Behind the bronze coffin, a flicker of surprise crossed Dai Huabin's eyes. He could sense that his second soul skill had done little damage when it struck the enormous Bronze Coffin head-on. The coffin was heavy and ancient, carrying a sense of history's timeless weight.
Still, Dai Huabin remained fully confident in his strength. He surged forward like a fierce tiger rearing onto its hind legs, a savage aura rolling off his entire body. The blades extending from his tiger paws gleamed coldly. Circling the enormous coffin, he spotted Jiang Hai behind it, a ruthless glint flashing in his eyes as both claws struck down.
Facing Dai Huabin's attack, Jiang Hai seemed to have anticipated it all along. His response was simple: he clenched his fist and punched, his unremarkable fist slamming squarely into Dai Huabin's palm.
Fist met claw. Dai Huabin grunted, feeling a force capable of toppling mountains and overturning seas pour into him. He involuntarily staggered half a step backward, intense shock flashing in his eyes.
"Impossible!" Dai Huabin roared. He had actually lost in a contest of strength?
In the stands, the teachers were stunned as well. Liu Cheng, the homeroom teacher of Class Five, said in disbelief, "The gap in soul power is so great, and Dai Huabin's body has undergone two additional soul ring temperings. He even has the White Tiger, a top-tier beast martial soul. How could Dai Huabin possibly lose?"
At that moment, profound surprise also flashed in Mu Jin's eyes. He had known Jiang Hai was hiding his strength, but he had never expected Jiang Hai's strength to surpass even Dai Huabin's.
As teachers at Shrek Academy, they understood better than anyone what an absolute gap in soul power and two additional soul ring temperings meant.
Fan Yu also looked toward Zhou Yi. He had never imagined her student had hidden so much.
Zhou Yi glanced at Fan Yu and smiled. "There's nothing impossible about it. I forgot to tell you, Jiang Hai was born with divine strength, and his martial soul weighs at least a thousand jin."
Innate divine strength!
Did such a monster truly exist in this world?
Even Du Weilun could not conceal his surprise. Innate divine strength paired with a heavy weapon was indeed terrifying. Someone born with such strength could become capable of defeating soul masters through battlefield experience even without a martial soul-a warrior who could stand against ten thousand men.
The expressions on Liu Cheng's face and that of Zhao Wen, Class Ten's homeroom teacher, also grew subtle. Huo Yuhao and Zhou Sichen's teams had gained the upper hand in their battles as well.
Boom!
After forcing Dai Huabin back with a punch, Jiang Hai paid no attention to the shock in his eyes. He kicked the Bronze Coffin before him, sending the coffin, which weighed over fifteen hundred jin, flying straight at Dai Huabin.
A fierce wind howled as the Bronze Coffin blotted out the sky and sun.
Dai Huabin had a premonition that being struck by the Bronze Coffin would hurt badly. His third soul ring, shining purple, abruptly lit up. Within that purple radiance, his body underwent another drastic transformation, growing a second time until he stood a frightening two meters tall or more. At the same time, his first soul ring lit up as well, and white light blossomed beneath his feet.
White Tiger Vajra Transformation, White Tiger Protection Barrier.
In an instant, Dai Huabin unleashed his first and third soul skills in succession.
The Bronze Coffin flew into the white light of the White Tiger Protection Barrier. The light shuddered and flickered, nearing collapse.
Dai Huabin growled and slammed a palm against the Bronze Coffin, sending it flying back toward Jiang Hai. Another White Tiger Fierce Light Wave erupted from his mouth, and he charged at Jiang Hai once more.
His opponent had not used a single soul skill, yet had forced him to unleash every one of his own despite their enormous difference in soul power. He could not accept it.
Since I've already gone all out, I'll show him what regret means.
As the Bronze Coffin flew back, Jiang Hai merely reached out and caught it firmly.
With the assistance of Ma Xiaotao, a level 70 quasi-Soul Saint, Jiang Hai's training over these three months had improved more than just his soul power. His strength had grown as well!
The instant he gripped the Bronze Coffin, his sole yellow soul ring blazed with brilliant light. A golden radiance flowed from the coffin and spread in an instant, gilding Jiang Hai's entire body until he seemed to have been cast from solid gold.
He held the Bronze Coffin before him as a shield. The White Tiger Fierce Light Wave blasted into it again, but the coffin did not even tremble as it blocked the attack outright.
Dai Huabin circled the Bronze Coffin once more and appeared at Jiang Hai's side. Sensing the golden light covering Jiang Hai and the overbearing aura that shared the same origin as his own, his eyes widened as though they might split, filling with jealousy. He roared wildly, "Impossible! A royal beast! Why would the aura of a royal beast appear on you? You only have one soul ring! Impossible, this is impossible!"
No one understood the Diamond Tiger soul beast better than the White Tiger Family. Every core member of the family chose a thousand-year Diamond Tiger as the soul ring for their third soul skill.
Yet even among a thousand Diamond Tigers, a single Diamond Tiger King rarely emerged. If someone with the White Tiger martial soul truly used a Diamond Tiger King as their soul ring, however, their soul skill would transform into the White Tiger Heavenly Astral Transformation.
