Half an hour later.
The group arrived in a mountain range outside Heaven Dou City.
This place had originally been a barren stretch of mountains.
But when they rounded the foot of a mountain, the view before them suddenly opened up.
Gasp—
A collective sharp intake of breath rang out.
Everyone from the Imperial Dou Team, including Qin Ming, stood rooted to the spot with their eyes wide.
Amid the mist-shrouded valley stood a colossal complex so magnificent it was suffocating, like a miracle descended from the heavens.
It was no ordinary academy.
It was practically a city of the future!
Towering spires that pierced the clouds, runes shimmering with strange light, and those...
"Th-those buildings are floating in the air?!"
Yu Feng's folding fan fell from his hand as he pointed at several islands hovering in midair, crying out in a stammer.
And that was not all.
The enormous academy gates stood a full hundred meters high, forged entirely from an unknown silver-white metal.
A dim blue radiance flowed across them, emanating an oppressive pressure that made hearts tremble.
"Th-this is Jixia Academy?"
The scorn in Yu Tianheng's eyes vanished in an instant, replaced by profound shock.
Such grandeur...
Even the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace could not compare to a fraction of it!
Although Xue Qinghe had been here once before, he was still deeply shaken upon seeing it again.
"Let's go."
Lu Ming remained calm as he walked straight toward the massive gates.
To everyone's surprise,
no guards came out to stop them.
As Lu Ming approached, the massive metal gates automatically detected him and silently slid open to either side.
"Welcome back."
A gentle synthesized mechanical voice rang through the air.
This scene left the Imperial Dou Team staring in stunned disbelief once again.
What kind of Soul Tool technology was this?
They had never even heard of such a thing!
Xue Qinghe glanced at Lu Ming's back, and the wariness in his eyes deepened.
Jixia Academy...
Just how many secrets beyond this era did it possess?
Filled with apprehension and curiosity, the group followed Lu Ming into the academy.
The academy's interior was even more extraordinary.
Rare medicinal herbs could be seen everywhere along the roadsides. Even the paving bricks beneath their feet seemed to emit faint Soul Power fluctuations.
The training grounds were luxurious to the extreme.
The ground was not made of ordinary stone slabs, but a special material capable of repairing itself.
At the center of the training grounds,
seven figures had already been waiting.
"Is that Jixia Academy's team?"
Yu Tianheng narrowed his eyes and examined the seven people opposite them.
The seven wore different outfits, some of which could even be called bizarre.
At the front stood a young woman holding a red Flower Parasol. She had an adorable pair of rabbit ears and was listlessly kicking pebbles.
She was the captain, Gongsun Li.
Behind her,
a broad, white-haired man wreathed in lightning sat with his eyes closed, resting.
That was Sikong Zhen.
There was also Kuang Tie, a one-eyed youth carrying an enormous mechanical hammer.
Wang Zhaojun, a cold beauty holding a staff and radiating icy air.
Cai Wenji, a little girl sitting atop a strange Hu Jia Qin.
Yun Ying, a valiant red-clad young woman wielding a long spear.
And finally, Dun Shan, an enormous mechanical creature like a moving fortress.
"These are our opponents?"
Dugu Yan could not help laughing when she saw Cai Wenji still eating candied hawthorn.
"They even sent such a tiny little baby onto the field?"
"Does Jixia Academy have no one else?"
However,
Lu Ming merely waved a hand indifferently.
"Since you're here, don't waste time."
"This is the Jixia Team."
"Let the Friendship Match begin."
Both sides took their positions.
The atmosphere instantly became taut with hostility.
"Heaven Dou Royal Team, Yu Tianheng. Martial Soul: Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon. Level thirty-nine assault-type battle Soul Elder!"
Yu Tianheng was the first to release his Martial Soul.
Roar!
A dragon's roar echoed throughout the field.
His right arm instantly transformed into a dragon arm, covered in thick scales as blue-violet lightning crackled wildly around it.
Immediately afterward,
yellow, yellow, purple.
Three Spirit Rings rose beneath his feet.
That was already an exceptionally perfect Spirit Ring configuration.
"Please enlighten me!"
With a loud shout, Yu Tianheng charged directly toward Jixia Academy's formation with overwhelming thunderous force.
He had not used his full strength in this attack.
After all, facing a group of people who looked so strange, he had held some power in reserve.
However,
the instant he rushed forward,
the man who had kept his eyes closed, Sikong Zhen, suddenly opened them.
Crack!
A thunderclap exploded under the clear sky.
A violent surge of lightning countless times more powerful than Yu Tianheng's erupted from Sikong Zhen's body in an instant.
"Shatter the darkness with thunder!"
Sikong Zhen took a step forward.
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
Five Spirit Rings rose beneath his feet without warning.
Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black!
In an instant,
the entire training ground fell deathly silent.
Yu Tianheng's charging steps came to an abrupt halt.
His eyes widened so far they nearly popped out of their sockets.
The smile on Dugu Yan's face froze.
The teacup in Xue Qinghe's hand trembled.
Even Qin Ming, standing nearby, sucked in a breath and cried out in disbelief:
"A... a Soul King?!"
"How is that possible?!"
Five Spirit Rings!
That young man, who did not appear especially old, was actually a Soul King above level fifty!
And that black ten-thousand-year Spirit Ring was emanating a suffocating pressure.
This was a student of Jixia Academy?
What the hell were they supposed to fight with?
The strongest member of the Imperial Dou Team was only level thirty-nine, while the other side had casually produced a Soul King?
But that was not the end.
Sikong Zhen gave Yu Tianheng no time to react at all.
His entire body became a streak of lightning, and in the blink of an eye, he appeared before Yu Tianheng.
That speed was so fast that even Yu Tianheng, who possessed a top-tier beast Martial Soul, felt despair.
"You think you're worthy of wielding lightning?"
Sikong Zhen's voice was like a god's judgment.
There was no flashy soul skill.
It was merely a simple elbow strike, carrying destructive lightning force as it smashed heavily into Yu Tianheng's prized dragon arm.
Bang!
A bone-cracking sound that made teeth ache rang out.
"Ah!!!"
Yu Tianheng let out a miserable scream.
His incomparably tough dragon scales shattered instantly, and he was sent flying like a cannonball before slamming violently into a wall dozens of meters away.
One move!
Instant defeat!
The entire field erupted in uproar.
Dugu Yan watched her captain get sent flying.
"Bastard!"
"..."
She let out a piercing shriek as the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor possessed her.
"Third Soul Skill, Jade Phosphorous Purple Poison!"
A vast cloud of dense purple Poisonous Fog, carrying a sickly sweet stench, swept toward the people of Jixia Academy.
This was the deadly poison personally passed down by Dugu Bo. Even a Soul Ancestor would lose a layer of skin from the slightest contact.
"Watch out for the poison!"
Qin Ming wanted to warn them, only to discover that no one from Jixia Academy had moved.
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