Why Not Dodge? Because I'm Not Afraid

On the arena stage.

Xu Yue's gaze swept past Tang Wulin and Xie Xie before settling on Gu Yue in the middle.

Gu Yue was likewise staring at Xu Yue. There was no trace of emotion on her cool, exquisite face.

"I thought you would surrender right away," Xu Yue said.

At those words, Gu Yue's pink lips moved almost imperceptibly. "I don't have a habit of surrendering without a fight. Besides, I don't think I have no chance of winning."

Over the past few days, the matter of Xu Yue and the Heavenly Change had lingered constantly in her mind, and her curiosity had only grown stronger.

Now that the promotion match had finally arrived, how could she possibly miss it?

Watching the two converse, Xu Xiaoyan beside Xu Yue unconsciously puffed out her red lips.

Tang Wulin also felt inexplicably uncomfortable, his emotions becoming increasingly unsettled.

Both sides took their positions and formed up.

The two teams' formations were practically identical.

Two stood in front, while one stood behind.

Class One had Xu Yue and Wei Xiaofeng in front, with Xu Xiaoyan, a control-type Soul Master, in the rear. Class Five had Tang Wulin and Xie Xie in front, with Gu Yue behind them.

"Both sides, prepare!" Long Hengxu raised his right hand high.

"First-Year Class One, Xu Yue." Xu Yue looked at Gu Yue ahead of him and announced loudly.

"First-Year Class One, Xu Xiaoyan."

"First-Year Class One, Wei Xiaofeng."

Xu Xiaoyan and Wei Xiaofeng followed immediately after, speaking in unison.

Tang Wulin stared at Xu Yue with a tense expression and said in a deep voice, "First-Year Class Five, Tang Wulin."

"Xie Xie." Xie Xie's expression was equally grave.

Finally came Gu Yue's calm, indifferent voice.

"Gu Yue!"

Once both sides had introduced themselves, Long Hengxu emphasized the rules.

"Remember the competition rules: stop at the proper point. Deliberately injuring your opponents is forbidden. Otherwise, the academy will issue the appropriate punishment!"

As he said this, Long Hengxu deliberately glanced at Xu Yue. After all, only Xu Yue's strength far exceeded that of everyone else present.

Xu Yue caught the meaning in his gaze and nodded almost imperceptibly.

It was only a match, and merely a promotion match at that.

As long as they recognized the gap between them, he could not be bothered to use his full strength.

"Yes!" both sides answered in unison.

"Begin!" Long Hengxu did not waste any more words and announced directly.

The instant his words fell, both teams moved.

Soul rings appeared around all six of them.

The most eye-catching were naturally the thousand-year soul rings flashing with purple light around Xu Yue and Gu Yue.

Yet Tang Wulin's white ten-year soul ring also drew cries of surprise from the spectators.

"A ten-year soul ring! Is there no one left in First-Year Class Five?"

Although the first-year students knew what was going on, there were people from other grades watching for the first time today, and they were thoroughly confused.

However, the sounds from below the stage did not affect the battle above.

Wei Xiaofeng and Xie Xie, both agility-attack Soul Masters, moved almost simultaneously and rushed to the side.

They also met nearly at the same time in the center of the arena.

"Little green snake!" Xie Xie mocked as he looked at Wei Xiaofeng. "Since you ran into me, just surrender obediently! Save yourself from getting hurt!"

"Hehe, is that so?" Wei Xiaofeng chuckled, utterly unconcerned. "You should worry about whether you can hurt me first."

Xie Xie hesitated no longer. His first soul ring flashed, the Light Dragon Dagger in his hand lit up, and a blade of light slashed forward.

However.

Faced with such an attack, Wei Xiaofeng wore a broad smile. He did not dodge at all, simply standing there stiffly.

"Why aren't you dodging?" Xie Xie asked, dumbfounded.

"Because I'm not afraid!"

Before Xie Xie could understand what Wei Xiaofeng meant, a deep, powerful voice suddenly rang out.

"Unbreakable!"

In an instant, a bright yellow shield emerged around Wei Xiaofeng. The blade of light struck it, yet could not even shake it in the slightest before exploding into golden specks that filled the air.

"What?! His shield is a group defense skill too?"

