In the center of the ring, water vapor billowed.
Gu Yuena stood in place. That exquisitely delicate face of hers, which always seemed untainted by mortal affairs, was currently flooded with a flush of blood, her shame and annoyance intertwined.
She was the Silver Dragon King, after all, having inherited half of the Dragon God.
Even though her divine sense was shattered now, her soul level still possessed the true foundation of a deity.
How could the Spiritual Charm of a mere six-year-old child possibly shake her sea of consciousness?
What made her even more panic-stricken and mortified was that instant just a moment ago.
The instinctive trance caused the soul power around her to instantly derail.
Gu Yuena raised her head and glared fiercely at Meng Chen.
Meng Chen felt his scalp go numb from Gu Yuena's murderous gaze. He chuckled dryly, quickly withdrew his hand, and with a light touch of his toes, gracefully retreated by a certain distance.
Heaven knew how nervous he had been just now.
If Gu Yuena had gritted her teeth and withstood that blow, he definitely would have been pounded into a drowned rat in front of all the teachers and students of the academy.
Amidst the roaring crowd, Meng Chen walked off the ring with a calm expression.
Just as he stepped outside the door, a petite, yellow figure rushed over with a wave of fragrance.
"Meng Chen! Do you have any idea that you scared me to death!"
Ning Rongrong hugged Meng Chen's arm, her small face pale with fright. Worried, angry, and anxious all at once, she raised a hand and struck his chest.
"With such a huge wall of water crashing down just now, why didn't you forfeit!"
"Did you really think you were made of iron? In case you got smashed up and something happened, this young lady... this young lady wouldn't know where to go to settle accounts with you!"
Meng Chen helplessly rubbed his ears and casually patted the stray hairs on her forehead.
"All right, Big Miss, didn't I win? I know what I'm doing."
Ning Rongrong sniffed, her expression shifting. She then pulled Meng Chen down and asked in a low voice.
"That's right, Meng Chen, was your soul ring just now a thousand-year one?"
Regarding this, Meng Chen had long since prepared an excuse and spoke nonsense with a straight face: "Hehe, this is my secret. I'm telling you, but you can't tell anyone else, you know?"
Hearing this, Ning Rongrong nodded her small head repeatedly.
"A while ago, I ran into a heavily injured and dying mutated soul beast on the periphery of the Star Dou Great Forest. After killing it, I didn't expect it to be a thousand-year soul ring. I used to soak in special body-tempering medicinal soups, so my physical foundation was a bit sturdier than ordinary people's, and I just muddled through and absorbed it like that."
"Anyway, it was a narrow escape at the time, and it hurt so much I almost passed out. It was purely luck."
Ning Rongrong listened in a daze, but she also knew how dangerous it had been.
"That must have hurt so much! Meng Chen, you can't do this in the future, understand?"
Meng Chen smiled and nodded perfunctorily. Fortunately, Mo Lei had already walked to the center of the ring, which interrupted Ning Rongrong's continued questioning.
"The first round of the special-tier seats is over. Next will be the subsequent ranking battles for the special-tier students!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, the surrounding people began to discuss animatedly once more.
There were only five soul masters among the freshmen who possessed soul rings.
Aside from Meng Chen and Gu Yuena, those two thirteen-rank anomalies, there was Ning Rongrong, along with two other direct-line youths from old aristocratic families within the empire.
One of them was named Lin Hao, whose martial soul was a Blazing Fire Lion with an eleventh-rank soul power.
The other was called Bai Yu, whose martial soul was a Gale Demon Wolf and whose soul power had also reached the eleventh rank. He was a rare agile-attack seed.
According to the rules, the five of them would take turns fighting to decide the top three.
Because Ning Rongrong was a pure support soul master without close-combat capability, she quite straightforwardly raised her hand to forfeit before going on stage.
As for Gu Yuena, ever since she walked down the ring, the air pressure around her had been frighteningly low.
Faced with Lin Hao, who had gone on stage to challenge her, this Silver Dragon King in a terrible mood didn't even spare the opponent a direct glance.
As soon as the referee finished shouting, Gu Yuena's fingers gently slashed through the air. Lin Hao didn't even have time to use the first soul skill of his martial soul possession.
His entire body was fiercely swept away by a swirling water tornado and he directly passed out.
And in the end, all the pressure fell upon Bai Yu of the Gale Demon Wolf martial soul.
"The final round of the special-tier seat ranking battle, Meng Chen versus Bai Yu!"
Following Mo Lei's loud shout, Meng Chen slowly stepped onto the ring.
