Chapter 217: At This Moment, Everyone Seemed to Become Light
The tournament was still in full swing.
The final match was between Oakland Academy and Divine Wind Academy. So far, neither team had lost a single match.
Everyone was expecting a clash of titans, but although the match didn't unfold as they had hoped, the shock it delivered was far more profound than any battle between evenly matched giants.
This was a match that everyone would remember for the rest of their lives.
Countless silver serpents of lightning struck down from the sky, splitting heaven and earth apart. Deafening thunder roared continuously in everyone's ears. All present had to cover their ears tightly, their eyes fixed in stunned silence on the figure in the arena who resembled a god of thunder.
A ten-thousand-year spirit ring!
The fourth spirit ring—ten thousand years! Unheard of since ancient times!
The appearance of this ten-thousand-year spirit ring utterly stunned the participating teams from various kingdoms and duchies.
When the ring began to glow, their jaws practically hit the ground.
Was this really a soul skill that a Soul Sect could release?
Am I a fake soul master?
In mere seconds, Divine Wind Academy had been wiped out one by one, and now, even their strongest, Feng Xiaotian, had collapsed to the ground, unable to continue fighting.
Recalling everything that had just happened, the entire arena fell into an eerie silence.
Right as the match began, Dai Yao unleashed his fourth soul skill. The first student from Divine Wind Academy could only withstand three bolts of lightning before being forced offstage. Even a Soul Sect-level expert could only endure ten.
Feng Xiaotian, the strongest of Divine Wind, managed to withstand just over thirty strikes.
And the lightning in the sky? There were millions!
Dai Yao stood with one hand behind his back and the other extended forward, palm downward as if gripping the air. He looked coldly at Feng Xiaotian and said:
"You've lost, Feng Xiaotian."
Feng Xiaotian struggled to stand, despair in his eyes as he looked up at Dai Yao suspended in the sky.
In the howling wind, Dai Yao's robes billowed, his golden hair fluttering, blue-violet lightning flickering in his eyes. That domineering figure crushed all hope in Feng Xiaotian's heart.
The green wings behind him had already been scorched black, barely visible. At the start of the match, he had planned to unleash his self-created soul skill—Thirty-Six Consecutive Slashes of the Gale Demon Wolf—to fight on even terms.
But against Dai Yao's fourth soul skill, he couldn't even build up enough power.
Every time he tried to gather energy, a bolt of lightning would shatter it immediately.
To endure thirty lightning strikes had already pushed him to his limits.
Lowering his head, a flash of unwillingness passed through his eyes as he slammed the ground with his fist and said bitterly:
"I lost."
Hearing this, Dai Yao gave a small nod and retracted his rampaging soul power. The lightning in the sky gradually dispersed, and the thunder faded away, plunging the arena back into silence.
Oakland Academy—fourteen matches, fourteen victories!
In the history of the qualifying rounds, such a terrifying record had never existed. They had defeated Blazing Academy, Tianshui Academy, Shrek Academy, Botany Academy, and Divine Wind Academy in succession.
And all were crushed.
They had proven with absolute strength that they were the number one academy of the Heaven Dou Empire.
"Oakland Academy, wins!"
With the referee's announcement, the crowd marveled at Oakland Academy's achievements while also feeling a wave of emotion at the conclusion of the qualifying rounds.
The long-suppressed emotions burst forth like a flood. Just like after final exams, everyone began to cheer and celebrate.
Watching this scene, Dai Yao felt a twinge of emotion. Perhaps these were his final days in the Heaven Dou Empire.
So far, he had spent nine years in the Star Luo Empire, and six in the Heaven Dou Empire. These six years had been a vital chapter of his life.
Six years of rigorous training, during which he experienced both familial warmth and romantic love in the Heaven Dou Empire.
He had built friendships with many respectable elders and met numerous uniquely charming women, not to mention a group of comrades who had fought alongside him.
He had truly begun to interact with characters from the original story, like a butterfly flapping its wings and deeply influencing the fate of Douluo Continent's original protagonist.
"Congratulations on winning first place in the qualifying rounds."
A voice interrupted Dai Yao's thoughts.
Dai Yao turned around in surprise—it was Feng Xiaotian.
"Thank you. You guys were strong as well."
He responded politely.
Feng Xiaotian gave a bitter smile. "Our strength doesn't compare to yours. You alone defeated all of us. Maybe the Spirit Hall team has finally met their match."
Hearing this, even though Dai Yao was well-prepared to face the Spirit Hall team, he still felt a wave of pressure.
Just as in the original story, the Spirit Hall team carried immense prestige. Even a genius like Feng Xiaotian couldn't muster any will to resist.
Three Soul Kings, and the remaining four were peak-level Soul Sects. Any one of those four could be the core of an ordinary team, yet in the Spirit Hall team, they were mere support for the three Soul Kings.
Meanwhile, Oakland's team already had six Soul Sects. Only Luo Ling, the auxiliary-type soul master, remained a Soul Grandmaster.
Indeed, by pure composition, Oakland had no realistic chance of winning. Even in the original story, Tang San had to cheat, using shards of his Eight Spider Lances as hidden weapons and poison to defeat the Spirit Hall's Golden Generation.
Although Dai Yao lacked Tang San's hidden weapons, with his own "cheats," he could still go head-to-head with the Spirit Hall team.
His Cloud Pattern Hand wasn't just prepared to counter Tang San—it was also specifically for the martial soul fusion skill of Hu Liena and Xie Yue. The way Tang San had resisted their fusion skill, Charm, with the Eight Spider Lances—each one breaking apart—had left a deep impression on him.
Therefore, to defeat the Spirit Hall team, he had to block Hu Liena and Xie Yue's Charm.
Then, with Feng Wutong and Zhu Zhuqing, he could entangle Yan, the Soul King.
In that case, victory would be within reach.
"If there's a team that can defeat the Spirit Hall team, it must be your Oakland team."
As Dai Yao and Feng Xiaotian were speaking, Shui Bing'er led the Tianshui Academy team and joined the conversation.
Not only them—hearing their exchange, many other teams began to discuss the terrifying power of the Spirit Hall team, like a looming shadow over the hearts of all soul masters.
As the conversation continued, everyone began comparing Oakland Academy with Spirit Hall.
Listening to all this, and sensing the hopeful gazes fixed on him, as if Oakland were the only team that could possibly defeat Spirit Hall, Dai Yao felt helpless.
It felt just like the end of Ultraman Tiga, when the evil god Gatanothor turned Tiga to stone, and in that moment of utter despair, the hopes of all humanity turned into light and revived Tiga.
He really wanted to say:
Actually... I'm from Spirit Hall too.
When that moment comes, who knows what they'll think...
After the match ended, Emperor Xue Ye delivered a passionate speech, then sent Crown Prince Xue Qinghe as the imperial envoy to lead the sixteen qualifying teams from the Heaven Dou Empire to Spirit City for the final tournament.
They would set out in three days.
Returning to Oakland Academy, Dai Yao uncharacteristically skipped training and instead spent some leisurely time wandering around the academy with Zhu Zhuqing and Feng Wutong. When they came across younger soul masters, he even gave them a few pointers.
After a while, they found themselves standing before the academy's sculptures.
At that moment, the statues of all nine participants from Oakland Academy had already been erected. Dai Yao's sculpture had begun to take shape—though it lacked some of his domineering presence, it looked rather refined and gentle.
Looking at it, Dai Yao gently stroked the sculpture, his thoughts heavy:
"When I return again... who knows how many years will have passed."
(End of Chapter)
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