Li Jiuxuan looked tense as he watched the platform without a moment's distraction. The instant he saw Shui Yue'er get knocked off, he reacted even faster than Shui Bing'er, rushing over and catching her in his arms.
Shui Yue'er's head rested on Li Jiuxuan's pale, slender arm. Still dazed, she murmured, "I... did I lose?"
Li Jiuxuan's heart ached. Many places on Shui Yue'er's body had been scorched until the skin split, and her pretty, lively face was smudged with dirt.
She had truly given it her all. Against one of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's top young talents, she had lost by only one move!
"Y-you're all right, Yue'er?" Shui Bing'er looked flustered for the first time. She wanted to hug Shui Yue'er, to check her over, but she was injured herself and didn't know where she could touch her.
"It... it hurts so much!"
As Shui Yue'er came around, her eyes immediately welled with tears. She turned and buried her face against Li Jiuxuan's small chest, sobbing like a child who had done something wrong. "I'm sorry, Jiuxuan!"
"It's okay!"
Li Jiuxuan felt as if a knife were twisting in his heart. Yue'er had always been so lively and adorable, yet this was the first time he had seen her in such a sorry state.
He gently patted Shui Yue'er's back with his small, delicate hands, doing his best to comfort her.
His entire palm was smeared with bright red blood.
"I was supposed to win, but I still lost..."
Shui Yue'er looked up at Li Jiuxuan, her eyes red as she gazed at him pitifully.
She was crying mostly because she had lost the match.
Deep down, she had clung to a glimmer of hope.
If she had won, then with the best of three, there might have been a chance that Xiao Jiuxuan wouldn't have to be taken away...
But now, with one win and one loss,
Xiao Jiuxuan still had to face a level twenty-five Soul Grandmaster with seven more levels of Soul Power and one more Soul Ring than him!
"You were amazing, Sister. You gave it everything you had! Thank you for fighting so hard for me!"
A pang of sorrow welled in Li Jiuxuan's eyes. Ever since he had come to Skywater Academy, Shui Yue'er had always looked after him especially well.
Having a big sister who cared for him like that was more than enough.
If he could get through this ordeal today...
He'd cling to Skywater for the rest of his life.
After the referee announced the result of the second match and called for the next two contestants, Li Jiuxuan handed Shui Yue'er over to Shui Bing'er.
At that moment, he was seething with rage. A bone-chilling gleam and murderous intent flashed in his eyes.
He stamped his foot. Under the gaze of countless onlookers, he leaped onto the stone platform like a miniature True Dragon.
At the same time, Li Jiuxuan's icy, cutting voice rang out. "Li Jiuxuan, six years old, level seventeen Power Attack System Battle Soul Master!"
His words left the entire crowd stunned.
Six years old, and a level seventeen Soul Master?
In the next instant, Li Jiuxuan circulated his Soul Power throughout his body. His clothes fluttered, and the Yellow Soul Ring beneath his feet lit up.
"He really is level seventeen!"
Everyone below the platform was shocked.
Most people knew Li Jiuxuan's background.
He was a child who had awakened a top-grade Beast Martial Soul not long ago.
It had only been about three months.
How had he already reached level seventeen?
His cultivation had advanced far too quickly!
Even Yu Luomian and Huyan Zhen were taken aback.
"Thunder Academy, Yu Zigang, ten years old, level twenty-five Power Attack System Soul Grandmaster!"
Thunder Academy's final disciple sprang onto the platform and studied Li Jiuxuan with curiosity.
Seven levels in three months. No wonder even the clan leader had his eye on him. He really did have some ability!
His cultivation speed was even faster than Yu Tianheng's and Yu Tianxin's had been back then!
"Martial Soul, manifest!"
Yu Zigang's Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul appeared in an instant.
He was immensely talented. His arms and legs transformed into those of a dragon, pale blue scales spread across his face and shimmered, and the dragon tail behind him was exceptionally long and powerful.
Lightning crackled and surged across his body. Though the others stood dozens of meters away, they still felt a tingling numbness, as if they had been struck by electricity.
This was the might of the Number One Beast Martial Soul—the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon!
Yu Zigang moved, and lightning followed. The power of his dragon soul surged, granting him the strength to smash through any defense.
"Martial Soul, Ice Dragon King..."
Li Jiuxuan murmured in a low voice.
In the next instant, what looked like a genuine primordial Ice Dragon King soared into the sky behind him.
Its head reared high, its body covered in mysterious, deep-blue markings. Its eyes were like the frigid stars of the Far North, and its colossal form blotted out the sky. Just its appearance alone sent tremors rippling through the entire plaza.
The temperature didn't merely fall—it plunged to two hundred degrees below zero.
The plaza, which had been beneath a cloudless sky, was suddenly engulfed by a raging blizzard. The platform froze over into thick ice crystals before everyone's eyes, forcing all those below to circulate their Soul Power just to withstand the bitter cold!
The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, which Yu Zigang had always prided himself on—hailed as the Number One Beast Martial Soul—looked like a young dragon encountering its ancestor before the Ice Dragon King. Its imposing presence withered in an instant!
Lightning crackled and snapped, trembling and dimming beneath the Ice Dragon King's might. Even frost began to gather on the dragon scales covering Yu Zigang's body.
Nobody could have imagined it.
A mere six-year-old could affect the entire world simply by revealing his Martial Soul!
"So this is the might of the top-grade Beast Martial Soul, the Ice Dragon King?"
At that moment, all three factions were dumbstruck.
Skywater Academy. Thunder Academy.
And Huyan Zhen and Huyan Li.
Yu Luomian of Thunder Academy was especially stunned. He had worn a look of disdain from the start, but now that he had witnessed the Ice Dragon King Martial Soul's divine might for himself, his brow stayed furrowed, his expression grave.
Just revealing the Martial Soul had made it seem as though the world's rules had been rewritten and winter had descended.
He was a Power Attack type, so how could his restrictive abilities be more terrifying than those of a control type?
Even Yu Luomian, a Soul Douluo, had to circulate his Soul Power to resist the cold within the Ice Dragon King's domain!
"S-so this is the Ice Dragon King Martial Soul? It can transform the whole world!"
"It's incredibly powerful! In terms of Beast Martial Souls, the Ice Dragon King is far more imposing than the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon!"
"I think so too. No wonder the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan won't take their eyes off our special student. He's bound to change the title of Number One Beast Martial Soul someday!"
The beautiful female students from Skywater Academy exclaimed in amazement and began to chatter among themselves.
At their words, Yu Luomian pressed his five fingers against the armrest. With a crack, he crushed it, his gaze turning venomous as he swept his eyes across all the Skywater students.
"Damn it, this Ice Dragon King Martial Soul is just..."
Even Huyan Zhen had almost blurted out that the Ice Dragon King Martial Soul was far stronger than the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul. But when Yu Luomian glanced at him, he immediately shut his mouth.
He chose not to offend the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan outright.
"Hey, I remember that when a man and woman love each other and have children, the child inherits the Martial Soul of whichever parent is stronger, right?"
Suddenly, one of the beautiful female students from Skywater asked, at a most inopportune moment.
The question set off a lively discussion.
"Of course! I think that even among those Martial Souls all hailed as the best in their respective fields, the Ice Dragon King would still be the strongest!"
For example, the Number One Weapon Martial Soul, the Clear Sky Hammer.
The Number One Support Martial Soul, the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda.
The Number One Beast Martial Soul, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon.
The Number One Defense Martial Soul, the Bone Dragon.
The Number One Attack Martial Soul, the Seven Kill Sword...
"So, if someone were willing to have a few children with this little brother, then wouldn't that..."
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