At that moment, Xie Xie felt his heart sink like a stone.
"I came to watch a show… and ended up as the main act," he thought bitterly.
Fang Yang, of course, understood perfectly—Gu Yue had refused to compete purely out of jealousy.
But now wasn't the time to dwell on it.
Winning this decisive match was the only thing that mattered.
"Begin!"
At Director Long Hengxu's command, tension crackled through the arena, the air itself thickening.
"Wulin, Xie Xie—one each. End this quickly!" Fang Yang ordered, voice laced with unwavering authority.
Xie Xie immediately understood—Fang Yang would need to appease Gu Yue afterward.
He cracked his knuckles, eyes sharpening with resolve.
Tang Wulin clenched his fists, Senior Sister's face flashing in his mind—his fighting spirit surging.
Across the arena, Class One's trio exchanged uneasy glances—faces paling.
"Are we just roadkill to them?!" Wei Xiaofeng snarled, fury burning in his eyes.
Before he finished speaking, he and Xie Xie lunged simultaneously, blurs of motion colliding like arrows in flight.
Beneath Wei Xiaofeng, two yellow hundred-year soul rings flared.
Green soul power swirled around him as a jade-green snake emerged from his shoulder, its back sprouting translucent emerald wings, shimmering with ethereal light.
His body softened, limbs gaining serpentine flexibility, skin etched with pale green scale patterns, the transformation of his martial soul: Green Shadow Snake.
As an Agility-Attack Battle Soul Master, every movement dripped with snake-like grace and speed.
"Two rings?! I thought he was only one ring!"
"How is this possible?!"
Gasps erupted from the stands.
At Xie Xie's feet, two brilliant yellow soul rings now blazed—brighter than Wei Xiaofeng's.
His Light Dragon Dagger had shrunk slightly—but grew denser, sharper, etched with arcane runes that radiated terrifying pressure.
Class One's students paled. Teacher Ye Yingluo shot to her feet, unease flashing in her eyes.
The audience buzzed in shock.
Even Class Five students were stunned—they'd had no idea Xie Xie had secretly broken through to Soul Grandmaster!
BOOM!
Xie Xie and Wei Xiaofeng clashed.
Xie Xie's form became a golden streak, pressing forward with overwhelming force.
Fang Yang turned to the remaining two—Zhang Yangzi and Wang Jinxi.
"Wulin—control them."
"Got it!"
Tang Wulin surged into action. His yellow soul ring flared—
the Datura Snake soul spirit "Blue Light" appearing at his side.
Blue Silver Grass erupted from his palms like living azure serpents, surging toward the enemy.
Zhang Yangzi and Wang Jinxi didn't hesitate, one summoned a Shadow Phantasm Eagle, the other awakened his Bone Dragon King martial soul.
Two yellow soul rings ignited.
Wang Jinxi's skeletal frame swelled grotesquely, bones jutting like a giant living skeleton.
Black energy erupted from him—deflecting Blue Silver Bind.
"A darkness-attribute martial soul?" Tang Wulin frowned at the chilling aura.
Fang Yang's lips curled. "Darkness attribute? Interesting."
Before the words faded—orange-red flame bloomed in his palm.
This was his refined Heavenly Flame—the perfect fusion of Xuanhuang Flame and Myriad Beast Spirit Flame.
The moment it manifested, the arena's dark energy receded like a tide.
Wu Zhangkong's pupils contracted slightly.
"This flame… has undergone a qualitative leap!"
"What is this flame?!" Zhang Yangzi and Wang Jinxi cried in unison.
Flame naturally countered darkness—but this fire's overwhelming pressure shattered their confidence.
"How can we fight this?!" Zhang Yangzi paled, turning to Wang Jinxi.
Wang Jinxi gritted his teeth. "I'll hold him off—you find an opening!"
Fang Yang gave them no breathing room.
His first purple soul ring flashed.
A delicate fire lotus formed in his hand.
"First Soul Skill: Fire Lotus Explosion!"
With a light toss, the lotus hurtled toward them, brimming with apocalyptic energy.
"Yangzi—watch out!" Wang Jinxi roared, channeling his Bone Dragon King's full power.
The moment the lotus struck—
BOOOOM!
Blinding light erupted.
A shockwave of fire engulfed the arena…
Moments later, Zhang Yangzi supported a gravely wounded Wang Jinxi, both barely standing.
Wang Jinxi's Bone Dragon King martial soul withered under the Heavenly Flame's heat, its dark aura nearly extinguished.
"Surrender. You have no chance," Fang Yang stated calmly.
Overwhelming strength and elemental suppression had sealed Class One's fate.
The crowd—students, teachers, even Long Hengxu—stared in awe.
"Such power… millennium soul rings… Are these really Class Five students?!"
"Director Long!" a teacher blurted. "Did you really sort them into Class Five?! These three don't belong there!"
Long Hengxu gaped, speechless.
How could he explain? He was doomed to fail.
"Ahem!" He cleared his throat, smoothly shifting blame. "All credit to Teacher Wu's exceptional teaching! Take your questions to him!"
Wu Zhangkong merely glanced at Long Hengxu—saying nothing.
His eyes returned to the arena, flickering with quiet approval.
The outcome was obvious—Fang Yang's trio would win.
Class One's duo, their martial souls countered, had no hope of resistance.
Even their prized darkness attribute had been effortlessly neutralized.
Yet—
Zhang Yangzi suddenly lifted his head, eyes blazing with defiance.
"We haven't lost yet!" he spat through clenched teeth.
Wang Jinxi hesitated. "Are you sure? The backlash might—"
"I carry Class One's honor—I won't surrender!" Zhang Yangzi declared.
Wang Jinxi took a deep breath—and nodded firmly.
Their dark auras surged, then—merged under everyone's gaze…
"Martial Soul Fusion Skill: Dark Dragonhawk!"
"Wulin—stay behind me!" Fang Yang commanded.
In the next instant, his third black soul ring ignited.
"Third Soul Skill: Flame Avatar!"
Heavenly Flame erupted from his body, coalescing into a towering avatar of pure flame—
intercepting the fused martial soul's strike with absolute authority.
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