By the time Huo Yutong arrived at the Soul Fighting Zone with the crowd, the two central figures in the incident, along with Yan Shaozhe, were already standing on the Soul Fighting Platform.
As more and more people arrived, Zhou Yi's face twitched involuntarily.
In front of all these people, she actually had to face a student on the Soul Fighting Platform!
"You've really thrown away every scrap of dignity, Zhou Yi!"
Just then, a familiar, loathsome voice reached her ears from below the platform.
"Mu Jin!"
Zhou Yi whipped her head around to look at the newcomer.
"Getting on the Soul Fighting Platform with a three-ring student? Have you no shame, Zhou Yi?"
Seeing Zhou Yi's ugly expression only made Mu Jin happier, and he spoke with a grin.
"Well, since it's come to this, you'd better not lose. That would be even more humiliating."
"I don't care if you disgrace yourself, but don't drag Fan Yu down with you."
Without giving Zhou Yi a chance to speak, Mu Jin rattled off his words like a barrage of cannon fire, then leisurely turned and returned to the area occupied by Freshman Class Two.
He was still a homeroom teacher, after all. It was class time, and he had students to supervise.
As the spectator stands in the Soul Fighting Zone filled up, Zhou Yi looked as though Old Feng had died.
Apart from those she had expelled, every freshman in the year had arrived. Even upper-year students who had caught wind of the news were beginning to show up.
Though she hated to admit it, Zhou Yi knew Mu Jin was right.
-Once she stepped onto the platform against a student, win or lose, her dignity was already gone.
Winning meant nothing. As a teacher and a Soul Emperor, she was supposed to win. Even a victory that wasn't impressive enough would be unacceptable.
And if she lost...
Heh. There was no way she could lose!
"Enough!"
Having silently watched the arrivals fill the stands, Yan Shaozhe finally stopped playing the statue and spoke at an unhurried pace.
"Silence!"
"Next, at student El's request, we will hold a soul fighting match between him and Teacher Zhou Yi!"
"I, Yan Shaozhe, will serve as the referee!"
Under the force of his Soul Power-infused voice, everyone fell silent at once.
Having demonstrated his authority, the Bright Phoenix Douluo nodded in satisfaction.
Then he continued.
"In this match, fixed-charge Soul Tools are prohibited. Neither contestant may endanger the other's life, nor may either deliberately inflict serious injuries!"
"I will personally punish anyone who violates these rules!"
As he spoke, his eyes remained firmly fixed on Zhou Yi.
Clearly, those words were a warning specifically for her.
Yan Shaozhe knew a little about Zhou Yi's character.
She did indeed enjoy using training as an excuse to deal heavy blows to students who disobeyed her or whom she disliked.
And right now, El was probably the one she hated most.
That was why Yan Shaozhe had made a point of reminding her before the match began to keep herself in check.
Unfortunately, someone like Yan Shaozhe, who approached things rationally most of the time, simply could not understand how Zhou Yi thought.
He could never have guessed that, even with an Ultimate-level elder backing El and repeated warnings from him, the Dean, she could still harbor the intention of crippling El!
"Now, both contestants, take your positions."
Once El and Zhou Yi had retreated to opposite ends of the platform, Yan Shaozhe mobilized his Soul Power and rose into the air.
"Begin!"
At his command, the two figures under everyone's gaze moved simultaneously.
"Martial Soul Possession!"
Zhou Yi revealed her Martial Soul and Soul Rings immediately.
Surging flames coiled around her body, and six Soul Rings-yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black-rose from beneath her feet, signifying her Soul Emperor cultivation.
Dark-red dragon scales spread over her body. Almost instantly, she transformed into a muscular little dragon-person.
Overwhelming dragon might radiated outward without restraint. Even at that distance, many students with weaker cultivation went pale, their legs trembling, almost robbing them of the ability to move. Those who had once been taught by Zhou Yi suffered the most.
Even many teachers frowned, feeling slightly uncomfortable as the circulation of their Soul Power slowed.
Dragon might!
This was one of Zhou Yi's Self-Created Soul Skills.
She had developed it from the characteristics of her impure-blooded lesser-dragon Martial Soul-the Red Dragon-combined with her own personality and preferences.
It allowed her to freely adjust her pressure and use her aura to suppress her opponents.
Against those at the same cultivation level, it was not particularly powerful. But when facing opponents far weaker than herself, it was extremely useful.
At the same time, her first and third Soul Rings lit up together!
Flames surged over her body, and the phantom of a ferocious dragon's head enveloped her!
Zhou Yi went all out from the start!
A streak of crimson light stretched into a line. In an instant, she crossed the platform, her dragon claws aimed straight at El, who was still standing in place!
For an ordinary outer academy student, whether they had three rings or even four, there could be only one outcome against a Six-Ring Soul Emperor going all out from the very beginning.
-Being taken down in an instant!
In fact, every teacher present thought exactly that.
Yan Shaozhe was already preparing to intervene and save El.
But unfortunately for her, her opponent was El.
"A mere lesser dragon, making all this fuss."
As one of only two students present who could follow Zhou Yi's movements, El stood where he was, watching at his leisure as she completed her series of actions and delivered herself right in front of him.
Alatreon, Martial Soul Possession!
The pressure Zhou Yi radiated melted away like ice and snow, and a far more terrifying dragon might revealed itself!
Every Soul Master who felt that aura had a change of expression. Their Martial Souls were being suppressed at their very essence!
Those with dragon-type Martial Souls suffered the greatest pressure of all.
Like Zhou Yi, who had already charged right up to El.
The enormous dragon-head phantom enveloping her let out a mournful cry. Terror appeared in its eyes before it shattered.
The raging flames coiling around her weakened as well, leaving only a few sparks.
"So it's a lesser-dragon Martial Soul."
In the stands, Huo Yutong, who had been worrying that El would get hurt, patted her chest and breathed a sigh of relief.
Then everything was fine.
Down below, Zhou Yi, facing that dragon might directly, did not even manage to react.
"Wha...?!"
A fist covered in sharp dragon scales and wreathed in crimson-black electrical arcs slammed viciously into her face, pounding her unspoken question back down into her belly.
Thud!
A dull, meaty impact rang out. Zhou Yi's aged face distorted beneath the fist, and the human-skin mask on her face tumbled away.
Her body flew backward like a baseball struck by a bat.
Even when her face hit the ground, Zhou Yi still had not figured out what had happened.
"If you had a Tool Martial Soul, you might actually have given me a little trouble."
Across the platform, the boy spoke softly, the Sky-Piercing Horn crowning his head and dragon wings spread behind his back.
Wisps of crimson-black energy still lingered on his dragon-transformed arm.
"Too bad you just had to be a lesser dragon."
The boy walked toward Zhou Yi, one step at a time.
Three Soul Rings in an utterly bizarre configuration shone behind him.
Purple, purple, black!
His first two were Thousand-Year Soul Rings, and his third was a ten-thousand-year ring!
The entire Soul Fighting Arena fell silent in an instant!
"I lied. Even a true dragon wouldn't help."
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