"Roar—!"
The enormous blue-green turtle threw back its head and roared, its deafening waves making the entire dome of the Soul Fighting Arena tremble.
Yet the icy-blue light beneath its feet only grew brighter, like a white sun rising from the ground.
Crack! Crack!
Cracks spread across the golden stone tablet like a spiderweb, and streaks of icy-blue light burst from the fissures.
At last—
Boom!
The golden stone tablet exploded, countless fragments dissolving into specks of light that filled the sky.
Within the pillar of light, a jade-green scorpion tail surged forth like a giant dragon rising from the sea, wrapped in the bone-chilling cold of Ultimate Ice as it stabbed toward the enormous blue-green turtle!
"Pfft—!"
The stinger pierced the turtle's shell. Jade-colored frost spread wildly, and a thick layer of ice rapidly formed across its carapace.
The enormous blue-green turtle shuddered violently, then let out a low cry and dissolved into countless blue-green specks of light.
Two figures dropped from midair and slammed onto the platform with a pair of thuds. They were Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi, both unconscious.
The victor had been decided!
The entire arena fell silent.
Everyone stared fixedly at the platform, their eyes filled with disbelief.
That had been a Martial Soul Fusion Skill!
And just like that... it had been broken?
But soon, they understood—
The dust gradually settled.
The platform had become a world of ice and snow. Amid that vast whiteness, only one figure stood proudly.
Jiang Yi's appearance had changed completely. His short black hair had turned snow-white, and his fair skin had become even more translucent.
Against the backdrop of wind and snow, his gentle, refined air had been replaced by a chilling, austere bearing. He seemed like a king who commanded ice and snow, looking down upon the world.
Of course, what truly made everyone's hearts pound was the three terrifying Soul Rings hovering around Jiang Yi: two purple and one black!
A Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring!
Everyone held their breath.
A three-ring Soul Elder actually possessed a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring. No wonder he had been able to defeat Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi's Martial Soul Fusion Skill!
What kind of monstrous talent was this?
"Jiang Yi—wins!"
The referee stepped onto the platform, glanced at the two unconscious students, took a deep breath, and announced the result in a loud voice.
His words rang throughout the entire Soul Fighting Arena through the Amplifying Soul Tool, and the audience, silent only moments before, erupted in an uproar.
"He won! Holy crap, he even beat a Martial Soul Fusion Skill? I'm rich, I'm rich!"
"Damn it, you two useless pieces of trash! I bet my entire fortune on you! Don't stop me—I'm going to jump into Sea God Lake!"
"Give us our money back! Damn you! Give us our money back!"
The battle had certainly been spectacular, but losing all that money hurt even more!
In an instant, Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi lost countless fans over this battle—and, naturally, gained countless haters as well.
By contrast, Jiang Yi, a new student who had soundly defeated the Outer Academy Twin Stars, was sure to step upon their former reputations and become the Outer Academy's newest legend.
"He's so handsome!"
At the edge of the stands, Xiao Xiao rested her chin in her hands, gazing at the figure onstage surrounded by people. Her eyes were practically sparkling.
Sure enough, handsomeness was an aura!
"By the way, where's Sister Wutong?"
Xiao Xiao suddenly thought of something and turned to look beside her.
But a certain girl with pink-and-blue hair had already sneaked to the exit. She was crouching low, tiptoeing toward the door.
"Sister Wutong, why are you leaving? Don't you want your Gold Soul Coins?"
Xiao Xiao waved at her.
At those words, Tang Wutong stiffened, then ran even faster, waving over her shoulder without looking back.
"Forget it, forget it! You can have them! Goodbye—!"
With that, her short legs carried her off at a sprint. In the blink of an eye, she had vanished from their sight.
There was no way she was going to acknowledge him as her boss!
"Hahaha!"
Xiao Xiao and Huo Yutong exchanged glances, then finally burst out laughing.
Meanwhile, Wu Feng returned with several storage rings in her hands, her little face beaming.
"Miss! We made a killing!"
Jiang Yi's odds had been ten to one. They had just made a net profit of a hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins, and even Wu Feng's impression of Jiang Yi had improved a little.
