If Princess Yun'er could defeat that prodigious youth from Shrek Academy, then Her Highness would instantly rise to the level of a national goddess.
Of course, even if she lost, it wouldn't really matter—then it would simply mean the opponent was too crafty!People who support their own regardless of reason are always the majority.
Gu You's match today was no longer arranged as the opening bout; otherwise, it would have been far too obvious.
Xie Xie was scheduled to fight in the third match, Yuanen Yehui in the seventh, and Gu You in the eighth.
Xie Xie's match today was somewhat difficult. It took him more than ten minutes to finally find an opening and break through his opponent's defensive line. At the very least, his luck would still hold until the next round, because even if he encountered a five-ring Soul King in this round, the opponent's battle armor was incomplete and not a One-Word Battle Armor Master.
Yuanen Yehui entered the arena in the seventh match. His opponent could be said to be the weakest among the top thirty-two. Without much effort, he defeated his opponent and, together with Xie Xie, both advanced into the top sixteen.
Given their age, being able to enter the top sixteen of the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament was already an extremely rare achievement.
And next up to take the stage was Gu You.
Dai Yun'er had long since become impatient. The moment the match between Yuanen Yehui and his opponent had just ended, she jumped up from her seat, stretched out her right index finger, and pointed in Gu You's direction.
Gu You also stood up, but he didn't even glance in her direction. He simply walked straight toward the competition stage.
"Yun'er, keep your cool," Dai Yueyan said in a deep voice.
"I'm going to beat him until he can't even take care of himself!" Dai Yun'er shouted angrily as she ran out, following closely behind Gu You and leaping onto the competition stage.
"Gu You, you're dead!"
The moment Gu You had just taken his position on the stage, Dai Yun'er's voice appeared in his mind.
This damned voice-transmission secretary is so annoying!
Although he looked utterly indifferent toward Dai Yun'er on the surface, in reality he didn't harbor even the slightest contempt for her.
Dai Yun'er couldn't possibly be unaware of the gap in their strength from before. Even if she were a fool, she couldn't be stupid to this extent.
She must have some kind of trump card, though he didn't know what it was.
That was one thought in Gu You's mind. As for another—
It was that this princess was just plain dumb.
Dai Yun'er stared fiercely at Gu You, rubbing her small hands together in front of her chest. Her eyes were sharp, and she looked as though she wanted to pounce on him immediately.
"This match features Princess Dai Yun'er, the Spirit King, against the prodigy from Shrek Academy, contestant Gu You. Judging from their previous matches, Princess Dai Yun'er's martial soul is the Nether Spirit Cat, an imperial inherited martial soul. She is an agility-attack-type soul master, extremely fast and fiercely offensive. Gu You, on the other hand, is a strong attack-type battle soul master. His earlier matches have surely left everyone with a very deep impression. The clash between the two is something we can all greatly anticipate!"
"Begin the match!"
As soon as the referee's voice fell, Dai Yun'er shot forward like lightning, her speed incomparably fast. Beneath her feet, rings of soul rings rose one after another—three purple and two black.
Trailing afterimages, Dai Yun'er crossed more than half the arena in the span of a single breath.
Faced with her charge, Gu You did not advance. He simply stood calmly in place, waiting for her to rush over.
Dai Yun'er was already incredibly fast. When the distance between them shrank to less than thirty meters, her first soul ring suddenly flashed, and her entire body appeared in front of Gu You in an instant, like a streak of light. It was the same first soul skill as Wu Siduo's—Nether突刺, Nether Sudden Thrust!
However, at that very moment, what Gu You saw was not the cat claws reaching for him, but Dai Yun'er's eyes.
Those large eyes of hers radiated a deep azure glow, clear and pure like two blue crystals. Gu You suddenly felt his consciousness waver, as if everything around him had abruptly slowed down.
Not good! How is this possible?
Is her spiritual power higher than mine?
A sharp pain struck his chest, and bone-chilling cold instantly spread.
Gu You immediately realized something was wrong. Stimulated from the outside, the Dragon God bloodline reacted at once. The Purple-Gold Dragon Physique was triggered, transforming into pieces of purple-gold dragon scales that guarded his chest. At the same time, Gu You bit down hard on the tip of his tongue and activated the Purple Demon Eye, snapping himself awake from that haze.
At the same moment, a ring of purple light flashed around him, blasting Dai Yun'er backward.
He had thought she would at least suffer a light injury, but unexpectedly, a seven-colored glow lit up on Dai Yun'er's body, and she instantly halted herself in midair.
"What did you use?" Gu You asked solemnly.
"Now you know how strong I am, right? I didn't bring much—just two ninth-level defensive soul guidance devices and three ninth-level soul guidance devices that boost all attributes," Dai Yun'er said smugly, her face full of pride.
You—
Gu You's eyes widened. You can play like this?!
Ninth-level soul guidance devices were equivalent to military equipment—and not just any, but the absolute top-tier military hardware. Every single ninth-level soul guidance device could be called a national treasure used to safeguard the country. Moreover, the ninth-level soul guidance devices of this era were different from those of ten thousand years ago—the effectiveness of their attributes was nearly three times greater. Without exaggeration, as long as a Great Soul Master could use a ninth-level soul guidance device, they would have the ability to contend with at least a Soul Sage-level expert.
Although Gu You felt the rules of this match were somewhat unfair, after thinking about it, he decided to let it go—this little princess's cultivation level wasn't that high anyway.
But what came next was the real show.
Purple light flickered in Gu You's eyes as he used the Purple Demon Eye to guard his Sea of Consciousness. He then threw a simple, unadorned punch straight forward.
A terrifying force instantly compressed the air. Dai Yun'er felt as though all the air in front of her twisted in an instant, and the immense pressure even made it hard for her to breathe.
Dai Yun'er reacted quickly. Her body abruptly contracted backward as she dropped into a half-crouch.
Gu You's punch struck empty air.
"Can't hit me, can you? Hehe," Dai Yun'er mocked him. But what she didn't expect was that Gu You immediately kicked forward.
Yet instead of Dai Yun'er being sent flying, it was Gu You who felt pain shoot through his foot.
The defensive barrier of a ninth-level soul guidance device directly absorbed the kick, dispersing the damage completely.
This truly shocked Gu You. He had always been very confident in his own offensive power, and this ninth-level soul guidance device was definitely not an ordinary defensive one.
A streak of dark light suddenly sliced out from within that barrier, cutting horizontally toward Gu You's waist.
Dai Yun'er seized the opportunity perfectly. In that split-second window, she actually managed to catch it—something utterly unbelievable.
Yet she did catch it, and with remarkable precision. At such close range, Gu You had no way to dodge this strike.
He could only take it head-on…
(End of Chapter)