No one had expected this.
The first sparring match in the Friendship Match between Heaven Dou Royal Academy and the Four Elemental Academies wouldn't be between two academies at all.
Instead, it would be a fight between the captain of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy Team and someone who didn't belong to any of the Four Elemental Academies.
Heaven Dou Royal Academy Soul Arena.
Two figures stood facing each other.
In the spectator stands were not only the three Soul Master Academies that had arrived earlier.
The Blazing Fire Academy Team and the Thunder Academy Team had arrived as well.
"Shui Bing'er, why don't you look worried at all?"
Huo Wu had already heard the whole story from Feng Xiaotian.
Seeing the worry-free expression on Shui Bing'er's face, she asked curiously.
They knew a little about Yu Tianheng's strength.
As one of the Twin Stars of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, Yu Tianheng was unquestionably one of the best among his peers.
"Worried?"
A faint smile appeared on Shui Bing'er's face.
"There's nothing to worry about."
Others might not know, but how could Shui Bing'er, who had witnessed Yu Shuangbai's battle with that White Lurking Fish-Wolf, be in the dark?
Yu Tianheng was indeed strong.
But she didn't think he could defeat Yu Shuangbai.
Oh?
Fire and ice were incompatible.
As an old rival, Huo Wu knew Shui Bing'er's temperament well.
Seeing her act this way, she guessed Shui Bing'er must have something to rely on.
Could Yu Shuangbai have some unusual abilities?
Nearby.
The Thunder Academy captain, Yu Tianxin—the other of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's Twin Stars—remained silent.
He rubbed his chin, brows furrowed.
Yu Shuangbai...
For some reason, the name seemed inexplicably familiar.
As if he'd heard it somewhere before.
In the arena.
Yu Tianheng wore a long black robe. Looking at Yu Shuangbai, he lifted the corners of his mouth.
"Today, I'll show you what it means to behold..."
"The might of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon!"
As his words fell,
a blue gleam flickered in Yu Tianheng's eyes.
Arcs of electricity slithered around him like snakes.
Three Soul Rings—yellow, yellow, and purple—rose slowly.
The sleeve on his right arm burst apart, and his arm transformed into a savage-looking dragon claw.
"Thunderbolt Strike!"
He roared and charged in, bringing annihilating thunder with him.
Yu Shuangbai stood where he was, unmoving.
The corner of his mouth curled into a disdainful smile.
Three icy-blue Soul Rings rose around him.
The First Soul Ring suddenly flashed.
Ice Crystal Roses erupted from beneath Yu Tianheng's feet, winding around him and binding him fast.
"Blue Soul Rings?"
Seeing the three icy-blue Soul Rings circling Yu Shuangbai, everyone watching—except Shui Bing'er and the others, who already knew—couldn't help exclaiming in surprise.
"It should be a special manifestation of his Martial Soul," Huo Wu murmured, making a guess.
At the same time, her curiosity about Yu Shuangbai grew.
Beside her, Dugu Yan's heart skipped a beat.
This young man named Yu Shuangbai really did seem to possess something extraordinary.
Could it be...
That what he'd said about being poisoned was true?
At the thought, a shadow fell over Dugu Yan's heart.
The sudden appearance of the Ice Crystal Roses made Yu Tianheng's heart clench.
But as one of the Twin Stars of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, he naturally had some tricks up his sleeve.
He reacted almost instinctively.
"Thunder Dragon Claw!"
The Ice Crystal Roses shattered with a crash, scattering through the air as ice crystals that reflected a seven-colored gleam.
"Ice Polar Halo."
Yu Shuangbai's Second Soul Ring lit up at once.
He raised a hand and tapped the air.
A ring-shaped ice blade shot from his fingertip, expanding outward in a burst.
Yu Tianheng's expression tightened, and he hurriedly leapt up.
The sharp ring-shaped blade sliced off a corner of his robe.
The black fabric fluttered down to the ground.
At the same time, he continued to race toward Yu Shuangbai.
When he reached Yu Shuangbai, a smug smile curled across Yu Tianheng's lips.
"The winner's already decided!"
He thought the outcome of the fight was now certain.
In Yu Tianheng's mind, once an elemental-control Soul Master like Yu Shuangbai let a Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Soul Master close in, there was no suspense left.
Almost everyone else thought so too, except for the Snow Empress.
Even Shui Bing'er and her sister, who had great faith in Yu Shuangbai's strength, now wore worried expressions.
And yet...
Yu Shuangbai's face still showed no trace of panic.
Yu Tianheng's heart jolted.
He saw a hint of mockery in Yu Shuangbai's eyes.
The sort of derision one reserved for a circus clown.
A bad feeling suddenly rose in his heart.
"The winner's decided?"
A taunting voice rang out,
with Yu Shuangbai's scorn laid bare.
Who said he was an elemental-control Soul Master?
He merely possessed the ability to control ice.
That didn't mean ice control was all he had!
His Martial Soul was the Ice Dragon King!
The Dragon Clan had never been weak in close combat!
On Yu Shuangbai's forehead,
a pair of icy-blue dragon horns appeared, beautiful as a work of art.
He raised his right hand.
His sleeve shattered.
It, too, had transformed through Dragon Transformation!
His eyes changed.
His pupils became the vertical slits of a dragon, filled with the supreme majesty of a Dragon King!
The might of a dragon surged through the arena!
"An ant trying to shake a tree."
His transformed hand seized Yu Tianheng's incoming dragon claw.
The supreme dragon might of the Dragon King made Yu Tianheng's heart jolt.
His movements faltered instinctively.
Even Yu Tianxin, far away in the spectator stands, felt the vast dragon might of the Ice Dragon King.
His pupils trembled.
How could this be?
He could actually feel his Martial Soul's fear!
The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul he'd always been so proud of was afraid!
It was a feeling he'd never known before, and Yu Tianxin could hardly bring himself to believe it.
Yu Tianheng, face-to-face with Yu Shuangbai, felt the same.
"How is this possible?"
"Why would the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon be afraid?!"
Yu Tianheng murmured without thinking, unwilling to accept the fear rising from deep within his Martial Soul.
Yu Shuangbai said nothing. The mockery at the corner of his mouth only grew stronger.
The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan was hailed as the strongest Power Attack System clan.
The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul was also called the strongest Power Attack System Martial Soul in the Soul Master World.
Every member of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan thought highly of themselves because of this.
They felt an innate superiority over, and disdain for, anyone without a Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul.
Born into the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan yet lacking that Martial Soul, he knew this all too well.
But they didn't know—
the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul they were so proud of
was still a lesser being before a true Dragon King!
One hand held back Yu Tianheng's incoming dragon claw.
His leg lashed out like a whip, slamming into Yu Tianheng's abdomen.
Yu Tianheng's body flew backward like a cannonball.
His face twisted, and bile surged up in his throat.
"Bang!"
With a tremendous crash,
Yu Tianheng slammed hard into the ground.
Pain wracked his entire body.
It felt as though every bone had been broken, and he could barely get up.
Yu Shuangbai walked toward him at an unhurried pace. The hem of his white robe fluttered with each step, and his snow-white hair made him seem like the sovereign of ice.
He looked down on Yu Tianheng, radiating the majesty of the Ice Dragon King.
"The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon is nothing special."
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