Ye Linglong VS Ning Rongrong

"Fifth match—Sky Abyss Academy's Ye Linglong versus Shrek Academy's Ning Rongrong!"

When the commentator called out those two names, there was obvious hesitation in his voice.

It wasn't his fault.

In the previous four matches, Sky Abyss Academy had left the world with only one word.

Crush.

Jiang Tieyi crushed Dai Mubai, Chu Yao crushed Oscar, Yan Wuji crushed Ma Hongjun, and Ling Shuang crushed Zhu Qing.

Four matches, four different ways of crushing them, each more inventive than the last.

The audience had long since lost all anticipation. Only numb despair remained.

But this match was different.

Neither competitor was a conventional battle Soul Master.

Ning Rongrong, wielder of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tower, the continent's foremost support, added to all things.

Ye Linglong, wielder of the Annihilation Demon Eyes, the continent's inverse support, subtracted from all things.

One enhanced.

One diminished.

Having them fight was like making fire and water argue over which was stronger.

Victory or defeat depended on only one thing—whose quantity was greater.

Ning Rongrong stepped onto the arena, her gait steady.

That came as a surprise to many people.

The sight of her being defeated by a single glance from Ye Linglong during the team match was still branded into everyone's minds.

Everyone had assumed she would take the stage carrying psychological trauma.

She did carry it.

But not all shadows were alike.

Some shadows crushed the spine, while others forced a person to stand even straighter.

Ye Linglong had already been waiting on the stage.

Silver hair draped over her shoulders, her crimson eyes half-lidded. Her entire being gave off a distant, lonely chill that warned strangers away.

There was neither disdain nor regard in the way she looked at Ning Rongrong.

She was simply looking.

As though she were studying an equation whose result had long since been calculated.

"Begin."

The referee waved his hand.

Ye Linglong made no movement.

She merely opened her eyes.

Those crimson pupils suddenly lit up beneath the sunlight.

Fearful Gaze!

An invisible mental shockwave crossed the arena in an instant and stabbed straight into Ning Rongrong's eyes!

During the team match, this very move had caused Ning Rongrong to plunge into the abyss of her own consciousness.

Fear, helplessness, self-denial... every negative emotion was forcibly crammed into her mind within three seconds, deadlier than any poison in the world.

Ning Rongrong did not dodge.

She stood there straight, facing that crimson light.

The fear came.

The familiar fear surged into her consciousness like a tide, threatening to drown every shred of reason she possessed.

Ning Rongrong's body trembled.

Her lips quivered.

Tears instantly filled her eyes.

But her feet remained nailed firmly to the ground.

"I practiced in front of a mirror all night."

Her voice shook, but every word left her lips clearly.

"I practiced not being afraid."

A faint ripple finally stirred in Ye Linglong's gaze.

"You can't practice that away," she said calmly. "Fear is instinct. Training cannot overwrite it."

"You're right."

Ning Rongrong smiled, even as tears rolled down her face, making that smile look utterly miserable.

"I really couldn't learn not to be afraid."

"But I learned—"

"—to act while being afraid!"

Seven Treasure Glazed Tower!

Light burst forth from her palm!

Seven dazzling pillars of light shot into the sky—strength, speed, defense!

None of them flew toward anyone else.

All of them slammed into her own body!

Triple Enhancement: Full Self-Empowerment!

This was a mode Ning Rongrong had never displayed before.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tower was born for others. Stacking every enhancement on herself consumed three times as much soul power as normal!

She could not hold on for long.

But she did not need to hold on for long!

"All Thoughts Turn to Ash."

Ye Linglong's third Spirit Ring lit up, releasing an even deeper mental assault.

It was no longer fear, but emptiness.

An absolute denial that robbed the target of all reason to act.

The mental shock struck Ning Rongrong.

This time, the third enhancement among the Triple Enhancement—"defense enhancement"—formed a barrier and blocked it head-on!

The effect of "All Thoughts Turn to Ash" was reduced by more than half, though the aftermath still forced Ning Rongrong to stagger half a step.

She steadied herself.

The tears were still falling, and her legs were still shaking, but she had steadied herself!

At that moment, the breathing of the entire audience seemed to stop.

"Seven Treasure Glazed... Light Wall."

Ning Rongrong pushed both hands forward.

Four-colored light gathered in her palms into a translucent screen that slowly, yet resolutely, pushed toward Ye Linglong.

That was not an attack.

It was an enhancement.

A light screen carrying four layers of positive buffs was attempting to cover Ye Linglong's entire body.

"You're enhancing me?" Ye Linglong's tone finally shifted. "Your enhancements are useless against me."

