Tang Bei's Final Battle

Soon, Lin Feng arrived at Tang Ya's small shop.

Pushing the door open, he found only Huo Yuhao busy behind the counter.

"Senior Brother, why are you the only one here? Where is Senior Sister Xiao Ya?" Lin Feng scanned the surroundings, failing to see Tang Ya's figure.

"Teacher Xiao Ya went to participate in the final of the fourth-year assessment for the Outer Court," Huo Yuhao looked up and explained. "The shop was short-handed, so she asked me to come over and help look after things for a while."

"I see. Thank you for your hard work." Lin Feng nodded.

"It's a small matter, no trouble at all," Huo Yuhao said, turning to pour him some tea.

Before Huo Yuhao could bring the tea over, Lin Feng had already turned and was walking briskly toward the exit.

The fourth-year final assessment... he had to go and take a look.

Without slowing his pace, Lin Feng headed straight toward the Soul Fighting Zone of the academy.

(Note: The erroneous plot point of Beibei being promoted to the sixth year has been removed; he is currently still in the fourth year.)

When Lin Feng first enrolled, it hadn't been long since Tang Ya and Beibei had successfully passed their third-year final assessment.

Now that the two of them were in their fourth year, they had to accumulate ten "Soul Fighting Points" in the Soul Fighting Zone to advance to the fifth year.

The small-scale tournament held at the end of each semester was the primary way to obtain these points; for every match won, one precious point was earned. The higher the grade, the higher the requirements, until one finally stepped into the Inner Court.

After asking for directions along the way, Lin Feng finally found the venue hosting the fourth-year final assessment.

As he stepped into the bustling entrance passage, Tang Ya, standing on the distant arena, seemed to sense something and happened to turn her head.

Across the sea of moving heads, their eyes met. She smiled and waved, and Lin Feng waved and smiled back. Beibei, standing opposite her, followed her gaze and saw Lin Feng, a hint of anger seemingly rising on his face.

On the stage, the referee was making a final confirmation in a booming voice: "The rules have been read in full. Both teams, begin by announcing your names."

"Tang Ya."

"Li Ru."

"Luo Yunyun."

The three members of the opposing team also announced their names in turn.

"Beibei."

"Cao Pinyuan."

"Rong Jingyu."

Down below, Lin Feng immediately paid the entrance fee to the administrator at the side of the arena, registered his information, and found an empty seat in the back row of the spectator stands.

The surrounding discussions drifted over, mostly focused on Beibei.

"The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, the number one attacker of the Outer Court—this is going to be a show!"

"I heard Senior Brother Beibei intentionally held himself back a year just to chase girls. Otherwise, he would have advanced to the fifth year just like Senior Brother Xu Sanshi..."

"Exactly. Fifth year is so much better; the number one beauty of the Outer Court, Senior Sister Jiang Nannan, is over there. Senior Brother Beibei really lost out on this one."

On the stage, the referee stretched his arms out to both sides and said sternly: "Both sides, take your positions—the match begins!"

The moment the words fell, six figures simultaneously released their Martial Souls, and their soul power erupted.

Yellow and purple Soul Rings flashed in succession, dazzling to the eye. Both sides were configured with the common fourth-year setup of "one Soul Ancestor leading two Soul Elders."

In the fourth year, those who could possess the cultivation of a Soul Ancestor were already among the top tier of students, while the vast majority hovered in the mid-to-late stages of the Soul Elder realm.

"Xiao Ya," Beibei said, crackling blue lightning coiling around his body, his gaze locked tightly on Tang Ya opposite him. "I will show you that I am by no means inferior to that guy!"

"No need for words." Tang Ya's expression was cold, her eyes devoid of any ripples. "Between us, everything was settled long ago."

The battle erupted in the next instant!

Beibei's Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul was top-tier among Assault System souls. As soon as they clashed, the violent lightning carried a crushing momentum, forcing Tang Ya's trio to retreat repeatedly.

The control of the Blue Silver Grass appeared strained in the face of such absolute speed and power.

"Boom! Boom!"

The exchange was as fast as lightning and flint. The muffled thuds of colliding soul skills and the sound of air explosions were incessant.

In just a dozen exchanges of offense and defense, the situation had clearly tilted.

