This meant that, in the coming clash, Zheng Zhan probably wouldn't be able to intervene in time.
Snowflakes filled the sky, turning the entire arena into a vast field of white.
No one could see what was happening inside the arena.
On the main stage, Zhongli Wu's lips curled up in a crazed grin.
He had to admit, Long Aotian's final outburst was truly extraordinary.
In that instant, his explosive power nearly touched the threshold of a Titled Douluo.
Such explosive force was downright terrifying.
No wonder he was the Body Sect's proudest disciple.
Normally, seeing a genius disciple like Long Aotian, he would have been filled with murderous intent.
But now, he only felt excitement.
Because Long Aotian's strength had forced Su Yu to go all out as well.
He had seen the young master from Ice God Palace use his Martial Soul True Body and special battle tactics.
Now, he even unleashed his domain.
When two tigers fight, there must be casualties.
No matter the final result, his Holy Spirit Sect would benefit.
Zhongli Wu's eyes were full of smugness. Beside him, Jing Hongchen wore a tight expression, his eyes filled with confusion.
Is Su Yu really that weak?
Fighting just Long Aotian, and it took this long?
And even got pushed back?
What about his external soul bone?
His self-created soul skills?
His three domains?
His full set of soul tools?
Jing Hongchen knew Su Yu's strength was far above Long Aotian's.
It shouldn't have taken this long at all.
Wait, could this brat be putting on an act again, up to some trick?
The more he thought about it, the more possible it seemed. Jing Hongchen wondered who Su Yu was scheming against this time.
Could it be…
Jing Hongchen glanced at Zhongli Wu without being noticed. Su Yu seemed to dislike evil soul masters.
Could it be…
Hmm…
Jing Hongchen seemed to realize something, but he wasn't going to warn Zhongli Wu.
With Zhongli Wu as the leader of the evil soul masters, Jing Hongchen would be happy to see him suffer.
Since he had already made his choice, he had to stand by his position.
No matter what, Jing Hongchen would never collude with evil soul masters.
"You're still smiling—you'll be crying soon enough."
Jing Hongchen muttered inwardly, deliberately keeping a stern face, but couldn't help the slight upward curve of his lips.
…
In the Arena.
Amidst the blinding snow, an unprecedented burst of energy suddenly erupted.
It was as if a small mushroom bomb had exploded.
That explosive, overwhelming force swept out like a flood, and the entire stage blew apart in an instant.
Boom!
A deafening explosion resounded like a comet striking the earth.
The protective barrier maintained by dozens of elite soul engineers shattered instantly.
Dozens of soul engineers spat out blood at the same time.
A mushroom cloud rose into the sky, and a figure was sent flying back, looking battered and miserable.
Looking closely, people were shocked to see—it was Titled Douluo Zheng Zhan.
A dignified Titled Douluo, yet even he couldn't withstand that shockwave and was forced back.
"Wow!"
The audience erupted, all eyes turning to the center of the explosion.
At that moment, the snow and wind gradually dissipated, revealing the scene within.
The stage, made of the hardest granite and metal, was destroyed.
At the center was a crater ten meters deep and eighty meters in diameter.
Two corners of the stage had collapsed, and only a few remnants remained.
Long Aotian lay at the edge of the pit, covered in blood.
His skin was riddled with tiny fragments, looking like a shattered porcelain doll.
His once jade-white skin was now soaked in blood.
"You… you…"
Long Aotian stared at Su Yu in utter disbelief.
Before he could finish, he spat out a mouthful of blood—clearly, he was severely wounded.
"You… you lied…"
Long Aotian was agitated as if he wanted to accuse Su Yu of something.
But he was too weak and finally passed out.
Su Yu stood at one side of the stage, looking at Long Aotian with a calm expression.
He stood tall and straight, without a wrinkle on his clothes.
A flush rose on his face but quickly faded.
He surreptitiously wiped his mouth with his sleeve, then turned around as if completely unharmed.
But Zhongli Wu, watching closely, only smiled even more brightly.
Titled Douluo Zheng Zhan reappeared, giving Su Yu a complicated look—part envy, part wariness.
