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"I heard Xu Jintang's team is still competing in the finals, but they only have two people left. Can they beat Shangguan Lang's team?"

"Did you forget? Xu Bohan's team got crushed three against two today. Xu Jintang alone can take on two people, and with a weapon like Song Tianqi thrown in, those two have more fighting power than three people."

"But Xu Jintang probably can't use that burst move from today very often, right? You could tell she was overtaxing her body to make her strength suddenly skyrocket like that."

"Then it really is hard to say who'll win."

In Class Three's classroom, Shangguan Lang and his two teammates sat together, their expressions grave.

"Captain, Song Duoduo definitely won't be able to compete tomorrow, so Xu Jintang's team will only have two people. If we use that move, we have a good chance of winning."

Shangguan Lang nodded. "We can't underestimate them. Even fighting Xu Bohan one-on-one, I couldn't injure him that badly. That alone shows Xu Jintang's strength is no small matter."

His teammate immediately reassured him, "It's fine. I found out today that Xu Jintang passed out at the medical center yesterday, apparently from overexertion. That means she can't unleash her full strength like that very often."

Shangguan Lang pondered for a moment before continuing, "Tomorrow, we'll follow the tactics we prepared and try to win in one move."

"Right," his two teammates answered in unison.

Dawn Academy assigned students to classes based on their grades.

Class One gathered the best-performing students in the entire year, followed by Classes Two and Three.

As a result, Class One always won the championship in previous year-level assessments. But with this unexpected development, they had a very good chance of becoming the first team in history to defeat Class One and take the championship.

Early the next morning, the first rays of sunlight fell across the earth, and the academy gradually came to life.

In the academy's arena area, students from every year filed into the spectator stands, ready for the championship battle about to begin.

Dean Wang arrived quite early that day as well.

As soon as he sat down, he looked up and asked, "How are the students who were injured yesterday?"

Liu Hongfang bent down to answer, "Neither student's life is in danger. They're still recovering at the medical center."

Dean Wang gave a grunt of acknowledgment and reminded him, "There must be no more accidents in today's match."

Liu Hongfang nodded. "Understood."

At that moment, Xu Jintang and Song Tianqi arrived below the arena, one behind the other.

Not long afterward, Shangguan Lang's entire team arrived as well.

The two sides exchanged looks and greeted each other politely, then fell silent again.

Liu Hongfang leaped down from the spectator platform and landed steadily on the arena. His expression stern, he swept his gaze across the venue. "I will referee today's match. During the contest, once one side voluntarily concedes or loses the ability to fight, the other side is forbidden from attacking again. Any violation will result in immediate disqualification and a loss."

Discussions broke out below.

"The year director is actually refereeing. He's a fifth-tier powerhouse, a whole tier above Mr. Huang Binhan."

"What happened yesterday sent two students to the medical center. They have to be careful today."

Liu Hongfang's gaze finally settled on Xu Jintang, and he said quietly, "Both teams, come up and prepare."

Xu Jintang lifted her eyes and met Liu Hongfang's gaze. She smiled and nodded in acknowledgment, then looked away and headed up the arena steps.

"Class monitor, should we use that move today? I've been practicing it in the simulated battlefield every day lately, and I've gotten a lot better at it," Song Tianqi asked quietly behind her.

Xu Jintang replied calmly, "We'll see. Play it by ear."

Song Tianqi took his position behind Xu Jintang and followed her into the arena.

Liu Hongfang looked between the two teams, retreated to the edge of the arena, and signaled with his hand. "Begin!"

As his words fell, every gaze instantly converged on the arena.

Jiang Lu, who had just returned from the medical center, slipped unobtrusively into the spectator stands, found an empty seat, and turned his eyes toward the arena.

In the previous matches, both sides had generally moved to attack as soon as the referee announced the start.

But now, neither team in the arena moved.

Xu Jintang and Song Tianqi stood side by side, waiting for their opponents to act first.

After two seconds of stalemate, Shangguan Lang's two teammates exchanged a glance, then quickly drew together and pressed their hands against his back.

"Class monitor, what are they doing?" Song Tianqi was baffled by their opponents.

Xu Jintang frowned slightly. Sensing the enormous surge of mental power from the three across from them, she said, "Those two are transferring mental power to Shangguan Lang."

Just then, Li Ruxuan chanted some sort of incantation. A colorful lollipop suddenly appeared in her hand, and she immediately handed it to Shangguan Lang.

Shangguan Lang unwrapped the lollipop and put it in his mouth.

At that sight, Xu Jintang finally realized something.

What kind of ultimate move were they preparing?

At that moment, a massive Storm Vortex slowly materialized before Shangguan Lang, its powerful currents sending dust flying everywhere.

