One Kick Each

Both sides began summoning their Martial Souls according to procedure.

Once every member of the Fierce God Team had finished, all eyes turned to Su Yun and his two companions.

Three against seven—what kind of Martial Souls gave them that confidence?

"Teyvat Academy, Su Yun. Martial Soul: Snow King Ice God. Soul Power: level 49. Food System Soul Ancestor."

Su Yun nearly lost his composure saying it. He casually whipped up a cup of Peach Four Seasons Spring for each of them, half sweet with light ice.

When everyone in the arena heard he was a Food System Soul Master, they couldn't help but scoff.

Even the Fierce God Team felt insulted. What was this supposed to mean?

They had sent in a Food System Soul Master and thought three people could beat them?

The Fierce God Team's captain gritted his teeth. "They'd better have connections that reach the heavens."

After Su Yun finished, it was Columbina's turn.

Columbina released her Martial Soul—which was Su Yun.

Thanks to Su Yun's looks, quite a few women in the stands had remembered him. Now, seeing Columbina's Martial Soul, they were utterly baffled.

How could one person's Martial Soul be another person?

If four Soul Rings hadn't been pulsing around Columbina, they would have doubted whether the Martial Soul was real.

"Teyvat Academy, Columbina. Martial Soul: Irritable Su Yun. Soul Power: level 49. Power Attack System Battle Soul Ancestor."

Hearing Columbina give such a solemn introduction, Sandrone could no longer hold back. Her shoulders shook.

Only after several seconds did Sandrone manage to suppress her laughter. She said with a haughty tilt to her voice:

"Teyvat Academy, Sandrone. Martial Soul: Star-Splitting Wedge. Level 49 Tool Soul Ancestor."

With all three Martial Souls revealed, the fight should have begun immediately.

But the referee seemed to be stalling. A full minute passed before he finally started the countdown.

Given their strength, Su Yun and his companions naturally noticed a noble standing inside the Fierce God Team's entrance.

One look told them the noble had indulged himself to excess. His eye sockets were dark and gray, his lips pale, and the hand holding his wineglass trembled. His Martial Soul seemed capable of transmitting information.

Su Yun casually listened in.

"No one's ever heard of this Teyvat Academy. Just kill them."

Su Yun raised an eyebrow at that.

So someone had gone to investigate their background. No wonder the referee was dragging things out.

Columbina's cheeks had puffed up with anger. She clearly despised people who treated lives like pieces in a game; she had even stopped drinking the Fresh Orange Smash Su Yun had just made.

By the look of her, she was ready to make their opponents hear the moon's roar.

Sandrone, meanwhile, released her Angel No. 1.

In appearance, Angel No. 1 was still quite different from Qian Renxue in her divine armor. Partly, that was due to the limits of its materials; partly, research into Soul Power and Martial Souls was progressing too slowly. For now, Angel No. 1 could only display combat strength roughly on par with a Soul King.

The Fierce God Team visibly froze at the sight of Angel No. 1. They couldn't quite make sense of it: hadn't there been three people just now? How had that become four?

The referee reached the final number of his countdown.

"One!"

"Begin!"

Before Su Yun could make a move, a red figure charged forward.

It was a red Su Yun condensed from Columbina's Kuuvahki.

Judging by the way he flew, Columbina was indeed controlling him herself.

It looked as though she had wanted to do this for a long time.

Kuuvahki couldn't imitate elemental power, though. Otherwise, Columbina really could have come up with all sorts of tricks.

For instance, she fashioned a False Windwheel out of Kuuvahki, copying the one Su Yun had used against The Doctor. She also imitated Su Yun and Scaramouche's combination attack, creating a shadow of Scaramouche so the two of them could each land a kick.

Even the referee was stunned. He forgot to give the commentary.

Hadn't it been three against seven just now? How had it become five against seven?

And the two who had been kicked away had been powerless to resist. They flew straight across the arena and slammed into its edge.

This was nothing like the one-sided crushing everyone had imagined.

Someone in the stands swallowed. Had that been a Soul Skill? Why hadn't any Soul Rings lit up?

Did that mean the girl's Martial Soul summoned people's shadows?

That was the only way to explain why there were now two shadows on the field!

A savage glint flashed in the Fierce God Team captain's eyes.

"Take out that girl first!"

With that, his bear claws, manifested through Martial Soul Possession, dug hard into the ground. He prepared to take two kicks head-on and tear open their defenses.

But he had overestimated himself and underestimated Columbina.

She had grown a little bored. The red Su Yun blurred into an afterimage, and with just one kick...

Crack!

The sound of breaking bone rang through the entire Great Soul Arena.

As the rest of his team stared, dumbfounded, the Fierce God Team captain spat blood and flew backward.

Boom!

He slammed straight into the noble who had ordered their deaths.

One blow, two lives...

Every member of the Fierce God Team who was still alive immediately jumped off the platform. Even the two who had been kicked unconscious stopped pretending. They crawled to get off it.

It was too terrifying. From their perspective, the girl hadn't used a single Soul Skill. She had simply taken them down one kick at a time, and no one could have endured a second.

Seeing them all flee, Sandrone said flatly:

"Tch, they're running already? My Angel No. 1 had only just finished warming up. I was about to test its newly installed Soul Power Converter.

"Next time, I'll have to bring it out early to block the exit. But never mind. Columbina can kick them all down herself, so why should I bother?"

With that, she put Angel No. 1 away and glanced at the referee, who was breaking out in a cold sweat.

The referee was already wiping his forehead, terrified that these two formidable young women would turn on him. He shouted:

"Congratulations to Heaven Dou Royal Academy on their victory!"

Only then did Sandrone look away. She folded her arms and turned to Columbina.

"That noble picked a convenient place to stand. Saves us from having to 'visit' him after the match... I hope our next opponent lasts ten seconds, at least. My Star-Splitting Wedge deserves a chance to get a little dusty."

As soon as the referee's words fell, the entire arena went deathly silent.

"Heaven Dou Royal Academy?"

Su Yun raised an eyebrow and nearly lost his grip on his Peach Four Seasons Spring.

"Referee, didn't you get that wrong? We're from Teyvat Academy. We have nothing whatsoever to do with Heaven Dou Academy."

The referee's face went pale. Only then did he realize fear had made him so tongue-tied that he had announced the wrong name. He hurriedly corrected himself:

"Ah—Te-Teyvat Academy wins!"

But the stands had already erupted.

Some people began whispering, but more eyes were fixed on the noble who had been crushed to death.

Several people in fine clothes rushed out of the entrance and gathered around the noble's body, wailing. A middle-aged woman among them looked up at the platform, her gaze venomous.

"Do you... do you know who he was?!"

She pointed at Columbina.

"He was the second son of Lexi Duke's Mansion! How dare you—"

Sandrone stepped forward at once, shielding Su Yun and Columbina behind her.

"Oh."

Sandrone cut her off without a trace of expression. Angel No. 1 reappeared, spreading its angel wings.

"He ordered people killed. I acted. Seems fair to me. Why don't you come down here too? I'll let you experience an angel's power up close."