After My Flowers Bloom, All Others Perish

At Wang Yan's command,

Both sides entered the arena and announced their names.

"Liu Yuan."

"Huo Yuhao."

"Xiao Xiao."

"Di Qiu'er."

"Ning Tian."

"Nanmen Yun'er."

For a moment, the Assessment Area fell utterly silent.

On the high platform, every teacher focused their attention on this final match.

As Wang Yan raised his right hand and brought it down sharply!

"Match begin!"

He swiftly retreated, moving away from the battlefield.

The instant his words fell, "Whoosh—"

Several willow branches shot forth,

Straight toward Ning Tian, who stood protected at the rear.

In battle,

Support-type Soul Masters were always the first priority to eliminate.

But Liu Yuan knew that Di Qiu'er understood this as well. Almost at the same time, the Golden Dragon Spear shot toward Huo Yuhao like lightning!

With his full-map scan, he was no small threat either.

Yet neither Huo Yuhao nor Ning Tian moved a single step in the face of the incoming attacks. They did not even blink.

"Spiritual Detection Sharing!"

Blue light bloomed in Huo Yuhao's eyes, linking the entire field.

"Seven Treasures have a name: first, speed! Third, strength!"

As Ning Tian chanted the soul incantation, two of the three Soul Rings—two yellow and one purple—around the Pagoda in her hand lit up. Four beams of light shot out and landed on Di Qiu'er and Nanmen Yun'er.

"Whoosh—clang!"

"Smack—"

Emerald-gold willow branches wrapped around the Golden Dragon Spear and viciously nailed it into the ground, leaving it unable to advance an inch.

On the other side, a right arm covered in Golden Dragon Scales seized every willow branch attacking Ning Tian. An immense force continuously surged from her side.

The instant Liu Yuan and Di Qiu'er met each other's eyes,

They both smiled!

In the blink of an eye, Di Qiu'er vanished from where she stood.

Then one hand had already grasped the Golden Dragon Spear pinned to the ground. With a fierce sweep, the willow branches binding it tore apart like paper.

The spear tip thrust out violently, aiming straight at Huo Yuhao's face.

But just then,

A great cauldron, with one of its legs wrapped in willow branches, came crashing down from above.

Di Qiu'er knocked it aside with her spear. "Clang—"

Amid the ringing echo, the other two great cauldrons came smashing in as well, one from the front and one from behind, carrying terrifying force.

But the Golden Dragon Spear merely swept out.

"Bang! Bang!"

The two Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldrons were sent flying.

"Hah—"

Xiao Xiao cried out and took direct control of her Martial Soul.

"Boom—"

The three cauldrons merged into one, and an ancient great cauldron descended to suppress her.

Feeling the Soul Power in her body stagnate, Di Qiu'er activated both boosts at once. A dazzling golden light instantly enveloped her.

She threw a punch!

"Boom—"

Xiao Xiao's face instantly turned deathly pale.

Di Qiu'er, however, grabbed one of the cauldron's legs with her backhand and swung it sideways!

Without even turning his head, Liu Yuan sensed the scene through Huo Yuhao's Spirit Sharing. With a clench of his hand, he completely bound the obstructing Nanmen Yun'er into a silkworm cocoon, leaving her able to do nothing but wriggle on the ground.

At the same time, he lightly waved his other hand.

Thick, twisting Origin Willow roots burst from the earth and instantly intertwined beneath the great cauldron, forming an incomparably sturdy arched wooden wall that firmly protected Huo Yuhao and the others behind it.

"Boom!"

The moment the great cauldron struck, the deafening explosion shook the air!

Carrying terrifying vibrations, a violent shockwave mixed with raging winds spread wildly in every direction, sending shattered stones and dirt flying everywhere!

"Crack—"

The arched wooden wall shattered.

Yet Di Qiu'er did not attack again. Instead, she glanced back at Liu Yuan and lifted her chin.

"Second half?"

Liu Yuan nodded and replied with one word.

"Come!"

The four of Huo Yuhao exchanged knowing looks,

Xiao Xiao and Ning Tian said, "Referee, we withdraw."

