Finals

"Tang Wulin, Xie Xie."

The two walked to the center of the field and faced each other.

The air seemed to freeze.

The watching students held their breath. This was a showdown between Class Five's two strongest students!

Xie Xie's gaze was locked tightly on Bai Lin. The shadow of terror from being dominated by "Hei Lin" the other day had now been dispelled by intense fighting spirit and determination.

He clenched the Light Dragon Dagger in his hand, his knuckles turning faintly white.

He had to defeat the person before him!

Not only for his practical combat grade, but also to shatter the shadow deep within his heart that had been born of fear!

He would prove with his own strength that he, Xie Xie, was not some weakling to be slaughtered at others' whim!

"Begin!"

The instant the words fell, Xie Xie moved!

His figure turned into a blurred streak of light as he circled Bai Lin at high speed!

The yellow soul ring beneath his feet shimmered, pushing his speed to its limit!

His movements were erratic, darting left and right, forward and back, leaving trails of afterimages in his wake. He tried to confuse Bai Lin's senses with his dazzling high-speed movements, preventing him from discerning his true position or intentions.

This tactic was somewhat similar to Li Chushui's earlier one, but in the hands of Xie Xie, a powerful agility-type Soul Master, it was faster and far more unpredictable!

Bai Lin remained calmly standing where he was, his gaze steady and grave. He did not summon his martial soul.

He was like an unshakable boulder. No matter how the gusts stirred up by Xie Xie's rapid movements fluttered the hems of his clothes, he remained perfectly still.

Seeing Bai Lin's seemingly "passive defense," Xie Xie furrowed his brow, becoming even more wary.

He absolutely did not believe his opponent would simply wait to be defeated. Testing the waters, Xie Xie suddenly struck while moving at high speed!

With a flick of his wrist, the Light Dragon Dagger carved out a sharp gleam. A condensed crescent-shaped blade light tore through the air with a piercing shriek, shooting straight toward Bai Lin's side!

Faced with this swift energy attack, Bai Lin finally moved.

He merely turned slightly, and his right fist appeared in the blade light's path as if it had teleported there. It was still that plain, unadorned punch of pure force!

"Boom!"

His fist collided fiercely with the blade light!

Before everyone's disbelieving eyes, the sharp blade light unleashed by the Light Dragon Dagger—sharp enough to cut through metal—was forcibly blasted apart by Bai Lin's bare fist!

It exploded into countless tiny motes of light and scattered into nothingness!

After missing with his first strike, Xie Xie did not pause. His figure once again began moving at high speed, continuing to circle Bai Lin as he searched for another opportunity to attack.

He did not dare approach rashly. Bai Lin's terrifying strength, as well as the precise predictions he had displayed when subduing Li Chushui earlier, made him deeply wary.

Every time he tried to find an opening and launch a surprise attack, Bai Lin would effortlessly neutralize it with a seemingly casual yet incredibly precise movement or block.

The battle fell into a brief stalemate.

Deep within Bai Lin's soul, Hei Lin's consciousness, which had been watching coldly all along, finally could not hold back any longer. His voice carried thick impatience and contempt.

"Hey!"

"Are you planning to stand there like a wooden post all day?"

"Isn't it boring?"

"Is a mere opponent like this really worth wasting time on?"

"Wouldn't it be better to finish early and go back to rest sooner?"

"I'm getting sleepy just watching..."

"How utterly boring!"

Hei Lin's murmured taunts and urging were like cold water poured over Bai Lin's head, making his calm mind tighten slightly.

It was not that he feared battle. He simply felt there was no need to go all out against a classmate.

But Hei Lin's words reminded him that continuing this "gentle" stalemate was indeed meaningless and a waste of time.

With that thought, Bai Lin's gaze instantly sharpened. The calm aura around him suddenly gained a trace of fierceness!

Just as Xie Xie swept past Bai Lin's side at high speed once more, searching for an angle of attack—

Bai Lin moved!

His movements were no longer slow or passive as before!

Relying on perception vastly beyond those of his rank, he locked onto Xie Xie's "true" position amid his high-speed movement with flawless precision!

His right leg slammed into the ground!

"Bang!"

A shallow crater was stamped into the ground!

Bai Lin's body shot out like a cannonball, instantly erupting with speed far greater than anything he had displayed before. Carrying a suffocating pressure, he charged straight at Xie Xie!

Too fast!

So fast that even Xie Xie's prideful speed seemed lacking by comparison!

Xie Xie's pupils contracted sharply, and his soul nearly fled his body!

He had no time for any complicated evasive movement. He could only cross the Light Dragon Daggers before himself in defense, while frantically pouring soul power into them in an attempt to block!

"Bang—!"

An incomparably heavy impact rang out!

Bai Lin's fist, containing terrifying strength, smashed solidly into the crossed Light Dragon Daggers!

Xie Xie felt an indescribable force surge through both arms, like a mountain flood bursting forth!

The Light Dragon Daggers, into which he had poured every ounce of his soul power, let out an overwhelmed hum!

His arms instantly went numb, and agonizing pain tore through the webs between his thumbs and forefingers!

"Agh—!"

Xie Xie flew backward uncontrollably like a kite with its string cut!

The Light Dragon Daggers flew from his grasp, spinning through the air in several arcs of light before falling in the distance with a clang.

Xie Xie's body traced a miserable arc through the air and slammed heavily into the grass more than ten meters away. He rolled several times before barely coming to a stop, covered in grass clippings and dust. For a moment, he struggled in vain to rise.

"Tang Wulin wins!"

Wu Changkong's cold voice echoed clearly across the silent field, bringing this brief yet deeply shocking "final" to an end.

His gaze fell upon the youth in the center of the field, who was still holding his punching stance, his breathing as steady as before.

There was still no expression on Wu Changkong's eternally frozen face, but a violent ripple that he could not suppress flashed through the depths of his profound ice-blue eyes—

It was extreme shock and curiosity!

The sight before him had completely surpassed the bounds of his understanding.

A nine-year-old boy whose martial soul was Blue Silver Grass had not summoned his martial soul, nor had he used a single soul skill!

Yet relying solely on pure physical strength that crushed everything in its path, he had swept through every opponent, including Xie Xie, an eighteenth-rank agility-type Soul Master with a century soul ring!

Even the Light Dragon Dagger's blade light, capable of slicing metal and jade, had been forcibly blasted apart with a single punch!

This...

This was simply unimaginable!

Blue Silver Grass?

Could a Blue Silver Grass Soul Master truly reach such a level?

Wu Changkong considered himself experienced and knowledgeable, yet he had never heard of such an anomaly!

What kind of terrifying strength and secrets were hidden within that body, which did not even appear especially burly?

Bai Lin, on the other hand, was exceptionally calm in the face of the shocking scene he had created, even carrying a trace of familiar indifference.

He slowly withdrew his fist, as though he had merely done something insignificant.