The battlefield had grown strangely quiet.
Fragments of frost still clung to the shattered stone floor where Meng Hongchen's ice had spread moments earlier. Burn marks from Ma Xiaotao's phoenix flames cracked across the arena surface like dark veins running through the marble.
The final exchange of the match had ended.
But the battle itself had not.
At the center of the arena, golden threads of light still floated through the air.
Han Ruoruo stood there, breathing steadily.
Her Dazzling Golden Rope Martial Soul filled the battlefield like a web of radiant chains, each strand glowing with restrained spiritual power. The ropes shifted continuously, adjusting positions and angles with subtle movements of her fingers.
Even after so long—
Her control remained precise.
Across from her, the Sun Moon team had stopped advancing.
Not because they couldn't.
But because the battlefield had already reached its conclusion.
Han Ruoruo understood that.
And so did Lin Huang.
She looked at him across the arena.
"You were holding back."
It wasn't anger.
Just calm realization.
Lin Huang didn't answer.
But the silence itself said enough.
Behind him, Xu Tianzhen lowered her bow slightly.
"…Still not done?"
Ma Xiaotao rolled her shoulders.
"She's stubborn."
Ji Juechen rested his sword across his shoulder, observing the battlefield quietly.
Meng Hongchen frowned slightly.
"She's preparing another formation."
Indeed—
The golden ropes began weaving again.
Not to attack.
But to lock down the battlefield one last time.
A final gamble.
And that was when Honghong moved.
The small fox spirit jumped from Lin Huang's shoulder.
She landed softly on the arena floor.
For a moment—
She simply stood there.
Ten cerulean tails swaying behind her.
Then her head slowly turned.
Her eyes scanned the battlefield.
Not as a fighter.
But as a judge.
Honghong's perception was not the same as a human soul master.
Ancient beasts possessed instincts that surpassed ordinary spiritual senses.
They could perceive intent.
The difference between purity and corruption.
Between life and decay.
Between good and evil.
And through their bond—
Lin Huang felt it as well.
A faint ripple passed through his perception.
Several presences within the stadium carried something wrong.
Twisted.
Malignant.
Hidden.
Honghong's gaze lingered briefly toward the stands.
"…Hmph."
Then she turned back toward the battlefield.
The air suddenly changed.
Cerulean energy began gathering around her body.
Not violent.
But ancient.
Pure.
The pressure spread slowly across the arena.
The spectators felt it instantly.
"Wait—"
"The fox—!"
"It's gathering energy!"
Xu Tianzhen blinked.
"…What is she doing?"
Meng Hongchen narrowed her eyes.
"That's not normal spirit power."
Honghong's tails rose behind her.
One.
Two.
Three.
Until all ten cerulean tails were fully spread.
Energy condensed rapidly.
The air itself vibrated.
Then—
Honghong opened her mouth.
A sphere of blinding blue energy formed instantly.
For a fraction of a second—
The entire stadium froze.
Then the fox fired.
KITSUNE BLAST
A beam of cerulean light erupted across the arena.
The blast tore through the battlefield like a falling star.
Han Ruoruo's golden rope formation shattered instantly as the energy wave crashed into the center of the arena.
The shockwave swept across the battlefield.
Not lethal.
But overwhelming.
Several members of the Shrek team were thrown off their feet as the remaining defensive structures collapsed completely.
The attack stopped just short of the arena barrier.
Controlled.
Precise.
Intentional.
Silence followed.
For a heartbeat—
No one moved.
Then the referee stepped forward immediately.
His voice thundered across the stadium.
"Shrek Academy can no longer continue!"
He raised his arm.
"Victory goes to—"
The projection arrays ignited across the sky.
"Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy!"
The stadium erupted.
Thousands of spectators rose to their feet as cheers exploded across the massive arena.
High above the battlefield, the giant projection arrays displayed the victorious team.
SUN MOON ACADEMY — CHAMPIONS
Honghong landed lightly on the ground.
"…Hmph."
She trotted back across the battlefield and leapt onto Lin Huang's shoulder.
Lin Huang sighed quietly.
