"Teacher Wu, please let me take this match." Xu Yucheng stepped forward, his voice steady.
Wu Zhangkong's cold gaze fell upon him, and he nodded slightly.
"Alright."
No unnecessary words—a single word of approval was sufficient.
Xu Yucheng spoke no more. His figure flashed, landing on the Sparring Arena, facing Mo Jue from across the stage.
Seeing both sides in position, Cai Yue'er delayed no further and announced in a clear voice: "Third match, begin!"
The third one-on-one match erupted instantly.
Xu Yucheng had a thin physique, his face pale from long absence of sunlight. A pair of gray eyes were hollow and cold.
In his hand, he gripped an enormous scythe. The handle was three meters long, the blade over one meter and a half, inscribed with countless dark purple, eerie patterns.
Just one glance at it, and it seemed as if even one's soul would be drawn in and devoured.
The light around Mo Jue's body clearly grew dim. She stepped forward slowly; with each step, the darkness surrounding her deepened several degrees.
Five purple soul rings slowly rose from beneath her feet, emitting heart-palpitating light.
Pieces of black feathers appeared among her long hair, spreading along her hair to her front. The aura around her body also grew increasingly viscous.
Black Swan—this was Mo Jue's martial soul.
Swans had always been very noble creatures among spirit beasts. Most swan-type spirit beasts excelled in healing abilities.
Among the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts, there was one known as the Emerald Swan, whose cultivation ranked among the top of the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts.
However, Mo Jue's Black Swan martial soul did not excel in healing but rather in various curses and long-range attacks as a power-type battle soul master.
At this moment, the dark aura swirling around her continuously expanded, enveloping the entire arena in her curse.
The enormous scythe in Xu Yucheng's hand trembled slightly, the dark purple patterns glowing with ghostly light, forming a confrontation with Mo Jue's curse aura.
Mo Jue raised her right hand. The first soul ring on her body flashed, and she pointed her right hand toward Xu Yucheng through the void.
Instantly, a bizarre scene appeared—a massive black skull materialized out of thin air and flew straight toward Xu Yucheng.
At this moment, Xu Yucheng moved.
His figure flashed, and the scythe traced an arc through the air, splitting the black skull apart.
Dark purple blade light collided fiercely with curse energy.
After a thrilling exchange, Xu Yucheng ultimately won by a narrow margin over Mo Jue, securing victory in this one-on-one match.
Three consecutive victories—the momentum of the Grades 1 and 2 combined team instantly peaked.
Cheers and applause surged like tidal waves from their area.
On the Grade 3 side, with Mo Jue's defeat, the morale that had just been raised immediately crumbled.
It even became lower than before, the students' faces filled with dejection and disbelief.
Song Lin's expression had already reached its worst point. In contrast, Wu Zhangkong maintained his usual composed demeanor.
"Teacher Song, should we... continue fighting?" Wu Rui suddenly spoke up.
Song Lin frowned upon hearing this.
According to the competition format, there were still the two-on-two matches and the final team battle remaining.
But in their current state, could they really defeat this powerful combined team of Grades 1 and 2?
"Qiankun, what do you think?" Song Lin turned to Li Qiankun, class monitor of Grade 3, the most steady student on ordinary days.
Li Qiankun pondered briefly before slowly speaking: "Teacher Song, I suggest... we concede."
"Why?" Song Lin pressed.
"The opponent's strength is already no weaker than ours. We couldn't win in single battles; the team battle would likely be even harder to win."
Li Qiankun analyzed, "And look at those twin sisters on their side—they very likely possess a martial soul fusion technique."
Ye Wu couldn't help but interject, his face showing unwillingness: "Monitor, can't we just give it our all? The team battle might not be without opportunity!"
"Can you block a martial soul fusion technique?" Li Qiankun countered.
"This..."
Everyone fell silent upon hearing this.
They knew all too well the power of a martial soul fusion technique. If the opponent truly had this trump card, the result of the team battle was obvious.
"Do any of the rest of you have any thoughts?" Song Lin looked at the other competing students of Grade 3, her gaze sweeping across young faces filled with dejection.
"No."
The crowd responded in low voices, their faces filled with helplessness.
"Very well."
Song Lin took a deep breath and looked up toward the main platform. "Your Holiness Holy Spirit, we of Grade 3 concede and forfeit the remaining matches."
These words caused an uproar throughout the venue.
No one had expected that this highly anticipated grade challenge match would end prematurely with Grade 3 voluntarily conceding.
On the main platform, Holy Spirit Douluo Ya Li, Scarlet Dragon Douluo Zhuo Shi, Blazing Dragon Douluo Feng Wuyu, and the other Sea God Pavilion elders teaching in the outer court all showed expressions of surprise.
They truly had not expected Grade 3 to concede directly.
"Elder Cai."
Holy Spirit Douluo Ya Li spoke softly in indication.
Cai Yue'er nodded upon hearing this.
She stepped forward and announced in a clear voice that spread throughout the entire venue: "Grade 3 concedes. I declare that in this grade challenge match, the combined team of Grades 1 and 2 wins!"
"We won! We won!"
The area where the Grades 1 and 2 combined team was located instantly erupted in deafening cheers. Many students jumped up excitedly, high-fiving each other in celebration.
After the cheers subsided somewhat, Cai Yue'er spoke again. Her calm voice carried undeniable authority: "Quiet."
The entire venue instantly fell silent, all students' gazes focusing on this dean of Shrek Academy's outer court.
"I'll take this opportunity to announce something."
Cai Yue'er's face was expressionless, her gaze sweeping across the young faces below: "In light of the excellent performance of Grades 1 and 2 in this challenge match."
"The academy has decided to select a group of outstanding students from both grades to participate in an exchange study program to the Star Luo Continent in half a year."
"I hope you will redouble your efforts, continuously improve yourselves, and strive for slots to the Star Luo Continent. The duration of this exchange activity will be one year."
"Star Luo Continent?"
Most students showed expressions of curiosity and surprise.
As students who could enter Shrek Academy, few were unaware of the Star Luo Continent's existence, which was why they were all so astonished.
However, Fang Yang and the others appeared very calm—they had already obtained these slots long ago.
After Cai Yue'er finished announcing this matter, she left the venue with the various academy higher-ups.
The students remaining in place also began to disperse one after another.
The students of Grades 1 and 2 mostly had excitement and longing on their faces, while the Grade 3 students appeared somewhat dejected.
In the days that followed, the learning atmosphere throughout the outer court, especially among the students of Class 1, Grade 1, became better than that of any other grade.
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