Finals

Wang Dong swung his fist heavily; after four or five blows, Wu Feng finally fell into unconsciousness. Since the Red Dragon martial soul focused on physical durability, Wang Dong chose to strike the left side of her face, which was covered in fine dragon scales, to avoid causing any substantial injury.

With only a sliver of soul power remaining—enough to release the Wing Blade twice—Wang Dong struggled to stand. Wu Feng's resistance had been highly effective; before losing consciousness, her Dragon Fire had already scorched Wang Dong.

Because of the heavy strikes against the dragon-scaled side of Wu Feng's face, the back of Wang Dong's hand and fingers were pierced by the scales, large patches of fair skin were burned by the Dragon Fire, and the edges of the butterfly wings were charred.

Wang Dong was like a moth to a flame, his entire body tattered and torn; despite several attempts, he still could not rise.

Nanmen Yun'er's goal was very clear: defeat Xiao Xiao and Bai Cai to secure victory for her side.

The Jade Blue Bird, the martial soul awakened by Nanmen Yun'er, possessed extreme speed and formidable attack power. To hinder Nanmen Yun'er's harassment, Xiao Xiao had to frequently release her first soul skill, consuming a great deal of energy.

Xiao Xiao knew very well that a long defense would eventually lead to a lapse; if not for Bai Cai's instruction to exhaust Nanmen Yun'er's soul power, she would not have sat idly by waiting for death.

Nanmen Yun'er struck and retreated instantly, forcing Xiao Xiao to shrink her defensive line, with the three Soul-Suppressing Cauldrons forming a triangular formation to protect herself and Bai Cai.

"Jade Slash!"

Nanmen Yun'er swept over the three Soul-Suppressing Cauldrons, her two soul rings lighting up simultaneously. With palms pressed together, the emerald radiance extended into a blade of light, slashing toward Xiao Xiao and Bai Cai.

The three Soul-Suppressing Cauldrons merged to resist the blade of light formed by the emerald radiance; Xiao Xiao's face turned pale, while Nanmen Yun'er panted softly.

On the spectator platform, Mu Jin was overjoyed. Judging by the situation on the field, the Soul-Suppressing Cauldron soul master's soul power was depleted, and since Nanmen Yun'er was in better condition, her side had locked in the win.

"Healing Wish!"

The little fellow with blue hair waved his arms, his yellow soul ring flickering continuously. A gentle white light condensed into a palm-wide white orb, flying across several meters to land squarely on Wang Dong.

The burns and puncture wounds healed in an instant; the butterfly wings became resplendent, the skin turned fair, and his stamina was fully restored.

Exclamations erupted from the spectator platform. An elderly man in a gray robe, holding a chicken leg with messy hair, wore a smile of approval in his eyes.

Mu Jin stared fixedly at Bai Cai, the railing gradually twisting under her grip as she gritted her teeth and hissed, "Impossible!"

Butterfly wings flapped, and in an instant, Wang Dong launched a counterattack against Nanmen Yun'er. His first soul ring flashed abruptly, and golden light spread along the edges of his wings.

"Imprison."

The yellow soul ring flickered as Ralts channeled its remaining mental energy, and a gray hue infected Nanmen Yun'er's second soul ring.

Ralts dissolved into specks of light and slowly dissipated; Bai Cai fainted, and Xiao Xiao stepped forward in time to catch him.

Nanmen Yun'er's stamina and soul power were heavily depleted, so she decided to stake everything on one throw. Her first soul ring lit up, and emerald light covered her hands.

The Wing Blade cleaved through the Jade Slash, and Nanmen Yun'er crashed to the ground. Wang Dong pressed his advantage, his first soul ring flashing again as his golden-edged butterfly wings crossed and slashed at Nanmen Yun'er.

The referee appeared instantly to shield Nanmen Yun'er; the Wing Blade struck the referee's back, but his robes remained completely unscathed.

"Ning Tian's team concedes."

The referee raised a hand to point at Ning Tian, who had already stepped out of the combat zone. "You have won."

Turning silently, Wang Dong flapped his wings and descended rapidly beside Xiao Xiao, scooped up Bai Cai with both hands, and flew toward the temporary infirmary outside the arena.

A sharp pain throbbed in his brain, and Bai Cai tossed and turned.

