Gu Yena and Yang Teng are truly monsters! (Read for updates!)

Yang Teng's figure flickered in and out of existence, the air around him subtly distorting. A flash of realization crossed his cold blue eyes, followed by a deeper sense of gravity.

"Space attribute..."

She whispered to herself, her tone carrying undisguised astonishment.

Martial souls possessing the space attribute were rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns, their erratic and unpredictable nature enough to give any opponent a headache.

Yet, even so, it was inconceivable that someone like Yang Teng could break free so quickly after being instantly controlled by her "Ice Seal" soul skill.

As Yang Teng used Space Blink to once again close the distance to a point seemingly perfect for an attack, Shui Bing'er's gaze sharpened, and her second yellow soul ring suddenly flared.

"Repulsion Light!"

A gentle yet immensely powerful halo of light expanded outward in a circle.

Caught off guard while preparing to strike, Yang Teng was hit squarely by this repulsive force, his body sent flying backward uncontrollably.

This "Repulsion Light" was not an offensive soul skill, but a pure area-of-effect repulsion and knockback technique; it activated extremely quickly and was almost impossible to dodge.

It was precisely by seizing this brief window of respite that Shui Bing'er and Xue Wu exerted their strength simultaneously, their soul power surging to finally break free from that intangible yet incredibly tenacious space binding.

The two exchanged a glance, both seeing lingering fear in the other's eyes; the sensation of having one's entire body completely locked down and soul power flow stagnated was truly terrifying.

"Shadowless and formless, impossible to guard against..."

Xue Wu wiped a non-existent cold sweat from her temple and whispered in a heavy tone.

As a level 42 assault-system soul ancestor, she considered her speed, reflexes, and soul skill chaining to be formidable, yet in the face of Yang Teng's elusive space abilities, she felt all her predictions and attacks were laughable.

Shui Bing'er's mood was even more complex; her most prized "Ice Seal" soul skill, an opening control move that was almost always successful among her peers, had failed here...

On the sidelines, the woman surnamed Yuan who had been at the school gate was now dumbfounded, unable to help but shake her head and mutter.

"The Golden Partners of my Tianshui Academy, the captain and vice-captain working together, are actually... actually unable to handle a mere soul master! Just what kind of monster is this Yang Teng?"

She felt her understanding of the world being constantly rearranged.

Dean Shui Yunxia's gaze once again turned to the boy who remained at ease on the field, the shock in her heart even greater than that of the woman surnamed Yuan.

A purple-purple-black soul ring configuration, a bizarre and powerful space martial soul, and the ability to contend against two soul ancestors with the power of a soul master—the background and potential of this Yang Teng likely far exceeded her imagination.

Subconsciously, she focused her mind, wanting to probe deeper into Yang Teng's body, and a powerful yet delicate mental force quietly spread toward him.

However, before her mental force could truly touch Yang Teng, it seemed to collide with an invisible yet incredibly tough barrier, being gently but firmly bounced back.

Shui Yunxia was startled. Looking in the direction from which the mental block had come, she saw a pair of calm, waveless silver eyes.

It was Gu Yena who had intervened to interrupt her probe.

"Gu Yena..."

Shui Yunxia was stunned once again. In that brief moment of mental contact, she had sensed a vast, ancient aura beneath the seemingly calm surface of Gu Yena's mental force.

The quality and quantity of her mental force were actually faintly superior to her own, a soul saint!

How was this possible? An eighteen-year-old soul king possessing such terrifying mental force?

Gu Yena did not look at the field; her lips moved slightly, and a cold yet sincere voice was transmitted precisely into Shui Yunxia's ears.

"Dean, it is better not to probe. Otherwise, your mental force may suffer a severe backlash."

Shui Yunxia's heart shook violently, and she looked deeply at Gu Yena.

She could feel it from Gu Yena's eyes and tone—this silver-haired woman was equally terrifyingly mysterious.

Shui Yunxia nodded slowly, secretly keeping this warning and shock in her heart.

