The End and Victory

As they stepped back onto the circular arena, the surrounding stands were already packed with spectators.

The pretty female student wore a sleeveless top, revealing arms lined with firm muscle. She had on tight pants, and her short blue hair was neatly trimmed, giving her a somewhat valiant air.

Dongfang Jing had entered the arena before her opponent. Her outfit was predominantly gold, boldly accented with black and white. Her face had begun to mature, and her cool, competitive gaze made her look even more striking.

For a moment, her previously confident opponent felt a hint of danger.

"Begin!"

The referee announced the start.

The spectators were ready to watch what they expected to be an exciting, intense match.

Dongfang Jing struck in an instant.

Already incredibly fast, she shot straight to the center of the arena.

The defensive Soul Master immediately activated her Soul Skill and took up a guarded stance against Dongfang Jing.

Suddenly, a golden mirror-image clone emerged from Dongfang Jing's body. Dongfang Jing and the clone moved in opposite directions.

The golden clone darted toward the defensive Soul Master, who braced herself to withstand the attack.

Then...

The clone passed right through her and appeared behind her.

The defensive Soul Master froze for a moment, then glanced at Dongfang Jing's real body. She didn't know which direction to defend.

Her Martial Soul was a shield, a tool-type Martial Soul, and she could only defend against attacks from one direction.

Before she could react, the golden figure began darting back and forth in front of her.

The real body and the mirror-image clone switched places. Then the Mirror Space unfolded: intricate, ornate golden patterns spread out with Dongfang Jing at their center, forming a circle. Tiny golden shards appeared around its edge, then shot toward the besieged opponent.

The defensive Soul Master was immobilized.

Then countless attacks rained down.

The spectators in the stands couldn't make out the little girl with golden hair. All they could see was a streak of golden light darting around within the intricate circular formation.

When the one-second immobilization ended, the defensive Soul Master was covered in attacks. A final kick sent her flying off the arena.

That was Dongfang Jing's sense of honor in battle. She hadn't kicked her opponent off the arena while she was immobilized; Dongfang Jing considered that an unfair victory. She wanted to win through sheer strength.

The battle had ended so quickly that the people around them barely had time to react.

Apart from a few Spirit Hall members who applauded, the other Four Element Academies fell into an eerie silence.

A level 29 Soul Grandmaster had just fought a level 39 Soul Elder!

She'd won despite being a whole major realm below her opponent—and she'd done it in an instant. How was that even possible?

Dongfang Jing merely stood on the arena, her cold gaze fixed on the opposing team. She met the furious stares of her Skywater Academy opponents, her eyes filled with nothing but fighting spirit and a hunger for victory.

The competition continued!

Chapter 79: The End and Victory

The competition continued!

The second team member entered the arena, her face full of anger. She thought Dongfang Jing must have run out of Soul Power, yet she still hadn't left the arena. This was her chance to avenge her teammate.

Then she was sent flying too.

The third team member thought the same thing. Dongfang Jing had used her Soul Skills at least a dozen times in two battles; surely even she would have run out of Soul Power by now.

Then she was sent flying too.

The fourth team member was a control-type Soul Master. But her control Soul Skill wasn't an area attack, and activating it required an extra hand motion. She was far too slow in front of "Flying Thunder God" Dongfang Jing, who easily predicted and dodged her move.

Then she was sent flying even faster than the first two.

The fifth team member was the one who could fly. Dongfang Jing took a little longer with her, but still defeated her easily.

It came down to this: without strong control or area attacks, there was no escaping Mirror Space. Against Dongfang Jing, all you could do was take a beating.

At last, there were only the vice-captain and the captain left.

They had more Soul Power, so Dongfang Jing showed them a little courtesy and took a few extra seconds to send them off the arena.

One against seven—and all of them higher-level opponents!

The spectators went from stunned to numb.

Shui Lan was kicked off the arena by Dongfang Jing. Her body was covered in cuts left by mirror blades, and blood still flowed from them, accompanied by the burning pain of her wounds.

Blood soaked her tattered clothes, and her hair had become a tangled mess from the battle. Shui Lan looked utterly disheveled.

She leaned against the wall, where her body had left a dent, and stared in disbelief at the sharp-eyed girl with golden hair standing on the arena. As the girl stepped out of the intricate golden formation beneath her feet, it crumbled into golden specks of light and vanished.

Seven battles!

Seven full battles. Even a Soul Ancestor or Soul King shouldn't have had that much Soul Power.

Time and again, Shui Lan had thought her opponent must have run out of Soul Power. But reality had slapped her hard across the face.

