Ning Tian, Nanmen Yun'er, and Cui Yajie had already retreated far away to the edge of the arena.
Ning Tian withdrew the enhancing light of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. Her platinum hair fluttered gently in the fierce wind, and her azure eyes calmly watched the fiery-red figure in the arena.
Nanmen Yun'er stood beside her, her short ponytail swaying in the wind. She clasped both hands in front of her, so nervous that even her breathing grew faint.
Cui Yajie simply found a reasonably level patch of ground and sat down, propping her chin in her hands. Her pink hair fell over her shoulders as she watched the enormous Hell White Tiger with keen interest, a blade of grass she had found somewhere dangling from her lips.
None of the three intended to intervene. They simply watched from afar, waiting for Nezha and the Hell White Tiger to settle the match.
Whoever won, the other side would concede. Simple and direct.
Sensing Nezha's formidable aura, Dai Huabin let out a deafening roar through the tiger's jaws.
Carried by Soul Power, the roar traveled far, making the teachers watching from the raised platform frown slightly. Several new students nearby even covered their ears.
The Hell White Tiger's enormous body crouched slightly, and its hind legs drove hard against the ground.
The next instant, it shot forward like an exploding thunderbolt, trailing a ring of visible ripples through the air as it lunged at Nezha with terrifying speed.
Its sharp claws carved five arcs of intertwined black and white light through the air. Its savage tiger head dipped slightly, its bloody maw opened wide, and cold light flashed on its fangs as it bore down on Nezha.
Nezha stood his ground, the Fire-Tipped Spear angled toward the earth. Beneath his feet, the Wind Fire Wheels hovered three inches above the ground, wreathed in intertwined crimson flames and azure wind.
Facing the enormous beast hurtling toward him, he narrowed his fiery-red eyes slightly, and the purple flame at his spear tip suddenly leaped.
Both vortices beneath his Wind Fire Wheels burst at once. He became a streak of crimson light, his spear tip trailing a dazzling tail of flame. Rather than retreat, he charged straight into the Hell White Tiger.
The crimson streak and the massive black-and-white tiger collided with a thunderous crash in the center of the arena.
The Fire-Tipped Spear struck the Hell White Tiger's claw. The instant purple flame clashed with black-and-white Soul Power, a visible shock wave burst from the point of impact, and the stone paving shattered outward around them in radiating cracks.
Nezha felt a force capable of toppling mountains and overturning seas surge through the spear shaft. The impact numbed the web of his hand and drove his Wind Fire Wheels several feet backward.
The thrust also checked the Hell White Tiger's charge, leaving a charred scorch mark on its claw.
Dai Huabin's muffled grunt emerged from the tiger's mouth, followed by another roar. Black-and-white light surged around the Hell White Tiger. Its tail swept across like an iron whip while a pillar of Soul Power blasted from its jaws, attacking from above and below.
Nezha sharply tilted his Wind Fire Wheels and slid several feet sideways just above the ground. The pillar grazed his shoulder and slammed into the ground behind him, blasting out a scorched crater over ten feet deep. The tiger's tail followed close behind. With no time to dodge, Nezha braced the Fire-Tipped Spear across his side and took the blow head-on.
Bang-
Nezha and his spear were hurled sideways. His Wind Fire Wheels spun several times in midair before he regained his balance. Upon landing, he dropped to one knee and drove the Fire-Tipped Spear into the ground, yet his lips curled into a slight grin.
"You've got something."
The Hell White Tiger gave him no chance to catch his breath. Its claws pushed off the ground, and its enormous body lunged again. Its claws struck in rapid succession, every blow accompanied by an explosive crack that tore through the air.
Nezha raised his spear to block. The shaft collided with the tiger's claws dozens of times at close range, scattering sparks everywhere. He was forced back again and again, his feet leaving deep pits in the ground.
On the raised platform, Yan Shaozhe frowned slightly. "Nezha's being overpowered?"
Cai Mei'er gently shook her head. "No. Look at his footwork."
Though Nezha was retreating, he always moved toward one side of the arena. Every sideways shift of his Wind Fire Wheels followed a precise angle. He was using his retreat to guide the Hell White Tiger's attacks, wearing down its Soul Power bit by bit.
Dai Huabin seemed to realize this too. Another furious roar erupted from the tiger's jaws, and the Hell White Tiger abruptly halted its charge. It raised its head, its purple eyes blazing as black-and-white Soul Power madly gathered and compressed inside its mouth. The air pressure around it dropped, and fierce winds swirled backward toward its jaws.
Nezha's eyes lit up.
This was exactly what he had been waiting for.
