Blazing Fire Defeated

In stark contrast to the subtly flirtatious atmosphere inside the Drunken Immortal Tower's Cloud Heaven Pavilion, the Great Soul Arena on the other side of Heaven Dou City was now shrouded in an air of gravity, regret, and even sorrow.

The Promotion Match had entered its fiercely contested latter stages. Every academy was giving its all to fight for the limited slots in the Final Tournament.

Tonight was a crucial battle for Blazing Fire Academy. Their opponent was a powerful team from the Star Luo Empire. They were neither a traditional elemental academy nor a renowned Beast Martial Soul school, yet they possessed an exceptionally rare and formidable Martial Soul Fusion Skill—Hell White Tiger.

Its wielders were Star Luo Empire Prince Dai Weisi and his fiancée, Zhu Zhuyun. Both were peak Soul Ancestors, immensely powerful and perfectly coordinated.

The importance of this match went without saying. If they won, Blazing Fire Academy's chances of advancing to the Final Tournament would greatly increase; if they lost, their journey in this competition would essentially be over.

Huo Wu was absent. She was at the Drunken Immortal Tower for that dinner where she had to honor her bet. Blazing Fire Academy was led by its captain, Huo Wushuang, alongside its other five Regular Team Members.

The Audience Seats were packed, and everyone held their breath as they watched this clash between powerful teams. Blazing Fire Academy's supporters waved red banners and shouted encouragement for their team.

However, the match developed in a direction unfavorable to Blazing Fire Academy.

Dai Weisi and Zhu Zhuyun were already exceptionally strong on their own, far surpassing every Blazing Fire Academy member aside from Huo Wushuang. Blazing Fire Academy's prized Fire Attribute attacks were greatly weakened against Dai Weisi's domineering White Tiger Martial Soul. Meanwhile, Zhu Zhuyun's eerie Hell Spirit Cat Martial Soul appeared and vanished unpredictably, constantly harassing and ambushing them, making it difficult for Blazing Fire Academy to maintain its formation.

Although Huo Wushuang fought with everything he had, standing at the front like a flame war god, repeatedly repelling Dai Weisi's fierce assaults and even trading injuries for injuries, two fists could not fend off four hands. The other Blazing Fire members also fought desperately. Flames intertwined and collided in the air, while the light of Soul Skills flashed continuously. The battle was incredibly intense.

But anyone with a discerning eye could see that Blazing Fire Academy was at a disadvantage. Their attacks could not effectively break through the opponent's core, while their own defenses were repeatedly torn open by their opponents' seamless coordination and overwhelming individual strength.

One Blazing Fire member was caught by Zhu Zhuyun after exposing an opening. A single strike severely wounded him, and he collapsed to the ground.

Immediately afterward, another member was blasted out of the arena by Dai Weisi's White Tiger Blazing Light Wave while shielding a teammate.

Blazing Fire Academy had suffered severe losses!

Huo Wushuang's eyes nearly split with rage. Roaring, he launched a furious assault in an attempt to reverse the situation, only to be jointly blocked by Dai Weisi and Zhu Zhuyun. Instead, several more wounds appeared on his body.

Finally, when only Huo Wushuang and one Support Department Soul Master whose Soul Power had been exhausted remained on the field, Dai Weisi and Zhu Zhuyun exchanged a glance and nodded.

A terrifying surge of Soul Power far greater than before erupted from their bodies! One black beam and one white beam shot skyward from within them, intertwining and merging in midair!

A pressure that made souls tremble enveloped the entire arena!

Martial Soul Fusion Skill—Hell White Tiger!

As the light faded, an enormous, translucent Hell White Tiger radiating a terrifying aura stood proudly upon the arena! It threw back its head and released a silent roar, an oscillation on the level of energy. The mere pressure it emitted made the remaining Huo Wushuang struggle to breathe, and his Soul Power circulation grew sluggish!

The outcome had already been decided.

The Hell White Tiger merely pounced once and swung a claw once. The remaining Support Department Soul Master was sent flying by the aftershock. The flame shield Huo Wushuang had gathered with every last bit of his Soul Power shattered beneath the Hell White Tiger's claws as if it were made of paper! He himself was struck as though by a massive hammer, vomiting blood as he flew backward and slammed heavily into the protective barrier. He slowly slid down and lost consciousness.

