An encounter with El in the assessment finals: monstrous martial prowess and soul skills, unbeatable even with everything on the line

"Frozen Falls Burial!!"

With the time bought by her two cannon-fodder teammates and the Water Dragon King's guidance in her mind, Huo Yutong finally completed the self-created soul skill she had yet to fully master!

The Ice Dragon King's bloodline stirred under the guidance of her soul power, and the phantom of a profound-ice dragon rose behind Huo Yutong, graceful yet majestic.

She roared and shook her wings. Terrifying cold instantly spread outward from her, turning the entire arena into a world of pure ice!

Then the ice dragon opened her jaws. A frigid wind swept up ice crystals, rapidly condensing a compressed ball of ice-blue energy in her mouth.

"Fuck."

El's orange-gold slit pupils trembled.

He caught a glint of slyness in the ice dragon phantom's eyes.

Water Dragon King, have you no shame?!!

You're actually volunteering to be the "artifact spirit" of Yu Tong's skill?!

The next instant, an enormous waterfall of ice poured from the ice dragon's mouth, threatening to blot out the sky and sun.

This was the roar of the Ice Dragon King!

Unparalleled cold carried the Dragon King's heavenly might. Anyone facing this move head-on would feel as though a snowy mountain were collapsing before them!!

"Blazing Fire Lightning Calamity!"

El's body moved far faster than his thoughts.

He had already begun preparing his soul skill the moment the ice dragon phantom appeared.

His second soul ring shone,

Cataclysmic Cycle activated!

Ultimate fire and ultimate lightning, two fiercely yang attributes, fused and gathered in his hands.

He held nothing back, just as the Water Dragon King had forcibly requisitioned every ice and water element within this small patch of space.

El likewise drew upon every lightning and fire elemental particle in the vicinity!!

An enormous crimson lightning spear took shape in his clawed hand.

El raised his right hand high, pushed lightly off the ground, and leaped into the air.

Streaks of red lightning spread outward from him, while the spear in his hand, coursing with racing thunder and raging fire, grew dazzlingly bright!

Its blazing radiance briefly outshone even the sun above!

In that lightning-swift instant, everything seemed to slow.

The referees' expressions gradually twisted into terror; up on the viewing platform, Yan Shaozhe rose from his seat; in a corner, Xuan Zi, who had been busily stuffing himself with meat and wine, let his chicken drumstick fall to the ground...

And at that same moment, the spear of lightning and fire collided with the waterfall of frost.

There seemed to be an immense sound.

Yet there also seemed to be no sound at all.

An unbearably dazzling light flared where the two met.

Blazing to the utmost!

Pure white spread alongside destruction.

"My heavens!"

A bead of cold sweat slid down Yan Shaozhe's forehead as he stabilized the protective barrier just in time.

That strike was terrifying!

One had three rings, the other two.

The commotion their clash created was almost comparable to a Soul Douluo's all-out strike!

The kind that used an eighth soul skill!

An ordinary Soul Saint would have absolutely no chance of surviving that power.

And what was even more terrifying?

Despite facing such a powerful surge of energy, both people in the arena were still standing!!

They had barely even been injured!

Could it be because they had unleashed those soul skills themselves, so the soul power shared the same source? And since both possessed ultimate attributes, their resistance reduced the damage?

Watching the two figures in the arena, who seemingly still had strength to spare, Yan Shaozhe was at a loss for words.

El rubbed his wrist, brushed the dust off his clothes, and said irritably:

"You're pulling this on me right off the bat?"

"Forcibly clearing out the surrounding elements so I can't use natural elements..."

"You want to fight me hand-to-hand?"

You were counting on me not using the power of destruction?

El sighed.

Against his own people, unless punishment was necessary, he really did almost never use the power of destruction.

The Water Dragon King's move had even banned his current ultimate move

-Judgment of the End!

He would command and combine every ultimate element under his control within the space, using them to draw in all the nearby natural elements,

Then make them repel one another just as their fusion reached its peak, creating a destructive shock wave that was absolutely impossible to dodge or withstand!!

Well, now he had effectively been forced into using Judgment of the End once. All the surrounding natural elements had been cleared out, and replenishing them would take at least ten-odd minutes.

By then, his fight with Huo Yutong would have long since been decided.

"Come on, El!"

With ice-blue dragon scales covering most of her body, Huo Yutong settled into a fighting stance.

Her face was somewhat pale, and cold sweat covered her smooth forehead.

Even with the Water Dragon King's help, that attack had taken its toll on her.

Overtaxing her bloodline power had left every meridian in her body aching as though it were swelling.

Had she not undergone Bi Ji's body tempering and consumed the singular velvet sky chrysanthemum, she would have already exploded and died from driving her bloodline too hard!

That would never actually happen, though, because as a God King, the Water Dragon King could certainly judge how far to push her.

Proper training and malicious torment were not the same thing.

"Heh."

El chuckled. The dragon wings behind him fluttered gently, and he became a purple-black blur, hurtling toward Huo Yutong.

His fist, covered by the Reverse Scale, whistled toward her, tearing through the air,

A sharp gleam flashed in Huo Yutong's spirit eyes. She raised her arm and blocked the blow with her forearm, its hardest part.

Thud!

A ring of white air burst outward beneath the dragon fist. Huo Yutong's dragonkin form, a size smaller than El's, flew backward and slid several meters across the floor before barely coming to a stop.

"Ugh!"

The corner of young Miss Huo's eye twitched.

That hurt!

She had just been about to lower her arm, which was numb and throbbing with dull pain, when El's figure surged close again within her Spiritual Detection.

El threw another punch!

"Spiritual Detection really is a very good skill. Whether at close range or long range, it lets you clearly track your enemy's movements, Yu Tong."

El sent Huo Yutong flying with another punch, then spoke unhurriedly.

"But this move has its flaws, too:"

"In close combat, if my speed far surpasses yours, then even if you sense me, you still can't mount an effective counterattack."

"And in long-range combat, what if the enemy uses a saturation attack that covers the whole area, one you can sense but simply can't dodge?"

"Your own strength is what matters."

El threw punch after punch at a speed young Miss Huo could just barely react to, but every time, she could only defend, never counterattack.

His movements were as textbook-perfect as though he were practicing boxing.

"Speed, strength, defense, vitality... you can't do without any of them."

As he trained Huo Yutong's physical reaction speed, El continued:

"When you face an enemy you can't beat even with everything you have, your best choice is to run."

"Use your Simulation, hide, and stay alive.

For you, Yu Tong, growing stronger and turning your talent into actual strength is what matters most."

Against someone she could not beat, her best choice was to activate Simulation and start running a marathon.

"So, concede."

Another heavy punch flew, and Huo Yutong was sent flying backward once more.