The first person sent out by the Heaven Dou Imperial Team was Yu Tianheng. As the descendant of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, his strength was unquestionably formidable, especially since he was now a Rank 51 Soul King.
The Seven Treasure Team sent up a substitute at the Soul Ancestor level. However, before the referee could even announce the start of the match, the substitute directly conceded.
Seeing this, every soul master present understood the Seven Treasure Academy's calculated plan. Since both Seven Treasure and the Imperial Team hailed from the Heaven Dou Empire, it didn't matter which team won from an imperial perspective—the victory belonged to Heaven Dou. By conceding the first match, Seven Treasure was openly targeting Spirit Hall Academy.
Their goal was to work with the Imperial Team to grind down Spirit Hall's strength. Gu Xuan had already informed them about Qian Renxue; she had reached the Soul Saint level back when Gu Xuan was obtaining his fourth ring, and her current power was likely even more terrifying. With a Soul Saint in the mix, along with three other Soul Kings and the Charm Demon Spirit Fusion Skill, their chances of winning were slim.
What shocked everyone most was that Qian Renxue was under twenty-five years old yet had attained the rank of Soul Saint. This was the true gap between average geniuses and a peak talent.
Bibi Dong watched coldly. Since this was within the rules, she said nothing. The first match went to the Imperial Team, and Yu Tianheng moved forward with zero soul power consumption.
The next match was Spirit Hall vs. the Imperial Team. Spirit Hall sent out Yan. They weren't worried about these little tricks because they had Qian Renxue as their ultimate backbone. Yan, at Rank 52, was sent to make short work of Yu Tianheng. Even if Yu Tianheng possessed the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon—widely considered the world's number one beast martial soul—Yan was undaunted. His Flame Lord martial soul was a dual fire-and-earth attribute, and its quality was no inferior to the lightning dragon.
Yan stepped onto the stage and immediately began his verbal taunt, "Can your two academies only rely on such petty tricks?"
Yu Tianheng smiled nonchalantly, "Spirit Hall set the rules. What? Are you feeling unbalanced?" Having spent so much time with Gu Xuan, Yu Tianheng was no longer the clumsy-tongued novice of three years ago.
Yan's expression darkened, "Arrogant? I'll beat you into submission!"
At the referee's signal, both released their martial souls.
"Yan. Martial Soul: Flame Lord. Rank 52 Power Attack Type Soul King." Searing flames erupted around him, raising the temperature as five rings—two yellow, two purple, one black—rose and pulsed.
Yu Tianheng remained calm. Training with a freak like Gu Xuan every day had elevated him to a level far beyond his past self. As the saying goes, one takes on the color of one's company.
"Yu Tianheng. Martial Soul: Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon. Rank 51 Power Attack Type Soul King. Please!" A bolt of lightning flashed across his brow, revealing a thunderous mark. Lightning coiling around him, blue dragon scales covered his body in a majestic display.
"Match... start!"
The two collided instantly. As Power Attack Type soul masters, a melee was their first choice. They didn't use soul skills initially, relying on raw physical strength and combat technique. However, the moment they touched, Yan felt something was wrong. Yu Tianheng's strength was clearly superior. Their techniques were similar, but Yu Tianheng held the upper hand in power. This was the result of Yu Tianheng's constant body tempering with Whale Glue and his over-limit soul ring absorption.
After dozens of rounds of hand-to-hand combat, Yan was being suppressed. Though shocked and frustrated, he didn't panic. His two yellow rings lit up, covering him in granite armor while a blast of crimson flame shot from his palm toward Yu Tianheng's face.
"Second Soul Skill: Granite Armor."
"First Soul Skill: Flame Burst!"
Yu Tianheng sneered. His first and third rings lit up together.
"Third Soul Skill: Thunder Fury!"
"First Soul Skill: Thunder Dragon Claw!"
His lightning grew more violent. Bolstered by his third skill, his right arm turned into a dragon claw that tore right through the flame attack. Boom! The explosion was muffled by coiling lightning before Yu Tianheng counterattacked.
"Second Soul Skill: Thunder Crash!" A terrifying storm of thunder poured from his palm. Even with his granite defense, Yan didn't dare take this head-on. He activated his third skill, unleashing a pillar of magma to intercept the lightning.
"Third Soul Skill: Hell Magma Burst!"
Lightning and magma canceled each other out. Seeing Yan still daring to fight in close quarters, Yu Tianheng unleashed his unique trait.
"Dragon Transformation!"
Both arms and his right leg transformed into true draconic limbs, doubling in size. His attack, power, and defense surged. This was why the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon was the strongest beast martial soul—the unique ability to dragonize beginning at Rank 40. For a genius like Yu Tianheng, he had unlocked this at Rank 30 and could now dragonize three parts of his body.
His power doubled. Yan, who was barely holding a stalemate, was instantly overwhelmed. Yu Tianheng landed a punch on Yan's right shoulder, shattering the granite armor and caving in the bone. The sheer force had broken Yan's scapula.