After the silence at the beginning, a few scattered claps began to rise from the crowd.

There weren't many, though. After all, this was Skywater Academy's home ground.

In the stands above

The elegant woman beside Qian Xunji, who had been so composed and confident, now wore a stiff expression. She looked down at the thoroughly defeated members of Skywater Academy and closed her eyes.

This battle hadn't shown Skywater Academy's strength at all.

The golden-haired girl's speed was simply too high. Almost every attack had missed; the only one that landed had merely splashed water onto the hem of her clothes.

Her speed aside, her attacks were also powerful. The defensive Soul Master's ice crystal shield could only block attacks from one direction, but Soul Masters also gained enhanced physical defenses. Even so, the shield had been broken through with ease.

Moreover, as a Soul Douluo, Shui Qing'er estimated that the girl had used her clone-swapping Soul Skill more than seventy times, not counting her other Soul Skills, which she hadn't been able to track precisely. Those, too, had been used at least ten times.

By all rights, even a Soul Grandmaster drained dry shouldn't have been able to use that many Soul Skills!

How did Spirit Hall train its students? Or was this girl's Martial Soul special?

Shui Qing'er couldn't figure it out. All she could do was maintain a calm expression and congratulate Spirit Hall on its victory.

Strength ruled the Douluo Continent. Skywater Academy couldn't beat Spirit Hall, and its team had lost. All it could do was accept the result.

The members of the Four Element Academies in the stands, however, wore very different expressions.

Some were furious and unconvinced, like the Huo Clan of Blazing Fire Academy.

Some lowered their heads in thought, like the Yu Clan of Thunder Academy.

Others had a thousand thoughts turning in their minds, like the Feng Clan of Godwind Academy.

Though the Four Element Academies banded together for mutual support and occupied Element City, they weren't all hostile toward Spirit Hall.

Thunder Academy and Blazing Fire Academy were hot-tempered and arrogant, making no effort to hide their hostility toward Spirit Hall.

Skywater Academy had no clear stance. It had always stayed out of the conflict. It didn't openly dislike Spirit Hall, but it never made friendly overtures, either.

Godwind Academy, meanwhile, put on a hard front but was soft inside. Though it stood alongside Thunder Academy and the others, it secretly maintained contact with Spirit Hall.

He didn't want to betray the Four Element Academies and lose his allies, but he also wanted to leave himself a way out.

That situation couldn't last forever. Sooner or later, he would have to make a choice.

Feng Yang glanced down at his son, Feng Xiaotian, who stood beside him with his eyes fixed on the little girl with golden hair on the arena. He shook his head helplessly.

He had seen through the Four Element Academies' weakness in Element City long ago.

They seemed evenly matched with Spirit Hall.

But that was only because Spirit Hall hadn't taken them seriously. It had sent over nothing more than the Soul Saint hall master of a branch temple.

The famed Chrysanthemum Ghost Douluo alone could easily deal with the Four Element Academies.

And their pope, Qian Xunji, was a Titled Douluo as well.

In this world, just having one Titled Douluo was enough to call yourself a top-tier power.

Spirit Hall certainly had more than those three Titled Douluo. Its true strength was unfathomable. Feng Yang was a clever man, and he truly didn't want to oppose Spirit Hall anymore.

Until now, he'd been held back by the alliance's interests and brotherly loyalty. But after watching Spirit Hall's overwhelming victory, which defied all reason, he had finally made up his mind.

He had to think of his clan and his children.

The competition ended.

Qian Renxue and her teammates came down from the arena in a daze.

They'd won just like that?

They hadn't even felt involved.

The final solo event had turned into Dongfang Jing's solo performance.

Qian Renxue had only flown into the air during the first team match to use her second skill and boost the Huyan Brothers' defense.

She hadn't even stepped onto the arena for the solo matches. She'd simply coasted to victory.

The Huyan Brothers had only been injured when the opposing team ganged up on them in the first match, but for level 41 defensive Soul Masters like them, it was nothing they couldn't handle.

Arthur had prepared a Martial Soul Fusion Skill, but they'd won without using it, so he'd had to cancel it.

Xiang Yu had contributed a little more. He'd flown into the air and charged up two powerful boosted attacks, deciding the outcome of the team match.

Dugu Yan hadn't made a move from start to finish. She'd coasted to victory the whole way.

The seven of them were discussing the battle, trying to feel as though they'd played some part in it.

Qian Renxue once again felt someone watching her from the stands. It wasn't an ordinary gaze of interest or curiosity, but an intensely heated stare that made her uncomfortable.

But there were too many people in the stands, and they still had another match to compete in. She couldn't figure out who it was.