The entire venue fell deathly silent.
Everyone's eyes were fixed firmly on the young man standing on the arena, surrounded by four black Soul Rings.
It was as though they were witnessing the birth of a legend—or the shattering of a myth...
The Skysea Alliance officials' arrangements for the second exchange match had clearly caught Shrek Academy off guard.
They had assumed it would be another seven-versus-seven team battle, but the opponent announced over the broadcast...
Was only one person!
What weighed even more heavily on their hearts was that, when facing this young man who had stepped onto the stage alone with four black Soul Rings around him...
None of the seven of them felt the slightest confidence in victory. Instead, an invisible pressure spread through their hearts.
A monster of this caliber would have been extraordinarily rare even within Shrek Academy's Inner Court, where geniuses gathered. He would have been a future star worthy of special attention.
Why was he here?
Representing the Skysea Alliance?
Wang Chuan's gaze swept across the seven solemn-looking Shrek youths opposite him before finally settling on the composed young man at their head, the one who had unleashed that terrifying Thunderstorm earlier.
His tone was calm, as though he were merely stating a fact.
"You're from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan."
That instantaneously unleashed thunder that had blanketed the entire arena with astonishing force was precisely Thunderstorm, one of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's signature offensive Soul Skills.
The leading youth took a deep breath, suppressing the shock in his heart. He straightened his back and answered neither humbly nor arrogantly.
"Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, Yu Hengtian."
He had voluntarily announced his name and background. It was both courtesy and the pride belonging to an inheritor of a top-tier Martial Soul.
"Yu Hengtian?"
"Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan?!"
"An heir of the Upper Three Sects!"
"No wonder that lightning was so terrifying!"
A wave of exclamations and discussions immediately erupted from the stands.
The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan had a long history and immense renown. Together with the Clear Sky Sect and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, it was known as one of the ancient Upper Three Sects. The might of its inherited Martial Soul was deeply ingrained in everyone's minds.
Yu Hengtian's identity undoubtedly added another layer of legend to this match.
At the same time, everyone suddenly understood that the young woman who had supported Yu Hengtian earlier and summoned the Seven-Story Glazed Pagoda Martial Soul must have been an heir of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
Wang Chuan nodded slightly, showing no emotional reaction to his opponent's background.
"Let me see just how capable Shrek Academy truly is."
Yu Hengtian's expression became grave to the extreme as he clasped his fists.
"Please instruct me!"
Shrek's seven reacted swiftly, displaying exceptional teamwork and coordination.
Xu Lizhi was the first to act.
His First Soul Ring lit up. His hands pressed through the air before him as he shouted, "Recovery Big Meat Bun!"
As Soul Power surged, six steaming buns filled with an enticing aroma and Soul Power fluctuations instantly took shape. He accurately flung them toward his six teammates.
The other six caught them in perfect coordination and stuffed them into their mouths without hesitation. At once, they felt their depleted Soul Power and stamina rapidly recovering.
Almost simultaneously, the young woman holding the Seven-Story Glazed Pagoda gave a clear cry. Two yellow and one purple Soul Rings rose beneath her feet, circling the crystalline pagoda.
Light flowed across the pagoda, and its bottom three levels shone at once, firing three brilliant beams that landed precisely upon Yu Hengtian!
"Strength Boost!"
"Agility Boost!"
"Soul Power Boost!"
As the three beams entered his body, Yu Hengtian's aura surged explosively, and a long, resounding dragon roar burst from his mouth!
His body abruptly swelled in size, especially his arms. Knotted muscles bulged beneath fine blue-violet dragon scales, which radiated a violent aura of lightning.
His eyes had also turned into imposing vertical pupils!
Without the slightest hesitation, at the peak state granted by the three boosts, Yu Hengtian's fourth Soul Ring—the only black Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring on his body—suddenly shone brilliantly!
"Fourth Soul Skill—Thunderstorm!"
"Rumble!!!"
Even more violent and dense blue-violet lightning than during his previous battle against the Skysea Alliance youth team erupted outward from Yu Hengtian!
Countless lightning serpents as thick as water buckets shot wildly through the air, intertwining and exploding, instantly forming a lightning hell that covered the entire arena!
The blinding electric light made it impossible to keep one's eyes open. Deafening thunder rang throughout the venue, while the destructive energy fluctuations made even the protective barrier ripple violently!
This strike had gathered Yu Hengtian's greatest power under the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda's full amplification...
Its power far surpassed what it had been before!
And in the face of this Thunderstorm that seemed like the descent of heavenly might, Wang Chuan finally moved.
The fourth black Soul Ring on his body silently lit up. Its glow was restrained, yet it seemed to contain a power even deeper than the lightning filling the sky.
"Fourth Soul Skill—Five-Colored Divine Light."
There was no earth-shattering display. Only five strange streams of light—azure, crimson, yellow, white, and black—intertwined and surged skyward from behind Wang Chuan!
The light was not dazzling. Instead, it carried an unfathomable, ancient aura that seemed to encompass all things.
The Five-Colored Divine Light swelled with the wind, like five invisible yet tangible rivers of heaven, and lightly swept toward the incoming lightning hell...
An unimaginable scene unfolded!
The lightning that had rampaged across the sky as though it could destroy everything silently scattered and vanished the instant it touched the Five-Colored Divine Light!
It was not shattered, nor was it neutralized...
It was as though its very existence had been "erased"!
In the span of a single breath, the terrifying Thunderstorm covering the entire arena disappeared without a trace, as though it had never existed at all!
The Five-Colored Divine Light did not slow. It swept irresistibly over the area occupied by Shrek's seven.
Yu Hengtian's pupils contracted sharply. To his horror, he discovered that the surging Soul Power within him had instantly stagnated, while his connection to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul became vague and indistinct, as if shackled by heavy chains!
It was not just him. The other six were in the same state!
Their Martial Souls were sealed, their Soul Power suppressed, and even their bodies felt weak!
Their proud cultivation, their seamless coordination, and their powerful Soul Skills were utterly powerless before this seemingly gentle five-colored light!
The light faded.
On the arena, Shrek's seven were still standing where they had been, but every one of them was pale and listless. Their Martial Souls had long since dissipated, and their Soul Power fluctuations had weakened to the extreme.
They had lost. Completely and decisively, without the slightest suspense. They had not even made Wang Chuan move a single step; all it had taken was one Soul Skill being unleashed and making contact.
The entire venue once again fell deathly silent.
But this time...
The silence lasted only an instant.
"Waaah—!!!!"
What followed was a frenzy of cheers and shouts like mountains collapsing and seas roaring, so loud they seemed ready to lift the roof off the stadium!
The waves of sound rose higher and higher. Nearly everyone leaped to their feet, waving their arms and venting the shock and wild joy in their hearts!
"We won! We won!"
"Too strong!"
"One move! Just one move!"
"Shrek Academy... lost?!"
"Four Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Rings! It's unbelievable!"
Before you continue