Lan Yu vs. Qian Renxue

Hu Liena froze when she saw the person stepping forward. "Who is she? She isn't on our Spirit Hall Team, is she?"

"Nana, she's a substitute who was suddenly added to the roster. The higher-ups assigned her directly."

"Huh? Who has enough pull to slip someone onto the Spirit Hall Team? And why is a substitute going up there to embarrass herself?"

Hu Liena was about to call her back, but Xie Yue stopped her.

"Brother, why are you looking at me?"

"Nana, something's off. Her identity isn't simple. Let's keep quiet and watch for now."

Qian Renxue wore a veil, but even with her face covered, Lan Yu had no trouble recognizing her.

"Miss Qian? I don't recall you being on the Spirit Hall Team."

"I am now. Fight me. I want to know what I've lost over all these years."

With that, Qian Renxue summoned her six-winged angel martial soul, along with six Soul Rings: two yellow, two purple, and two black.

Many of those present were astonished by the sight.

"The six-winged angel martial soul! So its lineage hasn't ended!"

Ning Fengzhi murmured to himself. After Qian Xunji's death, the position of Spirit Hall's Supreme Pontiff had passed to Bibi Dong, leading outsiders to believe that the lineage of Spirit Hall's six-winged angel martial soul had died out.

Now, that clearly wasn't the case. Not only was Qian Daoliu still alive, but the previous Supreme Pontiff had also left behind a child.

Bibi Dong had only been made Supreme Pontiff because the young heir was too young and needed time to grow. In the end, Spirit Hall's authority would return to the Qian Family.

Bibi Dong's expression turned ugly. It wasn't just that she disliked Qian Renxue; Qian Renxue's public appearance had undermined her position.

If Spirit Hall's authority would ultimately return to the Qian Family, then rather than currying favor with Bibi Dong, people would be better off investing in Qian Renxue, the young heir.

Qian Renxue herself might not even have realized it, but she had certainly stabbed Bibi Dong in the back.

Lan Yu smiled at Qian Renxue. "Since you're so eager, Miss Qian, I'll exchange a few moves with you."

"Then you'd better be careful!"

Qian Renxue beat the six wings on her back, her speed abruptly surging. A Sword of Upper formed in her hand, and she thrust it straight at Lan Yu's chest.

Lan Yu spread his wings and easily evaded her thrust.

At the same time, his Spore Cloud spread out, concealing him within it.

"Angel Domain, activate! Holy Light Purification!"

Qian Renxue wanted to purify Lan Yu's spores, but that was wishful thinking. The spores had neither evil nor dark attributes, so holy light's purifying effect was very limited.

Still, as a divine martial soul, the six-winged angel martial soul possessed powerful resistance to abnormal conditions.

The effects of poison, hypnosis, weakness, and hallucinations would be greatly reduced.

Seeing that she couldn't completely purify the Spore Cloud before her, Qian Renxue hesitated briefly, then beat her wings and charged into it.

The Spore Cloud obscured all sight. No one outside could see what was happening within, not even Qian Daoliu.

Qian Daoliu's brow was furrowed, his concern for Qian Renxue plain to see.

Inside the Spore Cloud, Qian Renxue simply closed her eyes and relied on her perception to locate Lan Yu.

"Miss Qian, I didn't expect you to charge in. That wasn't a wise decision."

"Don't underestimate the six-winged angel martial soul. Sixth Spirit Ability: Angelic Roar!"

It was a powerful mental attack that also carried the effects of a sonic attack.

However, Lan Yu's mind was backed by the entire Mycelium Network, rendering mental attacks essentially ineffective against him.

"Miss Qian, you've already wasted too much time. Explosive Spore!"

The Spore Cloud rapidly collapsed inward, and Qian Renxue sensed the danger. The sight made Chrysanthemum Douluo's and Ghost Douluo's scalps prickle even more.

Both had been injured by that very attack, and neither had fully recovered.

"Angel's Protection!"

Qian Renxue folded her six wings inward as a golden barrier enclosed her.

A thunderous boom followed as the collapsing Spore Cloud exploded. The blast whipped up fierce winds, sending the Temple Knights on guard duty staggering in every direction, unable to keep their footing.

Once the aftermath of the explosion cleared, a somewhat disheveled Qian Renxue appeared before everyone. Her veil had fallen away, revealing an exquisitely flawless face.

Only the trace of blood trickling from the corner of her mouth marred its perfection.

The light of the six wings on her back had also dimmed. Her clothes were a little rumpled but remained intact, a testament to their quality.

Lan Yu, meanwhile, looked no different than before. He smiled and asked, "Miss Qian, do you still want to continue?"

"Yes! Please don't hold back. I want to see exactly how large the gap between us is."

"All right! Since you've said as much, I'll oblige. Mycelium Swamp!"

The flight-suppression effect of Mycelium Swamp dragged the airborne Qian Renxue straight down to the ground. Lan Yu landed at the same time.

Qian Renxue glanced at the fungal threads beneath her feet. Without wasting words, she accelerated and charged at Lan Yu again.

Lan Yu didn't dodge. Yet just as Qian Renxue reached him, a piercing screech rang out.

A Jadeplume Terrorshroom suddenly appeared, with Lan Yu standing on its back.

Qian Renxue's sword struck the Jadeplume Terrorshroom, inflicting negligible damage.

"What?!"

The Jadeplume Terrorshroom had no intention of going easy on a beauty. Its tail lashed toward Qian Renxue, who barely had time to raise her sword across her body before the blow sent her flying off the arena.

"Uncle Jian, is that a hundred-thousand-year soul beast?"

Ning Fengzhi looked uncertainly at Sword Douluo, who shook his head. "It doesn't quite seem like one, but it certainly has the strength of a hundred-thousand-year soul beast.

"The sage serving the Sage Lord of Fungi has been hiding his strength all along. Fortunately, we didn't make an enemy of him earlier."

"Yes. Rongrong really is lucky to have built a good relationship with him."

Lan Yu turned to the referee. "Referee, you can announce the result now."

Only then did the referee snap out of his daze. "The winner of this match is Lan Yu of the Botanical Academy. Spirit Hall Team, please send up your next contestant."

Seeing Lan Yu standing on the Jadeplume Terrorshroom's back, who would willingly go up there to be thrashed? The gap in strength was far too great.

"Referee, we forfeit the remaining individual matches."

Hearing Xie Yue's declaration, the referee glanced toward Bibi Dong and Qian Daoliu.

"Ahem. Follow the tournament procedures. Don't worry about anything else."

Only upon hearing Qian Daoliu's voice did the referee breathe a sigh of relief.

"The Spirit Hall Team forfeits. The Botanical Academy advances to the winners' bracket of the finals. The losers' bracket team match will take place tomorrow. Both teams, please prepare accordingly."

Bibi Dong stepped forward. "These individual matches weren't particularly exciting. Why don't we move the losers' bracket team match up to this afternoon? What do you think?"

With Bibi Dong speaking, the Spirit Hall Team naturally had no objections. Neither did Heaven Dou Royal Academy. Their team was in good condition, while one of the Spirit Hall Team's Soul Kings was injured.

An earlier match would benefit them, though their chances of winning remained very low.

As for Qian Renxue, anyone with eyes could tell that she most likely wouldn't participate in the team match.