Thick fox tails wrapped tightly around Long Yue's body—arms, torso, and neck—binding his crossed arms together as well.
Since the fox tails were formed from flames, they were naturally unafraid of magma and could easily pass through it.
With a thought from Yun Ze, the rising magma vanished. The battle no longer needed to continue.
"Ahhh!" Long Yue roared with all his strength, struggling desperately to break free. The more he struggled, the more the flames scorched him with searing pain.
The massive fox tails, as thick as a man's thigh, were tightly secured with incredible strength, making it impossible even for someone as powerful as Long Yue to break loose.
Long Yue's eyes turned bloodshot, the berserk factor in his body erupting as he began to lose reason.
Earth-element energy surged violently, sending tremors through the arena under the pressure of his rampaging power.
His sixth soul ring lit up completely, pushing his power to the limit—it was truly everything he had.
"AHHH!" Long Yue bellowed, attempting one last burst of strength to shatter the fox tails. His expression twisted into something savage and frightening as he strained too hard.
In midair, Yun Ze hovered quietly, watching him. Seeing Long Yue lose control and refuse to surrender, Yun Ze summoned the Phoenix Longbow.
A flaming arrow formed, fired straight toward Long Yue's brow.
"Stop!" From the stands, an old man beside the Star Luo Emperor sprang to his feet, urgently shouting as he vanished into thin air to rescue Long Yue.
Even the Star Luo Emperor stood up in alarm, staring at the arena nervously, afraid something would happen to Long Yue.
Many in the audience held their breath, their hearts tightening in fear for him.
Even faced with mortal danger, Long Yue did not show fear—he had already lost his sanity.
The flaming arrow halted just a meter before Long Yue's forehead. An old man stood in front of him, blocking the shot.
Yun Ze casually extended his hand, and the arrow dissolved back into flames, returning into his body.
The arrow had not been blocked by the old man—it had been deliberately stopped by Yun Ze.
The old man gazed deeply at Yun Ze, who simply met his gaze calmly. He had never intended to kill Long Yue. That arrow was merely to force the Star Luo Empire to intervene, thus ending the match early.
There was no need to keep fighting and damage Long Yue to a grotesque state when one arrow could end it neatly.
"Long Yue has lost," the old man declared. He felt no regret—defeat was deserved when one lacked the strength.
He slowly withdrew his gaze from Yun Ze and turned toward Long Yue, placing a gentle hand on him and infusing soft soul power.
With the calming energy entering him, Long Yue's berserk emotions gradually settled, his struggles weakening.
Yun Ze descended to the ground, withdrawing his martial soul. The nine fox tails loosened and returned into the fiery clouds above.
Freed, Long Yue did not attack again. His massive body shrank, and upon landing, he fell to one knee, panting heavily.
He looked up at Yun Ze—calm, uninjured, breathing steady—and his gaze became complicated.
"Cough… cough…" Long Yue tried to speak but could only cough violently, his blood and qi in disarray.
"I lost," he finally said. The words were painful to utter; his pride was shattered, yet his admission was sincere and heartfelt.
"Mn." Yun Ze nodded. He didn't offer comfort—he wasn't close enough to Long Yue to say such things.
"Sun Moon Royal Academy contestant Yun Ze wins and advances to the finals!" the referee announced.
Whoosh! The arena erupted in uproar. There was applause, but not much—after all, their nation's number one genius had been beaten so overwhelmingly that few felt like clapping.
Yun Ze ignored the reaction. Just like in previous matches, after winning, he simply walked off the arena, showing no emotional fluctuation.
"Teacher… I've shamed you," Long Yue bowed his head, ashamed to face his teacher.
The old man gently patted his shoulder in encouragement. "Do not dwell too much on this defeat."
"Victory and loss are commonplace in battle. Losing may not be a bad thing for you—train harder."
"…Mm." Long Yue gave a bitter smile. He didn't want to care, but how could he not?
The old man understood his disciple—it would take time for Long Yue to mentally process this loss, so he said no more.
In the Monster Academy area, the atmosphere was heavy and silent, everyone serious-faced.
When Long Yue returned, his teammates comforted him, saying it was fine to lose, nothing to be ashamed of.
"Don't worry. I won't collapse over one loss," Long Yue forced a smile. "But I'll need time to digest this defeat."
He then looked toward another teammate. "Su Mu, your turn next. Do your best, but don't risk your life."
"Gu Yuena is very strong. Even I am not confident of defeating her. You don't need to force a victory."
The refined and elegant Su Mu hesitated briefly, then nodded. "I will act within my limits."
Half an hour later, the second match of the individual semifinals began: Gu Yuena vs. Su Mu.
Both were Soul Kings, but when it came to martial soul quality, Gu Yuena held an overwhelming advantage.
Su Mu's martial soul was actually extremely powerful—Nine-Tailed Fox, a top-tier martial soul. Although his version was of the more ordinary type, it was still undoubtedly strong—comparable to true dragon-type martial souls.
However, compared to Gu Yuena's pseudo-Dragon God martial soul, even his powerful fox soul appeared suppressed.
Beyond martial soul superiority, Gu Yuena surpassed Su Mu in battle experience and combat technique in every aspect.
With all advantages on her side, the outcome was never in doubt. Soon after the match started, Gu Yuena took control, seizing the rhythm completely.
Wind slashed like blades across the arena, fireballs rained from the sky, the ground turned to viscous mud, and blinding light disrupted vision.
Faced with this barrage of elemental attacks, Su Mu was forced into a purely defensive state. Even after donning his battle armor, his situation remained dire.
The blinding light severely impaired him—whenever he avoided it, various attacks followed, leaving him overwhelmed.
Gu Yuena blended multiple elements into devastating energy strikes, inflicting massive damage.
She gave him no chance to breathe—her attacks came in relentless waves like a torrential storm, leaving Su Mu unable to counter and forcing him to endure.
(End of Chapter)