Xie Yue twirled his Moon Blade with a flourish, his eyes sweeping over to the Shrek Academy team. With a smirk, he pointed the tip of one blade at them and drew a slow arc in the air.
Lin Jie didn't even blink at the provocation. Calmly raising his right hand, he extended a single finger—his middle one.
Xie Yue paused, frowning slightly. He wasn't entirely sure what the gesture meant, but given the context, he assumed it must be some kind of counter-taunt. Yes, that had to be it.
If Shrek Academy's victory over Star Luo Royal Academy had been shocking, then the Spirit Hall Academy's annihilation of Heaven Dou Imperial Academy was sheer domination. Overwhelming power. A total, instant wipeout—with only two members from Spirit Hall even needing to act. The gap in strength was undeniable.
Some of the other teams, once full of ambition for the championship, now felt their hopes quietly extinguished after witnessing Spirit Hall's terrifying power. All except Shrek Academy, that is. But the public consensus wasn't optimistic about Shrek's chances either. After all, Spirit Hall Academy had three Spirit Kings and four Spirit Elders. So what if Lin Jie had a ten-thousand-year fourth Spirit Ring? Spirit Hall had three of those. Wouldn't it be easy for them to counter one?
With the two most anticipated matches concluded, the crowd's enthusiasm noticeably waned. The remaining matches were seen as less exciting in comparison.
Still, the competition had to go on.
Next was a bout between Tianshui Academy and a team from the Star Luo Empire. The two were fairly evenly matched, each with four Spirit Elders and three Spirit Masters. But Tianshui Academy pulled ahead in the end, thanks to Shui Bing'er's powerful Ice Phoenix Martial Soul and her Spirit Fusion Technique with Xue Wu, which utterly overwhelmed the opposing team and secured their advancement to the fourth round.
In the stands, representatives from the Heaven Dou Empire academies felt a mix of admiration and regret. Take Thunderclap Academy for instance—their team was at least on par with Tianshui in terms of strength, yet they had been eliminated in the second round. Luck clearly played a large role too.
By the end of the third round, only six teams remained. Of the three seeded teams, two had already been eliminated. Spirit Hall Academy was now the sole surviving seed—and undoubtedly the most powerful among the six. Behind them were Shrek Academy and the newly renamed Divine Wind Academy. Tianshui and the others followed.
After the day's battles, everyone returned to their rest areas. They had a full day to recover before the fourth round began.
Back at the hotel, after dinner, the group returned to their respective rooms early. Spirit Hall's logistics were surprisingly thoughtful—each person was given a private room.
Lin Jie had just started meditating when a knock came at his door. Reluctantly, he opened his eyes and stood up.
When he opened the door, Zhu Zhuqing stood outside. Her expression was quiet and subdued.
"Zhuqing? What's wrong?" Lin Jie asked with concern, gently pulling her hand and closing the door behind her. She had seemed perfectly fine during dinner. What happened in just a few hours?
Zhu Zhuqing didn't answer immediately. She simply stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his chest and whispering, "Lin Jie… thank you. Really. I think the luckiest thing in my life was meeting you."
Hearing that, Lin Jie held her tightly, whispering back with deep emotion, "Me too. Meeting you is the greatest blessing of my life."
After a moment of quiet warmth, Lin Jie led Zhu Zhuqing to sit on the couch. At this point, their relationship was close enough that such gestures felt completely natural.
Leaning against his shoulder, Zhu Zhuqing began to share more of her story. Her voice was soft, recounting memories of her childhood, her relationship with her sister Zhu Zhuyun, and how she had been hunted down by her own family. She told him everything—things she had touched on before, but never in so much detail.
Hours passed. Lin Jie listened in silence, his chest tightening with emotion. Hearing it all again, now with every detail laid bare, stirred something deeper within him.
Eventually, her voice grew quieter, and before long she had drifted off, resting peacefully in his arms. Her cold, sharp beauty was softened by the gentle smile on her lips. She looked like she was having a good dream.
Lin Jie looked at her sleeping face, gently brushing his fingers across her cheek. His heart filled with tenderness.
