Huo Wu stared at the back of Feng Xiaotian as he turned to leave, remaining silent. Today, the things Feng Xiaotian had said and done truly gave her a very different impression.
After Feng Xiaotian stepped off the stage and came to stand beside Yun Ming, he didn't speak, just remained there in a breezy, nonchalant manner, striking a pose as if being extraordinary was just his everyday state.
Seeing Feng Xiaotian like this, Yun Ming really wanted to remind him if he had forgotten something, but the referee spoke first.
"Empire Academy team, Feng Xiaotian, eliminated. Please have the next student come up to compete."
Huh?!
"Holy crap!"
Hearing the referee's words, Feng Xiaotian broke his composure.
After finishing his match earlier and showing off, he had been a bit nervous about Huo Wu's reaction and had momentarily forgotten that he was currently in the Promotion Tournament. Leaving the arena directly like that meant he was eliminated!
Oscar, Gong Ming, and the others really wanted to laugh, but considering that Feng Xiaotian's pursuit of love was truly not going smoothly, they decided not to tease him in front of Huo Wu for the sake of his image.
Yun Ming looked at the dumbfounded Feng Xiaotian and shook his head; this kid had dropped the ball again. However, the competition had to continue, so Yun Ming said casually.
"Yang Yi, you go!"
Yang Yi received the order and stepped onto the arena.
When Huo Wu saw Yang Yi step onto the stage opposite her, she directly conceded and left the field, and Huo Wushuang from Blazing Academy came out.
When the two academies clashed last time, Huo Wushuang had already witnessed Yang Yi's strength; if anyone else went up, there would likely be no possibility of winning.
The two stepped onto the stage, and the Soul Fighting began.
Yang Yi summoned his Soul Breaking Spear, and Huo Wushuang activated his Unicorn Fire Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul Avatar, the two charging straight at each other.
Fists flew and spears thrust, making for a lively exchange. Unlike Huo Wu, who was a Control System Soul Master, Huo Wushuang was, after all, a Power Attack System user, and his close-quarters combat ability was quite decent. The two clashed for dozens of moves before Yang Yi caught an opening and defeated him with a single spear strike.
The teams from the kingdoms and duchies belonging to Heaven Dou felt heavy-hearted seeing the Empire Academy send out another person to quickly defeat another prodigy of Blazing Academy. Yang Yi was quite a bit younger than Feng Xiaotian, yet his Soul Power cultivation was no weaker than his, which was already shocking enough, and he was also such a capable fighter—this made things hard for them to handle!
Huo Wushuang looked at the Soul Breaking Spear in front of him, feeling somewhat dejected. The gap in strength between the two sides was truly not small. Although he had relied on his Martial Soul's enhancement to endure for a long time with his thick skin, he had been suppressed throughout the entire match, seeing no hope of victory.
The others from Blazing Academy were also somewhat disappointed to see the current result; had their two strongest combatants been defeated by the Empire so easily?
Huo Wushuang stepped off the stage and looked at the dejected expressions of the others from Blazing Academy; he was wondering if he should announce a withdrawal. Simply going up to be abused didn't seem to have any purpose other than crushing their self-confidence.
But just then, someone from Blazing Academy stood up.
"Captain, let me go! I want to fight!"
Huo Wu looked at the Little Fatty in front of her, feeling somewhat surprised.
"Ma Hongjun, are you sure?"
Although Ma Hongjun of Blazing Academy had changed his personality somewhat, he hadn't changed so much that he had become someone who liked to meet challenges head-on. Huo Wu knew this, which was why she was surprised by Ma Hongjun's choice.
Ma Hongjun said with a firm expression.
"Big Sister Huo Wu, I'm sure!"
If he were fighting others, Ma Hongjun wouldn't go up knowing there was a high probability of losing, but the Empire was different.
This was Yun Ming's team; he could not retreat without a fight and fail the expectations his teacher Flender had for him.
Huo Wushuang looked at Ma Hongjun's attitude, and the question in his heart earlier found its answer, so he laughed loudly.
"Good! Worthy of being from my Blazing Academy, you can't be a coward!"
"Hongjun, you're up next!"
After receiving the captain's approval, Ma Hongjun stepped onto the arena and stood in front of Yang Yi.
