Crushing the Mountain Dragon King's Will! The Core Flame's Rank!

The deafening explosion engulfed the entire competition area.

This astonishing power had already riddled the newly built, specially made arena with holes, as if it had been plowed by a real war.

The Soul Guide Shield only lasted for two seconds before emitting a piercing shriek indicating that its energy was critically low.

The Star Luo Empire Soul Master hidden in the shadows desperately poured their Soul Power into the defense, barely managing to stabilize the line of defense.

However, several of the audience members in the front row with weaker Soul Power were still knocked down by the aftershocks.

Some people covered their ears and curled up on the ground, while others were directly overturned by the shockwave.

"Medical team! Someone's unconscious over here! Take him away!" Chaos erupted on the sidelines.

"That's an exaggeration..."

"When these two were fighting, I thought it was a battle between high-level Soul Master."

Someone whispered something.

The person next to him didn't respond; his gaze remained fixed on the ruins shrouded in chaotic smoke and dust at the center of the explosion.

The Soul Guide Shield was still trembling slightly, and the edge of that collapsing barrier was being stabilized by the Soul Master outside the arena with all their might. But no one's attention was on that shield.

They all stared at the slowly descending cloud of smoke, waiting for one of the two figures to emerge from it.

Everyone from the Shrek Academy had stood up.

Gu Yuena stood at the forefront, her long silver hair swaying slightly in the morning light, her gaze never leaving the ruins.

Tang Wulin stood beside her, the veins on his clenched fists slightly bulging.

On the Monster Academy side, the Heavenly Kings also stood up.

On the platform, Dai Tianling leaned forward, his gaze piercing through the smoke and dust, landing on the still-unformed direction deep within the ruins.

Red Dragon Douluo Zhuo Shi stood beside him without saying a word, but his gaze never left him.

They are all waiting.

We await an outcome, we await a figure emerging from those ruins.

At the center of the ruins, a massive circular crater stretched to its bottom, its edges still steaming.

Long Yue knelt on the edge of the pit, his breathing heavy like a bellows.

The Mountain Dragon Battle Armor was mostly shattered, with only a few charred fragments from the chest, shoulders, and wings barely clinging to his body, revealing his torso covered in scorch marks and deep, bone-revealing wounds.

Especially the hole in his chest pierced by the Spear of Divine Retribution, where crimson dragon blood mixed with ash formed a sticky mud beneath him.

Blood dripped down the wreckage of the armor, accumulating into a small, dark red puddle at his feet.

He coughed up another mouthful of blood, raised his head, and looked at the person standing in front of him.

"You win."

Long Yue's voice was hoarse.

"I can't beat you."

Bai Yuan stood in front of him, looking down at him.

Those bright golden eyes were as calm as a still pool, showing neither pride nor pity.

"You are very strong,"

He said.

"It's a pity you ran into me."

"Think carefully about how to control your Martial Soul."

"Don't let your Martial Soul control you."

The moment the words left his mouth, Long Yue's pupils suddenly contracted.

The Mountain Dragon King Martial Soul was what he was most proud of in his life.

He is the pinnacle of the dragon race, the embodiment of power, and a bloodline that even Titled Douluo must take seriously.

And now, this young man standing before him has crushed his pride into dust with a single sentence.

"What did you say??"

Long Yue gritted his teeth, his bones cracking, and forcefully mustered his remaining strength to throw a punch at Bai Yuan.

Soul Power surged through his body as if being torn apart.

He didn't care anymore; he wanted this person to pay the price.

Bai Yuan didn't even raise his hand.

Please sit down.

The voice was very soft, like a gentle admonition to a disobedient young animal.

A wisp of Core Flame descended from the top of Long Yue's head, instantly flowing through his limbs and bones.

Long Yue's body stiffened abruptly, and his pupils went completely out of focus for a split second.

He saw it.

At the edge of the universe, stars are born and die like dust.

Countless timelines intertwine and spread, and his Mountain Dragon King Martial Soul...

Before that will that burns away all sparks, we are as insignificant as an ant gazing at the sun.

He heard it; the Mountain Dragon King was screaming in agony.

That was a mournful cry from the depths of its bloodline, a lament of the dragon soul being utterly subdued by a higher being.

That inexplicable will, like lukewarm water melting ice.

It melted and peeled away his proud Martial Soul bit by bit, layer by layer, leaving him no room to resist.

Long Yue's fist froze in mid-air, trembled twice, and finally fell limply to the ground.

All the strength, all the anger, all the resentment, were drained away by that Core Flame.

He fell backward, crashing heavily to the ground.

Out of the corner of his eye, all he could see was Bai Yuan looking down at his indifferent profile.

Never mind.

Long Yue closed his eyes, completely abandoning any further thought.

We can't beat them.

We just can't beat them.

Pride is shattered, so be it. Anyway... it's shattered completely, beyond repair.

Then let's just give up and do nothing.

Bai Yuan stepped out from the center of the shattered arena.

Smoke and dust slowly settled behind him, and above the ruins, his figure stood as unshakeable as a mountain.

The audience outside the ring paused for a moment, then erupted in a roar like boiling water.

"They're out!"

"It was him! Bai Yuan won!"

"It's over..."

"It's all over!"

Some people screamed, some slumped down, and some covered their mouths, unable to speak.

The title of the number one genius of Douluo Planet was definitively established at this moment.

However, the cheers belonged only to a minority.

The 300,000 spectators at Star Luo Stadium were completely silent.

They were citizens of the Star Luo Empire, and the boy lying on the arena...

Long Yue.

He is the first genius they have nurtured with all their national resources, the face of the empire's Martial Soul, and the hope for the future of the nation.

And now, he lies in the ruins of his own home stadium.

The empire's pride was shattered into nothingness.

Bai Yuan did not laugh.

He didn't even glance at Long Yue.

Those golden eyes slowly swept across the stands.

His gaze swept over the pale-faced audience of the Star Luo Empire, and over the Star Luo Empire nobles hidden behind the one-way glass of the VIP boxes, their expressions unknown.

Everyone whose gaze fell upon him felt a chill run from his tailbone straight to the top of his head.

The entire hall fell silent.

Bai Yuan's voice pierced through the Soul Guide Shield, neither too loud nor too soft, yet everyone could hear it clearly:

"Referee, aren't you going to announce the result yet?"

He paused.

"Besides."

"You'd better call a doctor right away."

The camera suddenly cuts to the center of the ring.

Long Yue lay on his back, eyes closed, his body motionless.

The faint rise and fall of his chest was the only evidence that he was still alive.

"Medical Soul Master! Quickly!"

"Come on up!"

People ran wildly, stretchers were brought in, and in the chaos, someone shouted themselves hoarse.

En Ci stood behind the referee's table, her lips moved a few times, but she couldn't bring herself to speak.

He knew exactly what this match meant.

The genius that the empire had painstakingly cultivated with countless resources was crushed into dust by someone with a single person's power.

He should have announced the result, but the word "defeat" was stuck in his throat, neither swallowed nor spat out.

The 300,000 spectators at Star Luo Stadium were pale.

Further afield, in front of countless Soul Guidance TV screens, even more viewers slumped in their own chairs.

They gazed at the golden-eyed boy standing in the center of the ruins, at the man who single-handedly overwhelmed the entire scene.

Anger? Resentment? Humiliation?

Both are available.

But what surged into the deepest recesses of my mind was a profound sense of helplessness and frustration.

They had to admit it.

Bai Yuan is simply strong.

So strong it's unreasonable, so strong it leaves you with no energy to even hate it.