The atmosphere in the Shrek Academy Central Arena had shifted from mere academic competition to a suffocating pressure. Thousands of students from the outer courtyard packed the stands, and even several teachers from the inner courtyard had appeared in the VIP box. The reason was simple: the collision between the "Star Luo Royalty" and the "Class 1 Outcasts."
Lin Feng stood at the edge of the arena, his matte-black Heaven-Shaking Gauntlets humming with a low-frequency vibration. In his peripheral vision, the System's red warning text was pulsing.
[System Debt Timer: 14:22:05]
Current Balance: -1,815 Points (Interest Compounding).
Penalty Imminent: 50% Spirit Power Suppression if debt is not settled by victory over Dai Huabin.
This is the gamble, Lin Feng thought, his face a mask of stone. If I win here, the 15,000-point bounty on Dai Huabin will not only clear my debt but put me halfway to the 30,000 required for the Black Ring evolution.
Beside him, Huo Yuhao was trembling slightly—not from fear, but from the sheer volume of spiritual data he was processing. "Feng, Dai Huabin's spirit power is at Rank 24, but his physical presence feels like a Rank 30. Zhu Lu is Rank 22. They are looking for a Spirit Fusion. I can feel the resonance in their bloodlines."
Wang Dong stretched his blue-gold wings, his eyes fixed on the opposing side. "Let them fuse. I want to see if their 'White Tiger' can fly after I clip its wings."
The Confrontation: Bloodline vs. Weight
"Arena 1! Final Match of the Bracket: Team Lin Feng vs. Team Dai Huabin!"
As the two teams stepped onto the stage, the crowd erupted. Dai Huabin walked with the arrogance of a king, his heterochromatic eyes burning with a murderous intent.
"Lin Feng," Dai Huabin said, his voice carrying across the arena. "I've analyzed your Soul Tool. You think a few gravity plates and a 'Bronze' body make you an equal to the White Tiger? I will break those gauntlets and use the shards to carve 'Failure' into your chest."
Lin Feng didn't respond with words. He slowly raised his left hand and clenched his fist. The sound of the gauntlet's joints locking was like a funeral bell.
"Begin!" the referee shouted, leaping back.
"White Tiger, Possession!" Dai Huabin roared. Two yellow spirit rings flared, and his body swelled, fur sprouting and claws elongating. Beside him, Zhu Lu transformed into a shadow, her Hell Civet soul making her nearly invisible.
"Yuhao, full synchronization!" Lin Feng commanded.
[System: Activating Combat-Sync...]
Spiritual Detection Sharing: Active.
Tactical Simulation: Predicting White Tiger charge path...
Dai Huabin didn't waste time. "First Soul Skill: White Tiger Barrier!" A shimmering golden light enveloped him as he lunged forward with the speed of a thunderbolt. "Second Soul Skill: White Tiger烈光波 (Fierce Light Wave)!"
A sphere of brilliant light erupted from Dai Huabin's mouth, aimed directly at Lin Feng's head.
"Wang Dong, ignore the light. Go for the Cat," Lin Feng said.
Lin Feng stepped forward. He didn't dodge. He raised his gauntlet and punched the Light Wave.
BOOM!
The arena shook. To the spectators, it looked like Lin Feng's Soul Tool had absorbed the blast. In reality, Lin Feng had used Absolute Gravity to collapse the light sphere into a single point of infinite density, neutralizing the explosion before it could expand.
"My turn," Lin Feng whispered.
He vanished. Not through agility, but through "Kinetic Recoil." By briefly reversing the gravity on his own feet, he launched himself like a railgun projectile.
In the blink of an eye, he was in front of Dai Huabin.
"What?!" Dai Huabin's eyes widened. He crossed his massive claws in a defensive stance.
"Heaven-Shaking Strike!"
Lin Feng's gauntlet hit the White Tiger Barrier.
CRACK!
The barrier, famous for its "absolute" defense among Grandmasters, shattered like glass. The force transmitted through Dai Huabin's arms, snapping his radius bones instantly. The Star Luo prince was sent flying back, coughing blood.
The Spirit Fusion: The Hell White Tiger
"Huabin!" Zhu Lu shrieked. She dove from the shadows, catching him before he hit the ground.
"Now!" Dai Huabin snarled through his teeth. "Kill him!"
