Another Red Dragon

She got up, then went down in one hit.

"Holy..."

Xiao Xiao climbed up from the ground, covering her mouth as she stared in disbelief at Huo Yutong in her Ice Dragon King form.

"Yu Tong, you're actually this strong?!"

With an untrained martial soul that had no soul rings, she had defeated a three-ring Power Attack System Soul Elder in a single move through physical strength alone!

"Keep it low-key."

Huo Yutong raised her palm and gently pressed it downward, turning her gaze toward Wang Dong'er.

"We surrender!"

When Luo Tianlong and Luo Tianba noticed Huo Yutong looking their way, they shuddered and promptly called out.

They did not even bother with Wang Dong's Butterfly God's Light, which was about to strike them.

"Huo Yutong's team wins!"

The referee easily blocked the Butterfly God's Light and loudly announced the result.

All the while, his eyes never left Huo Yutong.

A True Dragon Martial Soul with the ultimate ice attribute...

She had the makings of someone who could reach the very pinnacle!

"Yu Tong, you actually have twin martial souls?!"

Wang Dong'er had returned to the other two by then.

"You didn't even tell us! And it's already this powerful without any soul rings..."

It made her, the team's Power Attack System member, look rather like a clown.

Wang Dong'er's expression turned somewhat strange.

Still, she was not blaming Huo Yutong for hiding her strength.

She was hardly any better herself.

She had simply realized why El had said earlier that "Huo Yutong could win even with two dogs on leashes."

Wait!

Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey!

I'm not a dog!

It's all El's fault for leading my thoughts astray.

Wang Dong'er's expression stiffened, and she shot an unfriendly look toward El's arena.

Indeed, even though their match had already ended, the battle between El and Lu Renjia's team was still ongoing.

"That move of yours isn't suited to being used so openly."

El strolled leisurely around the arena.

His palm, covered in sharp, backward-pointing dragon scales, crushed the attack flying toward him.

At the same time, he told Lu Renjia:

"The greatest feature of your second soul skill is that its soul power fluctuations aren't obvious when you activate it, making it easy to slip past an enemy's perception."

"So you should use your first soul skill repeatedly to confuse the enemy's judgment, then secretly mix your second soul skill into those attacks. That way, they'll find it impossible to guard against."

"Of course, you'll need plenty of practice."

"Once you can completely conceal your second soul skill's activation fluctuations beneath your other soul skills, you'll more or less earn a passing grade."

"Understood. Thank you, El."

A bead of sweat seeped from Lu Renjia's forehead, then slid down his cheek and into his clothes.

Just then, El seemed to notice Wang Dong'er's gaze and glanced toward Huo Yutong and the others.

"Ah, it's about time."

El turned back to the three sweat-drenched opponents before him, his tone calm.

"Will you jump down yourselves, or do you want to try a combined attack?"

"Of course we..."

Eager to try, Lu Renjia began gathering his remaining soul power, but a hand blocked his path.

"El."

His teammate Zhong Yin spoke, his voice full of hope and pleading.

"Could we save this chance for a combined attack until next time?"

Lu Renjia froze.

"We're in terrible shape right now, and our cultivation is too weak."

"When we're stronger in the future, I hope our combined strength will be enough to spark a little interest in you."

"Consider it our repayment for your guidance."

Looking at that insurmountable figure, like a chasm no one could cross, Zhong Yin spoke sincerely.

He could sense the emotion emanating from El-a lack of interest in almost everything in the world.

"Oh?"

El's calm expression changed.

He looked at Zhong Yin with the ghost of a smile.

"Spark my interest?"

"You certainly know how to talk big."

El sighed softly and asked Lu Renjia.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!"

The soul power fluctuations around Lu Renjia dissipated. He decisively jumped off the arena and looked at El with resolute eyes.

"El wins!"

The referee's voice rang out.

"All right, then."

El walked toward Huo Yutong and the other two without looking back, leaving the three opponents with only a view of his retreating figure.

"I'll look forward to it."

