Head-on Collision!

"Haa..."

Huyan Yu took another deep breath, forcibly suppressing all distracting thoughts and the slight trembling of his body.

The hesitation and shock in his eyes were gradually replaced by a ruthless, do-or-die resolve.

Since there was no other choice.

Then, in the end, he could only return to the domain he knew best—the only one that might bring him victory now.

Head-on collision!

"Haa--!"

A roar drowned out the buzzing in his mind.

The soul rings around Huyan Yu flared with light once more.

In particular, the deep, black ten-thousand-year soul ring bloomed with a dark luster like black diamond, and a heavier, more oppressive aura surged from his body.

He bent his knees slightly, and the nozzles of his soul-guided thrusters adjusted their angle, shifting the ethereal blue glow from a gentle hover to a violent, forward-thrusting force!

"Well come!"

Facing the charge that bore down on him like a collapsing mountain, Xia Ming showed no fear; instead, a smile full of fighting spirit spread across his lips.

He stomped hard on the ground, and instead of retreating, he charged headlong to meet Huyan Yu's momentum!

"Boom--!"

Their fists collided once again.

Xia Ming's figure slid backward, this time retreating nearly twenty meters.

As for Huyan Yu, he merely swayed before forcibly halting his momentum.

Though pain still lingered in his bloodshot eyes, the previous bewilderment was gone.

He bit the tip of his tongue, using the sharp pain to stimulate his nerves, and managed to withstand the third wave of mental impact, suffering only a momentary lapse in focus!

"Roar--! It's not over yet!"

Huyan Yu bellowed like an untiring beast, reigniting his thrusters and charging toward Xia Ming—who had yet to fully stabilize his footing—with unstoppable momentum!

Xia Ming had no intention of dodging either. He adjusted his breathing and swung his fist to meet him once more!

"Boom, boom, boom--!"

The ensuing battle entered a rhythm that was as primitive as it was brutal.

The two men were like beasts who knew not the meaning of retreat, crashing into each other again and again in the center of the arena.

Every collision erupted with a thunderous roar, accompanied by turbulent soul power and flying debris.

Xia Ming was knocked back by superior force time and again, while Huyan Yu endured repeated, stacking mental strikes.

Fine threads of blood began to seep from his seven orifices.

This frantic exchange of pure power and will, this brutal fight of trading injury for injury, became the most shocking scene since the start of the tournament.

Every spectator, regardless of which side they supported, held their breath, eyes glued to the stage.

"Boom--!"

After an unknown number of collisions, an exceptionally dull, heavy thud echoed out.

Xia Ming's body was sent flying like a kite with a broken string, tracing an arc through the air.

He finally landed heavily on the very edge of the arena, less than half a step away from the boundary that signified defeat!

Although he remained uninjured, according to the tournament rules, Huyan Yu only needed to knock him off the stage to claim victory.

Huyan Yu was in no better shape; he stood where he was, his body swaying violently as if he might collapse at any moment.

His vision was blacking out, his ears were ringing incessantly, and his sea of consciousness felt like a lake into which a giant boulder had been thrown, churning and on the verge of shattering.

But he gritted his teeth, forcing himself to stay upright, his bloodshot eyes locked firmly onto Xia Ming at the edge of the stage.

Just one last time! Just one more half-step to knock him back! Victory would belong to Canglan Academy! It would belong to me!

This thought acted like a final stimulant, injected into Huyan Yu's crumbling will.

A smile couldn't help but form on his face; even though he had reached his limit and would be unable to fight again after this, at least he had managed to eliminate one opponent.

However, just as Huyan Yu gathered his final strength to deliver the finishing blow, he saw Xia Ming at the edge of the stage slowly stand straight.

On the youth's face, there was no expected panic or resentment, but rather an extraordinary sense of calm.

Why? Why wasn't he afraid?

Huyan Yu's pain-wracked brain could no longer process complex thoughts.

The flicker of doubt vanished as quickly as it had appeared, cast to the back of his mind.

At this moment, in his remaining will, there was only one simple idea.

And that was to swing his fist! To throw that final punch! To blast Xia Ming off the stage!

"Ugh, ahhh--!"

Huyan Yu let out a roar that sounded almost inhuman.

He squeezed every drop of soul power from within his body, not even hesitating to damage his own meridians, to push the power of his Soul Tool thrusters to an unprecedented state!

The deep blue flames burned as fiercely as a miniature sun, propelling his massive, now barely responsive body into a desperate streak of light as he charged toward Xia Ming at the edge of the stage!

Watching the fist rapidly enlarge in his field of vision, Xia Ming finally revealed a smile of triumph.

He raised his own fist to meet the incoming strike.

The final blow!

"Bang!"

The sound of this collision was not as explosive as the previous ones; it sounded somewhat weak and lacking in momentum.

Huyan Yu's strength had already severely declined under the repeated mental shocks.

The two fists touched and immediately parted.

The powerful force of the impact acted upon Xia Ming, sending his body flying backward uncontrollably, appearing as though he were about to tumble off the stage!

Huyan Yu exhausted his last ounce of strength, forcing himself to remain anchored in place, stubbornly refusing to collapse.

Only one thought remained in his mind.

Hold on! As long as I fall after him, the victory is mine!

His gaze remained locked on the airborne Xia Ming, waiting for the moment of impact that would decide the match.

However, in the split second before Xia Ming's body was about to cross the boundary of the stage.

"Hum--!"

A ripple of soul power, distinctly different from the thrusters on Huyan Yu, suddenly erupted from behind Xia Ming!

Deep blue soul power flames flared to life!

A Soul Tool thruster!

Equipped on Xia Ming's back was, in fact, a Soul Tool thruster!

Furthermore, he had never used it in any of his previous battles!

This sight caused all the spectators to widen their eyes in an instant, and a wave of irrepressible gasps erupted throughout the arena!

The disdain held by the Martial Soul Department of Shrek Academy toward the Soul Guidance Department was plain for all to see, being only slightly better than some schools within the Heaven Dou Empire.

Consequently, among the team members sent to past tournaments, aside from those who belonged to the Soul Guidance Department itself.

The Martial Soul Department elites sent by Shrek almost never relied on Soul Tools in combat; this had become a tradition and a form of arrogance used to highlight the strength and purity of their own martial souls.

Therefore, when Xia Ming swept across the arena with such peerless power, everyone naturally categorized him as a pure soul master.

No one had ever suspected that he would be hiding such a Soul Tool device on his person.

He had actually kept this trump card hidden until this very moment!

The intensity and momentum of the deep blue flames jetting from Xia Ming's back were far inferior to Huyan Yu's level-five thruster, clearly indicating it was of a lower grade.

The instantaneous acceleration and top speed it provided naturally could not compare to Huyan Yu's.

But what he needed at this moment was never speed that surpassed his opponent.

What he needed was merely a reverse thrust to cancel out the inertia pushing him off the stage!

"Hiss--!"

The flames spat out.

Xia Ming's trajectory, which had been flying backward, underwent an adjustment in mid-air.

The powerful inertia was skillfully neutralized by the thrust provided by the Soul Tool.

His figure shifted from flying backward to a brief hover, followed by a light descent.

In the end, Xia Ming stepped firmly onto the solid ground at the very edge of the competition stage, without falling off.

Because of the assistance from the thruster, his landing was even more composed than anyone had anticipated.