The moment those words were spoken, everyone was stunned.

Wang Yan hesitated briefly. "Are you sure?"

"We're sure."

Xiao Xiao and Ning Tian nodded. The latter even pointed at Nanmen Yun'er, who was bound up like a rice dumpling and moving less and less. "Yun'er is the same as us."

Thus, with Wang Yan's approval, the three of them simply walked off the battlefield. As for why Huo Yuhao did not leave, that involved the agreement made by both sides beforehand, as well as Di Qiu'er's pride.

Before the final began, after Liu Yuan and Di Qiu'er decided to have an all-out, brutal battle, they split the final into two rounds—the first half and the second half—in consideration of their teammates.

During the first half, their teammates would do their utmost to enhance them.

If the teammates' enhancements succeeded, then...

They would fight with everything they had in the second half while carrying those enhancements.

Because Huo Yuhao's full-map sharing cheat, unlike Ning Tian's boosts, could remain active even after a Soul Master left the field, Di Qiu'er did not want to take advantage of Liu Yuan. Thus, she did not allow Huo Yuhao to leave.

He only needed to stay at the side,

Keep his full-map cheat active, and quietly watch the battle.

"Interesting."

Xuan Zi gnawed on a chicken leg,

Watching with great relish.

"These two little ones have agreed to get serious."

It was not just him. Anyone with sufficiently profound cultivation could see that the Soul Power within Liu Yuan and Di Qiu'er was like an active volcano that had been compressed to the limit, ready to erupt at any moment!

As soon as he finished speaking, "Wood Dragon!"

Liu Yuan's deep shout rang out,

And an enormous Wood Dragon burst from the ground!

Ancient wooden patterns covered its body. Its ferocious dragon head rose proudly toward the sky, letting out a silent roar.

One, two, three—three Soul Rings lit up at the same time as the power to Absorb burst forth! The moment it appeared, the Wood Dragon's body rapidly coiled toward Di Qiu'er.

"Third Soul Skill—Golden Dragon Head!"

Di Qiu'er did not dodge. She threw a punch!

Dragon head against dragon head!

"Boom—"

Golden light flashed as wood splinters exploded!

A Wood Man rose from the ground and threw a backhand punch!

Di Qiu'er showed no fear at all and answered with a spear thrust!

"Rip—"

The Wood Man's arm was pierced through in an instant.

But the exploded wood splinters scattered through the air once more.

At the same time, the Wood Man struck out with a backhand palm!

Di Qiu'er thrust out both palms and was swallowed by shadow.

And at that very moment,

"When Autumn Comes on the Eighth of September,"

Chrysanthemums silently descended. The once-empty arena had somehow transformed into a sea of chrysanthemums, their radiant golden glow seeming to complement the Golden Dragon perfectly.

"Hah!"

Di Qiu'er exerted herself fiercely, and the Wood Man's enormous palm was torn apart in an instant by terrifying power!

But as the shadow cast by that descending palm dispersed, the fragrant chrysanthemums made Di Qiu'er's spine turn cold.

Then sunlight spilled down, and a glint of cold light suddenly flashed.

"After My Flowers Bloom, All Others Perish."

The words echoed, making her pupils contract instantly!

These petals were not flowers!

They were blades!

But just as Di Qiu'er realized this,

Liu Yuan's voice also fell completely. "Fragrant Array Piercing Chang'an, Golden Armor Covering the City!"

"Buzz buzz buzz—" The chrysanthemums carpeting the ground shattered, their petals transforming into countless blades. Like a flower-sea tornado reaching into the heavens, they swept toward Di Qiu'er!

Their sharpness was fully revealed—there was nowhere to evade!

"Roar—"

In an instant, a Golden Dragon's roar rang out!

But at this moment, on the high platform, Xuan Zi, Yan Shaozhe, and Qian Duoduo could no longer contain themselves. Their eyes widened as they stared at Liu Yuan and the flower petals filling the sky.

The words burst from their mouths. "Ultimate Wood?!"