"I know." Ning Rongrong wiped her face carelessly, tears and sweat mixing together. "Your Annihilation Demon Eyes automatically reject all positive enhancements."

"Then why—"

"That's why I'm not enhancing you," Ning Rongrong said.

"I'm making things difficult for you!"

The four-colored light wall enveloped Ye Linglong.

The strength enhancement poured in—only to be instinctively rejected and canceled by the Annihilation Demon Eyes!

The speed enhancement poured in—rejected and canceled again!

Defense, soul power...

Four full-power enhancements surged in like four raging rivers!

Rejection itself required consumption.

The Annihilation Demon Eyes were frantically "subtracting" those incoming positive effects.

One, two—they were still manageable.

But four poured in at once!

It overloaded!

Ye Linglong's crimson pupils suddenly brightened to a blinding degree. The next second, blood trickled from her nose.

She took a step back.

With that one step, the entire arena exploded!

She retreated!

Someone from Sky Abyss Academy had retreated!

"No matter how fast your subtraction is—"

Ning Rongrong's voice was hoarse. Her soul power was visibly draining away, yet her eyes shone with a frightening brightness.

"—you can't subtract everything I dumped on you all at once!"

Ye Linglong raised a hand and wiped away the blood beneath her nose, looking at the crimson stain on her fingertips.

She fell silent for a full two seconds.

During those two seconds, the whole stadium was deathly quiet.

"Interesting."

She spoke three words.

Then she closed her eyes.

When she opened them again, a ring of black patterns slowly emerged from the depths of her crimson pupils.

Fourth soul skill.

"Annihilation: Myriad Forms Return to Ruin!"

Centered on her, an indiscriminate wave of mental annihilation exploded outward in every direction!

Ning Rongrong's four-colored light wall instantly shattered into specks of light that filled the sky.

She herself was blasted away by the shockwave and slammed heavily into the edge of the arena. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tower vanished, and her soul power was completely depleted.

But Ye Linglong was not faring well either.

Forcibly releasing her fourth soul skill while overloaded caused her Annihilation Demon Eyes to suffer a double backlash.

She half-knelt on the stage, her eyes bloodshot as bloody tears streamed down and mixed with the blood from her nose.

The referee rushed onto the stage. After checking both their conditions, he stood in the middle of the arena, his voice hoarse.

"Both sides have simultaneously lost their ability to fight—"

"Fifth match, draw!"

Silence.

One second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds.

Applause fell from the highest rows of the stands, then swept through the entire arena like an avalanche.

This time, the applause was not just for the victors.

It was also for the girl who had fought through the entire match in tears and wrested a draw from the invincible Sky Abyss Academy.

Ye Linglong lay sprawled on the arena floor. She turned her head and looked at Ning Rongrong, who was likewise unable to move more than ten meters away.

"The Glazed Tower's addition... isn't just numbers," she said, her voice so hoarse it was nearly inaudible.

Ning Rongrong lay on her back, her chest heaving violently, yet she grinned.

"Because what I add isn't just strength."

"It's also the courage I finally scraped together after crying in front of a mirror twenty-seven times last night."

Ye Linglong said nothing more.

The corner of her lips seemed to twitch upward slightly, forming a minute curve that no one could be certain was a smile.

Fifth match, draw.

Overall score: Sky Abyss Academy, four wins, zero losses, one draw.

The competitors' area.

Su Chen watched as Ye Linglong was helped off the stage by two medical Soul Masters.

Her legs wobbled as she walked, and her silver hair was stained with blood.

Su Chen's fingers lightly tapped the armrest of his chair twice.

The movement was soft and brief.

But Chu Yao, seated beside him, noticed. She asked nothing and merely handed him a cup of warm water in silence.

Su Chen accepted the cup but did not drink.

His gaze had already crossed the arena and landed on Shrek Academy's competitors' area opposite him.

It landed on Tang San.

Tang San was quietly saying something to Xiao Wu beside him, his expression calm.

After he finished, Xiao Wu's gaze changed.

The heaviness from before became a smoldering excitement that could no longer be suppressed.

Su Chen set down his glass of water.

"He got what he wanted in the fifth match."

Chu Yao asked, "What?"

"Ye Linglong's reaction speed after overloading, the three-second gap when the demon pupils' rejection enhancement activated, and..."

Su Chen's gaze moved away from the injured Ye Linglong.

"After our people got hurt, would my attention shift away immediately?"

After saying that, the curve at the corner of his lips vanished completely.

"Tang San used Ning Rongrong's draw to buy information on the five of us."

"What a calculation."