Such a young man, yet even he felt threatened.
That terrifying clash just now made him feel extreme danger.
These two youths were truly extraordinary.
He went up to check on Long Aotian, and couldn't help but gasp.
Long Aotian looked miserable, covered in dense wounds, his skin cracked.
So much blood was flowing out, no one knew how much.
After further examination, even his internal organs were shaken and displaced to varying degrees.
Frankly, for anyone else, these injuries would be fatal.
Only the Body Sect's unique constitution allowed him to barely survive.
But even so, without a year or more of recovery and top medical care, Long Aotian would never fully recover.
"What a ruthless. No… maybe their collision was just too terrifying."
Zheng Zhan glanced at Su Yu, who appeared completely calm and narrowed his eyes.
Long Aotian was so seriously injured, yet Su Yu was unharmed?
Unbelievable.
Zheng Zhan was full of emotion, but calmed himself and carried Long Aotian off the stage.
"Aotian!"
"Boss!"
…
When the Body Sect members saw how badly Long Aotian was hurt, they panicked and rushed over.
Weina looked anxious and quickly used her Martial Soul, Snow Lotus, to heal him.
But Long Aotian's wounds were too severe. Even after Weina stopped his bleeding, he didn't wake up.
"Boss…"
"Damn it!"
Seeing Long Aotian so badly hurt, the Body Sect members were filled with righteous anger, glaring at Su Yu.
"Next!"
Su Yu ignored their looks and spoke calmly.
"Damn it, I'll go!"
Angered by Su Yu's attitude, a young man stood up, ready to fight.
"Stop!"
Weina stopped him. "Even Aotian lost. You want to go die?"
"But…"
The young man was still indignant, his eyes full of unwillingness.
"I don't believe he can come out unscathed after going head-to-head with the boss."
He argued stubbornly.
"And then? You think you can win?"
"Even if all of you go up, and you win, so what?"
"They still have plenty of people left. Can you beat them all?"
"Be rational. We've already lost."
"You all heard the bet between Aotian and Su Yu. Admit defeat with dignity, or everyone will think we can't accept losing."
Weina's firm words silenced the Body Sect members.
She knew that after Long Aotian's defeat, they stood no chance.
Admittedly, Su Yu may have been hurt.
But even injured, Su Yu was a solid Soul Sage.
With his Ultimate Ice, they couldn't deal with him at all.
Not to mention there was also Snow Empress and Di Mingli.
They no longer had any chance of winning.
She didn't want to see the rest of the Body Sect end up seriously injured like Wang Yanfeng and the others.
Shaking her head, Weina stepped forward and said, "Referee, we accept defeat. The Snow Demon Sect forfeits the remaining matches."
Zheng Zhan was stunned. "Are you sure?"
Weina nodded firmly. "I'm sure."
"Alright."
Zheng Zhan responded and looked at the audience, and his voice echoed throughout the venue via soul tool.
"Since the Snow Demon Sect has forfeited, the winner is Holy Slayer Palace. Congratulations to Holy Slayer Palace for advancing to the finals!"
With Zheng Zhan's announcement, applause erupted from the audience.
Today's match had been marvelous.
The clash between Su Yu and Long Aotian was the highlight of the tournament so far.
Such a high-level battle naturally won over all the spectators.
Su Yu stepped down from the stage and headed toward Di Mingli and the others.
As he approached Di Mingli, Su Yu suddenly staggered. Di Mingli quickly supported him.
"You…"
"I'm fine."
Su Yu shook off Di Mingli's hand, and the group left the waiting area.
They didn't even linger in the rest area; the Holy Slayer Palace group returned directly to the Bright Moon Hotel.
"Hall Master, Su Yu won."
Xu Tianran's expression was blank. Though Su Yu had won, he was deeply unhappy.
If he could choose, he'd rather the Body Sect had won.
He had a national grudge against the Body Sect, but he felt nothing but disgust and resentment toward Su Yu.
He was always thinking of killing the man who had so rudely called him a eunuch.
He had once tried to recruit Su Yu, but Su Yu had only insulted him.