Throughout the White Tiger Family's history, only one person had encountered a Diamond Tiger King when obtaining their third soul ring and gained the White Tiger Heavenly Astral Transformation. Even Dai Mubai, one of the family's most famous ancestors, had never obtained it. That ancestor who possessed the White Tiger Heavenly Astral Transformation had led the declining White Tiger Family to rise once more.
Otherwise, no matter how glorious the White Tiger Family had once been, after stepping down from that supreme position, they could never have escaped being uprooted completely by the current imperial family. The title of White Tiger Duke was merely a means of reassuring the people. Once the imperial throne was secure, ruin would have been the White Tiger Family's only path.
It was that ancestor with the White Tiger Heavenly Astral Transformation who had led the White Tiger Duke's Mansion to rise again.
This was a closely guarded secret of the White Tiger Duke's lineage.
But why did this lowborn soul master get to encounter a Diamond Tiger King? Why did he get to hunt one down for his first soul ring?
"Die!" Dai Huabin's eyes were utterly crazed. His even sharper silver White Tiger claw blades slashed down rapidly. Empowered by the White Tiger Vajra Transformation, he exuded an aura of fighting to the death, clashing relentlessly with Jiang Hai, who had activated his first soul skill, Diamond Body.
As though venting jealousy that had reached its absolute limit, Dai Huabin struck with ever greater strength and ferocity, his momentum surging to the heavens.
But like his first soul skill, Jiang Hai stood as steadfast as diamond. No matter how Dai Huabin attacked, he remained unmoving as a mountain. No one knew how much longer he could hold on.
In the stands, however, Liu Cheng's expression grew increasingly cold. Although Dai Huabin's soul power level was higher, his earlier succession of soul skills had consumed a frightening amount of soul power. His opponent, meanwhile, had relied on his innate divine strength throughout and used only a single soul skill. Even if its consumption was enormous, he would not exhaust his reserves faster than Dai Huabin.
Moreover, if this continued, even if Jiang Hai's soul power ran out at the same time, his innate divine strength would still allow him to fight. If Dai Huabin exhausted his soul power first, he would have no chance at all.
Watching their fierce battle, Du Weilun could not help sighing. "This is probably the pinnacle battle of this Freshman Assessment. What a pity the dean won't be here until this afternoon. He won't get to see it."
Elsewhere, although Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had performed brilliantly and had even defeated their opponents to secure a place in the final ahead of time, in Du Weilun's eyes, they still could not compare with the battle between Dai Huabin and Jiang Hai.
Is this Brother Jiang's true strength? Watching the boy stand tall beneath the tempest of attacks from the enemy whose hatred was carved into his bones, Huo Yuhao's gaze became incredibly complicated. He did not know when he would possess such strength and be able to avenge himself with his own hands.
"Yuhao!"
Wang Dong patted Huo Yuhao's shoulder. Thinking he was worrying about the afternoon match, she comforted him. "Don't worry. Even if we lose, we've still reached the final, haven't we? Besides, we might not lose. The schedule favors us. After such an intense battle, whoever wins won't be able to recover completely by this afternoon."
Huo Yuhao clenched his fists tightly, his eyes bloodshot as he stared at the figure fighting Jiang Hai. His body shook violently, and he gave Wang Dong no reply.
On the other side, Chen Yong was also locked in battle with Zhu Lu and Cui Yajie.
Neither Zhu Lu nor Cui Yajie had less soul power than Chen Yong. One was an agility attack system soul master, the other a power attack system soul master.
Although Chen Yong's Bear Dominates the World countered Cui Yajie's first soul skill, her second soul skill was a genuine power attack system skill: Fox-Tail Needles. When her fox tails attacked, their hairs became steel needles. Even with the protection of Black Iron Body, Chen Yong was covered in tiny red marks, and his clothes had long since been torn to shreds.
Zhu Lu's speed was an even more natural counter to Chen Yong.
Fortunately, Sun Yunhai was there. He unleashed both Seven-Colored Cloud Illusion and Nine Cloud Bodies. Clouds gathered and dispersed, flickering in and out of sight, shifting through countless forms. Beneath the sea of clouds, truth and falsehood, illusion and reality intertwined. His coordination with Chen Yong was exquisite, allowing Chen Yong not only to avoid falling behind against two opponents who countered him, but to gain the upper hand instead.
This battle also truly revealed the power and profound intricacy of Sun Yunhai's Cloud martial soul, which had possessed level-nine innate soul power.
Even without all his schemes and calculations, he was still a powerful support soul master.
Sun Yunhai's Seven-Colored Cloud Illusion deserved much of the credit for the pair's ability to suppress Zhu Lu and Cui Yajie.
However, Zhu Lu and Cui Yajie also displayed remarkable strength. Although they were at a disadvantage, they would not be defeated anytime soon.
After all, with Zhu Lu's speed, Chen Yong's attacks struggled to threaten her even under the cover of Seven-Colored Cloud Illusion. By contrast, Cui Yajie, the power attack system soul master, was facing extraordinary pressure.
The first drumbeat roused the spirit, the second weakened it, and the third exhausted it!
Unable to bring Jiang Hai down, Dai Huabin's aura gradually began to wane.
On the other side, Chen Yong stepped out of the cloud illusion and split into nine phantoms in an instant, surrounding Cui Yajie from every direction. With nowhere for her to dodge, a fist came hurtling toward her. The referee appeared without a sound and took her away.
Cui Yajie's defeat placed even greater pressure on Zhu Lu.
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