Feast of Emotions

Jing Hongchen left, but his words seemed to continue echoing above the Battle Soul Arena, transforming into invisible Shackles that firmly nailed Ji Juechen into the challenger's position.

"Wheel battle! He's going to challenge every winner!"

"Dean Jing is making an example out of him—no, he's trying to grind him to death!"

"He's only a four-ring! Even with a Million Year Soul Ring, his Soul Power can't withstand that kind of depletion! Has he gone mad?"

Discussion erupted throughout the spectator stands, yet no one dared step onto the stage. Lin Tian's miserable state remained vivid in their minds, and that silver gleam had seemingly become everyone's nightmare.

Just as the stalemate dragged on, a figure slowly emerged from the contestant tunnel.

He was of average build and wore a specially tailored Soul Master Robe embroidered with intricate patterns. Rimless glasses rested on his face, giving him a refined, scholarly appearance entirely unlike the arrogant Xu Tianchen or the domineering Lin Tian.

"My name is Xuanyuan Wen, a Six-Ring Soul Emperor and a Rank Four Soul Engineer." He adjusted his glasses and fixed Ji Juechen with a sharp gaze, his tone calm. "Student Ji Juechen, your sword is fast, but Sun Moon Academy is not a place ruled solely by martial souls."

He had come!

A collective gasp instantly erupted from the stands, followed by cries of shock that could no longer be restrained.

"A Rank Four Soul Engineer?! Did I hear that right?!"

"Heavens! Senior Xuanyuan Wen is already a Rank Four Soul Engineer! He's only twenty this year!"

"It's over. Ji Juechen is truly finished this time! A Rank Four Soul Engineer can create Soul Tools with attack power comparable to a Seven-Ring Soul Sect! Forget close combat—he can wear him down with long-range bombardment alone!"

Jing Ziyan's face instantly turned deathly pale. More than anyone, she understood what a Rank Four Soul Engineer represented. They were true masters, the future pillars of the Sun Moon Empire. Before a Rank Four Soul Engineer, any technique seemed pale and powerless.

Ji Juechen looked at Xuanyuan Wen, his expression utterly unchanged.

Whether it was a martial soul or a Soul Tool, in his eyes, they were merely things that could be cut apart.

"Ding! Detected emotions of 'scrutiny' and 'Absolute Confidence.' Source: Xuanyuan Wen. Obtained Sword Intent Points +1200."

Not bad energy, Ji Juechen thought.

Seeing someone take the stage, the referee also breathed a sigh of relief and loudly announced, "Challenge Match, second round! Begin!"

Xuanyuan Wen did not rush to attack. He brought his hands together before his chest, and six Soul Rings instantly appeared behind him. Four Black, Two Purple—the arrangement was even more dazzling than Lin Tian's!

Yet when his first and second Soul Rings lit up, no martial soul was summoned. Instead, the air before him began to distort as intricate metal components appeared from thin air and rapidly assembled themselves.

"Buzz—"

In merely three seconds, a Soul Cannon Turret shimmering with pale blue light had taken shape before him! Its barrel pointed directly at Ji Juechen, radiating heart-pounding energy fluctuations.

"Rank Four Fixed Soul Cannon—Frost Ray!" Xuanyuan Wen introduced it calmly. "This is a Soul Tool I crafted myself. My cannon fires faster than you can Draw Sword. You cannot dodge it."

Before his words had even faded, an icy blue beam shot from the barrel! It was unimaginably fast, and frost formed in the air wherever it passed!

Everyone held their breath. This attack was impossible to evade!

Yet Ji Juechen moved.

Rather than retreating, he stepped forward.

Within the perception of Clear Sword Heart, the Frost Ray was fast, but its trajectory was a perfectly straight line.

"Too slow."

He murmured, and the sword in his hand left its sheath once more.

This time, it was not one streak of silver light, but three!

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

Three crisp rings, like a Clash of Gold and Iron, resounded.

The Frost Ray, capable of freezing a Ten Thousand Year Soul Beast for two seconds, was precisely cut into four segments in midair by three seemingly slender sword energies! Its energy dissipated, transforming into countless ice crystals that drifted gently down.

The entire arena erupted!

"He blocked it? He actually blocked a Rank Four Soul Cannon with sword energy?!"

"That was Xuanyuan Wen's signature technique, personally crafted by him!"

Xuanyuan Wen's pupils abruptly contracted, and shock appeared on his face for the first time.

"Impossible! My Frost Ray is condensed energy—how could you possibly..."

Before he could finish, Ji Juechen had vanished from where he stood.

The next instant, he appeared before Xuanyuan Wen, close enough for Xuanyuan Wen to see the icy lake in his eyes.

"Your cannon is too slow."

Ji Juechen's voice sounded beside his ear like a ghost's whisper.

Every hair on Xuanyuan Wen's body stood on end. He did not even have time to activate a second Soul Tool before he saw a cold flash of Sword Light sweep past his glasses.

"Crack."

A fine fissure split his glasses down the middle.

Then, the Rank Four Soul Cannon before him—the product of so much of his painstaking effort—silently split down the middle as well.

"Rumble..."

The Soul Cannon Turret broke into two halves. Its internal components clattered across the ground, completely ruined.

Xuanyuan Wen froze in place, cold sweat soaking his back. He knew that if Ji Juechen's sword strike had been lowered by another inch, it would not have been his glasses that split apart, but his head.

"I... lost." He forced out the three words, his eyes filled with defeat and lingering fear.

[Ding! Detected emotions of 'defeat' and 'fear.' Source: Xuanyuan Wen. Obtained Sword Intent Points +5500!]

Ji Juechen sheathed his sword, turned around, and once more returned to the center of the arena.

He glanced toward the VIP seats, as if telling that Chess Player who had already departed:

"Your Chess Pieces are too weak."

The entire arena fell silent.

If defeating Lin Tian had been a shocking display of power, then crushing Xuanyuan Wen was a complete domination in both technique and realm!

Not only had he won, he had won with such ease, such composure!

Who else?!

Who else dared take the stage?!

Deathly Silence filled the stands. Those geniuses who had been eager to try just moments ago now resembled ducks with their throats clenched, unable to utter a single word.

Ji Juechen stood in the arena like a solitary sword god, looking down upon all living beings.

He slowly raised his head, his gaze sweeping across the entire arena. His voice was not loud, yet it reached every person's ears with perfect clarity:

"Next."

Those two words weighed upon everyone's hearts like two immense mountains.

The wheel battle continued.

And his feast of emotions had only just begun.