"These two young people... what exactly is their background?"

On the field, the battle continued.

After breaking free from the binding, Shui Bing'er and Xue Wu quickly adjusted their tactics.

Xue Wu utilized her soul ancestor soul power advantage and the characteristics of her soul skills to launch continuous, dense, and varied offensives, relying on ice and snow to steadily drain Yang Teng's soul power.

Shui Bing'er patrolled the perimeter, no longer using "Ice Seal," but instead using more flexible small-scale freezing, ice wall blocks, and "Repulsion Light" for support and defense.

Facing their adjusted, more steady, and troublesome coordination, Yang Teng's elusive Space Blink remained difficult for them to track.

Xue Wu's offensive coverage was vast, and Shui Bing'er's auxiliary control always appeared in the most critical positions; after all, the two were partners of many years and possessed perfect tacit understanding.

Yang Teng's figure flickered in and out of the field, sometimes narrowly avoiding barrages of ice spikes, other times forced to change direction by "Repulsion Light," appearing to gradually struggle.

If this were not a sparring match, but a life-or-death struggle, Yang Teng knew very well that the moment he first used "Space-Time Lock" to bind them, he could have instantly crippled or even killed them.

To this day, he had yet to use his black ten-thousand-year third soul skill.

Time slipped away quietly amidst the intense exchanges; the duration of an incense stick seemed to pass quickly.

Shui Bing'er and Xue Wu's breathing became slightly rapid. The high-frequency use of soul skills—especially Xue Wu's continuous area attacks and Shui Bing'er's high mental concentration and precise releases—consumed a significant amount of their soul power.

In contrast, although Yang Teng was no longer as relaxed as he had been at the start, the signature, slightly roguish smile on his face remained, and he showed little sign of fatigue.

Unable to break through despite prolonged attacks, and with her own stamina depleting rapidly, a trace of agitation rose in Xue Wu's heart.

She glanced at Yang Teng, whose breathing remained steady, then looked at the solemn-faced Shui Bing'er, a flash of resolve crossing her eyes.

"Bing'er!"

Xue Wu lowered her voice, her tone urgent and firm.

"Use that move! We can't drag this out any longer!"

Shui Bing'er naturally understood what Xue Wu was referring to: their trump card, the Martial Soul Fusion Skill.

A hint of hesitation flickered across her cold, elegant face, and her beautiful brows furrowed slightly.

"Xue Wu, this is only a sparring match."

In her view, using a Martial Soul Fusion Skill against a Spirit Elder—especially during what was essentially an entrance examination—was far too shameless.

Xue Wu shook her head, her gaze sweeping over the dumbfounded and whispering teachers and students of Tianshui Academy on the sidelines, before finally landing on the deep, contemplative gaze of Dean Shui Yunxia. Her tone carried both unwillingness and persistence.

"Bing'er, this is no longer just a sparring match. This concerns our reputations, the brand of our Golden Partners, and more importantly... the prestige of Tianshui Academy among the Four Elements Academies!"

Xue Wu's words struck Shui Bing'er's heart like a heavy hammer.

Indeed, this was no longer a simple matter of personal victory or defeat.

They represented the strongest combat power of Tianshui Academy's younger generation.

If they could not produce a sufficiently convincing performance in this battle, or worse, if they were defeated, the blow to the academy's reputation would be tangible.

Thinking of the Dean's expectations and the academy's name, the hesitation in Shui Bing'er's eyes was gradually replaced by determination.

She took a deep breath, as if having made up her mind, and spoke in a low voice to Xue Wu, and perhaps to herself:

"Alright."

She raised her eyes to look at Yang Teng, who seemed to have sensed something; his smile faded slightly, and a spark of interest appeared in his gaze.

"Yang Teng, be careful. From here on, we will hold nothing back."

She turned to Xue Wu, their gazes meeting as their spirit power began to resonate and merge at a peculiar frequency.

"Then... let's unleash the Ice Phoenix!"