Breaking the Deadlock, You're Surrendering Already?

Shui Xiwei had no idea what Yu Mingxiao was planning. With a sharp cry, Soul Power surged through her as she condensed several ice spikes and fired them straight at him.

Like Yu Mingxiao, she possessed powerful control abilities but lacked strong offensive methods.

She could handle ordinary Soul Masters easily enough, but against an opponent like Yu Mingxiao, she found herself stretched thin and unable to do anything to him for the moment.

Dragon breath burst forth, shattering the two incoming ice spikes once again.

Golden light suddenly flashed, and Yu Mingxiao's gaze sharpened.

The radiance poured down from above his head until it covered him from head to toe, turning his entire body into a little golden figure.

"What... is going on with him?"

Shui Xiwei froze slightly, completely baffled by his unexpected move.

Taking advantage of her momentary distraction, Yu Mingxiao moved forward in a blur, closed in on her, and threw a punch.

"It's useless. You can't hurt me."

Shui Xiwei gave a light laugh. The first yellow Soul Ring beneath her feet lit up as her spiritual power locked tightly onto Yu Mingxiao. She said calmly, "First Soul Skill—Ice Seal."

A tide of freezing power surged toward him, but the moment it touched the golden light covering Yu Mingxiao's body, it melted into water under the scorching heat before it could freeze.

In the instant Shui Xiwei was stunned, Yu Mingxiao caught the opening and drove a punch into her head.

"Bang—"

Her body suddenly lost balance, and she crashed heavily onto the edge of the arena.

"Good! He possesses both combat skill and battle instinct. This boy actually came up with a way to break such a deadlock, and more importantly, he pulled it off. He truly is a combat genius."

Yu Luoxiao slapped the table and rose to his feet, his face full of excitement and his eyes brimming with praise.

An ordinary Soul Master facing such a situation would probably only foolishly compete with Shui Xiwei in Soul Power consumption. Whoever ran out of Soul Power first would lose.

After all, one side had sufficient offensive power but was constrained by the other's powerful control, while the other possessed only powerful control and lacked strong offensive methods. The situation had already reached a stalemate.

Shui Rouyun sighed softly. "Your clan's young clan leader truly is an unparalleled genius. At merely six years old, not only is his talent extraordinary, but his combat skills and methods are exceptional as well."

"I had thought he would compete with Xiwei by exhausting Soul Power, but his approach greatly exceeded my expectations."

"You flatter him, you flatter him."

Though Yu Luoxiao spoke humbly, his chin rose slightly again, and the smile at the corner of his mouth was impossible to suppress.

The headmaster of Blazing Fire Academy smiled as he offered congratulations. "Clan Leader Yu, I heard several years ago that the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan had produced a pair of Blue Lightning Twin Stars."

"Your clan's young clan leader must be one of them. Presumably, there is another genius equally renowned as him. The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan is certain to flourish."

"Blue Lightning Twin Stars?!" Yu Luoxiao's face darkened.

Once, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan had indeed had Blue Lightning Twin Stars, but that had merely been a nickname circulating among Soul Masters before Yu Mingxiao and Yu Xiaogang awakened their martial souls.

Only that useless Yu Xiaogang had taken it seriously.

If Yu Xiaogang had awakened a powerful martial soul, that nickname would naturally have become reality. Yet he had awakened a useless martial soul—a Pig.

"Hmm? Headmaster Yu Luoxiao, did I say something wrong just now?"

Seeing that his expression was off, the headmaster of Blazing Fire Academy spoke hesitantly.

"Cough, cough. Headmaster Huo Wuji, there have been rumors that a son of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan awakened either a little black pig or a little black dog. That young master who awakened a useless martial soul seems to have been one of the Blue Lightning Twin Stars," Shui Rouyun reminded him.

Huyan Kuang added with a laugh, "Not only that, I have even more detailed information."

"I heard that the young master who awakened the pig martial soul is named Yu Xiaogang."

