm!

All the color had long since drained from her pretty face, leaving only an indescribable extreme horror and... worry!

He... How was he?!

Within that violent Energy Storm filled with destructive and evil auras, she could no longer make out Long Yao's figure at all!

That crimson demonic spear that reversed cause and effect, destined to pierce the heart.

That Taotie demon maw had swallowed the light and sworn to drag all things into the abyss.

The instant these two utterly different yet equally "law"-level terrifying powers—powers that absolutely should never have appeared in a New Student Competition—were about to collide head-on in the most brutal, reckless way possible—

All heaven and earth fell silent.

It was as if time had been viciously slammed to a halt by an Invisible Big Hand!

"Stop—!!!"

An aged roar, filled with Endless Majesty and towering fury, boomed without warning from the high judges' stand like a divine decree from a Deity above the nine heavens!

That Voice was not particularly loud, yet it struck the Soul Depth of everyone present like an invisible Great Hammer weighing ten thousand tons! In that instant, every heart skipped a beat!

Along with that roar, a vast, ancient, indescribable pressure—one that surpassed the understanding of everyone present and was terrifying to the extreme—descended like the sky itself was collapsing!

The berserk, rampaging Energy Storm throughout the entire Battle Zone was completely suppressed and smoothed away in an instant! The shattered granite that had been blasted into the air also froze there eerily!

Then, beneath everyone's utterly horrified and disbelieving gazes, a gigantic hand that blotted out the sky—formed entirely from the purest, most condensed Soul Power, its whole body a warm Emerald Green—reached out from the void!

That hand was so enormous, so real that even the lines on its palm were clearly visible! It radiated an absolute pressure as heavy as a mountain and as deep as the sea, leaving no one able to summon even the slightest will to resist!

It appeared so casually between the crimson demon spear and the Taotie demon maw.

Then, under everyone's almost breathless stares, that Emerald Green giant hand made a motion none of them would ever forget.

Its thumb and Index Finger pinched lightly.

As though snuffing out a tiny, insignificant candle flame.

"Pop."

A sound as faint as a bursting bubble rang out with perfect clarity.

That crimson demon spear, which contained the karmic law of "certain death" and was filled with the aura of destruction, and that Taotie demon maw, which contained the law of "devouring" and was filled with evil demonic energy, were silently annihilated beneath the gentle pinch of those two Emerald Green fingers, like flowers in a mirror or the moon on water.

There was no Earth-Shattering explosion, no world-destroying impact.

There was only pure, absolute, utterly unreasonable... erasure!

That terrifying energy, powerful enough to flatten the entire Soul Fighting Platform, was dissolved into nothing with effortless ease.

Long Yao landed lightly from midair, and the moment his toes touched the ground, he felt that vast, oceanlike Terrifying Pressure. For the first time, a trace of gravity flashed through his always calm, unruffled Eyes. He raised his head and looked toward the high judges' stand, at the Emerald Green giant hand that was slowly dissipating, and... at the White-Haired Old Man who was slowly rising from his seat, his face so dark it looked as if water might drip from it.

At the other end of the Soul Fighting Platform, Tang Wan'er's cold Small Face had already lost all color and turned deathly pale! Her fully demonized "Gluttonous Demon Bun" Martial Soul let out a shrill, terrified wail the instant it was enveloped by that pressure, as if it had encountered its Natural Enemy. It uncontrollably changed back into that chubby, harmless-looking, adorable bun, its light dim as it fell back into her hand. She herself spat out a small mouthful of crimson blood with a "pfft," her petite body swaying as if she would faint in the next second.

In her cold Eyes, once filled with Killing Intent, there was now only fear from the Soul Depth that could not be hidden... and horror!

On the High Platform.

The Chief Judge, the White-Haired Old Man who had been presiding over the match all along, was gripping the table before him with both hands, which trembled slightly from extreme rage and lingering fear. On his aged face, not a shred of passion or composure remained—only an ashen, deathly pallor!

"Nonsense! Utter nonsense!!" he growled in a low voice at the Teachers beside him, his voice hoarse with anger. "This is the New Student Competition! Not a battlefield for you to throw your lives away! If this old man had acted even a moment later just now, do you know what the consequences would have been?! The entire Battle Zone! Along with half the plaza outside! Would have been flattened! Thousands of students! Would have been buried with you because of your damned, stupid impulses!!"

The more he spoke, the angrier he became, his chest heaving violently. He slammed the table, stood up, and swept his cloudy Eyes, filled with Endless rage, over the two Youths and Maidens on the Soul Fighting Platform who had already stopped all movement.

In the end, he announced to the entire Battle Zone in an icy voice filled with Endless Pressure and brooking no argument:

"This match ends here!"

"First Year Class One, First Year Class Seven! Both sides used destructive powers far beyond the limits of the competition, powers sufficient to threaten the safety of the entire arena! Your conduct was extremely vile! Its impact was extremely severe! By unanimous decision of the judging panel—"

He took a deep breath, then forced the final verdict out through gritted teeth, one word at a time.

"Both sides are disqualified from continuing in the competition!"

"Now, immediately, get off the Soul Fighting Platform and come to me to receive your punishment!!"

Time: Douluo Calendar Year 2030 Season: Autumn Third day of enrollment 10:16 AM

Location: Shrek Academy, Central Plaza

Audience: 620,000

Equipment: Shrek Academy Uniform x1, True Vast Sea Ring (Divine Artifact), Student Emblem x1

Items: Shrek Academy Uniform x1, Dormitory Key x1

First Martial Soul: Soul Breaking Spear [Traits: Armor Breaking, Soul Devouring, Penetration]

Second Martial Soul: Chaos Holy Dragon (Hidden) [Traits: Strength, Time, Space]

Soul Power: Level 45 (Soul Ancestor) [Status: True Vast Sea Ring Shielding, External Perception Level 24]

Soul Rings: [Soul Breaking Spear] First Soul Ring (Yellow Hundred-Year), Second Soul Ring (Purple Thousand-Year), Third Soul Ring (Black Ten-Thousand-Year), Fourth Soul Ring (Black Ten-Thousand-Year)

[Chaos Holy Dragon] First Soul Ring (Black Thirteen-Thousand-Year), Second Soul Ring (Black Twenty-Eight-Thousand-Year), Third Soul Ring (Black Forty-Six-Thousand-Year), Fourth Soul Ring (Rose Gold Hundred-Thousand-Year)

Spirit Skills: [Soul Breaking Spear] First Spirit Skill: Swift Shadow Stab, Second Spirit Skill: Whirlwind Spear, Third Spirit Skill: Armor Breaking Spiral, Fourth Spirit Skill: Thousand Spirit Spear Rain

[Chaos Holy Dragon] First Spirit Skill: Star Ring, Second Spirit Skill: Holy Dragon Claw, Third Spirit Skill: Void Claw, Fourth Spirit Skill: Time and Space Roar

Soul Bones: None

Soul Spirit: None

Reward Stash: [Million-Year Spirit Beast Inverse Scale] x1, [Starlight Sapphire Brooch] x1, [Tsundere Princess Strategy Manual Platinum Edition] x1, [God-Bestowed Soul Ring (Hundred-Thousand-Year)] x1, [Spring of Life] x1, [Calming Incense] x1, [Dragon Blood Body Tempering Pill] x10, [Space Storage Bracelet (Couple's Model)] x1, [God King Level Space Law Comprehension Crystal] x1, [Super Divine Artifact: Time and Space Wheel Fragment] x1, [God King Godhead] x1, [Playful Rabbit Ear Headband] x2