Yang Yi didn't react much; seeing someone arrive, he raised his hand to summon his Soul Breaking Spear and was about to attack, but Ma Hongjun spoke first.
"Wait."
Hearing this, although Yang Yi didn't know what the other side wanted to do, he stopped and waited for a moment.
Seeing Yang Yi stop, Ma Hongjun looked at Yun Ming in the spectator area and said.
"Yun Ming, if I can defeat him, do you dare to step onto the stage?"
The other people from the Elemental Academies present were shocked to hear that Ma Hongjun actually wanted to challenge Yun Ming, who had completely defeated the Blue Tyrant Team at the opening ceremony.
In the previous Preliminary Round, the Blue Tyrant Academy led by Tang San had indeed defeated Blazing Academy. And before Tang San had his incident, the Blue Tyrant Academy even had a possibility of qualifying.
With such a reference point for comparison, they had a basic judgment in their hearts about how strong Yun Ming was; he should be even more powerful than the other main combat members of the Empire Academy. Now that Ma Hongjun was so brave right from the start, it was something Huo Wu and Huo Wushuang hadn't expected.
A female Soul Master from the Barak Kingdom asked Shui Yue'er beside her.
"Yue'er, is that Yun Ming very powerful? How does he compare to that Feng Xiaotian?"
When Shui Yue'er heard this question, her eyes lit up. She was interested in this topic, so she answered loudly.
"Yun Ming is incredibly powerful. Not only is his strength remarkable—he once defeated a powerful academy team all by himself—but he also managed to make my thick-headed sister fall deeply in love. You say he..."
Initially, Shui Binger was listening quite normally, but when she heard the part about her "falling deeply in love," her expression plummeted. She immediately raised her hand to cover her sister's mouth, suppressing the rumor-mongering sibling.
Shui Yue'er struggled for a bit, but she couldn't escape Shui Binger's clutches, and she sighed helplessly in her heart.
Big sister! You're so thin-skinned, when will I ever have a handsome brother-in-law? Without a brother-in-law, the sister-in-law...
Thinking of some things that were prone to causing misunderstandings, Shui Yue'er quickly hit the brakes.
No, that's not it, I'm overthinking this. I just want my sister to have a good home.
Yes, that's exactly it!
Although Shui Yue'er's statement had some strange elements mixed in, it let the other academies know the baseline strength of Yun Ming, causing them to gasp in shock. As expected of the captain of those two monsters from the Empire Academy.
Seeing Ma Hongjun wanting to challenge him, Yun Ming did not refuse.
"Fine. If you can beat Yang Yi, I'll accept your challenge."
Hearing this, Yang Yi looked at Ma Hongjun and frowned. He decided right then and there that he was going to give Ma Hongjun a good thrashing.
Who does Ma Hongjun think he is, acting so arrogant in front of him!
Feeling the chill emanating from ahead, Ma Hongjun, having received his response, refocused his target back onto the current duel.
Yang Yi said coldly.
"You don't stand a chance!"
Ma Hongjun replied.
"Is that so? Then let's put it to the test."
"Phoenix Avatar!"
A purplish-red radiance erupted from within Ma Hongjun's body. His hair transformed into a mohawk style, long feathers extended from his exposed, thick arms, and his hands morphed into claws.
Watching Ma Hongjun's transformation, Yang Yi raised his Soul Breaking Spear and thrust it forward fiercely.
Seeing this, Ma Hongjun stepped forward, attempting to disarm him with his bare hands.
Seeing the move had lost its momentum, Yang Yi retracted the spear and thrust again. Ma Hongjun swatted the Soul Breaking Spear away with his left hand and swiped at Yang Yi with his right, intending to engage in close-quarters combat.
However, Yang Yi had practiced the spear for many years and had the benefit of Yun Ming's guidance for over a year. It was somewhat delusional for Ma Hongjun to think he could restrict Yang Yi's spear technique by closing the distance.
Yang Yi moved with his spear, rotating his body half a circle to face Ma Hongjun sideways. He then rapidly retracted his Soul Breaking Spear Martial Soul to shed the inertia, summoned it again, and using the power from his waist, he moved with the spear to thrust once more at the center of Ma Hongjun's claw.