A pair of soft hands gently stroked Bai Cai's forehead and the back of his head—cool, smooth, and rhythmic, which was deeply reassuring.

Dazed and groggy, Bai Cai struggled to open his eyes and instantly became alert. Large, powder-blue eyes shimmered with light, his own face reflected in their pupils.

Wang Dong?

Why?

Bai Cai struggled to sit up, and Wang Dong did not stop him.

Looking around, the dormitory doors and windows were tightly shut, the soul-guided lamps were bright, and it was pitch black outside the window. He was lying on Wang Dong's fur bedding.

"Did we win?"

"We won." Wang Dong hugged Bai Cai tightly, weeping with joy. "We won."

In the morning, the semi-finals were held.

The four remaining teams were Dai Huabin's team, Xie Huanyue's team, Zhou Sicheng's team, and Bai Cai's team.

Dai Huabin's team drew Xie Huanyue's team, while Zhou Sicheng's team drew Bai Cai's team.

Xie Huanyue and Dai Huabin were evenly matched, but their teammates were lackluster, leading to their eventual defeat. Zhou Sicheng's team lacked a Soul Elder; Bai Cai was forced to rest, so Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao gave their all, exhausting every trump card to win the match with great difficulty.

After one night and one morning, Bai Cai had recovered to his peak state.

In the afternoon, the finals were held.

Both sides arrived at the combat arena early to observe one another.

The open assessment area had all its partitions removed, and the referee beckoned for both sides to enter the field.

"The rules for the finals have changed slightly, so listen carefully. First, for flying soul masters, the altitude from the ground must not exceed ten meters."

"Second, in order to display your full strength, you may attack the enemy with everything you have; there is no need to hold back."

"Finally, the intensity of the match is under my control. Anyone I rescue from the field will be considered to have withdrawn from the competition."

The referee waved his hand and said, "State your names."

"Bai Cai."

"Wang Dong."

"Xiao Xiao."

On Dai Huabin's side, all three individuals displayed clear hostility.

"Dai Huabin."

"Zhu Lu."

"Cui Yajie."

With his arms extended to his sides, the referee said coldly, "Both sides, return to the edges of the arena."

Dai Huabin's team and Bai Cai's team gradually moved apart, and at the referee's command, "The match begins!"

Dai Huabin's team had a Soul Power Level across the board higher than Bai Cai's team; with a Power Attack System Soul Elder, an Agility Attack System Soul Master, and a Control System Soul Master, Bai Cai's team had no hope of victory.

Although Wang Dong had attached a thousand-year soul ring, his own soul power was only at level twenty-four; even if he utilized his trump card of fusing a hundred-year soul ring skill with a thousand-year soul ring skill, it was still insufficient to contend with Dai Huabin.

Xiao Xiao was stretched thin, trying to support Wang Dong while protecting herself and Bai Cai; she didn't even dare to merge her Soul-Suppressing Cauldrons, fearing that attending to one thing would mean neglecting another.

At a disadvantage on all fronts, Xiao Xiao struggled to keep up; using one Soul-Suppressing Cauldron to support Wang Dong and one to block the Nine-Tailed Fox soul master Cui Yajie, while using the remaining one to surround Zhu Lu was like a fantasy.

Dai Huabin seemed to grow impatient, let out a Tiger Roar, and sprinted back. Zhu Lu understood, dodged the obstruction of the Soul-Suppressing Cauldron, accelerated in an instant, and caught up to Dai Huabin.

The Tiger Roar intensified, Dai Huabin's entire body expanded, and white fur mixed with black tiger stripes surged forth wildly.

Zhu Lu bit her lip, her entire body covered in a faint black light, her form flickering as if transparent, and she spread her arms to pounce toward Dai Huabin.

They had eyes only for each other; Dai Huabin's double pupils merged into one, his cold gaze unchanged, while Zhu Lu's gaze became soft as water, filled with tenderness.

The auras of the White Tiger and the Hell Spirit Cat fused completely at this moment. The White Tiger devoured the black cat, a violent fluctuation of soul power erupted instantly, and the black and white lights gradually merged amidst the expansion of a golden halo.

Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu's individual forms had finished merging and disappeared; the only thing remaining on the battlefield was a massive white tiger. The white tiger was entirely translucent, with white fur and black stripes, purple double pupils, and it stared coldly at Bai Cai's team.