Aurora Annihilation, Solar Judgment!

The following rounds of elimination matches passed without incident.

Most of their opponents were mediocre in strength. With Wang Dong going all out on her own, she could easily sweep the field, leaving Xiao Xiao with scarcely any chances to summon the Three-Life Soul Suppressing Cauldron to smash people.

As the tournament drew ever closer to the final showdown, Wang Dong's spirits only grew more excited.

The reason for her boundless enthusiasm was simple: after tormenting Yun Yi for three whole days, she had finally gotten the answer she had long dreamed of.

Whenever he recalled those days of brutal tug-of-war, Yun Yi still felt his ears ringing.

In order to persuade him to unleash their Martial Soul Fusion Skill in the finals, Wang Dong had truly used every trick in the book.

First, she wheedled and begged. Then she grabbed his sleeve and shook it wildly, launching a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree barrage of coquettish pleading with no blind spots.

When Yun Yi refused to yield to either soft or hard tactics, she finally gritted her teeth and signed an unequal treaty that humiliated the nation—she would take over Yun Yi's laundry for the entire next month.

Faced with this combination of sugar-coated shells and free labor, Yun Yi reluctantly nodded and agreed to use their Martial Soul Fusion Skill in the finals to bring this freshman assessment to a close.

That morning, the sun shone brightly.

The freshman assessment welcomed its final, climactic showdown.

At the center of the assessment area, the largest main arena had already been cleared.

All the surrounding partitions had been removed, leaving an exceptionally broad view.

The stands were packed with people. Even academy higher-ups such as outer academy dean Yan Shaozhe sat in the center of the elevated platform, their gazes unanimously fixed on Yun Yi below.

Yun Yi, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao then steadily stepped onto the arena.

Standing across from them were three freshmen with composed, imposing auras.

The boy in the lead had golden hair, rare double pupils, and a tall, upright frame.

The son of the White Tiger Duke of the Star Luo Empire, Dai Huabin.

The girl to his left had a voluptuous figure and an icy expression. Her black hair reached her waist. She was Zhu Lu, possessor of the Hell Spirit Cat Martial Soul.

On the right stood Cui Yajie, who possessed the Nine-Tailed Fox Martial Soul.

As the two sides faced off, the smell of gunpowder in the air swiftly intensified.

The referee stood in the center of the arena, his right arm raised high as his gaze swept over both teams.

"Freshman assessment finals, Yun Yi Team versus Dai Huabin Team. Prepare, begin!"

The shrill whistle tore through the clamor of the entire venue.

But what followed left everyone stunned.

In previous matches, the moment the whistle sounded, both sides would inevitably enter Martial Soul Possession, roaring as they closed in and began fighting.

Yet now, the vast arena had frozen into a bizarrely still tableau.

Both teams stood where they were. No one took the first step forward.

The students watching below wore baffled expressions, and murmurs rose all around.

Even some of the teachers on the elevated platform frowned.

Dai Huabin's face darkened.

He had repeatedly studied every battle fought by Yun Yi's team from below the stage.

The combat power Wang Dong displayed was nearly on par with a Soul Ancestor.

Xiao Xiao's three great cauldrons, wreathed in crimson-gold flames, were even more tyrannical. Even Wu Feng, bolstered by two enhancements, had been knocked unconscious by the backlash of a single strike.

Then there was Yun Yi, who always kept his hands in his pockets. He had registered as an auxiliary-type soul master, yet had never even revealed his Martial Soul.

Using conventional tactics to trade blows head-on involved too much uncertainty, so Dai Huabin had decided to unleash his ultimate move the moment he stepped onto the arena and crush them outright.

Having made up his mind, Dai Huabin abruptly turned his head and met Zhu Lu's cool gaze.

They had been together for years and understood each other's hearts.

Dai Huabin spread his arms and let out a tiger's roar.

Zhu Lu moved with agile grace and threw herself directly into his embrace.

Dazzling white light and shadowy black light instantly surged from their bodies.

The fierce dominance of the Evil-Eyed White Tiger and the supple agility of the Hell Spirit Cat achieved perfect resonance and fusion at this moment.

Two utterly different kinds of Soul Power shot into the sky, intertwining above the arena into a massive black-and-white tornado.

The entire audience instantly erupted.

The discerning upperclassmen and teachers all straightened at once.

"Martial Soul Fusion Skill!"

Within the pillar of light, a terrifying gigantic beast over eight meters long and covered in alternating black-and-white stripes burst through the radiance, raising its head and releasing a tiger roar that shattered the sky.

The Hell White Tiger had descended!

Its horrifying ferocity stirred up a violent hurricane, triggering repeated sonic booms in the surrounding air and forcing the front-row spectators below to squeeze their eyes shut.

Looking at the enormous creature charging toward them with enough force to tear apart anything in its path, Wang Dong not only showed no fear, but stamped her feet excitedly on the spot.

Her pink-blue eyes were filled with barely restrained, fanatical battle intent, and even her breathing quickened.

She had waited far too long for this moment!

The promise she had earned through three days of tireless service and humble submission had finally come time to be fulfilled.

"Since they want to go big, then let's give them a proper lesson and see whose Martial Soul Fusion Skill is truly invincible!"

Wang Dong turned back to Yun Yi, a wild, unrestrained grin spreading across her lips.

The moment she finished speaking, beneath the horrified gazes of nearly a thousand people, she suddenly spun around and threw herself into Yun Yi's arms without hesitation.

Yun Yi's eye twitched, and his body stiffened unusually for a moment.

He lowered his head to look at the fluffy pink-blue head in his arms and grumbled inwardly.

The trigger condition for their Martial Soul Fusion Skill only required them to hold hands and ensure that Yun Dong Power flowed smoothly through their meridians for it to activate perfectly.

This girl was making such an exaggerated show of throwing herself into his arms, even rubbing against him in full view of everyone. He had every reason to suspect that Wang Dong was deliberately taking advantage of him!

But the arrow was already on the string.

The Hell White Tiger across from them had already spread its thick limbs, pouncing toward them on a gale that could rip apart everything.

Yun Yi cast aside his distracting thoughts and loosely wrapped his arms around Wang Dong's shoulders.

He closed his eyes, and the liquid golden spiritual power within his sea of consciousness instantly churned.

The ultimate heat of Sun True Fire spread in an instant, forcibly evaporating the bone-chilling killing intent brought by the Hell White Tiger.

Within Wang Dong's body, the Light Goddess Butterfly sensed the call of its master.

Blue-gold wings automatically burst forth from her body.

This time, the Light Goddess Butterfly shed all its pride and fused into that ancient, majestic longbow with the devout posture of a sacrifice.

Absorbing the Light Goddess Butterfly's power, the longbow's body expanded wildly.

Complex, gorgeous blue-gold butterfly-wing patterns emerged across its originally crimson-gold limbs.

The taut bowstring turned into pure aurora. The blinding light forced every spectator to shut their eyes, and even the defensive barrier around the arena trembled on the verge of collapse beneath this divine might.

Absolute control rested firmly in Yun Yi's hands.

The destruction of ultimate fire and the purification of ultimate light perfectly intertwined and overlapped at this moment.

The space around the two of them instantly collapsed, transforming into a brilliant sea of stars where crimson-gold and blue-gold alternated.

Deep within that radiance of ultimate splendor, a gigantic arrow of light two zhang long, flickering with the fire of divine punishment, locked onto the Hell White Tiger in the distance.

Aurora Annihilation—Solar Judgment!