The team led by Beibei coordinated with tacit understanding, and his personal strength held the upper hand, forcing Tang Ya and her two companions into a desperate defense.

At this rate, the outcome seemed to be a foregone conclusion.

"Senior Sister Xiao Ya..." Beside Tang Ya, the girl named Li Ru clutched her arm, which had been grazed by lightning, her voice filled with tears and unwillingness. "It doesn't matter if I lose... but you are only one point away from advancing to the fifth year... I, I am just so unwilling!"

On the other side, the girl named Luo Yunyun also turned pale, gritting her teeth. "It's so frustrating... we can only wait until next semester..."

All three were covered in wounds, their soul power mostly exhausted, and they had been pushed to the very edge of the arena.

Beibei halted his offensive, looking at the stubborn Tang Ya before him. His eyes were filled with complex emotions, but in the end, he reached out a hand, his voice dry:

"Admit defeat, Xiao Ya. Let's end it here."

"Get lost!"

Tang Ya snapped her head up, feeling insulted, and spat out the cold word.

But the next moment, her blood-stained lips twitched slightly, and her gaze bypassed Beibei, bypassed the noisy arena, and cast itself straight toward a certain direction in the spectator stands.

There, Lin Feng was watching quietly.

That glance was fleeting, yet it seemed to contain a thousand words.

There was humiliation, unwillingness, and a deeply buried reliance, all of which finally transformed into a look of desperate, do-or-die determination.

Dark, viscous, and ominous black soul power began to diffuse uncontrollably from Tang Ya's body...

"What, what kind of soul power is that? Could it be..."

"An Evil Soul Master?! Impossible! How could an Evil Soul Master infiltrate Shrek and even reach the fourth year?!"

The spectator stands erupted instantly, filled with voices of shock, suspicion, and fear.

Not good!

Lin Feng's heart sank, and he stood up abruptly.

He had not expected that the dark power within Tang Ya had not been eradicated; the previous purification had not been entirely successful.

Watching the increasingly dense black mist, Lin Feng clenched his fists, his gaze sweeping urgently toward the referee's stand as he struggled violently within.

He was considering whether to intervene by force immediately and terminate the match.

On the stage, the transformation had already begun.

Tang Ya's originally emerald-green Blue Silver Grass had now turned a deep, abyssal black.

The vines of the Blue Silver Grass grew and danced wildly, like giant, living pythons of darkness.

Then, they lashed out at astonishing speed, precisely bypassing Beibei in front and lightning-fast wrapping around his two Soul Elder teammates behind him.

"Argh!"

"What the hell is this?!"

Caught off guard, the two Soul Elders were instantly bound tightly by the Dark Blue Silver Grass.

The Blue Silver Grass was not merely a simple restraint; the two felt their blood, qi, and soul power beginning to drain away uncontrollably, being devoured...

Their faces turned pale at a speed visible to the naked eye...

Lin Feng stared fixedly at Tang Ya. Her eyes were fierce, yet still clear; she had not lost focus or descended into madness, nor was she attacking indiscriminately.

This dark power had not yet completely consumed her sanity.

He breathed a slight sigh of relief, though his taut heartstrings did not fully relax.

The referee on the stage had clearly noticed the anomaly, but seeing that Tang Ya's targets were specific and she was not attacking indiscriminately, he hesitated. Although the dark soul power was sinister, it was still within the rules.

He hesitated for a moment, ultimately choosing not to stop the match, though his expression remained grave as he kept a close watch on Tang Ya.

Beibei did not sit idly by; lightning surged around his body as he abandoned his focus on Tang Ya, attempting to rescue his two teammates.

However, Tang Ya merely glanced at him coldly.

More Dark Blue Silver Grass swarmed out from beneath her feet, easily blocking Beibei's fierce lightning assault.

At the same time, the two bound Soul Elders were already withered, their blood and soul power more than half drained. They were then flung off the arena, landing heavily and officially declared out.

Having devoured the blood and qi of the two Soul Elders, the color of the Dark Blue Silver Grass seemed to deepen even further.

Tang Ya was now brimming with soul power, her momentum so formidable it rivaled that of a Soul King, directly overwhelming the shocked and furious Beibei opposite her.

On the arena, the situation had reversed in an instant!