On Arena No. 1, as Hu Liena fell unconscious under Zhu Zhuyun's precision hand strike during the illusion, the referee officially announced the result.
"Hu Liena has lost consciousness!"
"I declare the winner—Zhu Zhuyun!"
Meanwhile, over at another arena, Huo Wu and Shui Bing'er were locked in a fierce and relentless battle.
Neither side yielded an inch, both unleashing their ultimate moves!
It was an all-out bombardment, a dazzling dance of ice and fire.
In the end, with a thunderous explosion, the battle came to a close.
The crimson figure collapsed—victory went to the ocean-blue Shui Bing'er.
Now, only two finalists remained.
And the true highlight was about to begin.
The final showdown—Zhu Zhuyun VS Shui Bing'er!
The victor would become the champion of the inaugural Soul Contract Tournament and be forever recorded in history.
First place—a title of unmatched weight, no matter the context. And being the champion of the very first Soul Contract Tournament? That would be a lifetime's worth of glory.
In other words, this was the kind of bragging rights one could take to the grave.
Only a single arena remained at the center.
Zhu Zhuyun and Shui Bing'er stepped into it simultaneously. Their physical and spiritual states had already been restored to peak condition—personally healed to ensure the fairest possible match, keeping both fighters on equal footing.
"The final match of the Soul Contract Tournament—"
"Is about to begin."
"Contestants, prepare!"
As the referee's voice rang out, the two contestants stood poised for battle. At their feet, their respective cat and dog companions also bristled, fur standing on end and teeth bared!
"Battle—begin!"
The moment the words fell:
"Awoooo!!!"
Zhu Zhuyun's three-headed dog let out a synchronized roar. Immediately, the six eyes across its three heads began to glow with different lights.
The left head's eyes shimmered with pale green—Wind attribute.
The right head's glowed light blue—Water attribute.
The central head radiated violet—Lightning attribute.
Wind, water, and lightning—yet none of them matched the snowy white fur that so many had assumed meant ice. The deception in its appearance was truly extreme.
Most people, upon seeing the snow-white fur, would instinctively assume it was an ice-type beast. In truth, it was not. Zhu Zhuyun had always been happy to let that misconception persist, using it to mislead her opponents and catch them off guard at the critical moment.
Now, with the final battle upon her, she no longer needed to hold back. It was time for her three-headed dog, "Xiao San," to unleash its true power.
After all, with three heads, the beast naturally had more than just one use.
If it were just a standard Three-headed Flame Hound, that might be one thing. But this was a mutated version, where each head wielded a different elemental power. As for the mental illusions and hypnotic powers—those were just passive side effects of having three brains.
After all, most creatures only had one brain. Xiao San had three. So it was only natural its processing power and spiritual force were tripled. Combine that with extraordinary innate talent, and the gap between it and ordinary beasts was simply monstrous.
The gap was so vast that even someone like Hu Liena—renowned for her spiritual and illusory prowess—was instantly overwhelmed.
In past matches, Xiao San had been able to defeat most opponents with just its mental illusions.
But this was the finals—no room for half-measures. Zhu Zhuyun wasn't about to risk an upset just because she underestimated her opponent.
At the referee's shout, she immediately ordered Xiao San to go all out.
The right head launched a column of water skyward. The left head summoned fierce winds to scatter the water into mist. And then, the central head released a burst of lightning to ignite it all.
BOOM!
With the fusion of the three attributes, mist met wind to form dark clouds, and lightning lit them ablaze—dense storms and thunder roiled in the skies above.
Just like that, they created a torrential thunderstorm.
A crushing pressure surged down from all directions!
Shui Bing'er's expression changed. She could feel herself being suppressed.
This should've been her battlefield—stormy weather filled with rain and lightning! Yet somehow, she found herself completely outmatched. She'd hoped to capitalize on the environment for a comeback… but clearly, she'd been too optimistic.
The entire arena was now cloaked in stormclouds, lightning flashing, and torrential rain pouring.
And instead of feeling at home in this environment, Shui Bing'er felt utterly restrained. The storm that had formed seemed to create a domain-like effect.
She realized with dread—she was trapped within her opponent's "Thunderstorm Domain"… How could any soul beast possibly be this overpowered?
Shui Bing'er couldn't help but sigh bitterly. She had suspected she wouldn't win even before the match began—but this?
She had never expected her opponent to be this overwhelmingly powerful. This soul beast… could it be the direct descendant of some divine beast?
With Zhu Zhuyun's natural talent, there was no way she could have formed a contract with a creature like this on her own. It had to be through her younger sister's connections.
Sigh. Having connections really makes all the difference.
Shui Bing'er couldn't help but feel a surge of envy, resentment, and frustration.
Her opponent was clearly weak. In a head-to-head fight without soul beasts, she could have defeated Zhu Zhuyun with one hand tied behind her back.
But just because she'd bonded with a powerful companion…
Now she was being crushed from every angle.
Is this what they call justice?
The Soul Contract profession was truly unreasonable.
For Soul Contract Masters, natural talent was important—but no longer the most important thing.
If you could contract a powerful soul beast, you could practically lie back and let your companion carry you to the top.
This was blatant cheating!
But the problem was—if she had such a chance, Shui Bing'er realized she wouldn't refuse it either.
Because all humans have laziness in their hearts—and a desire to get something for nothing.
BOOM!
Lightning surged through the clouds, terrifying thunder crashing all around. Pressure from every direction descended like a tidal wave!
The special effects were maxed out!
"…"
Shui Bing'er slowly raised her hand and said, "Referee… I forfeit."
In that instant, the howling winds and pouring rain halted in shock.
And while the inside of the arena was a maelstrom of darkness and storm, it was still sunny and clear outside. Not a drop of rain fell beyond the arena's boundaries.
But thanks to the arena's overhead display, the audience could clearly see just how terrifying the battle inside was.
Some even whispered it felt like divine punishment.
So when Shui Bing'er conceded at the very start of the match, no one blamed her.
After all, knowingly walking into a battle you can't win only leads to humiliation—nothing more.
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