"Phew..."
Huyan Yu took another deep breath, forcibly suppressing every stray thought and the slight trembling in his body.
The hesitation and terror in his eyes were gradually replaced by a ruthless resolve to break the cauldrons and sink the boats.
Since there was no other choice.
Then, in the end, he could only return to the field he knew best—and the only one that might still offer him a chance at victory.
A direct clash!
"Haah—!"
A furious roar drowned out the buzzing in his head.
The Soul Rings around Huyan Yu flared brightly once more.
Especially that profound black ten-thousand-year Soul Ring, which shone with a dark luster like black diamond as an even heavier aura rose from his body.
He bent his legs slightly. The nozzles of his Soul Guidance Thruster shifted direction, and the faintly drifting blue glow behind him transformed into a violent forward thrust!
"Good!"
Faced with the charge bearing down like a collapsing mountain, Xia Ming showed no fear. Instead, a battle-hungry grin spread across his face.
He stomped down hard. Not only did he not retreat, he charged straight at Huyan Yu's oncoming rush!
"Boom—!"
Their fists collided once more.
Xia Ming slid backward again, this time retreating nearly twenty meters.
Huyan Yu, however, merely swayed before forcibly halting his retreat.
Pain still lingered in his bloodshot eyes, but the previous confusion was gone.
He bit through the tip of his tongue, using the agonizing pain to stimulate his nerves. He forcefully withstood the third wave of mental impact, suffering only a fleeting daze!
"Roar—! It's not over yet!"
Huyan Yu howled and, like a tireless beast, activated his thruster again. With unstoppable momentum, he continued charging at Xia Ming, who had yet to fully steady himself!
Xia Ming had no intention of dodging either. He adjusted his breathing and threw another punch to meet him!
"Boom! Boom! Boom—!"
The battle that followed entered its most primitive and brutal rhythm.
The two were like savage beasts that knew nothing of retreat, crashing head-on again and again at the center of the arena.
Every collision erupted with a thunderous boom, accompanied by scattered Soul Power currents and flying shards of stone.
Xia Ming was driven back time after time by the greater force, while Huyan Yu endured layer upon layer of mental strikes.
Fine threads of blood gradually seeped from all seven of his orifices.
This frenzied clash of pure strength and will, this savage fight of trading injury for injury, became the most breathtaking scene since the start of this tournament.
Every spectator, regardless of whom they supported, held their breath and stared without blinking.
"Boom—!"
After who knew how many clashes, an especially muffled explosion rang out.
Xia Ming's body was flung backward like a kite with a severed string, tracing an arc through the air.
He finally crashed down at the very edge of the arena, less than half a step away from the space beyond the platform that signified defeat!
Though he was still uninjured, according to the rules, Huyan Yu would win as long as he knocked him off the stage.
Huyan Yu was not faring well either. He stood where he was, his body swaying violently as though he could collapse at any moment.
His vision kept darkening, his ears rang without end, and his sea of consciousness churned like a lake struck by boulders, on the verge of splitting apart.
Yet he clenched his teeth and forced himself to remain standing. His bloodshot eyes locked onto Xia Ming at the edge of the platform.
Just one more time! Just knock him back another half-step! Victory will belong to Canglan Academy! It will belong to me!
That thought was like a final shot of adrenaline, injected into Huyan Yu's will as it teetered on the brink of collapse.
A smile could not help appearing on his face. Even if he had reached his limit and would absolutely be unable to fight again after this match, he had at least eliminated one opponent.
However, just as Huyan Yu gathered his last reserves of strength and prepared to deliver the finishing blow, he saw Xia Ming at the edge of the arena slowly straighten up.
There was no panic or unwillingness on the other boy's youthful face, only an extraordinary calm.
Why? Why wasn't he afraid?
Huyan Yu's agonized brain could no longer process any complicated thoughts.
The flicker of doubt vanished as quickly as it came, cast aside by him.
At this moment, only one simple thought remained in his fading will.
Throw a punch! Throw the final punch! Blast Xia Ming off the stage!
"Urrraaaah—!"
Huyan Yu let out an almost inhuman roar.
He drained every drop of Soul Power from his body, even at the cost of damaging his meridians, driving his Soul Guidance Thruster to an unprecedented output!
The blue flames blazed like a miniature sun, propelling his massive body—which was already beginning to disobey him—into a resolute streak of light as he charged toward Xia Ming at the edge of the platform!
Watching the fist rapidly grow larger in his vision, Xia Ming finally revealed a smile that said his plan had succeeded.
He raised his fist as well and met the attack.
The final punch!
"Bang—!"
This collision did not sound as explosive as the previous ones. It seemed somewhat lacking in force.
Huyan Yu's strength had already severely weakened after repeated mental assaults.
Their fists touched and immediately separated.
The powerful thrust struck Xia Ming, and his body flew backward out of control, on the verge of falling from the arena!
Huyan Yu exhausted his last shred of strength to forcibly nail himself in place, desperately holding himself upright.
Only one thought remained in his mind.
Hold on! As long as I fall after him, victory is mine!
His gaze followed Xia Ming's backward-flying body through the air, waiting for the moment of landing that would decide the match.
However, at the very instant Xia Ming's body was about to cross the arena boundary.
"Buzz—!"
A wave of Soul Power distinctly different from the thruster on Huyan Yu's body suddenly came from behind Xia Ming!
Blue Soul Power flames abruptly ignited!
A Soul Guidance Thruster!
Xia Ming also had a Soul Guidance Thruster equipped on his back!
And throughout every battle before this, he had never once used it!
The sight made every spectator's eyes widen instantly, and uncontrollable gasps erupted throughout the arena!
Shrek Academy's Martial Soul Department had always openly looked down on the Soul Guidance Department, though it was at least somewhat better than certain schools within the Heaven Dou Empire.
As a result, among the participants Shrek had sent to past tournaments, apart from students who already belonged to the Soul Guidance Department.
The Martial Soul Department elites sent by Shrek almost never relied on Soul Tools in battle. It had practically become a tradition—and an arrogance—used to demonstrate the power and purity of their Martial Souls.
Therefore, when Xia Ming swept across the arena with overwhelming strength, everyone naturally classified him as a pure Soul Master.
No one had ever suspected that he had such a Soul Guidance device hidden on him.
He had actually concealed this trump card until now!
The blue flames blasting from Xia Ming's back were far inferior in intensity and momentum to Huyan Yu's Class 5 thruster, clearly making it of a lower grade.
The instantaneous acceleration and maximum speed it provided naturally could not compare with Huyan Yu's.
But what he needed right now had never been speed that surpassed his opponent's.
All he needed was a reverse thrust to offset the inertia carrying him beyond the platform!
"Hiss—!"
The flames erupted.
Xia Ming's backward trajectory shifted in midair.
The powerful inertia was deftly canceled by the thrust provided by the Soul Guidance Thruster.
His body changed from flying backward to hovering briefly in the air, then sank lightly downward.
At last, Xia Ming landed firmly on solid ground at the very edge of the arena without falling off.
In fact, with the thruster's assistance, he landed far more calmly than anyone had expected.
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