After a brief discussion among the directors and instructors, Director Meng Shenji returned to the center podium.
"Match Three!" he announced, reaching for the next pair of wooden tokens.
"Shi Mo of Heaven Dou Royal Academy versus Zhou Xing of Kamikaze Academy!"
A fresh wave of cheers rolled through the Colosseum.
Shi Mo grinned as he stepped out of the Royal dugout, rolling his shoulders as he walked. Without the crushing weight of his iron vest, his body felt almost unnaturally light.
"Finally," he muttered. "A fight where I don't have to worry about Arthev yelling at me for moving too slowly."
From the opposite tunnel, a lean youth with sharp features stepped onto the arena floor. Two narrow green wings unfolded from his back, stirring the dust around his feet.
Zhou Xing glanced at Shi Mo and smirked.
"Martial Soul: Hurricane Swallow."
He rose a few inches above the ground, wind spiraling beneath his feet.
"Turtle," he called. "You'd better keep your eyes open. I don't want this to end too quickly."
Shi Mo cracked his neck.
"Don't worry, birdy. I'm patient."
His spirit erupted.
"Martial Soul: Black Turtle!"
A massive tortoise shell manifested across his back and chest. His arms thickened, his body becoming heavier and denser as the aura of a living fortress settled around him.
Zhou Xing laughed.
"Perfect. A target that doesn't move fast."
"Begin!"
SWISH!
Zhou Xing vanished.
A green blur whipped around Shi Mo as wind gathered across the arena. Dust spiraled upward while the Kamikaze fighter attacked from different angles.
Clack! Zing!
Wind blades struck Shi Mo's shell. Kicks hammered his armor from the sides and back.
Shi Mo barely moved.
"First Soul Skill: Turtle Shell Shock!"
The instant Zhou Xing's foot connected with his shell, a violent pulse of energy rebounded.
ZZT!
"Ow!"
Zhou Xing recoiled, shaking his foot as he was carried backward by his own momentum.
Shi Mo laughed.
"Got you."
"Don't get excited!" Zhou Xing shouted, immediately accelerating again. "You can't hit me if I don't stay still, slowpoke!"
"Let's test that."
Shi Mo's grin widened.
"Second Soul Skill: Shield Form!"
Two enormous shields materialized from the sides of his shell.
He seized them and hurled them forward.
WHOOSH!
The shields spun through the air like massive discs, connected to Shi Mo by thin strands of spirit power.
Zhou Xing twisted sideways. The first shield missed.
The second came sweeping back from behind.
"Whoa!"
He dipped sharply, barely avoiding it.
The shield curved through the air and returned toward Shi Mo.
Zhou Xing laughed.
"Too slow!"
From the Royal dugout, Yu Tianheng folded his arms.
"He's getting cocky."
Dugu Yan smirked. "That usually means he's about to make a mistake."
Arthev remained seated, watching the arena.
"Not yet."
Dugu Yan glanced at him.
"You're awfully confident."
"His attack pattern has already repeated six times."
She looked back toward Zhou Xing.
"Six?"
"He changes direction. He doesn't change his approach."
Dugu Yan's eyes narrowed. "Oh."
On the arena floor, Zhou Xing suddenly accelerated.
"Third Soul Skill: Gale Fang!"
A concentrated blade of wind formed around his leg as he dove toward Shi Mo.
"You can't keep hiding behind that shell!"
Shi Mo planted his feet. The attack was coming exactly where he expected.
He remembered Arthev's training sessions.
'If you can't catch the opponent, don't chase them. Control the space they need to move through.'
Shi Mo's grin returned.
"Gotcha."
His third soul ring flashed.
"Third Soul Skill: Turtle Shell Burst!"
CRACK!
The massive shell covering his body suddenly separated. Thirty-two armored plates shot outward in every direction.
Zhou Xing's eyes widened.
"Crap!"
He tried to brake, but it's too late.
The fragments filled the surrounding space, turning his escape routes into a shifting cage of armored plates.
"Wait, wait!"
THUD! CLANG! THUD!
One plate slammed into his shoulder. Another clipped his wing.
A third struck the ground directly in front of him, forcing him sideways.
His wind currents collapsed as the fragments continued closing around him.
"No!"
Zhou Xing tried to rise.
Another armored plate struck his back and knocked him down.
THUD!
The fragments settled into a rough containment pattern around him.
Shi Mo walked through the scattered plates with surprising calm and stopped directly in front of his opponent.