"…Impatient."
One cerulean tail flicked behind him.
Honghong looked completely satisfied.
But while the stadium celebrated—
Lin Huang's gaze slowly lifted toward the stands.
Toward the sections Honghong had looked at earlier.
Now he could feel it clearly.
Several presences.
Hidden.
Watching.
Waiting.
The fox had already sensed them.
And soon—
They would reveal themselves.
The tournament had ended.
But the real battle—
Was about to begin.
The roar of the stadium did not fade quickly.
Even minutes after the referee had announced the final result, the enormous arena continued to tremble with the excitement of tens of thousands of voices speaking at once.
Above the battlefield, the massive projection arrays continued replaying the final moments of the match.
Honghong's cerulean Kitsune Blast appeared again across the floating screens—an arc of blue light tearing across the arena and shattering the final defensive formation of Shrek Academy.
Each replay triggered another wave of reactions from the crowd.
"That fox spirit—!"
"It destroyed the formation instantly!"
"I've never seen a spirit like that before!"
"Is it really his martial soul?!"
At the center of the battlefield, the Sun Moon team had already gathered together again while technicians began stabilizing the damaged arena floor.
Ma Xiaotao twirled her spear once before resting it against her shoulder.
"That was dramatic."
Xu Tianzhen glanced sideways at Lin Huang.
"You didn't tell us she was going to end the match like that."
Lin Huang shrugged.
"She does what she wants."
Honghong flicked one of her tails in agreement.
"…Hmph."
Meng Hongchen looked up at the projection screens where the replay was playing again.
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"You didn't even need to fight."
Lin Huang didn't answer.
Which only made her sigh.
"…Ridiculous."
Nearby, Ning Tian calmly observed the surrounding stadium while the light of her Nine Treasure Glazed Pagoda slowly faded.
"Your fox just became the most talked about spirit in the entire tournament."
Xu Tianzhen smirked.
"She already was."
Not far away, members of Shrek Academy regrouped near the edge of the battlefield.
Some of the younger students looked shaken.
Not simply because they had lost—
But because of the overwhelming difference they had just witnessed.
Wu Ming crossed her arms while staring at the center of the arena.
"…So that's their real level."
Ling Luochen nodded slowly.
"And they still weren't fighting seriously."
Chen Zifeng let out a quiet breath.
"This wasn't a normal tournament team."
Han Ruoruo stood silently beside them.
Her golden ropes had fully disappeared now, leaving only faint traces of spirit power in the air.
She looked toward Lin Huang once more.
Then toward Honghong.
"…A fox spirit with ten tails."
Even after everything she had seen today—
That detail still lingered in her mind.
Across the stadium, the various delegations reacted in their own ways.
The tournament had ended.
But the impact of the result was only beginning to spread.
In one of the imperial viewing sections, Princess Xu Jiujiu leaned slightly forward in her seat.
Her silver hair shifted gently as she studied the battlefield below.
Her team stood behind her in silence.
After a moment she spoke quietly.
"They weren't fighting seriously."
Shen Ce blinked.
"…You're sure?"
Xu Jiujiu nodded slowly.
"Yes."
Her eyes remained fixed on the center of the arena.
"That fox spirit alone could have ended the match much earlier."
Not far away, Yu Tianlong rested his arms on the railing while watching the battlefield.
His gaze drifted briefly toward Qiu'er.
Even at this distance—
He could still feel the faint pressure of her draconic aura.
"…That woman."
One of his teammates asked quietly,
"The one with golden hair?"
Yu Tianlong nodded.
"She hasn't even used her full strength yet."
In another section of the stadium, several academy elders whispered among themselves.
"Sun Moon Academy has changed."
"This generation is completely different."
"That masked boy…"
"He didn't even move during most of the match."
Back at the center of the battlefield, the Sun Moon team continued talking casually.
Xu Tianzhen stretched her arms behind her head.
"Well."
"Now we can finally relax."
Ma Xiaotao shook her head.
"You really think that?"
Xu Tianzhen raised an eyebrow.
"What?"
Ma Xiaotao didn't answer immediately.