He would never forget that.
"No matter, it doesn't matter. A win is a win; it won't change anything."
Zhongli Wu said with a smile.
"But Su Yu is unscathed. For the finals…"
"Unscathed?"
Zhongli Wu smiled and shook his head, saying nothing, just giving Xu Tianran a meaningful look.
Xu Tianran glanced at Jing Hongchen and understood Zhongli Wu's meaning, so he said no more.
Zhongli Wu then turned to Jing Hongchen with a bright smile. "Hall Master Hongchen, this afternoon is the match between Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy and our Holy Spirit Sect."
"What are your thoughts, Hall Master?"
Jing Hongchen frowned. "If you have something to say, just say it."
Zhongli Wu laughed, "Since that's the case, I'll get straight to the point."
"I hope that in this afternoon's match, the Royal Academy can forfeit."
"Why should we?"
Jing Hongchen glared at Zhongli Wu. "Sect Master Zhongli, I have no patience for your jokes."
"No need to be upset, Hall Master."
Zhongli Wu chuckled, "You're too anxious, Hall Master. Listen to what I have to say."
"Hmph, just spit it out."
Jing Hongchen's face was cold, completely unyielding.
Zhongli Wu wasn't annoyed, smiling as he continued, "The situation is obvious now."
"Su Yu's Holy Slayer Palace is already in the finals."
"Whether it's the Royal Academy or my Holy Spirit Sect, we'll both have to face them in the end."
"Hall Master, forgive my bluntness, but although Su Yu is your Student, he's not representing the Royal Academy now."
"He represents Holy Slayer Palace, which is aligned with the Ice God Palace—a force from the original Three Empires of the continent."
"Hall Master, you don't want the championship to end up in the hands of a sect outside the Empire, do you?"
Jing Hongchen frowned, not rushing to refute. In a sense, Su Yu's Holy Slayer Palace did not belong to the Sun Moon Empire.
Although their headquarters was currently in Radiant City, any discerning person knew Holy Slayer Palace was fully independent.
They openly sold soul tools to the original Douluo Three Empires.
Many people in Radiant City knew this—even Jing Hongchen couldn't defend Su Yu on this.
The Empire hadn't acted against Su Yu only because his background was too strong, and the number of soul tools sold was small.
Also, the Ice God Palace's stance wasn't completely clear, so the authorities just turned a blind eye.
"What are you getting at?"
Jing Hongchen said coldly.
Zhongli Wu replied, "It's simple: do everything possible to keep the championship here."
"So, what does that have to do with our Academy conceding?"
"I know what you're thinking—you're afraid both sides will be weakened."
"But here's the problem: why should it be us who surrender?"
"Doesn't the Royal Academy represent the Empire better than you?"
Currently, the Holy Spirit Sect did cooperate with the Empire, but it wasn't the official state religion like in the original.
There were still many within the Empire who strongly opposed the Holy Spirit Sect.
If not for Xu Tianran's support and the tacit approval of the old emperor, the Holy Spirit Sect would never have been able to act openly.
"You're right, Hall Master, the Royal Academy does represent the Empire better, but…"
Zhongli Wu smiled. "Hall Master, don't forget, Su Yu also came from Illustrious Virtue Hall."
"He must know the Illustrious Virtue Hall team inside and out."
"Besides, I hear your grandchildren are quite close to Su Yu—he must know all about their abilities."
"To put it bluntly, Hall Master, how confident are you that the Royal Academy could defeat Su Yu?"
Jing Hongchen's face darkened. "And you think you can win?"
Zhongli Wu smiled confidently. "I can't say I'm sure, but I'm quite confident."
"With those useless brats of yours, you think you can beat Su Yu?"
Jing Hongchen sneered; he couldn't help himself. Where did Zhongli Wu get this confidence?
"If Su Yu were at full strength, I wouldn't dare guarantee anything. But now, hehe…"
Jing Hongchen's eyes narrowed. "So, you want to take advantage of his weakness?"
Zhongli Wu waved it off with a smile. "Hall Master, we're all just thinking of the Empire's interests."