"Has he come on stage?"
Seeing Shui Wuhen step onto the arena, Hu Liena's expression immediately became serious.
Whether it was the intelligence provided by Spirit Hall, or what she had personally witnessed that day—Yan being casually frozen by Shui Wuhen—all of it proved that Shui Wuhen was an extremely terrifying opponent.
He might even be the greatest obstacle to Spirit Hall winning this tournament. How could she not be cautious?
Step~
In the next moment, Shui Wuhen returned to the arena. Ice-blue soul power surged around him, and Articuno was immediately summoned.
"Hmm~"
Appearing behind Shui Wuhen, Articuno glanced slightly at Hu Liena before flapping its wings and soaring into the sky.
Seeing this, Bibi Dong on the high platform revealed a look of interest.
So this is Shui Wuhen's martial soul, Articuno? It really is quite different from Yu Xiaogang's Luo Sanpao.
Then again, that makes sense. If they were the same, Shui Wuhen wouldn't have reached the Soul Emperor level at such a young age.
After summoning Articuno, Shui Wuhen looked at Hu Liena and said calmly, "You're not my opponent. Where is Qian Renxue? Call her out."
"Her Highness the Saintess has matters to attend to. She will appear in the finals."
Facing the immense pressure from Shui Wuhen, Hu Liena forced herself to respond.
"The match begins!"
As the referee gave the signal, Hu Liena launched the first attack.
Several soul rings on her body lit up instantly. A pink glow burst from her eyes, and the fox tails behind her swayed continuously, attempting to charm Shui Wuhen.
This was her only chance. If it came to pure strength, she was no match for him.
"How is this possible?"
However, after just a moment, a shocked expression appeared on Hu Liena's face.
She discovered that her spiritual attacks toward Shui Wuhen were like stones sinking into the sea, causing no ripples at all.
It was the first time she had encountered such a situation. Even Soul Emperor-level teachers would experience some degree of mental disorientation when facing her charm.
But Shui Wuhen showed no reaction whatsoever. This completely exceeded her expectations.
Just as Hu Liena was puzzled, Shui Wuhen's figure suddenly vanished from where he stood.
This discovery startled her. Just as she was about to defend, Shui Wuhen's voice came from behind her.
"Just concede. You're too weak. I have no desire to fight you."
Hearing this, Hu Liena's pupils shrank. Her fox tails immediately hardened and lashed toward Shui Wuhen.
"Stubborn!"
Shui Wuhen raised his brow. Without hesitation, he infused extreme cold soul power into his right leg and spun into a kick.
In the next instant, Hu Liena's fox tails shattered, and Shui Wuhen's right leg turned into a streak of icy blue light, striking her directly.
"Pfft~"
Hu Liena was hit heavily, spitting out a mouthful of blood. Her body flew like a kite with a broken string and crashed heavily off the arena.
"Boom!"
Upon impact, the tremendous force caused her to spit out another large mouthful of blood. Her consciousness blurred, and she slowly closed her eyes.
"Nana!" ×2
Seeing this, Yan and Xie Yue cried out in alarm and quickly rushed to her side using their soul power.
Shui Wuhen withdrew his leg and calmly waited for the next opponent.
Although Hu Liena was a Soul King who specialized in spiritual power and did not have a strong physical body, he had not used any powerful techniques just now and had controlled his strength. She would be fine.
The red-clothed bishop serving as referee snapped out of his daze and quickly announced:
"Spirit Hall's Hu Liena versus Tianshui Academy's Shui Wuhen—Shui Wuhen wins. Next, Shrek Academy's students, please come onto the stage."
As soon as these words were spoken, Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun instinctively exchanged glances.
Tang San was meant to go last, and Zhu Zhuqing had already fought earlier. That meant the next to go would be them.
But after witnessing Shui Wuhen's brutal display, neither of them wanted to step onto the stage to face his terrifying strength.
Who knew if Shui Wuhen might treat them like roadside trash and kick them to death?
"How about… we just concede? Anyway, in one-on-one fights, we're no match for Spirit Hall or Tianshui Academy!"
After a long pause, Ma Hongjun scratched his head and spoke.
Dai Mubai nodded in agreement. "I think that works. If we get injured, it might affect our performance in the upcoming team battle."
Hearing this, Flender rubbed his temples. The opponent was so strong that his little monsters had lost their fighting spirit.
Yu Xiaogang also looked toward Tang San and asked, "Xiao San, what do you think?"
Although he already had an answer in mind, he still wanted to hear Tang San's opinion.
After thinking for a moment, Tang San replied, "Teacher, I think we should concede. Not to mention Spirit Hall still has two Soul Kings and that unfathomable Saintess Qian Renxue—even Shui Wuhen alone is someone we absolutely cannot defeat.
And only one team can win the individual matches. In this situation, Shrek's chances of advancing are practically zero. Since that's the case, we might as well let Tianshui and Spirit Hall clash. If they get injured, we can reap the benefits later."
Hearing this, Yu Xiaogang smiled slightly. "Master and disciple think alike."
Immediately, Yu Xiaogang raised his hand and shouted to the red-clothed bishop on the stage, "Shrek Academy concedes!"
"Concedes?"
The referee bishop froze for a moment, then nodded. "Since Shrek Academy has conceded, they are the first to be eliminated from the individual matches. Next to take the stage will still be Spirit Hall's team."
At the same time, Xie Yue and the others below the stage realized that although Hu Liena's injuries looked serious, they were not actually severe. They all let out a sigh of relief.
Immediately afterward, Yan's gaze suddenly shot toward Shui Wuhen on the stage, and he cursed angrily in his heart:
"Damn Shui Wuhen, how dare he injure Nana like this!"
In Yan's view, Hu Liena had rarely been injured even within Spirit Hall. Yet Shui Wuhen, an outsider, dared to harm her—this was absolutely unforgivable.
If he could, Yan would have liked nothing more than to skin and flay Shui Wuhen alive and make him suffer every punishment imaginable.
But the previous incident had already taught him that he could do nothing to Shui Wuhen. So no matter how angry he was, he could only seethe inwardly.
At this moment, Xie Yue took a deep breath and said to Yan, "Yan, I'll go next."
"I understand."
After staring at Xie Yue for a moment, Yan nodded.
The Pope was still watching from above. As the Golden Generation of Spirit Hall, they could not surrender without fighting like Shrek. Where would that leave Spirit Hall's dignity?
Therefore, even knowing they were no match for Shui Wuhen and that this battle was destined to be lost—they still had to step onto the stage!