Instead, she looked toward Lin Huang.
"…You've been quiet."
Lin Huang's gaze was not on the battlefield anymore.
It was directed upward.
Toward the towering stands of the stadium.
Toward the countless spectators still celebrating the tournament's conclusion.
But his crimson eyes had narrowed slightly.
Because the sensation Honghong had noticed earlier had not disappeared.
If anything—
It had grown clearer.
Several presences hidden within the crowd carried the same twisted spiritual signature.
Malignant.
Distorted.
Wrong.
Honghong shifted slightly on his shoulder.
Her tails moved slowly behind him.
She looked toward the stands again.
Her ears twitched.
"…They're here."
Lin Huang nodded almost imperceptibly.
"Yes."
Across the arena, the celebration of victory continued.
Spectators cheered.
Delegations discussed the results.
Technicians repaired the battlefield.
To everyone else—
The tournament had simply ended.
But hidden among the thousands of spectators—
Several figures began moving.
Quietly.
Slowly.
Waiting for the perfect moment.
And very soon—
The real battle would begin.
The celebration had not yet faded.
Across the colossal stadium, voices still echoed through the towering stands as spectators continued discussing the match. Projection arrays replayed the final moment again and again—Honghong's cerulean beam crossing the battlefield like a falling star.
To most people, the tournament had ended exactly as expected.
A champion had been crowned.
The arena technicians had already begun restoring the damaged sections of the battlefield with formation tools and repair arrays.
Everything looked normal.
But beneath that calm surface—
Something else had already begun.
Lin Huang stood at the center of the arena.
Honghong remained perched comfortably on his shoulder, her ten cerulean tails slowly swaying behind him.
His eyes were not on the technicians.
Nor on the celebrating spectators.
They were directed toward the upper sections of the stadium.
He could feel it clearly now.
Several presences.
Hidden among the thousands of ordinary spiritual signatures.
Wrong.
Not simply strong.
But distorted.
Corrupted.
Honghong's ears twitched again.
"…More."
Lin Huang nodded faintly.
"Yes."
Not far away, Ju Zi had also stopped watching the battlefield.
Instead, she held a thin metallic control tablet in her hand.
A faint formation interface glowed across its surface.
Lines of data moved rapidly across the screen.
Energy signatures.
Spatial markers.
Formation triggers.
Su Mei stood beside her, watching the readings.
"…How many?"
Ju Zi's eyes moved calmly across the interface.
"At least nine."
She paused briefly.
"…Three of them are extremely strong."
Su Mei's expression hardened slightly.
"Title Douluos."
Ju Zi nodded.
"Yes."
A few meters away, Ning Tian noticed the shift in their expressions.
"…What's happening?"
Ju Zi didn't immediately answer.
Instead, she tapped several commands across the formation interface.
The arrays hidden beneath the stadium began activating silently.
Deep below the arena floor, hundreds of small formation nodes responded to the signal.
Energy began flowing through the network.
Invisible.
Precise.
Waiting.
Ju Zi finally spoke quietly.
"They're here."
Xu Tianzhen blinked.
"…Who?"
Lin Huang answered before Ju Zi could.
"Master of the Evil Soul."
The tone of the entire group changed instantly.
The relaxed posture of the team disappeared.
Ma Xiaotao's hand tightened around her spear.
Meng Hongchen's staff lifted slightly.
Ji Juechen's sword slid slowly from his shoulder into his hand.
Tang Ya's eyes sharpened.
Jiang Nannan shifted her stance without a word.
Several members of Shrek Academy nearby had also noticed the sudden tension.
Han Ruoruo stepped forward slightly.
"…What's wrong?"
Lin Huang glanced toward her briefly.
"Mesters da Alma Maligna."
For the first time since the match ended—
Han Ruoruo's expression changed.
At that exact moment—
Ju Zi pressed the final command on the formation interface.
Her voice remained calm.
"Activating containment protocol."
Deep beneath the arena floor—
The formation awakened.
Across the entire stadium, countless hidden runic lines ignited silently beneath the stone.
Energy surged through the structure.
But the spectators didn't notice.