Two vortices burst beneath his Wind Fire Wheels, and instead of retreating, he surged forward. At the same time, he raised his left hand, and crimson light erupted from his palm.
The Sky-Mending Silk.
A length of red silk appeared out of thin air, crimson as flame from end to end. Cloud patterns embroidered in golden thread flowed across its surface, resembling neither quite a dragon nor quite a phoenix. The moment it appeared, the silk twisted and coiled through the air like a crimson serpent brought to life, shooting toward the Hell White Tiger with a vast force that blended suppleness with strength.
At the same time, he turned his right hand over. The Universe Ring on his wrist gleamed gold and flew free. The golden ring traced an arc through the air, spinning toward the Hell White Tiger's other side. Golden light flowed through the enhancement patterns covering it, and a precise locking force sealed off the tiger's escape route along its flank.
The Sky-Mending Silk entwined its target first.
The crimson silk unfurled in midair like a supple barrier, wrapping around the pillar of Soul Power about to burst forth.
The instant the silk touched the pillar, its cloud patterns flared. An extraordinarily pliant force wound around the pillar in layer after layer, wearing it down and deflecting it.
The Sky-Mending Silk forcibly twisted the black-and-white pillar off course. It swept past Nezha's side and blasted into empty ground, leaving an enormous scorched crater.
The Hell White Tiger's killing blow had been effortlessly neutralized by the Sky-Mending Silk.
Then the Universe Ring arrived.
It slipped precisely around the Hell White Tiger's right hind leg and abruptly tightened. Its enhancement patterns blazed gold, and a powerful binding force erupted from within the ring, locking that thick hind leg firmly in place.
The Hell White Tiger's impending lunge abruptly stalled. Its enormous body lost its balance and tilted to the right.
Dai Huabin roared, desperately driving his Soul Power to break free. But the Universe Ring was a Level 4 Soul Tool made specifically for Nezha. Its enhanced locking power far surpassed control Soul Skills of the same level. The Hell White Tiger struggled twice, yet its hind leg did not budge.
By then, Nezha had arrived too.
Third Soul Skill-Fire-Tipped Spear: Formation Breaker.
The purple flame at the Fire-Tipped Spear's tip compressed into a dazzling point of white light. Ning Tian's Strength and Speed Boost still flowed through his body. With their effects combined, he thrust his spear, its spear intent surging like a dragon as the crimson spear image became a streak of light that pierced heaven and earth.
This thrust went straight for the Hell White Tiger's chest.
Dai Huabin was horrified. The tiger's head jerked aside, but that thrust was too fast.
The spear tip pierced the exact center of the Hell White Tiger's chest. Purple flame exploded amid the black-and-white light, pouring ultimate fire into the body formed from Soul Power.
At the same time, the Sky-Mending Silk closed in from the other side. The crimson silk wrapped the Hell White Tiger's enormous body in layer after layer, tightening relentlessly. The Universe Ring suddenly twisted around its hind leg, shattering the giant tiger's balance completely.
Three weapons, three directions, all exerting force at once.
The Hell White Tiger let out an agonized roar that shook the entire arena. Ultimate fire tore enormous rents through its intertwined black-and-white Soul Power body from within. The Sky-Mending Silk's bindings prevented those rents from healing, while the Universe Ring's lock brought the circulation of Soul Power to a complete standstill.
The giant tiger, dozens of feet long, trembled violently in the center of the arena. Its Soul Power body broke down, shattered, and dissipated at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Boom-
The Hell White Tiger exploded.
Black-and-white light poured in every direction like floodwaters bursting through a dam. The violent Soul Power shock wave ripped up several layers of stone paving.
Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu were blasted out of the fading light. Both crashed to the ground and rolled several times before coming to a stop.
Their tightly interlocked hands finally parted. Dai Huabin lay on his back, blood at the corner of his mouth and his chest heaving. The White Tiger Martial Soul's fur had completely receded, exposing his deathly pale face beneath.
Zhu Lu lay on her side beside him. The Hell Spirit Cat's dark glow had gone out completely. Her eyes were tightly shut; she had already lost consciousness.
The entire arena fell silent.
Nezha withdrew his spear and stood upright, then planted the Fire-Tipped Spear on the ground, its butt sinking an inch into the stone paving. The Sky-Mending Silk turned into a streak of crimson light and vanished into his palm. The Universe Ring also flew back from the ground and slipped onto his wrist again.
Standing in the center of the arena, he swept his fiery-red eyes over Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu lying on the ground, then looked toward the referee at the edge, who had been left utterly dumbstruck.
"Referee, it's time to announce the result."
Before you continue