"Looks like it's my turn."
Yu Feng stood from his seat and strode onto the field.
Perhaps anticipating that Huo Wu wouldn't be able to defeat Yang Yunhai and that Yunhai would continue to fight after his victory, Blazing Academy sent out their second fighter, a Soul Elder with flying ability—Huo Yun.
Soul Elder against Soul Ancestor, the result was obvious.
Yu Feng relied on his overwhelming speed advantage. Using his third soul skill, a wide-area attack, he broke Huo Yun's stance, then followed up with his first soul skill, Wing Blade, to secure an easy victory.
After that, Huo Yu, a Soul Elder, stepped onto the field.
This match dragged on a little longer.
Though Yu Feng had the speed advantage, Huo Yu's wide-area flame attacks were troublesome. The two tangled for a while until Yu Feng had no choice but to use his newly gained fourth soul skill, which he had intended to keep hidden—Feather Storm.
This skill could target a single opponent or multiple enemies. Yu Feng condensed soul power into feathers, each tipped with compressed wind element, and flapped his wings to launch them.
The wind element provided thrust, giving the feathers incredible speed and destructive power.
Against Huo Yu, Yu Feng released it in a wide-area barrage.
"Fourth Soul Skill, Flaming Crane Inferno!" Unable to dodge, Huo Yu was forced to use a wide-area counterattack.
Wind fed fire. The flaming spheres and the storm of feathers collided midair, waves of scorching heat surging outward.
As the fiery waves filled Yu Feng's sight, he quickly cut off his skill and darted aside with his speed, narrowly dodging the incoming flames.
He flared his wings, whipping up a fierce gale. "Third Soul Skill, Windstorm!"
The flames rolled backward with the wind, surging toward Huo Yu.
"Third Soul Skill, Flaming Crane Clone!" With nowhere to dodge, Huo Yu had no choice but to block head-on.
Bang!
The flaming crane met the gale, bursting into flame clouds. The fiery tide ahead stalled, but from the side, a dark blur broke through the waves of fire—Yu Feng, his body wrapped in wind, wings glowing like blades.
His face was pale, soul power nearly spent.
He was too fast. Huo Yu had no time to react, no chance to cast a skill. He could only cross his arms and fold his wings to defend.
Thud!
The wing-blade struck Huo Yu's fire wings. Both were sent plummeting.
Boom!
They hit the ground hard. Huo Yu coughed blood and fainted on the spot.
Yu Feng, drained of soul power, was thrown by the rebound force, tumbling across the dirt before collapsing unconscious.
"Lingling," Yang Yunhai called softly, rushing forward.
Purple light bloomed. Petals drifted through the air, falling onto Yu Feng and Huo Yu alike.
"Thank you," Huo Wushuang said quickly, hoisting his unconscious teammate from the field.
"They're all blooded sons of the Heaven Dou Empire," Xue Ye stroked his beard, smiling. "With citizens like this, how could our empire not rise?"
"Exactly, Your Majesty," the ministers behind him echoed.
Ning Fengzhi also nodded with a faint smile.
Behind him, Meng Shenji beamed with pride. Most of Heaven Dou Royal Academy's nobles were pampered and soft; what they lacked most was the will to fight to the very end. Yu Feng had just set the standard.
His gaze naturally fell on Yang Yunhai.
He knew Yu Feng's character—once lazy and carefree. But ever since Yang Yunhai took over training, everything changed. Yang Yunhai was the model, inspiring those around him.
The team had reached this stage largely thanks to him.
Even the academy itself benefited. Yang Yunhai had led them to an undefeated streak in the preliminaries, boosting morale across the entire school. Countless students now felt proud to be under the same banner as his team. The academy's atmosphere had transformed.
With such a dominant battle team, who would dare slack off?
The match continued. Next were Oslo and Huo Lie.
Huo Lie was only a Soul Elder, naturally no match for Oslo, who had already reached Soul Ancestor. However, Oslo's Ghost Leopard was a darkness-attribute spirit, inherently restrained by fire. The battle had some twists, and Oslo spent considerable soul power before winning.
Then Huo Wushuang stepped in. Oslo lost and withdrew.
Zhu Zhuqing entered next.
"First Soul Skill, Explosive Fireball!" Against an agility-type, Huo Wushuang opened with the same tracking fireball he'd used against Oslo.
But then he saw what true speed looked like.
"First Soul Skill, Hell Rush Stab!" Zhu Zhuqing tapped the ground, her claws flashing. Her speed doubled. "Ghost Shadow Perplexing Step!" Her form blurred, vanishing past the fireball.
In a blink, she was at his chest.
The fireball couldn't even catch her shadow.
"So fast—" Huo Wushuang's scalp prickled.
"Third Soul Skill, Tyrant Dragon's Wrath! Second Soul Skill, Explosive Fire Fist!" He swung, flame surging. But he struck only an afterimage.
Bang!
A kick slammed his abdomen, sending him flying.
'What power! Was this really an agility-type?' His mind reeled.
Another kick struck his back.
"This speed is absurd!" Students in the stands shivered, especially agility- and support-types.
Zhu Zhuqing's black shadow streaked around him, her claws leaving bloody lines. A kick to the stomach hurled him away again.
He staggered upright, clutching his neck where blood beaded. His face drained pale.
"I admit defeat," he said through clenched teeth, turning to the referee. "There's no need to continue. We surrender."
Their team only had two support-types left. Sending them out would be pointless.
It was a clean loss.
At least it wasn't a total wipeout, and no one was seriously injured. Better than Shrek's disaster.
What a limitless future… Ning Fengzhi sighed as he watched Zhu Zhuqing walk off.
If only I'd sent Rongrong to Heaven Dou Royal Academy instead.
Under Yunhai's guidance, Zhu Zhuqing had grown from a Soul Grandmaster to a Soul Ancestor with a 10,000 year ring in under two years. His Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan had no shortage of soul bones. With Yunhai's training, Ning Rongrong could have reached a similar level. Instead, at Shrek, she was still only rank 32. The gap was enormous.
He couldn't help but feel regret.
The battles wound down.
Near the end, Yu Feng stirred awake. He shot upright and patted his face nervously.
"Thank goodness, not disfigured! My handsome face is safe!" he exclaimed with relief.
He still remembered the sting of scraping across the dirt.
"..." His teammates were speechless.
How can someone be this vain?
Thanks to Lingling's healing, Yu Feng had been treated on the spot rather than sent to the medical wing.
"You did well," Dugu Yan said with a smile.
"Not bad," Yu Feng puffed up his chest, tilting his chin.
The familiar arrogance was back. For a moment, his teammates had actually thought he'd become a real man.
"Let's keep watching," Yang Yunhai chuckled.
Soon, the day's matches ended. Shrek's team left in silence.
Heaven Dou Royal Academy's group returned laughing and chatting.
Blazing Academy walked off quietly. Huo Wu glanced once at Yunhai's back, her lips pressed tight, eyes dim, and said nothing.
(End of Chapter)
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