Tang Wulin, standing nearby, was just as stunned when he saw Xie Xie covered in blood, crashing heavily onto the shattered floor.
An unprecedented fear seized his heart, leaving him almost unable to breathe.
But in the very next instant, that overwhelming fear transformed into a towering fury, shattering every shred of reason.
Tang Wulin's left index finger twitched.
Then, a wildly surging golden current burst from within him. Golden dragon scales spread across his arm at a visible speed, and the radiant Golden Dragon Claw abruptly took shape.
Before Long Hengxu could call out to stop him, Tang Wulin stomped down. The floor shattered beneath his foot, and he shot toward the Dark Bone Dragon King like a golden bolt of lightning.
His fury and heartache threatened to burn him to ashes.
Tang Wulin's eyes were bloodshot. Without a word, he swung the Golden Dragon Claw, imbued with the Golden Dragon King's savage power, and brought it crashing down on the Dark Bone Dragon King with world-shattering fury!
The Dark Bone Dragon King was still reeling from the shock of seeing his Bone Dragon Claw cracked.
By the time he sensed the danger and looked up, the Golden Dragon Claw was already looming before him, growing larger by the moment. There was no chance to dodge.
The Dark Bone Dragon King had already found it hard to believe that Xie Xie had managed to crack his Bone Dragon Claw. Now, he saw that Tang Wulin was merely a One-Ring Soul Master, yet dared to charge at him so brazenly.
An indescribable sense of humiliation surged into his head, and his fury blazed even hotter.
He laughed in his rage. A deep, drumlike roar rumbled from his dragon-bone chest as the black soul mist around him surged.
His cracked Bone Dragon Claw shot up without hesitation. Brimming with the ferocity to crush all before it, it met Tang Wulin's Golden Dragon Claw head-on.
In his eyes, a One-Ring Soul Master who hadn't even reached the second ring could never stand against him head-on, no matter how strange the golden current bursting from him might be.
In an instant, dazzling golden light and eerie, icy-black radiance collided in midair, and the two extremes of light exploded!
A violent shock wave swept outward from the point of impact.
The already shattered floor burst apart again, and countless chunks of stone and splinters of wood were flung into the air!
A deafening metallic crash rang out. The Dark Bone Dragon King felt a savage force far beyond anything he had imagined surge through his Bone Dragon Claw and into his body. Even his sturdy dragon bones trembled.
A sharp pain shot through the cracked Bone Dragon Claw. Tang Wulin's strike had forced it to bend!
The contempt and fury in his eyes were instantly replaced by utter astonishment.
In the moment the Dark Bone Dragon King faltered, the bloodthirsty intent in Tang Wulin's eyes did not waver. The golden light around his Golden Dragon Claw surged to its peak.
The Golden Dragon Claw slammed down!
With a shriek that split the air, Tang Wulin turned his wrist slightly, bypassing the Bone Dragon Claw raised to block him. Like a golden great hammer, it came down on the Dark Bone Dragon King's head in a simple, brutal strike!
"Stop!"
"Wait, Tang Wulin!"
Long Hengxu and Ye Yingluo shouted almost at the same time.
But Tang Wulin had already been blinded by rage over Xie Xie's grievous injuries. He had thrown everything into the strike, and there was no pulling it back.
Just then, a slender hand appeared silently on Tang Wulin's right arm.
With a gentle nudge, it turned the descending Golden Dragon Claw aside.
Even deflected, the Golden Dragon Claw, carrying the Golden Dragon King's savage power, remained unstoppable. It slammed into the Dark Bone Dragon King's chest with a howling gust.
"Crack—!"
The sharp, grating sound of breaking bone tore through the silence.
The sturdy dragon bones in the Dark Bone Dragon King's chest fractured over a wide area. Black bone fragments and thick clouds of dark mist scattered in every direction.
The Dark Bone Dragon King's massive form abruptly disintegrated, turning into a storm of black bone shards and dark light.
At the center of the dissolving light, two figures tumbled from the air with a pained, muffled groan.
The instant Wang Jinxi hit the ground, he curled up in agony. His face turned as pale as paper, his chest heaved, and both arms lay limp at his sides.
Zhang Yangzi was in just as bad shape. His legs seemed to no longer belong to him, and his chest throbbed with pain. Every breath came with a heavy, labored catch.
One had broken both arms, the other both legs.
Their ribs were surely broken too, though whether they had been shattered was impossible to tell.
No one had expected the Class Promotion Tournament to end in such a brutal fashion.
Wu Zhangkong stood motionless in the center of the competition platform.
In that split-second exchange, she had gently deflected Tang Wulin's arm, barely diverting the Golden Dragon Claw's deadly force before it could pierce through. That was how she had saved the barely breathing Wang Jinxi and Zhang Yangzi.
Her movement had been slight, yet as steady as a rock.
Under Gu Yue's violet eyes, brimming with worry and anxiety, she bent down and reached out, smoothly gathering the unconscious Xie Xie into her arms.
Her fingertips brushed Xie Xie's cold skin and blood-soaked clothes. The usually frigid look in Wu Zhangkong's eyes darkened, and the pressure around her plunged.
As she turned with Xie Xie in her arms, a figure abruptly stepped into her path.
"Teacher Wu, how could you let your student commit such an outrage?" Ye Yingluo had also rushed onto the platform by now, and she pointed at Wu Zhangkong and roared.
Wu Zhangkong looked at Ye Yingluo standing in her way, her expression unchanged.
Her fingertips trembled slightly at the warmth of Xie Xie's blood. The unease she had been suppressing turned into an icy glint, surging wildly in her eyes and threatening to break through all restraint.
She lowered her lashes slightly and parted her thin lips. Her voice held not a trace of warmth, yet concealed a killing intent she could barely suppress:
"Get out of my way."
The single word fell, and an icy, bone-piercing pressure instantly enveloped Ye Yingluo.
Ye Yingluo felt a terrifying killing intent, the kind that came from a peak powerhouse, lock onto her. Cold seeped into every limb and bone, and her body went rigid as iron.
The accusations on the tip of her tongue caught in her throat. Even breathing became difficult, and she didn't dare move another step.
The Golden Dragon Claw on Tang Wulin's left hand vanished, and the savage power of the Golden Dragon King subsided with it. A wave of weakness washed over him as his strength gave out, and the furious red slowly faded from his eyes.
When he saw Xie Xie unconscious and covered in blood in Wu Zhangkong's arms, his heart clenched, and his voice trembled.
"Xie Xie!"
Ignoring the discomfort of his surging Soul Power, he staggered forward a few steps. The moment he drew close, the tension drained from his body.
Looking at Xie Xie's bloodless, pale face and his clothes soaked through with blood, Tang Wulin clenched both fists until his knuckles turned white. Guilt and lingering fear consumed him.
Gu Yue hurried over too, her gaze fixed on Xie Xie, her violet eyes full of worry.
Holding Xie Xie in her arms, Wu Zhangkong swept her cold gaze over Tang Wulin and Gu Yue.
She did not stop. Surrounded by a biting chill, she walked straight past Ye Yingluo, who remained frozen in place.
Tang Wulin and Gu Yue hurried after her.
Long Hengxu stood where he was, staring at the gravely injured Wang Jinxi and Zhang Yangzi, then at the direction the others had gone. His expression darkened to the extreme.
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