The referee walked to the center of the arena and raised a hand, signaling both sides to get ready.
"Each side will field seven fighters. The rules remain unchanged. Anyone who surrenders or is knocked off the arena is eliminated. Begin!"
His words fell.
The members of the Heaven Dou Second Team released their martial souls in unison, the light of their soul rings joining into a brilliant expanse across the arena.
Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, purple...
They were all Soul Elders. Aside from Xiao Wu, even the strongest, Jin Kuang, was only level thirty-seven. That was a respectable lineup for the qualifiers, but hardly a top-tier one.
Just as murmurs rose from the stands, a burst of crimson-gold light erupted at the very front of the team.
Nezha activated Martial Soul Possession.
Soul rings rose beneath his feet, one after another.
Yellow, purple, purple, black, black.
Five soul rings slowly revolved above the arena.
Crimson-gold light soared into the sky, bathing the entire arena in splendor.
The entire venue fell silent.
The spectators gaped, fighters from the other academies craned their necks, and even the referee froze, forgetting to call the start.
A Soul King.
A fourteen-year-old Soul King.
"How is that possible?"
"Five rings? He's a Soul King?"
"The Heaven Dou Second Team's captain hasn't fought a single match before this, and now he shows up as a Soul King?"
"Holy shit, what's the point of fighting? Just surrender!"
The stands erupted, voices surging like a rising tide.
On Canghui Academy's side, several fighters had already gone pale.
Oscar's mouth hung open, and he couldn't close it for the longest time. Ma Hongjun's eyes widened too, while Ning Rongrong blinked and studied Nezha with interest.
Zhu Zhuqing's gaze sharpened slightly as she stared at those five soul rings