Sensing the sharp edge before his claw, Ma Hongjun's expression turned grave. They were too close, and he was struggling to dodge in time.
In his desperation, Ma Hongjun thought of the fire manipulation techniques he had learned at Blazing Fire Academy over the past year.
He sprayed Phoenix Evil Fire from his elbow, and the propulsion generated by the flames caused his claw strike to shift slightly, narrowly avoiding the edge of the Soul Breaking Spear. Although it caused a minor strain to Ma Hongjun's right hand, it was better than having his right arm pierced through by the Soul Breaking Spear.
Watching from the sidelines, Oscar saw Ma Hongjun's reaction and exclaimed in surprise.
"Fatty, you didn't waste your time at Blazing Fire Academy after all! You've actually improved!"
Back at Shrek Academy, Oscar had watched Ma Hongjun fight many times. In the past, when faced with such unavoidable attacks, he would either tank the damage or trade injury for injury; he had never used such nuanced evasion techniques.
Yun Ming watched Ma Hongjun's improvisation and felt it was decent—he had a bit of intuition. However, he was now more curious about how Yang Yi would respond.
Seeing Ma Hongjun dodge, Yang Yi immediately changed his tactics. He moved along with the Soul Breaking Spear to close the distance rapidly. Once close, he turned his right hand into a fist, using it like a spear, and struck at Ma Hongjun's chest and abdomen.
Ma Hongjun's footing was unstable, leaving him unable to counterattack. He instinctively raised his left hand to protect his chest, taking the brunt of Yang Yi's punch.
"Bang!"
As a practitioner of spear arts, Yang Yi had immense arm strength. Struck by the punch, Ma Hongjun felt a sharp pain in his left arm; he felt as if his bones were about to crack.
The fist slammed into Ma Hongjun's left arm and then hammered into his chest, sending him stumbling back several steps.
"Hiss!"
The pain made Ma Hongjun gasp instinctively. He hadn't thought much of it when watching Huo Wushuang fight Yang Yi earlier, but now that he had exchanged a few blows with him, he realized Huo Wushuang's close-combat ability was actually quite impressive to have lasted dozens of moves against that guy before falling.
Yang Yi had no intention of letting Ma Hongjun regain his stance. Seeing Ma Hongjun's unstable footing, he gave him no room to breathe. He rapidly retracted and redeployed his Soul Breaking Spear, adjusted his posture, and lunged at Ma Hongjun with another fierce thrust.
Seeing the dark, heavy spear shimmering with cold light coming at him again, Ma Hongjun's First Soul Ring lit up.
Ma Hongjun's First Soul Skill, Phoenix Fire Wire, was activated.
A stream of purplish-red flames erupted from Ma Hongjun's mouth, shooting straight at Yang Yi's face.
Yang Yi's eyes were focused. As his Soul Power surged, a dark black Spear Light shot out from the tip of the Soul Breaking Spear. The color of the light was still a bit faint and didn't look very condensed, but it still split Ma Hongjun's Phoenix Fire Wire in two.
Yun Ming watched the illusory Spear Light Yang Yi produced. While not entirely satisfied, he felt it was passable. At the very least, after practicing for over a year, Yang Yi was able to use it at the right moment.
However, this scene appeared quite extraordinary in the eyes of Chen Xin on the podium. Yang Yi was only sixteen, yet he had already touched upon the fringes of "intent"—five or six years earlier than he had. Although Yun Ming's guidance played a role, the realization was still something Yang Yi had achieved himself, which was equally rare.
Chen Xin sighed inwardly, Is this another genius on the level of Tang Hao?!
The people on the arena were unaware of the thoughts off-stage; the battle between Yang Yi and Ma Hongjun continued.
After piercing through the Phoenix Fire Wire, the remnants of Yang Yi's Soul Breaking Spear light continued to shoot toward Ma Hongjun.
With no other choice, Ma Hongjun's Third Soul Ring lit up.
Ma Hongjun's Third Soul Skill, Hōyoku Tenshō, was activated. The effect of the soul skill allowed Ma Hongjun to temporarily gain the ability to fly, while simultaneously igniting his Second Soul Skill, instantly increasing the power of his Phoenix Fire by 100% and expanding his attack range by 50%.