"Yeah! We made a profit."
Ning Tian murmured softly, but her gaze remained fixed on the figure onstage.
She glanced around. Quite a few girls were still swooning, their eyes shining as they stared at Jiang Yi's back.
After today, Jiang Yi would undoubtedly be the undisputed king among the new students.
Luckily, she had made her move early.
Relieved, she also felt a greater sense of urgency. She had to pick up the pace.
Amid the crowd's cheers, Jiang Yi withdrew the Ice Empress's power and headed toward Jiang Nannan and the other girl, who had been waiting for him below the platform for a long time.
However—
The moment he stepped off the platform, ripples suddenly spread through the space around him.
As his foot touched down, he had vanished from the Soul Fighting Zone and appeared inside a completely unfamiliar pavilion.
"Hm? What's going on?"
Jiang Yi looked at the surroundings, which had turned upside down in an instant, and felt his heart jolt.
Fortunately, Tian Meng's voice sounded in his mind just then.
"Don't panic. It's that old man from the dormitory. He's trying to scare you! He's right in front of you—he's just hidden himself."
"Thanks, Sister Tian Meng."
Jiang Yi replied inwardly, but on the outside, he put on a wary expression and surveyed his surroundings.
The pavilion was quiet and quaint, with little in the way of ornate decoration. Outside the window hung golden branches, swaying gently in the breeze.
He looked around without making any rash moves.
Seeing that the old man still had no intention of showing himself, Jiang Yi didn't wander about. Instead, he sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes to cultivate.
The spiritual energy here was far denser than outside. He might as well make the most of it.
"This kid..."
Not far in front of him, Mu En sat in a chair, watching Jiang Yi already deep in cultivation. He gave a helpless smile.
Was this brat simply bold, or had he guessed something?
He had planned to observe him a little longer, but it looked like that was out of the question now.
"Ahem!"
An elderly voice suddenly rang out in the pavilion.
Jiang Yi opened his eyes. A white-bearded old man had appeared in the previously empty pavilion at some point.
The old man had a kindly face, yet carried an imposing air. Sitting in a wooden chair, he looked at Jiang Yi with smiling, cloudy eyes.
"Aren't you afraid?"
Mu En stroked his beard and looked at Jiang Yi curiously. The boy was almost unnaturally calm.
"Not at all."
Jiang Yi straightened his back, his tone firm.
"In this world, I don't believe anyone could abduct a student from Shrek Academy—unless they were one of our own."
A hint of pride, three parts conviction, and six parts... loyalty sparkled in his dark eyes!
"Well said! Shrek Academy would never abandon a student, much less allow one to be harmed."
Mu En looked pleased by Jiang Yi's words.
This kid really spoke to his heart. He looked every inch the loyal subject!
"To be frank, I am the Sea God Pavilion Master."
Mu En put away his smile and looked at Jiang Yi solemnly.
"After seeing your Martial Soul today, I had a few questions. Would you be willing to answer them for me?"
He didn't hide his identity. With a genius like this, keeping secrets would only invite needless suspicion.
"Of course, Elder Mu. Please ask."
Jiang Yi paused, seemingly taken aback by Mu En's identity, then respectfully cupped his hands as he replied.
"Mm."
Mu En gave a slight nod. He wasn't surprised that Jiang Yi recognized him; back when he worked as the dorm supervisor, he had also called himself Old Mu.
"May I have a look at your third Soul Beast?"
Based on what he had observed of Jiang Yi, the power of Ultimate Ice should have come from the Soul Beast Jiang Yi had subdued.
"Of course."
Jiang Yi nodded and held out his hand, summoning a Master Ball.
He pressed the button on the Master Ball. A beam of white light shot out, landed on his shoulder, and became a small jade-green scorpion.
At the same time, three unbelievable Soul Rings—two purple and one black—slowly rose beneath Jiang Yi's feet.
Mu En's gaze fell on the little jade-colored scorpion, and his pupils contracted slightly.
"A Ten Thousand Year... Ice Jade Scorpion?"
His voice was soft, but carried a tremor he could barely conceal.
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