At the sight of this, Silver Two forgot all about tactics.
He slammed both fists into the ground, and his second Soul Skill activated at once.
The next moment, a barrage of stone spikes shot toward Aglaea.
Aglaea turned her right hand over, and Tailor flowed into being at her summons,
and the two worked together, swiftly weaving golden threads into a net-like barrier before her.
The stone spikes struck the golden net and were all sliced into tiny fragments.
Everyone in the stands gasped in amazement.
They hadn't expected the golden threads to be sharp enough to rival blades.
At that moment, Feng Jin stood behind Aglaea. Seeing how easily Aglaea handled their opponents, she wanted to do something too,
so she crossed her hands, and the Eye of Dawn and Dusk's Martial Soul immediately appeared.
"Please light the way ahead for us..."
First Soul Skill: The weather is lovely, and all things are adorable!
The next second, pale golden light spilled down from the sky, enveloping Aglaea.
With Feng Jin's enhancement, Aglaea's speed suddenly increased by a great deal.
She immediately unleashed her third Soul Skill, Trap of Piercing Patterns.
Tailor raised its thin sword and swiftly floated forward, arriving before Silver One and Silver Two.
Before the two could react, Tailor attacked them with its sword. Golden streaks swiftly cut two wounds into each of their bodies.
The wounds weren't fatal, but they were deeply humiliating.
Silver One roared in anger.
His Soul Power erupted at once as he tried to shake off the threads.
But Feng Jin suddenly moved.
"Now this is a good time to bask in the sun~."
Second Soul Skill: When Love Shines Down in Rainbows, Clouds, Clouds, Go Away!
A crack opened in the sky, and rainbow light poured down.
"Doo-doo-doo!"
A chubby white unicorn was summoned, then charged straight at Silver Two's head with a headbutt.
The blow left Silver Two seeing stars. He staggered back two steps.
In the rest area, Bai Chenxiang couldn't help covering her mouth and laughing at the sight. "Little Icarus is so fierce!"
Jing Ling nodded in agreement. "That's right. The cuter they are, the harder they hit."
Up on the platform, Ye Qiong watched Little Icarus, and an inscrutable smile flickered across his lips.
At that moment, a song was playing on a loop in his mind.
"Sunshine, rainbows, Little Icarus..."
But I digress.
Back on the platform,
Silver One broke free of the threads and tried to rush at Feng Jin.
But Aglaea wouldn't let him have his way. She released the golden threads again, binding Silver One once more, then—
"Life, as fragile as a gossamer thread!"
Aglaea and Tailor spun around together, swords in hand. The next second, they stabbed Silver One and Silver Two six times in quick succession.
In the end, Silver One and Silver Two fell to the ground and had no choice but to admit defeat.
The referee stared for several seconds before raising his hand.
"The match is over! The Feng-Ya Duo of Omphalos Academy wins!"
As soon as the result was announced, the entire arena fell silent.
Everyone was dumbfounded.
"They... they won? In only a few rounds?"
"Those two girls... One's a controller and the other's a support, yet they worked together so perfectly?"
The voices that had looked down on them earlier disappeared.
In their place came thunderous applause and cheers.
In the rest area, Wang Sheng jumped up in excitement.
"Aglaea, you're awesome! Feng Jin, you're awesome!"
Jiang Zhu finally couldn't hold back and complained, "Wang Sheng, can't you use a different phrase?"
Wang Sheng scratched his head helplessly. "But that's the only one I know."
Jiang Zhu could only roll her eyes.
Bai Chenxiang folded her arms and smiled.
"All right, Jiang Zhu, don't give him a hard time."
They were back.
Aglaea and Feng Jin returned to the rest area.
Night Qiong smiled at them and praised them. "Well done."
In the stands, in Skywater Academy's rest area,
Shui Bing'er's gaze fell on Aglaea in Omphalos Academy's rest area.
Her younger sister, Shui Yue'er, leaned over. "Sis, what are you looking at?"
Shui Bing'er spoke quietly.
"Her golden-thread Martial Soul is so unusual..."
Shui Yue'er blinked.
"Do you mean the blonde big sister in that Soul Fighting match just now? I think the little white horse was the unusual one. It was so cute!"
Watching Shui Yue'er gaze at it with hearts in her eyes, Shui Bing'er shook her head and said nothing more.
In Blazing Academy's rest area,
Huo Wushuang leaned against the railing, staring toward Omphalos Academy.
"That pink-haired healer... Her Soul Power fluctuations are very unusual."
Huo Wu stood beside him with her arms crossed and snorted.
"They're unusual, but not as exaggerated as you make them sound, brother. She's only a support, after all."
Feng Xiaotian, Huo Wu's devoted admirer, came over at some point.
He smiled obsequiously.
"Huo Wu's right. No matter how strong she is, she's still a support. If she actually went into the arena, wouldn't she have to rely on someone else to Soul Fight?"
Huo Wu gave him a sideways glance and said nothing.
In a private box on the top floor of the Soul Fighting Arena,
a tall figure stood hidden behind the curtain.
He had slightly curled blond hair, handsome features, and wore a pale gold robe of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family.
This man was the Crown Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire, Xue Qinghe.
At that moment, his gaze rested on Ye Qiong.
"Omphalos Academy... Ye Qiong."
Her lips lifted slightly.
Back when he had visited the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, she had occasionally crossed paths with him. That was when she'd first taken note of him.
It was only because his talent was in no way inferior to her own.
He had broken through to Soul Emperor at just sixteen.
A genius like him ought to follow her.
(Ye Qiong: Sorry, sis, I'm over seventy.)
At the exit of the Soul Fighting Arena on the other side, a figure in black fitted clothes hurried out.
He took a small communication jade from his robes.
"A new Soul Master Academy called Omphalos has been discovered in Heaven Dou City. Further observation is required."
After a brief silence from the other end, a single word came back.
"Investigate."
From that night onward, the name of Omphalos Academy began circulating among the Soul Master circles of Heaven Dou City.
But before long, people realized something was off about the academy.
No matter who they sent out to compete, they won every match, and did so with astonishing ease.
Even Wang Sheng and the other four who had joined later had managed to rack up consecutive wins.
As a result, a week later, Omphalos Academy had claimed a total of eighty-one victories at the Heaven Dou Great Soul Fighting Arena.
The other academies had rather remarkable expressions when they saw the record.
Many people began asking about Omphalos Academy, while plenty of others chose to keep their distance.
Ye Qiong noticed these changes, but didn't pay them much mind.
At that moment, he was sitting in the academy's laboratory, refining pills.
The Immortal Herb seeds he had brought back from the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well last time had sprouted again after being cultivated in the medicinal garden.
So, taking each student's Martial Soul attributes and cultivation progress into account, he adjusted the formulas and brewed a second batch of strengthening pills.
When he handed the pills out, Wang Sheng and the others were so moved that tears streamed down their faces.
That night, everyone sat down cross-legged and absorbed them.
It wasn't until the next day, when Ye Qiong looked them over, that he saw their strength had indeed improved to varying degrees.
After having everyone cultivate in the Virtual True Realm, Ye Qiong returned to his office.
But when he opened the door and saw the figure inside, he froze on the spot.
"You?"
Before you continue