Because the formation was not targeting them.
It was targeting something else.
Within the crowded stands—
Several figures suddenly stopped moving.
One of them looked down at the floor beneath his feet.
"…What?"
Another tried to step toward the exit corridor.
But the hallway ahead shifted strangely.
The path curved.
Then bent again.
Then led back toward the central arena.
"An illusion formation?"
Another figure muttered darkly.
"Damn it."
Back in the arena, Ju Zi watched the formation readings stabilize.
"Grand Illusion Isolation Array."
Su Mei crossed her arms.
"…It's working?"
Ju Zi nodded.
"Yes."
Her eyes moved across the formation map.
"The array is locking onto malignant spiritual signatures."
"No one else is affected."
Lin Huang looked toward the stands again.
Now he could feel the reaction.
Confusion.
Anger.
And the sudden surge of killing intent.
"They realized."
Ju Zi allowed herself a small smile.
"They should have."
Honghong's tails spread slightly behind Lin Huang.
The faint cerulean aura around her body grew stronger.
"…They can't run."
Lin Huang nodded slowly.
"No."
His crimson eyes focused on the stands.
"They walked into the trap."
Around the stadium, several hidden figures finally abandoned their disguises.
Dark spiritual pressure erupted in multiple sections of the stands.
The first wave of killing intent spread across the arena like a cold wind.
Some spectators finally noticed.
"What—?"
"Did you feel that?!"
"Something's wrong!"
But the exits had already changed.
Corridors twisted.
Paths looped.
Every direction eventually led to the same place.
The center of the arena.
Back on the battlefield, Lin Huang exhaled slowly.
His voice was calm.
"They took the bait."
And within seconds—
The hidden enemies of the Holy Spirit Church would no longer remain hidden.
The real battle—
Was about to begin.
The first scream did not come from fear.
It came from confusion.
High in the western stands, several spectators suddenly felt the air grow heavy. The sensation spread like a ripple across the massive stadium, subtle at first, then impossible to ignore.
A few weaker soul masters instinctively looked around.
"Did you feel that?"
"What was that pressure?"
But the answer arrived almost immediately.
A burst of dark spiritual energy exploded from one of the seating sections.
A man who had looked like an ordinary merchant moments earlier suddenly stood upright as black mist erupted from his body. His disguise shattered like broken glass as rings of soul power rose around him.
Black.
Black.
Black.
Black.
Black.
Black.
Black.
Black.
Black.
Nine rings.
A Title Douluo.
Gasps spread across the surrounding spectators as several other figures rose from different parts of the stands, their auras erupting violently as their concealment techniques collapsed.
The air filled with distorted spiritual pressure.
Corrupted.
Twisted.
Malignant.
Back in the arena, Xu Tianzhen's eyes widened.
"…Three Title Douluos."
Ji Juechen corrected quietly.
"…No."
He lifted his sword slightly.
"Five."
More dark auras erupted across the stadium.
Not as powerful as the Title Douluos—
But still overwhelming.
Six additional figures revealed themselves among the stands, their own soul rings rising as they abandoned their disguises.
Contra Douluos.
The killing intent of the Holy Spirit Church finally flooded the stadium.
But before any of them could move—
The formation activated.
The entire arena trembled faintly.
From beneath the stone floor, countless thin lines of light ignited like a giant network spreading through the structure.
The Grand Illusion Isolation Array had fully awakened.
The first Title Douluo lunged toward the exit corridor.
He moved like a black shadow, attempting to escape the trap before it could fully stabilize.
But the hallway ahead twisted.
The corridor bent.
Then turned back toward the arena.
His expression darkened.
"…An illusion formation."
Another of the infiltrators tried to leap toward the upper structure of the stadium.
But the moment he reached the air—
The space itself seemed to shift.
His trajectory curved slightly.
Then redirected him directly back toward the arena floor.
Ju Zi watched the formation map calmly.
"They're contained."
Su Mei nodded slightly.
"The exterior array has activated as well."
Beyond the stadium walls, a second network of formation nodes had awakened across the surrounding streets.
Outer Illusion Containment Array.