"On the day of his awakening, he let out a thunderous fart in the main hall, leaving everyone speechless. His Innate Soul Power was only level 0.5, and unable to bear the blow, he ran straight out of the hall."

Not only was Huyan Kuang the headmaster of Elephant Armor Academy, but he was also an elder of the Elephant Armored Sect. The Elephant Armored Sect elder who had attended the ceremony that day was his biological brother, and he had shared this amusing story with him.

Only then did Huo Wuji understand. He hurriedly apologized, "Headmaster Yu, I truly did not know. I had no intention of insulting the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan."

Yu Luoxiao was both embarrassed and angry. He waved his hand irritably, and his good mood from moments ago vanished without a trace.

Damn little useless Xiaogang! I'm the headmaster of an academy, yet I still lose face because of him whenever I go out. Once we return, I'll make Sixth Brother give him a proper beating!

Yu Luoxiao cursed inwardly and turned his gaze toward the arena.

"I'm not fighting anymore, I'm not fighting anymore. That hurt like hell. I surrender."

Shui Xiwei slowly got to her feet, one hand covering the swollen bump on her forehead while the other brushed dust from her clothes.

"You're surrendering already?"

Yu Mingxiao had thought the battle would continue. He had not expected it to end so hastily.

Shui Xiwei said, "Once I saw that you could ignore my First Soul Skill, I knew I wasn't your opponent. What would be the point of continuing?"

Yu Mingxiao fell silent for a moment. He had not expected this girl to be so... pragmatic.

"By the way, how were you able to break my First Soul Skill?" Shui Xiwei tilted her head and asked curiously.

Yu Mingxiao said, "Didn't you see the golden light radiating from my entire body? I covered my body with the high temperature of the light attribute."

"I guessed that your First Soul Skill drew water vapor and moisture from the surrounding air, then forcibly froze it into ice with low temperatures."

"But my entire body is covered in high-temperature golden light. The water vapor around me simply can't condense into ice on my body!"

"So that was it?" Shui Xiwei suddenly understood, then asked again, "But how did you cover your body with the power of light?"

It sounded simple, but it actually placed extremely high demands on the precision of one's Soul Power control.

Take her, for example. At most, she could condense ice-attributed Soul Power into ice spikes. She could not even form it into an ice sword.

A faint smile played on Yu Mingxiao's lips. "That involves spiritual power."

"I used spiritual power to finely control the light-attributed Soul Power within my body, making it cover my entire body."

"After covering the body, the key is keeping the Soul Power stable and preventing it from dispersing. Only sufficiently abundant spiritual power can maintain it continuously."

His spiritual power had never been weak to begin with. As a transmigrator, his spiritual power was naturally far beyond that of children his age.

Furthermore, he had fused with the Prajna Ghost Mask, causing his spiritual power to rise once more. That was how he had achieved this. It could also be considered a simplified Self-Created Soul Skill.

Shui Xiwei exclaimed in admiration, "So it is related to spiritual power. Thank you for clearing up my confusion. I accept my defeat wholeheartedly. In the future... may I write to you so we can exchange ideas?"

Yu Mingxiao raised an eyebrow and said calmly, "Sure, but I usually need to cultivate, so I may not reply promptly."

"That's fine." Shui Xiwei smiled sweetly and walked straight off the arena.

The fifth round of friendly matches ended with Thunder Academy defeating Skywater Academy.

During the seventh round, Thunder Academy faced Blazing Fire Academy. Yu Mingxiao took the field again and defeated all seven of the opposing students by himself.

Blazing Fire Academy's defeat meant that Thunder Academy had already secured the championship with four consecutive victories. The remaining three matches were merely routine fixtures.

Yu Luobin led Yu Mingxiao and the others back to the clan first.

The championship reward for this friendly competition was only five hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins, hardly any rare treasure. Thunder Academy would collect it after the event.