He raised one heavily armored fist and held it a few inches from Zhou Xing's nose.
"Checkmate, birdy."
Zhou Xing stared at the fist. Then at the armor surrounding him.
Then back at Shi Mo.
"...I hate turtles."
Shi Mo laughed.
"Winner: Shi Mo of Heaven Dou Royal Academy!"
The referee raised his arm.
The crowd erupted.
Shi Mo's armor pieces flew back together and reassembled across his body.
"YES!"
He pumped both fists.
"GEOMETRY, BABY! SCIENCE!"
For several seconds, the spectators simply stared at him. A student in the front row blinked.
"What in the world is he talking about?"
"Maybe turtles have their own philosophy."
"That's not philosophy."
Another student pointed toward the arena.
"Whatever it is, it worked."
In the VIP section, Ning Fengzhi smiled faintly.
"Interesting."
Xue Qinghe glanced at him.
"Shi Mo's skill itself?"
"The skill is useful," Ning Fengzhi replied. "But that's not what interests me."
Sword Douluo Chen Xin's eyes remained on the arena.
"His timing."
Ning Fengzhi nodded.
"He deliberately allowed Zhou Xing to believe that speed was enough to win."
Chen Xin finally looked toward the Heaven Dou dugout.
"Then he closed every escape route at once."
Prince Xue Xing gave a pleased laugh.
"Excellent! Another victory for the Royal Academy."
"Technically, yes," Ning Fengzhi said.
Xue Xing's smile faltered slightly. "Technically?"
Ning Fengzhi gestured toward the arena.
"The Royal Team's members aren't fighting in the same manner they used to. Their abilities were always there. Their thinking has changed."
Xue Qinghe's gaze drifted toward the quiet boy sitting among the substitutes.
"That seems to be becoming a pattern."
At the Thunder Academy side, Yu Tianxin crossed his arms.
"The turtle didn't chase him."
His teammate frowned.
"So?"
"So he didn't need to."
Yu Tianxin's eyes narrowed.
"He forced the wind fighter to come to him."
At the Blazing Academy dugout, Huo Wushuang gave a low whistle.
"That was clever."
Huo Wu folded her arms.
"Not clever. Patient."
She watched Shi Mo return toward his team.
"He knew he couldn't catch Zhou Xing. So he waited until Zhou Xing committed himself."
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"And that third skill wasn't just an attack. He turned the entire area around him into a trap."
Feng Xiaotian, standing nearby, scratched his cheek.
"Great. First Tianheng becomes a monster, and now the turtle is learning strategy."
Huo Wu glanced at him.
"You say that like it's surprising."
"Honestly? A little."
In the Tianshui viewing area, Teacher Leng's expression had become increasingly thoughtful.
"Another member of the Royal Team has improved."
Xue Wu nodded.
"Their physical training is obvious."
Bing'er said nothing. Her eyes had already moved toward the Heaven Dou dugout.
Arthev was still sitting there. He held a cup of water in one hand, watching Shi Mo return.
As the giant passed the dugout, Arthev gave him a tiny, almost imperceptible nod.
Shi Mo immediately grinned.
"Did you see that?!"
Arthev lifted his cup.
"Your strategy was good."
"Exactly!"
Shi Mo turned toward his teammates, practically glowing with pride.
"I told you geometry was useful!"
Osler groaned.
"Please stop saying geometry."
Bing'er watched the exchange quietly. Her heart gave a small, unexpected flutter.
'It's him.'
The boy from the frozen lake wasn't merely an unusually capable substitute. He was the one standing behind these changes.
The one teaching the Royal Team to fight differently.
And somehow, knowing that made her heart flutter.
---
"Match Four!" Meng Shenji announced. "Shen Liuyu of Tianshui Academy versus Hu Yanmo of the Elephant Armored Academy!"
"Liuyu," Teacher Leng Qingxue said quietly as the elegant Tianshui girl stepped forward. "Remember your attributes."
Shen Liuyu nodded. "I remember."
She stepped onto the arena and summoned her martial soul.
A beautifully crafted, translucent broadsword of pure, freezing ice appeared in her hands. Frost immediately spread across the ground beneath her feet.
"The Frost Blade," Xue Wu murmured from the Tianshui dugout.
Across the arena, Hu Yanmo stepped forward with a confident grin. He was nearly as wide as he was tall, his thick arms hanging heavily at his sides.
"Martial Soul, Diamond Mammoth!"