Anyone carrying the twisted aura of the Holy Spirit Church would find every escape path looping endlessly back toward the combat zone.
The city itself had become a cage.
Inside the stadium, the infiltrators finally understood what had happened.
They had not infiltrated the tournament.
They had walked into a prepared battlefield.
The leader among them stepped forward slowly.
The pressure surrounding him grew heavier as his nine soul rings rotated behind him like dark planets.
Rank 95 Title Douluo.
His voice echoed coldly across the arena.
"…You were waiting for us."
Lin Huang stood calmly at the center of the battlefield.
Honghong remained perched on his shoulder, her cerulean aura flickering softly around him like a mantle of light.
"Yes."
The leader's eyes narrowed.
"…Arrogant."
Black energy gathered around his hand as his martial soul manifested.
A colossal shadow of a Blood Abyss Serpent rose behind him, its massive form twisting through the air like a creature born from nightmare.
Around him, the other infiltrators also prepared to fight.
A skeletal giant formed behind another Title Douluo as the White Bone Emperor martial soul awakened.
Dark winds spiraled around a third as the Abyss Raven appeared above him like a living storm.
Across the arena, the atmosphere changed instantly.
The difference between a tournament battle and a real fight became obvious.
Ji Juechen's aura sharpened.
Ma Xiaotao's phoenix flames ignited again.
Meng Hongchen's ice domain expanded across the arena floor.
Tang Ya's vines began rising silently from the ground.
Jiang Nannan's body blurred as spatial energy gathered around her.
Xu Tianzhen slowly drew her bowstring.
Ning Tian's Nine Treasure Glazed Pagoda appeared above her palm.
Even the Shrek students nearby felt the shift.
Wu Ming clenched her fists.
Ling Luochen whispered quietly,
"…This isn't a tournament anymore."
Han Ruoruo looked toward the battlefield.
"…No."
Her voice was steady.
"This is war."
Back at the center of the arena—
Lin Huang finally stepped forward.
Honghong's tails rose behind him.
Cerulean energy spread across his body like a flowing mantle.
The aura resembled a beast's cloak more than ordinary soul power.
Ancient.
Wild.
And terrifyingly calm.
The Rank 95 Title Douluo smiled coldly.
"…Good."
He lifted his hand slowly.
"Kill the geniuses."
The Contra Douluos moved first.
Six figures shot forward like black shadows diving toward the arena floor.
But before they could reach their targets—
Lin Huang raised his hand.
The air behind him distorted.
Dozens of shapes began forming.
Long.
Sharp.
Perfect.
Lances.
Made from pure spiritual energy.
Each one infused with the faint outline of elemental power.
Wind.
Lightning.
Flame.
Space.
Honghong's tails flicked slightly.
The cerulean aura around Lin Huang intensified.
And the battlefield finally erupted.
The real fight—
Had begun.
The moment the leader of the infiltrators gave the order—
The arena erupted.
Six figures moved at once, their auras exploding outward as the Contra Douluos of the Holy Spirit Church descended toward the battlefield like predators.
Their targets were obvious.
The young geniuses.
The future of the continent.
But before any of them could even reach the arena floor—
Lin Huang raised his hand.
The air behind him twisted.
Then it split.
One lance appeared.
Then another.
Then another.
Within seconds—
Dozens of spiritual lances floated behind him like a silent army.
Each weapon was forged from compressed soul power and shaped by pure intent of the spear.
Some carried faint lightning.
Others burned with quiet flame.
Several shimmered with distorted spatial energy.
And every one of them pointed toward the descending enemies.
The Rank 95 Title Douluo's eyes narrowed.
"…Spear intent."
Honghong's cerulean aura flared around Lin Huang's body.
The energy flowed outward like a mantle.
Not chaotic.
Not unstable.
It wrapped around him smoothly, forming a beastlike cloak of swirling blue light.
From behind him, ten faint energy tails extended outward.
The aura resembled something ancient.
Primal.
A fusion of soul power and the fox's Kitsune Essence.
Xu Tianzhen exhaled slowly as she felt the pressure rise.
