Before the match, Wang Chuan deliberately stopped Tang Wulin and the other two as they were about to step onto the competition platform.
"Wulin, among today's opponents from the Hailu Academy team, there's a pair of twins."
Wang Chuan reminded them.
Tang Wulin nodded, a trace of confusion appearing on his face. Clearly, he had not fully grasped the important point.
Xie Xie, who came from a knowledgeable family, reacted the fastest. His expression changed at once.
"Brother Chuan, you mean..."
"They can use a Martial Soul Fusion Skill?!"
Wang Chuan nodded firmly.
"Ah?!"
Xie Xie's face immediately fell.
"No way!"
"Are we really going to be stopped here?!"
Tang Wulin scratched his head and said uncertainly.
"But..."
"I saw the Martial Soul Fusion Skill Wang Jinxi and Zhang Yangzi used before, and it seemed..."
"Not that strong?"
Gu Yue's cool voice rang out.
"That was because the quality of your bloodline is extremely high. It heavily suppressed Wang Jinxi's Martial Soul, the Bone Dragon King, which gave you that misconception."
Wang Chuan took over and added.
"Gu Yue is right."
"Zhou Hanyou and Zhou Tian'er's Martial Souls are the Ice Spirit and Wood Spirit respectively. Your bloodline has no elemental suppression over them."
"On top of that, they're biological sisters. Their tacit understanding and compatibility far surpass those of ordinary people. Once they use their Martial Soul Fusion Skill, its power will be nowhere near comparable to Wang Jinxi and the others'."
"The three of you must remain vigilant on the platform and look out for one another. If you feel that you can't withstand it..."
"Immediately surrender. Don't hesitate."
Tang Wulin's expression turned solemn as he obediently replied.
"Alright, I understand, Brother Chuan."
Wang Chuan nodded slightly and watched the three walk onto the broad competition platform.
At the start of the match, relying on Gu Yue's exquisite Elemental Control, which far exceeded her apparent Soul Power Level, the three of them actually managed to faintly suppress the Hailu Academy team.
With every gesture, Gu Yue controlled many basic elements—ice, fire, earth, and wind—as effortlessly as if they were her own limbs. Not only did it astonish the audience, but it also placed immense pressure on the Zhou Hanyou sisters across from them.
Finally, as the situation grew increasingly unfavorable, Zhou Hanyou and Zhou Tian'er exchanged a glance. They shouted at the same time, rushed toward each other, and embraced tightly.
Intense Soul Power fluctuations erupted abruptly as icy-blue and emerald-green light crazily intertwined and surged upward...
Martial Soul Fusion Skill, Forest of Ice and Snow, activate!
At the instant that fused radiance rose, an unfathomable gleam suddenly flashed through Wang Chuan's eyes in the audience.
In an instant, it was as though he had pierced through the veil of time and glimpsed a fragment of the future.
With his warning in mind, Tang Wulin and the other two sensed the terrifying energy contained within the fusion skill and decisively shouted in unison, "We surrender!"
Yet the referee, who should have intervened at once to stop the match, was inexplicably delayed for a moment.
At the same time, the ice and wood elements within the competition platform's range quietly became abnormally active and dense...
Unseen, they accelerated the formation of the Forest of Ice and Snow and enhanced its power!
It was precisely this subtle change that caught Tang Wulin off guard. Unable to dodge completely, he was viciously struck by the spreading edge of the Forest of Ice and Snow, suffering grievous injuries and coughing up blood on the spot!
The vision of the future receded like a tide.
Wang Chuan's expression changed drastically. He abruptly rose from his seat and looked toward the competition platform with a grave expression.
On the platform, reality was overlapping with the first half of the future he had just seen...
After sensing the heart-palpitating fluctuations of the fusion skill, Tang Wulin shouted without hesitation.
"We surrender!"
Yet the referee did not immediately appear between the two sides as the rules dictated.
The chilling radiance woven from ice and wood, carrying a coldness that seemed capable of freezing the soul, had already taken shape and swept toward Tang Wulin, Gu Yue, and Xie Xie, several degrees faster than expected!
A flicker of fear flashed through Tang Wulin's eyes.
But he clenched his teeth, his body instinctively preparing to rush forward and use himself to shield Gu Yue and Xie Xie behind him from the fatal blow.
At that critical moment!
"Clang—!"
A clear, impassioned phoenix cry that pierced the clouds suddenly resounded over the entire stadium without warning. Vast and majestic, it seemed to come from the primordial ages!
Immediately afterward, an incomparably dazzling Five-Colored Divine Light shot out from the audience stands. Though launched later, it arrived first and slammed into the competition platform's soul-tool protective barrier!
The protective barrier, said to be capable of withstanding Soul Emperor-level attacks, was like paper before the Five-Colored Divine Light. It failed to hold for even an instant before a large hole silently opened in it.
The Five-Colored Divine Light did not slow in the slightest. It shot directly into the center of the competition platform and swept precisely over the newly formed Forest of Ice and Snow.
The Martial Soul Fusion Skill, filled with vast ice and wood energy, instantly faded and dispersed beneath the wash of the Five-Colored Divine Light, turning into elements and returning to heaven and Earth.
The entire process was eerily silent, yet it all the more clearly displayed the absolute control and overwhelming power of the newcomer.
As the Five-Colored Divine Light slightly receded, a tall figure was already standing before Tang Wulin and the other two, his back facing them as he confronted the Hailu Academy team.
It was Wang Chuan.
Tang Wulin stared blankly at the familiar back before him—broad and steadfast, as though it could hold up the entire sky.
An indescribable warmth instantly flooded through his body, scattering the lingering terror from moments ago.
When he was six years old, at his most helpless moment, it had also been a back like this that stood in front of him.
His lips moved as he murmured softly, his voice filled with incomparable reliance and relief.
"Brother Chuan..."
Gu Yue stared blankly at Wang Chuan's back, emotions surging in her purple eyes.
A complicated, indescribable warmth seeped into her heart, yet it was accompanied by a sharp ache.
She had clearly already made up her mind to draw a clear line between them...
Then why was it that every time she encountered danger, he always appeared without hesitation, protecting her behind him in his own way?
The barrier she had built around her heart began to crack.
Xie Xie, meanwhile, had completely widened his eyes, his face filled with shock and admiration.
Only now did he truly understand where Tang Wulin and Gu Yue's nearly blind trust and reverence for Wang Chuan came from.
Simply standing there, the mountain-like steadiness and abyss-deep, peak-lofty presence Wang Chuan gave off created an absolute sense of security, as though he could withstand every storm and raging wave.
Xie Xie silently swore to himself.
From today onward, I, Xie Xie, am also Brother Chuan's loyal follower!
Wang Chuan did not turn back to reassure the three of them. His gaze was cold as frost as he slowly raised his eyes toward the azure sky.
Relying on the Five Virtues Phoenix Martial Soul's extremely keen perception of Heaven and Earth Vital Energy, he clearly "caught" something during those one or two seconds just now...
A concealed yet boundless force had quietly descended, minutely disrupting the elemental balance in the competition platform's area and affecting the referee's reaction.
If not for his extraordinary perception...
He would never have noticed such a dust-like anomaly.
A guess had already formed in his heart.
Was it Tang Hao?
But why would he do something like this?
Was it merely to let Tang Wulin suffer a little injury?
Before you continue