Yan reacted quickly despite the pain. His fourth ring flared, sending pillars of magma shooting into the sky. Within a thirty-meter radius, the ground became a churning field of molten heat.
"Fourth Soul Skill: Churning Magma!"
The wall of fire didn't stop Yu Tianheng. He leaped high into the air, his purple fourth ring glowing.
"Fourth Soul Skill: Blue Lightning Divine Dragon Strike!" A ten-meter-long dragon of pure lightning roared down from above. Yan, at the center of his magma field, looked on with gravity. He couldn't believe a Rank 51 could be this terrifying. He gathered his remaining soul power, forcing the magma field to collapse inward before shooting upward in a massive pillar of fire.
The fire pillar and the lightning dragon collided, annihilating each other in the air. Yu Tianheng was impressed—his fourth skill was an over-limit absorption and boosted by Dragon Transformation, yet Yan had blocked it without using a fifth skill. The Golden Generation truly lived up to their name.
However, Yan's soul power consumption was much higher. Yu Tianheng closed the distance again. Yan was frustrated; in a melee against a dragonized soul master, he was no match. His defense was being pierced, and his lava was being neutralized by lightning.
"Fifth Soul Skill: Flying Sand Mad Flames!" Yan's black fifth ring lit up. A tornado of fire, lava, and rock swept toward the advancing Yu Tianheng.
Yu Tianheng grinned. His own black fifth ring flared.
"Fifth Soul Skill: Thunderous Heaven-Ending Destruction!" His right arm gathered endless lightning, forming a massive draconic head that slammed into the fire tornado. Supported by Dragon Transformation, his skill overpowered Yan's, devouring the tornado and striking Yan directly.
Yan was swallowed by the lightning dragon. A second later, he was blasted back, charred black, and tumbled off the stage. Yu Tianheng retracted his fist, the lightning dragon coiling around him majestically. "Arrogance requires capital," he said indifferently.
Before the referee could even speak, Li Li from the Seven Treasure Team walked up. "I concede!"
Another one? The Spirit Hall officials were fuming. This was blatant targeting. Xie Yue, the captain of Spirit Hall, stepped onto the stage with cold eyes, ignoring the charred Yan being carried off for healing.
"You will pay for your hubris," Xie Yue said icily.
Yu Tianheng shrugged, "Come then. I'll tell you straight: I'm putting all my remaining soul power into one final strike. If you can withstand it, I'll concede."
Xie Yue stared at him, "You said it yourself."
Yu Tianheng smiled. He had less than 30% soul power left; he couldn't beat a fresh Xie Yue in a long fight, so he intended to use one massive burst to drain him.
Xie Yue summoned his Moonblades. "Xie Yue. Martial Soul: Moonblade. Rank 52 Agility Attack Type Soul King."
Yu Tianheng concentrated every drop of his internal energy. He wanted to see if he could take Xie Yue out with him. "Fifth Soul Skill: Thunderous Heaven-Ending Destruction!"
He charged with a mountain of lightning, but Xie Yue wasn't a fool. He didn't take the hit head-on. His first and third rings lit up, and he began to sprint around the hundred-meter stage at high speed.
"Hey! Why are you running?" Yu Tianheng shouted.
"Only a fool would clash with you directly. Once your power is spent, you'll collapse on your own," Xie Yue replied, accelerating further.
Yu Tianheng laughed, "I figured you wouldn't be honest." He leaped up and slammed his right arm into the center of the stage instead of at Xie Yue. A massive lightning burst radiated outward from the center. Xie Yue was forced to the edge, but the lightning was too fast. He had to use his second ring to cut through the stray bolts.
Yu Tianheng landed and hopped off the stage. "I said if you withstood it, I'd concede. You cheated by running, but I'm a man of the Blue Lightning Dragon Clan—I keep my word."
"Damn it!" Xie Yue cursed. Yu Tianheng had conceded but managed to insult his honor and elevate the Blue Lightning Dragon Clan's reputation in one breath. The Spirit Hall officials were furious at the insult.
The next person from Seven Treasure was Yang Pojun. He didn't concede; he intended to fight a drained Xie Yue to the finish.
This was the strategy: play with them, target them, and make them miserable. Whether it looked good or not didn't matter—happiness did. If the Spirit Hall captain wanted to be "disgusting" by running from Yu Tianheng, they would pre-emptively be even more disgusting.
In the Spirit Hall waiting area, Qian Renxue's gaze became quite strange. This felt exactly like Gu Xuan's style. But it didn't matter. No matter what ghosts or gods they sent, she would eventually step out.
A Soul Saint against Soul Ancestors or Soul Kings was a dimensional suppression. And she was no ordinary Soul Saint. With her Six-Winged Angel martial soul, she could fight a Soul Douluo. These "young people's games" were nothing to her. She was only here to see exactly how much strength Gu Xuan was hiding.
(End of Chapter)
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