"…He's finally serious."
Meng Hongchen gripped her staff tighter.
Ice crystals formed instantly across the arena floor.
"Good."
The first Contra Douluo lunged toward the battlefield.
A monstrous phantom bat appeared behind him as his martial soul erupted into existence.
His claws extended toward Jiang Nannan.
But he never reached her.
Lin Huang's hand moved slightly.
"Go."
The lances moved.
Not with explosive speed.
But with terrifying precision.
They shot forward like falling stars.
One lance pierced directly through the incoming Contra Douluo's defensive aura, sending him crashing violently into the arena wall.
Another intercepted a second attacker mid-air, detonating in a burst of lightning that forced the man back toward the ground.
A third lance curved through space itself, appearing suddenly behind another infiltrator and striking him from an impossible angle.
Chaos erupted instantly.
Ma Xiaotao surged forward like a comet of crimson fire.
Her phoenix spear ignited as she intercepted one of the remaining Contra Douluos.
The impact of flame and dark energy shook the arena floor.
Nearby, Meng Hongchen lifted her staff.
Her Ice Domain expanded outward.
The temperature across the battlefield plummeted.
Several towering constructs of enchanted ice formed instantly and charged toward the enemies.
Ji Juechen moved next.
His sword left its sheath with a quiet metallic sound.
Then he vanished.
When he reappeared—
His blade had already cut across the path of another infiltrator.
The clash of sword intent and corrupted soul power exploded into a shockwave of wind.
Xu Tianzhen drew her bowstring.
A sphere of brilliant sunlight condensed at the tip of the arrow.
"Solar Spear."
The arrow launched like a falling sun.
Tang Ya's vines erupted from the ground.
A massive wooden dragon formed instantly from the rising forest and slammed into one of the Contra Douluos trying to advance.
Jiang Nannan vanished.
Then reappeared behind another enemy.
Her twin daggers flashed like silver lightning as spatial energy rippled around her movements.
Across the battlefield—
The tone had completely changed.
This was no longer a tournament.
Every movement carried killing intent.
Every strike aimed to end the fight.
At the center of it all—
Lin Huang remained calm.
Honghong shifted slightly on his shoulder.
Her golden eyes scanned the battlefield.
Then she looked toward the three figures who had not yet moved.
The Title Douluos.
The Rank 95 leader stepped forward slowly.
His dark aura spread across the arena like poisonous fog.
"You think children can stop us?"
Before Lin Huang could answer—
Two figures stepped forward from opposite sides of the battlefield.
Qiu'er.
And Zhang Lexuan.
Qiu'er's golden hair moved slightly as her draconic aura erupted outward.
The pressure of the Golden Dragon bloodline filled the arena.
But mixed within that power—
Something else began to appear.
A faint radiance.
Pure.
Blinding.
Light.
Opposite her, Zhang Lexuan raised her hand calmly.
Silver moonlight spread outward across the battlefield.
Her Moon Domain unfolded like a quiet night sky descending upon the arena.
The two remaining Title Douluos finally moved.
The Abyss Raven Douluo lunged toward Qiu'er.
The Bone Emperor Douluo advanced toward Zhang Lexuan.
Meanwhile—
The Rank 95 leader stopped directly across from Lin Huang.
The two stared at each other across the ruined arena.
Darkness gathered around the elder's body.
Blood-red energy pulsed like a living heartbeat.
Lin Huang didn't move.
The cerulean aura around him continued flowing quietly.
Dozens of remaining lances hovered silently behind him.
Honghong's tails swayed slowly.
The elder smiled coldly.
"…So you're their leader."
Lin Huang answered simply.
"Yes."
The man raised his hand.
Dark blood-energy spiraled upward as the colossal phantom of the Blood Abyss Serpent rose behind him.
"…Good."
His killing intent exploded outward.
"Then you die first."
Lin Huang finally stepped forward.
The lances behind him shifted.
The battlefield seemed to tighten around the two of them.
Around them, the arena had already descended into full battle.
But in that moment—
Every instinct in the stadium understood one thing.
The real fight…
Had just begun.