When Huo Yuhao stood in the finals arena and faced Dai Huabin again, his state of mind had already settled.
A chaotic mind would only weaken him and cloud his judgment, preventing him from bringing out his true strength.
Yet the moment the two teams met, sparks flew, and the air reeked of gunpowder.
Ling Luochеn raised her hand, and an ice wall stretched across the space between the two teams.
She had to emphasize it again. "This is an academy sparring match. Friendship comes first. You may fight to your heart's content, but you must never try to injure or kill an opponent who has already lost the ability to fight."
"If anything like that happens, you will be expelled immediately. Do you understand?"
Qi Xuan and Dai Huabin each gave a cold snort, taking that as their acknowledgment.
As the ice wall disappeared, all eight contestants unleashed their martial souls.
Dai Huabin threw back his head and roared. His muscles swelled, every bone in his body crackled, and his blond hair turned black and white. A marking shaped like the character for "king" appeared on his forehead.
His hands also became tiger paws, sharp claws extending from them and reflecting an icy, chilling gleam.
Zhu Lu's pointed ears stood upright, and her deep-black hair streamed in the wind. She followed lightly behind Dai Huabin, leaving trails of afterimages.
A burst of blazing flame erupted from Wu Feng. Fine dragon scales covered her arms as she charged at Qi Xuan and his teammates with a roar.
Ning Tian, the only one who remained at the rear, chanted, "Nine Treasures Turn Into Glazed Glass."
A resplendent pagoda appeared in her hand, seven colors flowing across it in a breathtaking display.
Its radiance even faintly enveloped Ning Tian, blocking Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Detection.
The Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda!
Gasps and cheers rose from the stands. Some students even realized that the martial souls of all four members of Dai Huabin's team were connected to Shrek Academy's forebears!
The White Tiger, Spirit Cat, and Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda were the martial souls of Dai Mubai, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ning Rongrong of the First Generation Shrek Seven Devils, while the Red Dragon was the martial soul of Liu Erlong, one of the Golden Iron Triangle.
Wouldn't it be deeply symbolic for such a team to win the championship beneath the gazes of the founders' statues?
That coincidence stirred even greater excitement, as though Dai Huabin's team already had victory nailed down.
A rank-thirty-three Battle Soul Elder with a top-tier martial soul like the White Tiger, Dai Huabin had always been a strong contender for the title of strongest power attack system freshman. If Qi Xuan's performance had not been so outrageously impressive, there would probably have been no suspense at all-even Wang Dong was a whole major rank below him.
And now, Dai Huabin would finally clash head-on with Qi Xuan to determine who truly stood first among the power attack system students.
"Xiao Xiao, help me split them up." Leaving her with those words, Qi Xuan boldly advanced to meet Dai Huabin, lightning dancing in his hands.
Crimson Palace Thunder Transformation: Thunder Serpent!
With Spiritual Detection's support, the Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron struck all three opponents simultaneously with pinpoint accuracy.
Three soul rings-yellow, yellow, and purple-rose around Dai Huabin. His first yellow soul ring flashed, forming a round shield over his body, and he swatted the cauldron away with one palm.
White Tiger Protective Barrier!
Zhu Zhuqing chose to dodge nimbly aside, while Wu Feng met it head-on.
Xiao Xiao's interception did not buy much time, but her original plan had only been to break apart the opposing formation.
Dai Huabin had not slowed at all, while Zhu Lu and Wu Feng had both been briefly delayed. As a result, Dai Huabin charged ahead into the enemy formation, already looking somewhat disconnected from his team.
Bang!
Tiger palm and lightning fist collided violently. Both fighters took a step back, evenly matched.
Dai Huabin's expression was dark as still water. He had one more soul ring than his opponent, yet their clash had ended in a draw. To him, that meant he had lost.
Qi Xuan also silently marveled. This was the first time he had seen someone his own age capable of matching him in close-quarters combat.
Although Xie Huanyue could withstand his attacks too, in Qi Xuan's eyes, he was merely an oversized punching bag that felt satisfying to hit.
Dai Huabin, however, genuinely possessed the means to threaten him.
The rings around Wu Feng blazed with light. Dragon's Fire and Dragon's Wrath poured forth as she tried to pin Xiao Xiao down.
Two dazzling butterfly wings blocked her path.
Wang Dong was no weaker than her to begin with. Combined with the boost from her thousand-year soul ring and the ability to anticipate her enemy's moves through Spiritual Detection, she forcibly suppressed Wu Feng's offensive.
That also freed Xiao Xiao to intercept Zhu Lu, whose movements were as elusive as a phantom.
Cauldron's Tremor! Three great cauldrons formed a city wall, releasing heart-shaking vibrations that covered every route Zhu Lu could take forward.
Left with no choice, Zhu Lu had to retreat and seek another opening.
For a time, the situation in the arena was evenly balanced, rather than the one-sided battle so many had imagined.
But Ning Tian had yet to act.
As the team's other Soul Elder, she was no less important to them than Dai Huabin.
If Dai Huabin was the team's core, then she was its brain.
Ning Tian was waiting. She would rather watch Wu Feng fall onto the back foot and Zhu Lu be forcibly driven back than act before Dai Huabin and Qi Xuan's second clash.
She did not want to give Qi Xuan any chance to adjust. As long as Dai Huabin defeated him in one stroke with her amplification, however badly the other side of the battle went, it would not change the final outcome.
"Nine Treasures Have Names, first: strength."
"Nine Treasures Have Names, Second: Speed."
"Nine Treasures Have Names, third: defense."
As Ning Tian chanted, three streams of rainbow light entered her teammates' bodies, sending their speed and strength soaring once more.
With three soul rings, Ning Tian could grant her teammates an astonishing boost of nearly forty percent. Almost immediately, the situation reversed.
Xiao Xiao, who had easily suppressed Zhu Lu before, could no longer track her movements. She could only defend passively with the advance warnings from Spiritual Detection.
Wang Dong, who had been keeping Wu Feng firmly under pressure, also suffered a ferocious counterattack. Though she did not fall onto the back foot, their fight reached a stalemate for the moment.
This was the true worth of the continent's foremost support-type tool martial soul!
Even if its wielder could only cultivate to Soul Saint, even if she could never learn a single offensive skill, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda's staggering numerical boosts were enough to make all its shortcomings acceptable.
As for Dai Huabin, he went all out.
The instant Ning Tian amplified him, his third soul ring flared. His eyes suddenly turned blood-red, and his body, already powerfully built under his martial soul's White Tiger Possession, swelled again. His muscles bulged grotesquely, completely bursting his upper clothing and exposing their sharply defined contours.
Black horizontal stripes appeared across his skin. If not for the lack of fur, it would have looked no different from a tiger's hide.
His tiger paws grew another size larger, and the sharp blades extending from them turned bright silver. An intense golden glow enveloped his entire body, as though he had been plated in gold. His blood-red eyes shone with bloodlust, and every inch of him radiated the domineering presence of the king of beasts.
A thousand-year soul skill, White Tiger Vajra Transformation!
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