The Final Trial

Bibi Dong paid no attention at all to Third Elder Qingluan's attitude.

There were seven elders in the Worship Hall.

Grand Elder: Qian Daoliu, the stabilizing pillar of Spirit Hall. Although he no longer involved himself in any of Spirit Hall's affairs, his prestige within Spirit Hall was unmatched. It could even be said that as long as Qian Daoliu remained, Spirit Hall could never fall into disorder.

Second Worship: Golden Crocodile Douluo, the most senior member of Spirit Hall. Strictly speaking, Second Worship Golden Crocodile was even a generation above Grand Elder Qian Daoliu. Calling him highly respected would not be an exaggeration.

Third Elder: Azure Luan Douluo. Cold by nature, he rarely acted personally. He excelled at strategy, considered the bigger picture, thought matters through, and cared deeply about Spirit Hall's development. He was the elder Grand Elder Qian Daoliu valued most.

Fourth Elder: Mighty Lion Douluo. Arrogant and exceptionally powerful, he obeyed only Grand Elder Qian Daoliu and the young mistress Qian Renxue. He was loyal only to the Six-Winged Angel lineage of the Qian Family.

Fifth Elder: Light Feather Douluo. Proud and somewhat tsundere, despite his lofty status as an elder, he sometimes threw childish tantrums. He cared about Spirit Hall's development and was utterly loyal to the Six-Winged Angel lineage.

Sixth Elder: Thousand Jun Douluo. Calm and steady, low-key and dependable in his actions, he considered the bigger picture and never acted rashly. He was utterly loyal to the Six-Winged Angel lineage.

Seventh Elder: Subduing Demon Douluo. He was the biological brother of Sixth Elder Thousand Jun Douluo, and his personality was similar to his brother's. He was loyal only to the Six-Winged Angel lineage.

To enter the Worship Hall and become an elder, one not only needed a Soul Power Level above ninety-five, but also loyalty—loyalty to the Six-Winged Angel lineage.

And with Grand Elder Qian Daoliu refusing to involve himself in any affairs, there was only one person who could command the elders: the young mistress, Qian Renxue.

Because of this, Bibi Dong knew very well that as long as her relationship with Qian Renxue remained unreconciled, the relationship between the Worship Hall and the Papal Hall could never return to what it had been.

Bibi Dong turned her gaze back toward the competition area.

The first round had already ended, and the drawing for the second round was beginning.

Chen Xi did not receive a bye in the second draw.

Xing An was the one who got the bye.

Chen Xi arrived at his designated competition area. Looking at the person standing opposite him, he casually rolled his wrists and quietly waited for the match to begin.

The instant the match began, Chen Xi summoned his martial soul, the Pen of Destiny. One yellow and two purple spirit rings flashed continuously around him.

"Three-ring Soul Elder?"

The person standing opposite Chen Xi looked at the spirit rings around him, his eyes darkening slightly, but he quickly made a decision.

"You used to train under Instructor Liu. Instructor Liu specializes in Mental Power attacks, so close combat is your weakness. I still have a chance to win..."

While his opponent was speaking, Chen Xi directly unleashed his First Spirit Skill: Heavenly Blessing.

Feeling his strength, speed, defense, and other attributes instantly rise to the same level as his Mental Power, Chen Xi charged straight at his opponent.

His fair hand clenched into a fist, and he drove it straight into his opponent's chest. The instant he knocked the other man back, Chen Xi moved again at high speed, catching up to him while he was still being sent flying. He spun in place and swept a leg toward his opponent's abdomen, slamming him heavily into the ground.

Seeing that his opponent had lost the ability to fight, Chen Xi withdrew his martial soul.

"What were you babbling about?"

"I'm good at close combat too."

"And the feeling of landing every punch is actually pretty great."

After walking out of the competition area, Chen Xi looked at the dumbfounded Xing An and patted her shoulder. "What's wrong? Why do you look so shocked?"

"Didn't you say our strengths were about the same?"

"Since when was I actually that strong?"

Xing An snapped out of her shock and looked at Chen Xi in astonishment.

"They are about the same."

"Just one spirit ring apart. Wasn't the distance I gestured exactly one spirit ring's worth?"

Chen Xi smiled carelessly.

Xing An nodded as if she understood.

So "a little" meant the distance of one spirit ring. That was perfectly reasonable.

Reasonable my ass.

If she remembered correctly, the only time Chen Xi had left the Training Camp was half a year ago.

Chen Xi was seven now. Half a year ago, when he left the Training Camp to attach a spirit ring, he had been six and a half.

A six-and-a-half-year-old three-ring Soul Elder—what a terrifying cultivation speed.

In the spectator stands, Azure Luan watched Chen Xi's performance and nodded in satisfaction.

The current Chen Xi had grown greatly compared to when they first met and had perfectly met Azure Luan's expectations.

The only flaw was that his temperament was too gentle. He lacked the youthful recklessness and high spirits someone his age ought to have. An overly gentle disposition might cause him to suffer losses at certain times.

Still, it was nothing serious. Chen Xi was still young, after all, and could be gradually trained later.

If nothing else, he could not lack the strength to be forceful when necessary or the decisiveness to kill.

The second round ended.

The drawing for the third round began.

After cleanly knocking his opponent down, Chen Xi noticed that the people who had advanced to the final round, apart from Xing An beside him, had gathered together intentionally or otherwise. Their gazes occasionally drifted in his direction.

Unlike the one-on-one matches of the first three rounds, the final round would not be decided through one-on-one pairings. Instead, seven people would compete for the final rankings. Under such circumstances, temporarily joining forces to eliminate the strongest person first seemed like the best choice.

Chen Xi narrowed his eyes and glanced at Xing An beside him. His expression did not change. On the surface, Chen Xi only had one more spirit ring than them. Even if there was a gap in strength, it should not have been too large. But in truth, Chen Xi's strength was far more than that of a three-ring Soul Elder.

"Something feels off."

"They seem to be targeting you."

Xing An glanced at the situation over there and quietly lowered her voice.

"It doesn't matter. I'll just knock them all down."

"If you want to, you can go over there too."

Chen Xi gave Xing An a faintly amused look.

"What are you saying? Do you think I'm that kind of person?"

"We're friends. Of course I'm on your side."

Xing An looked at Chen Xi with a serious expression and earnest eyes.

"Alright, let's head to the competition area first."

Chen Xi smiled and walked with Xing An toward the final competition area.

The other students who had advanced also entered the competition area one after another, standing opposite Chen Xi and Xing An. Their intentions were obvious.

Chen Xi was the first to summon his martial soul, the Pen of Destiny. One yellow and two purple spirit rings flashed continuously around him.

Xing An took a step forward and summoned her martial soul, the Frost Saint Shield, standing in front of Chen Xi.