Bai Yu's expression was cold and stern. He was slightly older than Meng Chen, and his tight-fitting outfit fluttered and snapped in the wind.
"Meng Chen, your movement technique and soul skills are truly breathtaking, but compared to speed, I am no slower than you!"
Bai Yu shook both arms, and accompanied by a low wolf howl, cyan wind blades coiled and lingered around his body.
A bright, yellow hundred-year soul ring slowly rose from beneath his feet.
"Martial Soul Possession!"
Bai Yu's figure shot upward, the nails on his hands turned sharp, and the soles of his feet slammed hard into the ground. His entire body transformed into a cyan gale, pouncing toward Meng Chen with extreme speed.
"First soul skill, Wind Blade Slash!"
A half-moon-shaped cyan wind blade immediately appeared in the air, cutting off Meng Chen's retreat.
In the spectator stands, Ning Rongrong unconsciously gripped her clothes and held her breath.
When the wind blade was about to strike Meng Chen, he merely dodged slightly backward. After the wind blade swept past his side, it slashed into the ring.
Before Bai Yu could even recover his wits, Meng Chen had already quietly appeared at his side.
"Classmate Bai, your speed is all right, but your strength is a bit lacking."
Meng Chen murmured softly, and then kicked Bai Yu right in the waist and abdomen.
Bang!
Accompanied by a loud explosion, Bai Yu's entire body shot backward like a cannonball, flying straight out while skimming the ground.
He crashed heavily into the defensive light barrier at the edge of the soul fighting arena, clutching his stomach and retching incessantly on the ground, unable to get up ever again.
Instantly defeated in a single move!
On the ring, Meng Chen turned around and blinked at the referee.
Mo Lei's Adam's apple bobbed. He wiped away the cold sweat seeping from his forehead and announced in a loud voice.
"The winner is Meng Chen!"
More than half an hour later, the academy promulgated the final results of the freshman tournament.
"Point tally complete. For this freshman tournament, the final rankings of the special-tier battle have been decided!"
"First place, Meng Chen!"
"Second place, Gu Yuena!"
"Third place, Bai Yu!"
Cheers rushed forth like a tsunami.
Amidst the attention of the multitudes, Mo Lei solemnly carried a tray covered with red brocade and walked briskly toward the rostrum.
The two Imperial Knights commanders in the viewing gallery even personally stepped down from the high platform to exercise the right of bestowing rewards on behalf of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family.
The commander lifted the brocade, and inside lay neatly arranged ten golden amethyst gold soul coin cards.
Each card represented one thousand gold soul coins, which meant ten thousand gold soul coins!
This sum of money was enough to let ordinary commoners in Heaven Dou City live a life free from shortages of food and clothing for an entire lifetime.
However, what truly made the eyes of all the aristocratic youths in the audience turn red with envy was the emblem placed right in the center of the tray, forged from black iron and engraved with the exclusive snowflake crest of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family.
Facing Meng Chen with a solemn expression, the commander handed over the emblem and the soul coin cards with both hands and said in a loud voice.
"By decree of His Majesty, Emperor Xue Ye of the Heaven Dou Empire: In view of the outstanding talent of first-year student Meng Chen, who won first place in the freshman tournament, he is specially granted the peerage of Imperial Viscount, hereditary and perpetual, enjoying a fiefdom stipend. This order shall be filed for the record by the Imperial Clan Court and take effect immediately!"
A viscount-a six-year-old imperial viscount!
The aristocratic youths who usually considered themselves aloof were so jealous in the audience that the corners of their eyes were practically bleeding.
By virtue of a single tournament, he had actually soared directly to the heavens in a single bound, stepping into the ranks of the empire's hereditary nobility and sitting on equal footing with them!
Faced with this reward that was enough to make ordinary people ecstatic with joy, Meng Chen's expression remained calm.
Money was nothing more than a number to him for purchasing body-tempering medicinal ingredients.
As for this viscount peerage, he understood it crystal clear in his heart: it was nothing more than the result of Xue Qinghe operating and pushing things forward behind the scenes.
The goal was to gain a firm foothold in the Heaven Dou Empire's system and logically enjoy the highest-tier resources.
When stepping down from the stage, Meng Chen deliberately glanced toward the corner in the back.
Gu Yuena's silvery-white hair fluttered as she stood there coldly, holding the reward she had obtained for second place. Light flickered within her purple pupils, still carrying a trace of bewilderment.
Noticing Meng Chen's gaze, the girl let out a soft huff and turned her head away, leaving behind only a cold and aloof back.
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