A Dramatic Ending

No sooner had he finished speaking than pitch-black Yin Five Thunders began flowing from Mo Lin's sleeves. Through his previous battle with Soul Shadow Flying Dragon, the Qi Body Origin Flow's brief, explosive enhancement of the Yin and Yang Five Thunders had unexpectedly allowed Mo Lin to advance further in lightning techniques. Now, as long as he used only one type of lightning technique for no more than five minutes, it would no longer disrupt the balance of Yin and Yang within his body.

The feeling given off by the Yin Five Thunders was entirely different from the Golden Light Incantation. To Xie Yue and the watching students, it was as though Mo Lin had unleashed soul skills from two entirely different martial souls.

Having consumed too much soul power, Xie Yue did not dare use any more soul skills to drain himself further. To be safe, he chose not to attack rashly. That might have been the right choice against other soul masters, but against Mo Lin, who was currently using the Yin Five Thunders, Xie Yue was simply creating an advantage for him.

Seeing that the amount of Yin Five Thunders he had released was sufficient, Mo Lin raised his head and looked at Xie Yue.

"Xie Yue, you can try cutting this move."

The Yin Five Thunders on the ground instantly came "alive" and lunged at Xie Yue.

Xie Yue could only use his first soul skill again to defend himself, but the moment his Moon Blades struck, his expression changed drastically. After being "cut apart" by the Moon Blades, the Yin Five Thunders fused back together, maintaining their original speed as they slammed into Xie Yue. In the blink of an eye, the Yin Five Thunders covered his entire body.

"What the hell is this thing?!"

Xie Yue tried to scrape the Yin Five Thunders off his body, repeatedly using the Moon Blades to rake them toward the ground. But not only did he fail to remove them, more and more Yin Five Thunders clung to the Moon Blades. Those were Xie Yue's martial souls, not weapons he could simply throw away. The more Yin Five Thunders accumulated on the Moon Blades, the faster his energy, stamina, and soul power would be drained. And once the Yin Five Thunders invaded the body, their damp, bone-chilling cold would become increasingly apparent. It was not impossible for the invaded areas to be frozen until they necrosed.

A minute later, Xie Yue collapsed onto the field, completely powerless.

The arena was deathly quiet. No one present had ever seen such a bizarre method, and even the referee forgot to announce the result.

"Hey, hey, referee! You can announce the result now, right?"

Mo Lin's voice pulled the referee out of his shock, and he hurriedly declared:

"The winner is Mo Lin! Healing-type soul masters, enter the arena immediately!"

Meanwhile, the result of Hu Liena and Yan's match had also been decided. Hu Liena was victorious. Although Yan had not been directly charmed by her, he had been constantly disrupted by her charm skill and could not launch any effective attacks against Hu Liena, ultimately losing the match.

As soon as Hu Liena finished her match, she learned that Xie Yue had lost to Mo Lin. She was not particularly surprised. She knew her brother's strength very well. He was strong, but compared with Mo Lin's strength, it might not even amount to much.

Xie Yue had displayed his full strength to everyone countless times. People knew everything he was capable of, which was why they considered him strong.

But when it came to Mo Lin, nearly everyone's understanding of him had always been no more than the tip of the iceberg. Yet even that small glimpse was enough for everyone to feel just how powerful he was.

Hu Liena returned to her room and lay on the bed to rest. It seemed as though she was preparing for the final that night, but in truth, she felt somewhat discouraged.

Her strength was roughly on par with Xie Yue's, while her primary method, charm, had never worked on Mo Lin. Therefore, she did not believe she could defeat him. Perhaps forfeiting would be a more dignified choice.

"After all, this tournament is only meant to give people without battle experience a chance to gain experience. Whether I win in the end isn't actually important... But since I'm one of those called the Golden Generation, wouldn't forfeiting outright be even more embarrassing? And Master will be watching the final too. Would doing this make Master unhappy? This is so annoying..."

That evening, Hu Liena and Mo Lin arrived at the final arena at nearly the same time.

Mo Lin asked with a smile:

"Senior Sister, how's your preparation? I heard you had a tough battle with Yan. Did you get enough rest?"

Hu Liena put on an act as though she was determined to fight:

"Of course. But you fought my brother for quite a while too, didn't you? Don't go limp halfway through the match."

Then she quickly walked into the arena.

Mo Lin felt somewhat puzzled. Hu Liena had felt strange just now. When she used to spend time with him, she had never had a habit of leaving immediately after only saying a few words.

Mo Lin entered the arena and looked at Hu Liena across from him.

Hu Liena kept glancing toward the referee as though she wanted to say something. But every time she saw Bibi Dong seated on the high platform, she drew her gaze back. She seemed restless and distracted.

The time had come, and the referee was about to announce the start of the match. Hu Liena looked at him once more. The words were already at her throat, just about to leave her mouth!

"Referee, I forfeit."

Hu Liena looked at Mo Lin in surprise. Those words had actually come from him.

Bibi Dong frowned and asked:

"Mo Lin, why are you forfeiting?"

Mo Lin turned to face Bibi Dong.

"Master, your disciple knows that I have only just entered the rank of Soul Elder, and my soul power is not yet stable. I've fought several matches in just two days, and this morning I even fought Senior Xie Yue. I truly don't have much soul power left, so there's no need to fight this match. If I collapse here halfway through because I run out of soul power, wouldn't that be embarrassing? Besides, I'm still young. I'll have plenty of chances to participate in this tournament in the future, so missing it once makes no difference. Therefore, I forfeit. I hope Master will allow it."

After saying that, he gave Bibi Dong a meaningful look, telling her to look at Hu Liena.

Bibi Dong was highly experienced. The moment she saw Hu Liena's expression, she understood what was going on, and the corners of her lips lifted slightly.

"This child is far too mature. I had planned to use this tournament to establish his prestige."

Then she said:

"Mo Lin forfeits. The winner of this tournament is Hu Liena!"

And so, the tournament ended in such a dramatic fashion.

Late that night, the bewildered Hu Liena came to Mo Lin's room. She could not understand why he had forfeited. He was clearly the stronger one, and the one more likely to win.

"Are you asking why I forfeited?"

Mo Lin sat on the sofa and thought for a moment.

"The reason is that this tournament is only meant to give people without battle experience a chance to gain experience. Whether I win in the end isn't actually important."

Hu Liena's eyes widened.

"How did you..."

"If that thought crossed your mind before the finals, then it proves I guessed right. You felt that being utterly defeated by someone of a lower rank than yourself was humiliating, but at the same time, you also felt that forfeiting just because you couldn't win was humiliating. That's why, in the finals arena, you never dared to say the word 'forfeit.' Am I wrong?" Mo Lin asked.

Hu Liena nodded.

"That's right, but why did you voluntarily forfeit? Don't you care at all about what others think of you?"

Mo Lin smiled.

"I didn't voluntarily forfeit because I don't care. In order to accomplish my future goals, what I care about most is precisely what others think of me. So if someone like me had to give a reason for doing that, it would probably be this: if the youngest and lowest-ranked person—me—said it, it should be less humiliating than if you did, right?"