A pair of purplish-red flaming phoenix wings grew from Ma Hongjun's back. The wings folded inward, forming a flame shield to block the Spear Light.
"Pfft!"
Like a drop of water hitting a raging fire, the residual Spear Light struck the phoenix wing shield with a soft sound and was burned away completely.
Seeing the phoenix wings sprout from Ma Hongjun's back, Yang Yi cursed inwardly. His Soul Power erupted beneath his feet, and his figure turned into a white blur as he lunged toward Ma Hongjun.
But it was ultimately a step too late. After blocking the Spear Light, Ma Hongjun flapped his wings and soared into the sky.
Yang Yi flicked his Soul Breaking Spear upward, but only struck a remnant of Phoenix Evil Fire.
Flapping his wings, Ma Hongjun spiraled upward until he reached a suitable altitude, where he hovered in the sky and spoke solemnly to Yang Yi.
"You are very strong. In terms of close-quarters combat, I am indeed no match for you, but it remains to be seen who will emerge victorious in the end."
"Take this!"
As his voice fell, the second soul ring beneath Ma Hongjun's feet lit up.
Ma Hongjun activated his Second Soul Skill, Nirvana Phoenix.
With his second and third soul skills linked, the Phoenix Evil Fire on Ma Hongjun's body surged against the wind, and a clear, resonant phoenix cry erupted from within him.
At the same time, Ma Hongjun activated his First Soul Skill, Phoenix Fire Wire, once again.
A stream of phoenix flame, twice the diameter of the previous one, erupted from Ma Hongjun's mouth and surged directly toward Yang Yi on the ground.
"It's over." Seeing this, Yun Ming knew the entire course of the battle that would follow.
Since he couldn't win in close combat, he would transform into an aerial bomber, using high-altitude firepower to see if Yang Yi, a Tool Soul Master, could withstand his Phoenix Evil Fire.
Facing the evil fire raining from the sky, Yang Yi indeed had no great method other than to dodge; when he couldn't dodge in time, he would use his First Soul Skill, Zhen, to directly blast the incoming flames away momentarily.
Midway through, Yang Yi also tried to see if he could use his Spear Light to knock Ma Hongjun down from the sky. Unfortunately, Ma Hongjun was truly agile once airborne, moving in and out with ease, and Yang Yi simply couldn't hit him.
The subsequent battle entered a stalemate: one chasing, one fleeing, one raining fire, one dodging fire. It was a matter of whether Yang Yi would succumb to the terrifying high temperature of the surrounding Phoenix Evil Fire first, or if Ma Hongjun would exhaust his Soul Power first.
Watching this scene, Feng Xiaotian, Dugu Yan, and the others understood Yun Ming's earlier words: Ma Hongjun was destined to lose. The reason was simple: given that there were ways to defend against the attacks, Yang Yi was stronger than Ma Hongjun in both Soul Power and willpower, so Yang Yi would win.
The final result was indeed as they had anticipated.
Ma Hongjun, after all, was only a Soul Elder; using three soul skills non-stop consumed a massive amount of his Soul Power. He only managed to hold the stalemate for a few minutes before he fell from the sky like a grounded chicken.
His surface results were quite impressive; the entire arena had by now completely transformed into an Evil Fire Purgatory. It was just a pity that, in the end, he still failed to defeat Yang Yi.
At the center of the evil fire, a black ripple of Soul Power in the form of a Light Sphere was struggling to hold out. This was Yang Yi, who was still continuously activating his First Soul Skill, Zhen, to resist the surrounding flames with all his might.
Seeing Ma Hongjun fall, Yang Yi unleashed his First Soul Skill with full force, blasting away the surrounding flames, and launched his final stab toward Ma Hongjun.
The Soul Breaking Spear Light attached to the Soul Breaking Spear, tearing through the sea of fire and arriving before Ma Hongjun, thrusting straight toward his chest.
The Soul Breaking Edge sliced through Ma Hongjun's clothes, pricking a small drop of blood onto his chest.
Yang Yi said calmly.
"You lost."
ps: Wishing all you esteemed readers a happy Dragon Boat Festival!
Requesting monthly tickets and recommendations.
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Translated by: randomtranslator.com
Proofread by: DaoistReader