The two of them collided—not in a physical crash, but in a pillar of blinding, dark-purple light. The air grew cold. A terrifying pressure descended upon the arena, making the weaker students in the front rows gasp for air.
From the light emerged a massive, five-meter-long white tiger with black stripes and ghostly, translucent wings. The Hell White Tiger. A Spirit Fusion skill that reached the power level of a Rank 40 Soul Ancestor.
"Lin Feng!" Wang Dong yelled, hovering above. "Let me help! I can use my—"
"Stay back, Wang Dong! Keep the third teammate occupied!" Lin Feng ordered. He stood alone against the giant beast.
High in the VIP box, Teacher Wang Yan stood up. "He's going to die. That fusion is too strong for a Rank 16. I have to stop the match!"
"Wait," Zhou Yi said, her eyes fixed on Lin Feng. "Look at his feet."
Lin Feng wasn't running. He was planting his feet. He reached into his soul and pulled on the 15% Fusion of the Clear Sky Hammer.
I can't summon the Hammer... but I can summon its Weight.
[System: Danger! Current Load: 5,000kg.]
[User Warning: Internal Hemorrhage Risk: 20%.]
"Open!" Lin Feng roared.
His Golden Spirit Body flared with a light so intense it turned the arena into a second sun. The matte-black gauntlets began to glow with a dark, purplish-gold hue—a visual fake-out for the Hammer's aura.
The Hell White Tiger pounced, its claws infused with the power of both light and shadow.
Lin Feng met the pounce with a double-handed overhead strike.
BOOM!
The collision created a shockwave that shattered the first three rows of stone seats. The dust cleared to reveal a sight that would haunt the freshmen for years: Lin Feng, standing with his feet buried calf-deep in the reinforced stone, holding the massive paws of the Hell White Tiger with his bare, gauntleted hands.
"A Spirit Fusion... is still just weight," Lin Feng growled. "And you aren't heavy enough!"
"Absolute Gravity: 10,000kg Crushing!"
The gravity field didn't expand. It focused solely on the Hell White Tiger. The massive beast let out a pained roar as its legs buckled. The stone floor beneath it disintegrated into powder.
Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu, trapped within the fusion, felt as if a mountain had been dropped on their souls. The fusion flickered, then exploded.
The two of them were ejected from the light, hitting the ground like broken dolls.
Silence.
The referee looked at the unconscious forms of Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu, then at Lin Feng, who was slowly retracting his golden glow.
"Winner... Team Lin Feng! Time: 58 seconds!"
The Harvest and the Threshold
[Quest Complete: The White Tiger's Downfall.]
Base Reward: 12,000 Points.
Speed Bonus: 3,000 Points.
Hidden Bonus: 3,000 Points.
Total Points: 18,000.
[Debt Settled.]
Current Point Balance: 16,185.
Lin Feng walked off the stage. He didn't look at the cheering crowd. He didn't look at the unconscious prince. He looked at his hands.
Sixteen thousand points. I need fourteen thousand more for the Black Ring.
Suddenly, his vision blurred. The 10,000kg load had taken its toll. He felt a trickle of blood run from his nose.
"Feng!" Yuhao and Wang Dong caught him.
"I'm fine," Lin Feng whispered. "We won. The Star Luo royalty is nothing but a shadow now."
As they entered the tunnel, a shadow fell over them. Elder Xuan, the 98-rank Douluo, was standing there, gnawing on a chicken leg. His eyes were no longer lazy; they were piercing.
"Kid," Elder Xuan said, pointing his chicken bone at Lin Feng. "That Soul Tool of yours... it's a fake, isn't it? No Rank 4 tool can suppress a White Tiger Fusion like that. That weight... it came from your soul."
Lin Feng met the gaze of the Transcendent Douluo. "Everything I have is mine, Elder. Whether it's a tool or a soul... the result is the same."
Elder Xuan chuckled. "Fair enough. Recover well. The finals are tomorrow. And if you win the finals, I might just have a task for you that will give you the 'points' you seem so hungry for."
Lin Feng's heart skipped a beat. The System chimed.
[New Quest Detected: The Trial of the Sea God.]
Reward: 20,000 System Points.
Requirement: Gain entry to the Inner Court.
The path is open, Lin Feng thought as he drifted into a healing sleep. The first Black Ring is coming.