A bustling crowd gathered in front of the gates of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
Dugu Yan stopped, her gaze coldly sweeping over the five figures blocking her path, her tone utterly indifferent. "You've been waiting for me."
These five people were the disciples of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect who had been waiting here for several days.
The boy in the lead had a gloomy face, his eyes filled with the frustration and resentment of days of waiting. His tone was sharp and harsh, not a single kind word. " Dugu Yan, is it! I thought you were a coward, too scared to go back to the academy!"
"Tch! Gu Chen! You're talking about yourself!" Dugu Yan retorted without any politeness, her eyes overflowing with contempt.
The young man at the head of the group was Gu Chen, a descendant of the Titled Douluo Gu Rong, Martial Soul was the extremely rare Bone Dragon.
"I'm not going to waste my breath on you!" Gu Chen suddenly took a step forward, his tone fierce. "Come on, let's fight one-on-one! Do you dare to accept?"
Dugu Yan knew perfectly well that all of this was because her grandfather, Dugu Bo, had crumpled Ning Fengzhi's letter of recommendation into a piece of waste paper.
There was no other way; as her granddaughter, she naturally had to shoulder the burden of the trouble her grandfather had caused.
Dugu Yan straightened her back, meeting Gu Chen's gaze with neither arrogance nor servility. "Come on!"
"Stop!"
A loud shout suddenly rang out, Yu Tianheng rushed out from the crowd beside him, his face solemn.
The fact that these five disciples from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had been blocking the academy gate for several days was already common knowledge. Everyone at the Heaven Dou Royal Academy knew their purpose.
Everyone could understand why Dugu Bo had disappeared, given that the Poison Douluo was always capricious. However, Dugu Yan hadn't come to the academy for several days in a row, and as time went on, it was inevitable that people would gossip behind her back.
So today, Dugu Yan appeared, and the Imperial Fighting Team naturally followed.
"Roar!"
A deafening roar suddenly erupted.
Caught off guard, Gu Chen suddenly turned around and charged straight at Yu Tianheng!
Midway through, his Martial Soul responded and possessed him, with bone plates appearing on his body. Three Soul Ring, two yellow and one purple, rose neatly from his feet, their Soul Power fluctuations powerful and domineering.
Yu Tianheng was taken aback at first, clearly not expecting that Gu Chen's target would be him.
The next second, Gu Chen's fist, carrying a strong wind, magnified infinitely in his pupils!
Gu Chen hadn't forgotten his mission—to send someone to fight Dugu Yan one-on-one, to use his Martial Soul to suppress her and give her a sound beating, and to beat anyone who dared to stand up for Dugu Yan to death!
Ning Fengzhi meant to beat up Lin Kong, but he was too embarrassed to say it so clearly, so the order was rather vague. Under normal circumstances, Lin Kong would naturally stand up for Dugu Yan, and Gu Chen wouldn't beat up the wrong person. But today, Lin Kong wasn't there, so Yu Tianheng was in trouble!
Bang!
A dull, loud thud.
In the critical moment, Yu Tianheng could only hastily raise his arms to protect his face. The next moment, Gu Chen's fist slammed into his arm, and the clear sound of bones breaking rang out.
Yu Tianheng couldn't help but retreat, his feet leaving two long scratches on the ground. His face turned bright red, and his arms, which he had been using to protect himself, fell limply to his sides, his forearms fractured!
Preparedness versus unpreparedness, using Martial Soul versus not using Martial Soul, a preemptive strike versus being caught off guard—this attack caused Yu Tianheng to suffer a great loss!
" Gu Chen! You've gone mad!" Yu Tianheng raised his head, his eyes bloodshot, and roared.
Gu Chen cracked his fist, looked down at him with a smug smirk, and said in a ruthless tone, "Whoever stands up for Dugu Yan, I'll beat them up!"
Yu Tianheng trembled with rage, his chest heaving violently. Pointing at Gu Chen, he couldn't utter a complete sentence for a long time. "You... you..."
Yu Tianheng, the captain of the Imperial Fighting Team, was severely injured in one blow!
Dugu Yan, the vice-captain of the Imperial Fighting Team, has been stopped and separated from the rest of the team.
Ye Lingling stood at the back of the crowd, her tone indifferent and devoid of any emotion. "Aren't you going to make a move?"
Before she finished speaking, a delicate and beautiful begonia flower appeared in her palm. It was the Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul. With the shimmering light of the Third Soul Skill, the begonia flower flew swiftly towards Yu Tianheng. The halo enveloped his injured arm, and the healing power slowly seeped in. He only needed to wait for the broken bones to be repaired.
It just takes time!
"Roar--!"
How could Gu Chen just stand by and watch Yu Tianheng regain his fighting strength?