"The match is over! Star Luo Empire Royal Academy wins!"

The referee's voice pronounced Blazing Fire Academy's defeat.

In the Audience Seats, supporters of the Star Luo Empire erupted in thunderous cheers. On Heaven Dou Empire's side, especially in Blazing Fire Academy's section, there was deathly silence. Many supporters could not accept the result. Some covered their faces and sighed, while others even sobbed quietly.

Blazing Fire Academy's Team Members rushed onto the arena and helped up the unconscious Huo Wushuang and their injured companions. Every face was filled with disappointment, unwillingness, and grief. They had worked so hard and fought for so long, only to fall so close to their dream.

When Huo Wu returned from the Drunken Immortal Tower to the area near the Great Soul Arena with complicated, indescribable feelings in her heart, what she sensed was not the usual clamor after a match, but an unusual heaviness. Her heart tightened for no reason, and she quickened her pace.

The moment she reached the entrance to the competitors' passage, she saw Huo Wushuang being supported out by the others. His face was pale, and blood still stained the corner of his mouth. Behind him followed his teammates, each hanging their heads in dejection, their eyes red-rimmed.

"Brother!" Huo Wu cried out and rushed forward. "What happened?! You..."

Her words abruptly stopped, because she saw the pain and dullness in her brother's eyes, the tear tracks on her teammates' faces, and the looks from contestants of other academies around them—some sympathetic, others gloating.

There was no need to ask anymore.

The result was written on every face.

They... had lost.

Blazing Fire Academy had been defeated.

They would not reach the Final Tournament.

An icy chill shot from the soles of her feet to the top of her head, numbing her entire body. The subtle feelings that had arisen while she was with Zhang Bufan at the Drunken Immortal Tower, feelings she had not even carefully examined herself, were shattered by the cruel reality at that moment.

She rushed forward and took hold of her brother's other arm, her voice trembling. "Brother, how are you?"

Huo Wushuang shook his head and forced out a smile uglier than crying. "I'm fine... just superficial injuries. Wu'er, we... lost."

Those simple three words struck Huo Wu's heart like a heavy hammer.

She bit her lip, forcefully holding back the tears circling in her eyes. She was Blazing Fire Academy's vice-captain and one of everyone's pillars of support. She could not cry, at least not here.

She helped the Team Members support their injured companions back to their Barracks. The atmosphere along the way was so oppressive that it was suffocating.

After returning to the courtyard rented by Blazing Fire Academy, they settled the injured and fed them healing pills. Due to his injuries and exhausted Soul Power, Huo Wushuang soon fell into a deep sleep.

The other Team Members also silently returned to their rooms, either to recover from their injuries or to lick their wounds alone.

Huo Wu stood alone in the silent courtyard. The Night Wind stirred her red hair, but it could not dispel the gloom and coldness in her heart.

She raised her head and looked at the cold crescent moon in the night sky. The image of Zhang Bufan effortlessly restraining her at the Training Ground during the day, the image of him telling those absurd stories at the Drunken Immortal Tower that evening, and the image of her brother gravely injured and unconscious while her team suffered a crushing defeat intertwined in her mind.

An unprecedented sense of helplessness and frustration washed over her like a tide.

Strength...

Everything came down to strength!

If she had been strong enough, she could have helped her brother in the arena. Perhaps the result would have been different!

If she had been strong enough, Zhang Bufan would not have been able to... toy with her so easily!

She clenched her fists tightly, her nails digging deeply into her palms. The faint sting was nowhere near the pain in her heart.

Distraught, she walked alone toward the small forest outside the academy's Barracks that was used for daily training, drifting like a ghost.

The night was deep. Her shadow stretched long beneath the moonlight, filled with loneliness and unwillingness.

Her battle seemed to have only just begun. And before long, in the dead of night, a "Special Training" session concerning her dignity and future would quietly unfold. Perhaps the man who would change her fate had already anticipated everything and was waiting for her "request for help," or... waiting for another chance to "take advantage of her vulnerability."