Wei Xiaofeng looked at the shock on Xie Xie's face and chuckled. "Finished? My turn now."

As soon as he spoke, Wei Xiaofeng transformed into a streak of green serpent-like shadow and charged straight at Xie Xie. There was none of the nimbleness typical of an agility-type Soul Master; instead, he carried the ferocity of a power-type Soul Master.

"Just don't let me bite you. Otherwise, you're in for a world of pain."

Elsewhere.

Countless ice spheres and wind blades slammed into the Jade Shield, exploding into torrents of chaotic elemental energy.

Seeing this, Gu Yue's expression grew solemn.

Xu Yue shook his head. The Jade Shield's toughness was directly tied to his soul power level. The basic elemental skills Gu Yue was using could only be considered a scratch.

Shifting his gaze, Xu Yue saw Tang Wulin charging toward Xu Xiaoyan in the rear, wielding two Thousand-Forged Heavy Silver Hammers.

But just as he was about to step forward and stop him—

The ground beneath his feet trembled, and an earthen wall abruptly rose up.

"Hmph!" Xu Yue snorted at the sight.

Without any unnecessary movement, he stomped heavily. The rising earthen wall instantly vanished, and he turned to Gu Yue.

"You'd better not use the earth element in front of me. It's really a bit like showing off your skills before an expert!"

Although Gu Yue did not know what "showing off your skills before an expert" meant, she could still hear the underlying meaning in Xu Yue's words.

At the same time, she was astonished by Xu Yue's command over the earth element. It was actually stronger than her own, even though she was the Silver Dragon King, innately born to wield elemental power.

"Thanks for the advice! Then try this!"

As she spoke, her two jade-like hands lightly swept toward Xu Yue.

"Wind, rise!" "Ice, condense!"

In an instant, surging gale winds lent extra momentum to Tang Wulin as he rapidly closed in on Xu Xiaoyan.

And where the earthen wall had previously risen, an even thicker wall of ice instantly appeared.

Xu Yue did not hesitate. The Vortex Vanquisher condensed in his hand, and he swung it at the ice wall before him.

Boom!

A thunderous explosion rang across the arena.

The Vortex Vanquisher, weighing several hundred pounds, combined with Xu Yue's newly heightened strength and instantly smashed the ice wall into countless ice crystals.

Yet the scattered ice crystals began to grow and layer over one another in midair, forming wall after wall of ice again in the blink of an eye.

At this moment, Xu Xiaoyan, who stood at the rear and surveyed the entire battlefield, also realized just how troublesome Gu Yue was.

An Elementalist capable of controlling multiple elements was practically an all-around fighter, combining support, control, long-range attacks, and more into one.

Xu Xiaoyan immediately shouted to Xu Yue.

"Brother Yue, don't worry about me! Go deal with Gu Yue. I can handle Tang Wulin by myself."

Xu Yue nodded at her words.

Without hesitation, he stomped hard, his body shooting toward Gu Yue like a cannonball.

The metal arena beneath his feet even bent slightly under Xu Yue's savage strength.

As the Vortex Vanquisher in his hand swept out, the walls of solid ice before him shattered one after another.

In what seemed like an instant, he crossed several dozen meters and rushed before Gu Yue.

Amber and black met once again at that moment.

"Looks like you're about to lose," Xu Yue said softly. The Vortex Vanquisher in his hand thrust toward Gu Yue like an unpredictable raging dragon.

"Not necessarily!"

Feeling the swift, fierce force coming from the spear tip, Gu Yue remained unmoved, her cool expression seeming as though it would never change.

Just as the spear tip was about to strike Gu Yue's body—

A flash of silver light flickered.

Gu Yue's figure instantly vanished from where she stood.

Xu Yue's eyes lit up at the sight.

"The space element? Interesting! It's somewhat similar to the gravitational waves released by Eden's Star, but not quite the same."

"Is this the law of physics in another world?"

At the same time, with another flicker of silver light, Gu Yue had already appeared in midair.

Specks of cyan gale winds supported her slender figure.

Gu Yue looked down at Xu Yue, and a faint smile appeared on her cool face.

"Xu Yue, the offense and defense have switched now."

"Wind stirs, fire rises!"

"Elemental Combination, Windfire Wildfire!!"