He roared, his Soul Power surging beneath his feet, and ignoring everyone else, he charged straight toward Ye Lingling.
The brothers Shi Mo and Shi Mo exchanged a glance, took a step forward, and their broad bodies, like two iron towers, blocked Gu Chen's path. Their Martial Soul were Black Tortoise, which were best at defense, and they had intended to stop him steadily.
" Third Soul Skill, Ancient Dragon Roar!"
Gu Chen's voice, carrying with it Soul Power, exploded. His Thousand-Year Soul Ring suddenly lit up with purple light, and the ancient board on his body Hair Crystal. At the same time, bone spurs protruded, making him look ferocious and terrifying, amplifying all his attributes. Simultaneously, three dazzling colored lights also fell on him.
It's the amplification Soul Skill of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda!
In an instant, Gu Chen's strength, speed, and defense all surged by forty percent, transforming him into a humanoid Tyrannosaurus Rex, which crashed heavily into the Black Tortoise shells of the Shi Mo Shi Mo brothers.
Thump!
A muffled thud made one's eardrums vibrate.
Shi Mo and Shi Mo both groaned, their feet sliding backward uncontrollably on the ground. They gritted their teeth, veins bulging on their foreheads, clearly exerting all their strength to hold on. If there was no other support, they would be beaten to a pulp by Gu Chen alone sooner or later!
The battle had reached its climax at this moment!
"Miss Ye Lingling, please stop the treatment." A cold voice suddenly rang out beside Ye Lingling.
Her pupils suddenly contracted, and she glanced to the side—only to see a Soul Master dressed in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect School's attire, who had silently crept up to within a meter of her, with three Soul Ring, two yellow and one purple, slowly rotating around him, his eyes as cold as knives.
At such close range, even an ordinary Battle Soul Master could easily kill a healing-type Soul Master like her who has no ability to protect herself!
How did he get close?
Nobody knows!
Gu Chen was poorly informed and did not know that Ning Fengzhi's real target was Lin Kong. He only thought that Ning Fengzhi wanted to teach Dugu Yan and her companions a lesson. Therefore, he had already analyzed the members of the Imperial Fighting Team early on - to first disable Yu Tianheng, the main attack point, and then send someone to stealthily subdue Ye Lingling, the core healer.
Yu Tianheng was still gritting his teeth and waiting for his forearm fracture to heal so he could rejoin the battle, but the healing aura around him suddenly disappeared. He turned his head sharply and, after seeing what was in front of him, his face turned deathly pale.
On the other side, Dugu Yan was extremely anxious when she saw her teammates in danger, and immediately wanted to rush over to join them.
A figure suddenly blocked her path, speaking with a hint of mockery, " Dugu Yan, your opponent is me."
Dugu Yan was too lazy to waste words. She activated her Martial Soul Possession, transforming her lower body into Jade Phosphorus Snake, and released her First Soul Skill —a dense green poisonous mist that spread forward.
The Soul Master remained completely calm. Instead, he slowly lowered himself down, landing on all fours like a lurking beast. As his Soul Power surged, his Martial Soul manifested—a toad with a grayish-brown body and a snow-white belly, possessing three Soul Ring: two yellow and one purple. He was clearly also Soul Elder!
Dugu Yan's pupils contracted sharply, her face turned grim, and her voice was filled with resentment. " Poison-Swallowing Toad!"
This is Soul Beast that is naturally effective against poison-attribute Martial Soul!
The Poison-Swallowing Toad Soul Master grinned, activating his First Soul Skill. He opened his mouth wide, and a powerful suction force suddenly erupted, swallowing the dense poisonous mist released by Dugu Yan whole, leaving not a trace behind.
This is the Martial Soul restraint!
A restraint so perfect it's almost despairing!
This person specializes in one-on-one duels with Dugu Yan, so naturally he can perfectly restrain himself.
At this moment, Yu Feng and Osler were also stopped, and everyone suddenly realized that the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had not sent five people, but six. One of them had been hiding for a long time, waiting to make a move quietly after the fight started.
Thus, the mighty Imperial Fighting Team was defeated one by one without any warning.
If this continues, they'll be completely routed in two or three more minutes at most. The Imperial Fighting Team will be utterly crushed by their opponents right in front of their own academy.
This is a slap in the face, a complete humiliation!
"I'll see how much you can tolerate!" Dugu Yan shouted unwillingly, " Third Soul Skill, Jade Phosphor Purple Poison!"
With all her teammates restricted, Dugu Yan decided to charge at the Poison-Swallowing Toad Soul Master. She was determined to get through, even if it meant getting injured herself.
As the purple light of her Thousand-Year Soul Ring flickered and swirled, and her Soul Skill was about to unleash, Dugu Yan heard a sentence that reassured her:
"Sorry I'm late, Yanyan, are you alright?"