The force of the wind sent Xu Jintang's sleeves flapping wildly as well.

Drawn along by the air currents, sand and dust rushed into her face. She raised a hand to shield her eyes. "Song Tianqi, use that move too."

She had held off attacking because she wanted to see what tactics their opponents intended to use.

Since Shangguan Lang's trio planned to charge up an ultimate move and end the match outright, they would pit their moves against each other and see whose was stronger.

Song Tianqi spat sand from his mouth. "All this wind's given me a mouthful of sand."

Xu Jintang raised her hand and rested it on Song Tianqi's shoulder, a little more interest entering her eyes. "Come on. You can borrow my mental power."

The next second, Xu Jintang's gaze darkened, and she began transferring all her mental power.

Startled by the enormous influx of mental power, Song Tianqi quickly collected himself, held his breath, and focused, activating his ability's second form: Blazing Flame Burst.

The fierce fighting everyone had expected never happened. Both teams in the arena were charging up their ultimate moves.

The sight left quite a few people in the spectator stands dumbfounded.

"I thought the finals would be exciting. Why aren't they fighting?"

"What are these two teams doing? Planning to settle it in one move?"

Liu Hongfang, serving as referee, also frowned and looked uncertainly between the two teams.

Before long, however, his expression was no longer so relaxed.

Song Tianqi's Crimson Flame Burst was gradually taking shape, emanating a dangerous, destructive aura, with the support of a vast amount of Xu Jintang's mental power.

On the other side, the Storm Vortex before Shangguan Lang grew larger and larger, threatening to engulf the entire arena at any moment, while his two teammates frantically supplied mental power to support him.

The two ultimate moves were equivalent to the combined mental power of six people.

As those fluctuations spread across the arena, the entire venue fell utterly silent.

The spectators who had just complained that the finals were not exciting enough shut their mouths too, swallowing nervously. "This feels a little scary. It won't reach the spectator stands, will it?"

"Don't talk nonsense. The director's here, and the arena has a protective barrier. The fighting won't spill outside."

At the sight, Jiang Lu clenched both hands and stood up, his face taut.

In the arena, the energy fluctuations on both sides grew stronger and stronger, even causing a slight distortion in the surrounding air.

Liu Hongfang's brow furrowed deeply. He quietly activated his mental power, ready to rescue the five in the arena at any moment.

As a fifth-tier ability user, he could sense that the energy fluctuations of the two ultimate moves already far exceeded the strength of first-tier ability users.

But the outcome was still unclear, so he could not intervene and stop the match outright. He had to at least wait until their ultimate moves determined a winner.

Time ticked by, second after second.

Gritting his teeth, Song Tianqi endured the final second, then broke into a smile. "It worked."

This time, the Crimson Flame Fireball in his hand did not explode prematurely.

Across from him, Shangguan Lang's Storm Vortex had also taken shape. His two teammates were deathly pale. It was clear that using this move had consumed all their mental power.

Shangguan Lang gritted his teeth and finally raised his hands, launching the Storm Vortex toward them.

Countless clouds of sand and dust rose wherever the Storm Vortex passed.

"Crimson Flame Burst!" Song Tianqi hurled the fireball in his hands at the same time.

As the Crimson Flame Fireball flew toward their opponents, no one noticed Xu Jintang quietly extend a finger and inject a faint trace of ice attribute into it.

The explosive force created by forcibly compressing nine masses of crimson flame together was already terrifying.

Fusing opposing elements like ice and fire would only produce an even stronger repulsive force.

The instant the Crimson Flame Fireball met the Storm Vortex, Liu Hongfang acted.

A gentle yet forceful power sent Xu Jintang and the other four straight out of the arena.

Immediately afterward, Liu Hongfang soared into the air, his mental power swiftly enveloping the entire arena.

The transparent protective barrier around the arena flickered.

A thunderous boom rang out.

Violent tremors radiated outward from the arena.

Everyone in the spectator stands stared dumbfounded as a dense mushroom cloud erupted above the arena. As though the end of the world had come, smoke from the explosion engulfed the entire arena.

Everyone inwardly questioned:

This was a battle between first-tier ability users? Were they all this terrifying??

Xu Jintang and Song Tianqi, who had been sent out of the arena ahead of time, exchanged a glance, still wondering why all five of them had been thrown out.

Shangguan Lang and his two teammates looked somewhat puzzled as well, unsure what had happened.

Only when the thick smoke over the arena cleared did Liu Hongfang's figure emerge. Standing in the arena with a serious expression, he explained, "The damage from that explosion was beyond what you can currently withstand. To ensure everyone's safety, I sent you out of the arena beforehand."

Shangguan Lang asked, "Then, Director, how do we decide who won this match?"