Instant Kill

The referee raised a hand to signal that Cui Yajie had lost her combat capability, and the medical team on the sidelines rushed up to carry her away.

"Zhu Lu!" Dai Huabin roared. With a stomp of his foot, he unleashed his first soul skill, White Tiger Protection Barrier, covering his entire body in a white film of light as he charged toward Huo Yuhao like a cannonball.

His tactical judgment was sound; Mu Chen was too strong to face head-on, so he had to eliminate the support first to strip Mu Chen of his battlefield awareness.

But he had forgotten there was someone else on the field.

"Second soul skill, Radiant Goddess Butterfly."

Wang Dong's Radiant Goddess Butterfly wings unfurled in the morning light, and pink-blue light butterflies poured out like a rainstorm, cutting off Dai Huabin's path.

The light butterflies landed on the White Tiger Protection Barrier, emitting a dense hissing sound as each collision whittled away the thickness of the white film.

Dai Huabin's charge was stalled.

In that moment of hesitation, Zhu Lu moved.

The speed of the Hell Spirit Cat was top-tier among soul masters of her level. Her figure transformed into a black afterimage, bypassing Wang Dong's butterfly blockade, her sharp claws aiming straight for Huo Yuhao's throat.

The natural suppression of an agility-type soul master over a support-type soul master gave her the confidence to end the battle in a single strike.

But just as she reached a point five meters in front of Huo Yuhao, a sharp mental shriek suddenly erupted in her mind.

The sound did not enter through her ears; it detonated deep within her consciousness.

Soul Shock.

After Huo Yuhao upgraded to level fourteen, the power of his Soul Shock had increased accordingly.

Although it was not enough to cause substantial mental damage to the level twenty-nine Zhu Lu, that momentary blankness in her consciousness was enough to cause her high-speed movement to stutter for an instant.

An instant was all it took.

A blue Trident descended from the sky, its shaft slamming heavily into the ground in front of Zhu Lu.

The shockwave, carrying a gust of sea-scented air, forcibly blasted her back five meters.

Zhu Lu stumbled upon landing, her cat claws carving three white gouges into the ground before she could barely stabilize her center of gravity.

Mu Chen stood in front of Huo Yuhao, his Trident pointed diagonally at the ground, his blue hair whipping in the morning breeze.

"Your opponent is me," he said.

Zhu Lu gritted her teeth, her second soul ring lighting up as she activated Hell Stab.

Her speed surged again, her figure leaving behind three indistinguishable afterimages in the air as she lunged at Mu Chen from three directions simultaneously.

Mu Chen did not attempt to distinguish the real from the fake.

Because he didn't need to.

In the perception map shared by his mental detection, all three of Zhu Lu's figures existed, but only one possessed real soul power fluctuations.

The other two, while visually realistic, were merely empty shells condensed from soul power.

Left.

Mu Chen didn't even turn his head; he swept his Trident horizontally to the left.

The blade carved a crescent-shaped blue arc through the air, striking Zhu Lu's true body with precision.

Zhu Lu crossed her arms to block, but the crushing force of a Soul Ancestor-level power hit her like a giant wave, sending her flying five meters away to crash heavily at the edge of the arena.

She struggled to get up, but the roiling blood in her chest made her vision go black, leaving her unable to stand for the moment.

Meanwhile, Dai Huabin finally broke through Wang Dong's obstruction.

Evil-Eyed White Tiger second soul skill, White Tiger Intense Light Wave.

A beam of white light erupted from his tiger maw, carrying scorching heat and destructive impact as it blasted straight toward Wang Dong.

Wang Dong tucked her wings and performed a backflip in mid-air, narrowly avoiding the main force of the beam, but the aftermath still grazed the edge of her left wing, melting several light butterflies in the high heat.

Wang Dong let out a muffled groan; her left leg gave way as she landed, forcing her to one knee.

Dai Huabin did not pursue her.

His target had been clear from the start: Mu Chen.

Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao were secondary; as long as he defeated Mu Chen, the remaining two were of no concern. Thus, the moment he forced Wang Dong back, his third soul ring lit up.

The purple glow of the thousand-year soul ring was blinding on the arena.

Evil-Eyed White Tiger third soul skill, White Tiger Vajra Transformation.

Dai Huabin's stature shot up by three inches, his muscles bulging, and the physique beneath his school uniform becoming as if cast from steel.

Golden tiger stripes emerged on his skin, and his hands transformed into half-human, half-tiger claws, each knuckle radiating a metallic luster.

This was Dai Huabin's strongest state.

"Mu Chen!" he roared as he charged, his tiger claws tearing through the air with a sharp whistle. "Let me see just how strong your ten-thousand-year soul ring really is!"

Mu Chen stood his ground, not retreating.

Four soul rings rose from beneath his feet: yellow, purple, purple, black.

He did not use his fourth soul skill.

Because it wasn't necessary.

First soul skill, Ocean's Fury.

His eyes turned crimson, and all attributes increased by fifty percent. Mu Chen took a step forward, the bluestone platform beneath his feet shattering into a shallow crater. He swung the Trident upward, the blade colliding with the tiger claw in mid-air.

BOOM!

The deafening sound of clashing metal shook the soul guidance monitoring pillars surrounding the arena.

A shockwave rippled out from the point of impact, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Dai Huabin felt as if his claw had slammed into an undersea mountain; the recoil traveled up his arm to his shoulder, leaving his entire right arm numb.

Yet, Mu Chen hadn't budged an inch.

Second strike.

No soul skill enhancement, just pure, crushing strength. The Trident descended in a heavy cleave. Dai Huabin raised his other tiger claw to block, the metallic luster on his claws shattering inch by inch under the weight of the blade.

His knees buckled, and the bluestone platform beneath him exploded into a web of cracks.

Third strike.

A horizontal sweep.

Dai Huabin was sent flying by the blow, the light of his White Tiger Vajra Transformation flickering violently.

He tumbled twice in the air, his claws carving six deep furrows into the arena floor before he finally managed to stop his retreat.

A trace of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

Three strikes.

No soul skills, just three strikes, and he had beaten Dai Huabin—who had activated his White Tiger Vajra Transformation—into a state of total helplessness.

The spectator stands were deathly silent.

Then, thunderous applause erupted.

It was a tribute to the strong, regardless of where one's loyalties lay.

Dai Huabin knelt on one knee at the edge of the arena, gasping for air.

He looked up, and for the first time, fear appeared in his Evil-Eyed White Tiger eyes.

Yes, fear. This proud son of heaven, raised in the Duke's Mansion, had never known defeat among his peers; even senior students dared not strike him too hard.

But the blue-haired, blue-eyed youth before him was telling him a fact in the most direct, naked way possible: your pride is worthless in front of me.

"Zhu Lu!" Dai Huabin roared, "Come here!"

Zhu Lu had just climbed up from the edge of the arena. Hearing the roar, she gritted her teeth, her figure flashing as she darted to Dai Huabin's side.

The two stood shoulder to shoulder, the phantoms of the Hell Spirit Cat and the Evil-Eyed White Tiger appearing behind them, and then, two vastly different soul power fluctuations began to merge.

Mu Chen's blue eyes narrowed slightly.