"Pope, you're still too stubborn."
"Stubborn?" Bibi Dong was unconvinced. "Perhaps, but this is my choice. If the Great Enshrined is unwilling, I won't force him."
Qian Daoliu fell silent for a moment. He had intended to ask what Gu Wuchen thought, but seeing his resolute expression, he immediately understood his choice.
"I agree. But who will you send out first?"
Bibi Dong turned and looked over Yan and Xie Yue, finally deciding to send Xie Yue first and Yan last.
Xie Yue had a trump card: his Self-Created Soul Skill, Full Moon.
That Soul Skill could test just how capable Gu Wuchen was, after which Yan could step in and defeat him.
As for Hu Liena, Bibi Dong looked at her as she avoided her gaze and sighed inwardly.
Sending her out would be no different from not sending her out at all.
Once the decision was made, everyone cleared a space.
Xie Yue and Gu Wuchen walked to the center and stood facing each other.
Xie Yue released his razor-sharp Moon Blades, brimming with killing intent. Two yellow Soul Rings and one purple Soul Ring rose immediately afterward.
"Martial Soul: Moon Blades. Level thirty-two Power Attack System Battle Soul Elder."
Gu Wuchen raised his hand, and the Dustless Sword instantly left its sheath, its clear ringing resounding through the air.
Two purple Thousand-Year Soul Rings slowly rose from beneath his feet.
"Thousand-Year Soul Rings?!"
Xie Yue's pupils contracted, and his grip on his Moon Blades involuntarily tightened.
This was the first time he had seen a Soul Grandmaster with two Thousand-Year Soul Rings. It completely defied the absorption limits accepted by the Soul Master World!
The teachers and students who had rushed over to watch erupted in an uproar, gasps of shock rising one after another.
"Martial Soul: Dustless Sword. Level twenty-seven Power Attack System Soul Grandmaster."
Gu Wuchen held his sword across his body, his voice calm. Sword Intent slowly spread around him, mingling with a force of extreme ice and cold.
"Begin!"
At the command of the academy dean, who had rushed over,
Xie Yue attacked first.
His twin Moon Blades whistled fiercely through the air as they slashed horizontally toward Gu Wuchen.
"First Soul Skill, Slash!"
Soul Power surged over the Moon Blades, their cutting power instantly reaching its peak. A piercing shriek rang out as they tore through the air.
Gu Wuchen advanced instead of retreating, his First Soul Ring lighting up in response.
A blue ice blade instantly coated the Dustless Sword, then fused with the Snow Empress's power.
The blades collided with an explosive, piercing clash.
Xie Yue felt an extreme chill travel up his Moon Blades, and his arms went numb in an instant.
He was shaken to the core, unable to believe that a Soul Grandmaster could meet his full-force blow head-on.
His opponent's cold was also seeping into him. No wonder he had dared to challenge him like this-he was a capable Soul Grandmaster after all.
Using the force of the recoil, Gu Wuchen quickly sprang back. His Second Soul Ring lit up, and he instantly became a snow shadow and vanished. It was Snow Shadow Instant Movement.
Only an afterimage remained where he had stood. He was so fast that even Bibi Dong was somewhat surprised.
Gu Wuchen's figure had already appeared at Xie Yue's side. With the force to break through dust, the Dustless Sword stabbed straight at an opening in Xie Yue's defense.
"Second Soul Skill, Guard!"
Xie Yue reacted swiftly. His twin Moon Blades crossed in an instant, forming a solid barrier of Soul Power.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Gu Wuchen's sword strikes flowed without end as he unleashed the full Sword Intent of Frost Blade Breaks Dust, each strike faster than the last.
Every blow carried the power of purification and ice, relentlessly pounding Xie Yue's defenses.
Even though Xie Yue was a level thirty-two Soul Elder, the airtight flurry of sword strikes forced him back step by step, and he was showing signs of being overwhelmed.
Below the stage, Hu Liena stared fixedly at the fight, her hands clenched tight and her face full of disbelief.
She knew Gu Wuchen was strong, but she had never imagined he could trade blows with her brother, much less gain the upper hand.
