Gu Sheng slowly raised his right hand.
In that instant, the sky, which had dimmed somewhat after the golden light dispersed, suddenly lit up.
Gu Sheng murmured something under his breath, and then the holy light in his hand erupted.
Countless kinds of frenzied energy began to take shape at breakneck speed in midair.
Enormous crimson fireballs appeared from nowhere, radiating searing heat.
Whistling blue wind blades wove together into a net across the sky, shrieking as they tore through the air.
Blue ice spikes glinted coldly, refracting dazzling light beneath the sun.
Heavy brown earthen spikes hovered in midair, pressing down with the weight of a mountain.
And purple lightning lashed through the sky, crackling and booming without end.
These elemental forces of different attributes intertwined above Gu Sheng, forming a colossal Element Storm.
They circled the phantom of Holy Spectrum Puni behind Gu Sheng, making him seem like a sovereign who commanded every element in the world.
Holy Spectrum Puni's phantom stood proudly between heaven and earth. Each beat of its eight golden wings stirred up vast tides of elemental energy.
This terrifying display left the spectators across Spirit City gaping in shock.
In the VIP stands.
Qian Renxue stared unblinkingly at the young man in the arena.
Her hands clutched at the hem of her clothes of their own accord. Her fair fingers had gone pale from the force of her grip.
"So this is your true power, Gu Sheng..."
Her heart brimmed with shock and pride.
On the high platform.
Bibi Dong sprang to her feet, standing before the stone railing.
Even her beautiful, haughty face was now filled with astonishment.
As a Titled Douluo, she could sense the terror of the Element Storm in the sky more keenly than anyone.
This wasn't a crude piling up of Soul Power. It was mastery of elemental forces so precise it bordered on perfection.
This young man had reached such heights without inheriting any godhood.
The more than twenty thousand spectators present had fallen into a deathly silence.
No one dared make a sound. Even their breathing grew instinctively faint.
Before such overwhelming power, humanity seemed so insignificant.
Below, the seven members of Shrek could barely move.
If that Element Storm came down, they would all die.
At Shrek Academy's rest area.
Flender watched the scene in the arena, his heart in his throat.
Any one of the fireballs, wind blades, or bolts of lightning swirling overhead could fall and take the children's lives.
He couldn't stand by and watch the children he had raised with his own hands die in the arena.
"Referee!"
"We surrender!"
Flender abruptly rose to his feet and shouted at the top of his lungs, pouring all his Soul Power into his voice.
His words echoed through the vast arena, filled with undisguised panic and urgency.
Yu Xiaogang also stood up, trembling.
He looked at his prized disciple, who was on the verge of collapse, and shouted:
"Little San!"
"Give up!"
"Your life comes first!"
Liu Erlong, Zhao Wuji, and the others also called out, their faces full of worry.
Tang San in the arena naturally heard his teacher and the dean.
Surrender?
Those two words crashed through his mind like a thunderclap, leaving his ears ringing.
He, Tang San, was a heaven-blessed genius, a once-in-a-millennium prodigy of the Tang Sect.
Since coming to this world, he had relied on his Twin Martial Souls and the Tang Sect Secret Arts. Though his path had sometimes been rough, when had he ever been forced to surrender in such a humiliating fashion?
His dignity and pride would not let him bow his head to someone his own age.
Memories of Holy Soul Village flashed through his mind, along with his father Tang Hao's teachings and the devastating Hidden Weapons.
"No..."
"I can't lose..."
Tang San murmured in anguish within his heart.
But when he turned his head and saw his companions, already unable to fight, his body went rigid.
Dai Mubai's arms were charred black. Ma Hongjun's Martial Soul had fallen silent, and Xiao Wu's body convulsed with fear.
Oscar and Ning Rongrong couldn't even lift their heads.
If he kept fighting for his own selfish pride, they would all be torn to shreds by the terrifying Element Storm in the sky.
They were his companions, his friends who had faced life and death alongside him.
Tang San shut his eyes in anguish.
The corners of his eyes trembled, and his face twisted with pain.
When he opened his eyes again, the struggle in them had given way to helplessness.
"We..."
"Surrender."
He forced out those two words with every last ounce of strength left in him.
After saying them, Tang San seemed to lose all his spirit in an instant. His once-straight back slumped.
Gu Sheng looked at Tang San, who had given up resisting, and answered calmly.
"Nothing special."
"But this was indeed a wise choice."
Gu Sheng lowered his raised right hand.
At his movement, the frenzied Element Storm began to slowly subside.
The colors gradually faded from the sky, turning into pure Soul Power that returned to the world.
The golden holy light that filled the sky receded at the same time.
The immense pressure shrouding the arena vanished in an instant.
The Seven Shrek Devils collapsed heavily to the ground, gasping for air, their bodies drenched in cold sweat.
In the Heaven Dou Empire royal box.
The delicate celadon teacup in Emperor Xue Ye's hand still hung suspended in midair.
The tea inside had grown cold, but he hadn't noticed.
"This young man..."
"What kind of monster is he...?"
Emperor Xue Ye stared blankly at Gu Sheng in the arena, muttering to himself.
For a Soul Master so young to control so many elements of such extreme power at once defied every convention of the Soul Master World.
In the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's box.
Ning Fengzhi sat in his seat, his body as rigid as a stone statue.
"Uncle Jian."
"Uncle Gu."
"What do you think... his Martial Soul actually is?"
Behind him, Sword Douluo Chen Xin had already placed his right hand on the hilt of the Seven Kill Sword.
Chen Xin's eyes were grave as he slowly let out a breath.
"Fengzhi."
"The instant that golden light erupted, my Seven Kill Sword... trembled."
"It was suppressed."
At those words, Ning Fengzhi's eyelids twitched violently.
The Seven Kill Sword was an immensely proud Martial Soul, one of the finest weapon-type Martial Souls in the world.
What rank would the other person's Martial Soul have to be to make the Seven Kill Sword afraid?
Bone Douluo Gu Rong, standing beside them, nodded, his expression utterly serious.
"That was suppression of rank from deep within the soul."
"That young man's Martial Soul... definitely isn't an ordinary top-tier Martial Soul."
"Could it be the legendary God-Level Martial Soul, one that surpasses this continent's limits?"
A God-Level Martial Soul.
Those four words left all three members of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect deep in thought.
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