Carefully, he lifted her into his arms and carried her into the bedroom. Every motion was slow and soft—he didn't want to wake her. After helping her out of her shoes and jacket, he tucked her in and pulled the blanket over her.
He saw the faintest hint of a smile cross her face as she settled into the warmth.
Lin Jie lay down beside her, propping his head up with one hand, watching her quietly. No matter how long he looked, it never felt like enough.
Later that night, Lin Jie dozed off holding her gently in his arms. Zhu Zhuqing instinctively curled closer into his chest, as if seeking his warmth.
The fourth round of the Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournament began after a day's rest.
The six remaining teams had drawn lots to determine their matchups.
Surprisingly, after the brutal showdowns of the previous round, this set of matches was relatively straightforward. Spirit Hall Academy, Shrek Academy, and Divine Wind Academy had each drawn opponents of decent but not overwhelming strength.
Naturally, all three teams secured victory.
What surprised Lin Jie was that Shrek Academy's opponent this round turned out to be Tianshui Academy again.
Though the girls of Tianshui Academy knew they couldn't win with their current strength, they still stepped onto the stage with their heads held high.
Shui Bing'er had grown significantly stronger since the preliminaries and the qualifying rounds. Her Spirit Power had even reached Rank 44. Her teammates had improved as well.
From the start of the match, Shui Bing'er gave it her all. She knew that if they didn't fight with full strength, they might be defeated instantly.
Lin Jie had always admired Shui Bing'er. She was strong, gentle, and kind-hearted. Out of respect, he refrained from using excessive force or hurting them.
As expected, Tianshui Academy lost.
Yet none of them felt particularly upset. Given their current capabilities, making it into the top six had already far exceeded their expectations.
As they left the stage, Shui Bing'er walked over to Lin Jie with a warm smile.
"Lin Jie, I hope I get to hear the news that you've won the championship," she said softly. For some reason, her instincts told her he would.
Lin Jie returned her smile. "You will. And I hope that the next time we meet, your ice will have evolved even further."
"Ice... evolved further…" Shui Bing'er murmured. She suddenly remembered that during the preliminaries, Lin Jie had also used ice abilities. Back then, because of the nature of her own power, the audience hadn't noticed—but she had seen it clearly.
And Lin Jie's ice... seemed even stronger than her own.
But Lin Jie's Martial Soul was supposed to be lightning. So why could he control ice?
Could it be…?
A single word flashed through her mind—"Dual…"
She almost said it out loud, but the moment she opened her mouth, Lin Jie subtly raised a finger to his lips.
She stopped herself mid-sentence and stared at him in disbelief.
"You're really…?" she asked quietly.
Shui Bing'er was the type of girl anyone would naturally have a fondness for. Strong, yet gentle and kind. Lin Jie was no exception.
He smiled faintly. "Just think of it that way."
Even though she had suspected it, Lin Jie's words confirmed it. Yet she understood—if he hadn't wanted her to know, he wouldn't have revealed anything. This was clearly something he intended to keep secret.
But that raised another question in her heart. If it was such a secret, why had he let her find out?
She stared at Lin Jie, trying to read the answer in his eyes.
Meanwhile, her teammates watched silently as their captain stared fixedly at Lin Jie.
They exchanged glances and nodded to each other in mutual understanding.
As they walked off the stage, the girls' eyes all landed on Shui Bing'er.
She seemed... distracted.
Her younger sister, Shui Yue'er, couldn't help teasing her. "Sis, what's with you? You've been zoning out ever since the match ended. Don't tell me... you're thinking about someone?"
They all knew exactly who she meant. After all, Shui Bing'er had spent quite a bit of time staring at Lin Jie just now.
"W-What are you saying? Who would I be thinking about?" Shui Bing'er replied, flustered, giving her sister a light tap on the head.
"Oh, please. You were staring straight at Lin Jie just now. Don't try to deny it!" Shui Yue'er grinned cheekily. "You've been out of it ever since. If that's not thinking about him, what is it?"