After all, Xie Yue's close-combat prowess had always been among the best of Soul Masters at the same level.
"Third Soul Skill, Break!"
Pressed back step by step, Xie Yue roared, and his third Soul Ring suddenly lit up.
He concentrated all the Soul Power in his body at the tips of his Moon Blades. A razor-sharp penetrating force erupted, breaking straight through the web of sword strikes and stabbing toward Gu Wuchen's chest.
Gu Wuchen's gaze did not waver. Golden light flashed over his right arm, and the power of the Golden Body Tempering Technique erupted in an instant.
Without dodging or evading, he swung the Dustless Sword horizontally, taking Xie Yue's blow head-on at the same time.
The Moon Blade struck his shoulder but only sliced through his clothing. His tempered flesh held firm, leaving him without so much as a scratch.
Meanwhile, Gu Wuchen's sword, carrying the power of ice, had stopped an inch from Xie Yue's neck.
Xie Yue's entire body went rigid, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
He could scarcely believe that his full-force blow had failed to break even his opponent's skin.
How could a Soul Grandmaster have physical defenses like that?
"You lost," Gu Wuchen said calmly, withdrawing his sword and stepping back a few paces.
"Impossible!" Xie Yue sprang back, his eyes full of unwillingness. "I still have a trump card I haven't used!"
Gu Wuchen smiled faintly. "In that case, I'll make you accept your defeat wholeheartedly. Come on!"
Xie Yue took a deep breath. Soul Power circulated wildly through his body as the Moon Blades spun rapidly in his hands, gradually forming a perfectly round, blood-colored moon.
A terrifying killing force spread in every direction. It was the trump card he had kept in reserve, his Self-Created Soul Skill, Full Moon.
"Self-Created Soul Skill, Full Moon!"
Xie Yue roared, and the blood-colored moon hurtled toward Gu Wuchen with the might to destroy heaven and earth.
That blow was already infinitely close to a Soul Ancestor's full-force attack.
Below the stage, Golden Crocodile Douluo could not help frowning. A Self-Created Soul Skill?
Xie Yue actually had such a trump card.
A trace of certainty flashed in Bibi Dong's eyes, however.
She did not believe a Soul Grandmaster could withstand Xie Yue's trump-card killing move.
Gu Wuchen's gaze turned cold as he instantly entered the ultimate state of a single dustless thought.
Dustless Ice Heart was fully activated, and every distracting thought vanished.
The power of his right arm bone instantly fused with the Snow Empress's origin of extreme ice and cold, and a sacred ice sword shadow bloomed over the Dustless Sword.
"Soul Bone Skill, Sacred Ice Wuchen Slash!"
With a low shout, he swung his sword.
A pillar of light, the perfect fusion of ice, sacred power, and Sword Intent, instantly collided with the blood-colored moon.
Boom!!!
A violent explosion rang out. Cold and killing intent spread in every direction, and even the ground began to tremble slightly.
The dust cleared, revealing the scene in the arena.
The blood-colored moon had long since vanished without a trace. Xie Yue knelt on one knee, both Moon Blades knocked from his hands. His strength was spent, and he could no longer stand steadily.
The Dustless Sword was pointed at his throat, only an inch away.
Xie Yue gasped for breath and looked up at Gu Wuchen, who stood where he was, breathing steadily.
His eyes were full of dejection and shock.
Then he smiled in resignation. "I lost. I, Xie Yue, admit you're stronger than me."
Gu Wuchen was very strong. Xie Yue had always admired the strong, especially since Gu Wuchen had withstood his deadly blow.
As Xie Yue fell, Qian Daoliu laughed. "That's Wuchen for you. Beautifully done."
"Pope, it seems you've underestimated Wuchen a little."
Bibi Dong remained silent, her feelings exceedingly complicated.
Just how many techniques had Gu Wuchen mastered?
The Soul Bone Skill he had just used proved that he had already absorbed a Soul Bone.
There was no need to think about it. Qian Daoliu must have given it to him.
"Don't get smug too soon, Great Enshrined. There's still Yan. He has the dual attributes of earth and fire; he won't necessarily lose!"