The closer he came to Huo Yutong and the others, the more that lofty aloofness faded, until it vanished entirely.

"Yu Tong, how did it feel to use your second martial soul for the first time?"

El grinned as he approached the three girls, his scarlet eyes filled with amusement.

"Very good."

Huo Yutong nodded. "I have extremely precise control over ultimate ice."

Xie Huanyue, who had been sealed in ultimate ice yet merely sneezed twice after coming out, was proof.

That terrifying chill had not even invaded his meridians.

Compared with her Spirit Eyes, whose spiritual power had grown dramatically in a short time, Huo Yutong undoubtedly had finer control over the dragon-taught version of her Ice Dragon King martial soul.

"You can learn a couple of combat techniques later."

As though petting a cat, El encouragingly scratched Huo Yutong under the chin.

"And when you have time, come see me about controlling your spiritual power. I'll teach you."

More precisely, Electrolux would teach her.

His Lordship the Radiant Dragon King was a dragon, after all. His fighting style was all about fists pounding flesh and sheer strength sending bricks flying.

In his previous life, using the power of destruction to seal an opponent's energy output and force everyone into hand-to-hand combat had already counted as a highly technical maneuver.

Spiritual power? Fine control?

He could do it, but there was no need.

He had always relied directly on his cultivation before. Technique had little to do with it.

That made him unsuited to teaching others.

Better to leave it to Elder Yi, the mage.

Human mages were among the professions best at teaching apprentices across all the worlds.

While the two chatted intermittently, the other two matches deciding the final four also concluded.

With almost no suspense, the two Soul Elder teams, which had not faced each other, won their matches.

"The Ning Tian Team wins!"

"Dai Huabin's team wins!"

The two announcements rang out almost simultaneously, echoing above the assessment area.

"Let's go. Time to draw lots again."

El led Huo Yutong and the other two toward the draw box.

They would draw now, hold the semifinals that afternoon, and proceed to the final tomorrow.

Dai Huabin!!

Looking at the burly boy with blond hair and mismatched eyes, Huo Yutong let out roar after roar in her heart.

Although her face remained calm, her eyes were as dark as an ocean brewing a storm. Looking at that figure so close before her, Huo Yutong felt as though blood were dripping from her heart, drop by drop.

It brought pain like her heart was being gouged out, and hatred that surged to the heavens!!

She desperately wanted to kill this half brother of hers with a single Soul Shock right now!

But she was not so impulsive.

First, openly killing someone in front of everyone would be no different from slapping Shrek Academy in the face.

That would be detrimental to El's plans.

Second, letting Dai Huabin die just like that would be far too easy on him!

El had once told her that to kill someone, one should destroy their heart as well!

Sometimes, a swift and clean death could instead be a release.

Life had never been the most precious thing.

One had to make the other person experience physical pain and psychological agony, utterly destroy their soul and dignity, and only then take their life.

Only that deserved to be called punishment!!

"Semifinal draw results: El versus the Ning Tian Team!"

"Dai Huabin's team versus Huo Yutong's team."

Huo Yutong's slightly lowered head snapped up.

A deep, blood-red hue appeared in her eyes.

Collecting a little interest would be good, too...

With a spine-chilling smile, Huo Yutong leisurely gave Dai Huabin one final look, then turned and left with Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong.

"Yu Tong, what's wrong? You're scaring me..."

Looking at her roommate, who seemed a little off, Xiao Xiao shivered as an icy sensation crawled from her ankles up into her collar.

"I'll tell you later."

Meanwhile, El, who had drawn the Ning Tian Team, regarded his next opponents with interest.

Especially Wu Feng, with her short red hair and well-developed figure.

"Another red dragon..."

El tilted his head.

There was something about this race. They kept falling into his hands, time after time.

...Come to think of it, was it because the Fire Dragon King died too horribly, and the feng shui of his burial site was bad too?

The Fire Dragon King, who was setting up a secluded family's residence in Dragon City, sneezed violently.

Fire Dragon King: Is someone talking about me? Little Shui, or His Highness?