A massive phantom of a mammoth rose behind him. Grey armor spread across his body, hardening his skin until it resembled polished stone.
"A little icicle?" Hu Yanmo laughed, cracking his knuckles. "My skin can take cannon fire, little girl. You'll shatter your sword before you leave a scratch!"
Liuyu simply raised her Frost Blade.
"We'll see."
"Begin!"
Hu Yanmo charged.
BOOM!
His enormous foot struck the arena floor as he swung his fist like a wrecking ball.
Liuyu slipped sideways. The fist tore through empty air where her head had been a moment earlier.
"Stand still!" Hu Yanmo roared.
He spun and swung again.
Liuyu ducked beneath it, her feet gliding effortlessly across the thin layer of frost forming beneath her.
Another punch. Another miss.
Hu Yanmo's expression twisted with irritation.
"Stop running!"
He slammed his fist into the ground.
BOOM!
Jagged pillars of earth burst upward, racing toward Liuyu.
She leaped over them, twisting gracefully in midair before landing several meters away.
As she moved, her captain's voice echoed through her memory.
'Captain told me what she learned last night.'
Liuyu tightened her grip.
'Ice is water that has lost its freedom to flow.'
She remembered Bing'er sitting beside them during their evening discussion, calmly explaining what Arthev had taught her.
'When water freezes, it becomes rigid. Strong in some ways, but brittle in others.'
Liuyu had asked, 'So what should we do against the Elephant Armored Academy? Their defense is practically impossible to break.'
Bing'er had smiled faintly.
'Don't try to overpower it.'
'Then what?'
'Find where it cannot move.'
Liuyu's eyes sharpened.
The knee.
She stopped trying to attack Hu Yanmo's chest.
Instead, every time he attacked, she moved just far enough to avoid the blow before striking the same place.
Clink.
Her Frost Blade tapped against his right knee.
Clink.
Again.
Clink.
Again.
Each strike was shallow. Barely enough to leave a mark.
Hu Yanmo laughed.
"Ha! You can't even pierce my armor!"
Liuyu slid backward.
"I'm not even trying to."
Hu Yanmo frowned.
"What?"
Liuyu raised her Frost Blade. Brilliant blue light gathered along its edge.
"Third Soul Skill: Deep Freeze!"
FWOOSH!
A concentrated wave of freezing power erupted from the blade and engulfed Hu Yanmo's right knee.
Ice rapidly spread across the hardened armor.
Hu Yanmo looked down. Then he laughed.
"Ice? On a Mammoth? Pathetic!"
He flexed his leg. The frozen armor cracked slightly.
"See? That's all you've got?"
Liuyu didn't answer. She was already moving. Her feet pushed against the ground.
WHOOSH!
She closed the distance in an instant, reversed her grip on the Frost Blade, and drove the heavy pommel directly into the frozen armor.
CRACK!
The armor shattered.
"AARGH!"
Hu Yanmo's expression changed instantly.
The extreme cold had robbed the hardened armor of its flexibility. What had once been tough enough to withstand enormous blows had become fragile under the sudden freezing.
Liuyu's strike didn't need to overpower the armor. She had simply made it unable to endure one more blow.
The shock traveled through the weakened armor and into Hu Yanmo's joint.
His enormous leg buckled.
THUD!
He dropped onto one knee.
The Tianshui girls erupted.
"Yes!"
"She did it!"
"Right on the knee!"
But Hu Yanmo wasn't finished. His pride burned hotter than the pain.
"You think... that's enough?!"
He planted his good leg firmly and roared as he poured the rest of his strength into his body.
Liuyu's eyes widened.
"Wait!"
Hu Yanmo swung his massive left fist.
WHOOSH!
Liuyu barely managed to raise her Frost Blade.
BOOM!
The impact sent her flying backward.
Her boots scraped violently across the frozen arena floor, carving two long trails through the frost before she finally regained her balance.
She breathed heavily and raised her sword again.
Across from her, Hu Yanmo remained on one knee. His right knee was badly damaged, his previously flawless armor cracked apart, yet he still raised both fists.
Neither was willing to yield.
DING! DING! DING!
"Halt!"
The referee appeared between them.
"The eight-minute time limit has expired! Result: Draw!"
For several seconds, neither fighter reacted.
Hu Yanmo looked down at his shattered knee armor.
Then at Liuyu.
"You... little..."
Liuyu lowered her blade slightly.
"Your defense was impressive."
Hu Yanmo snorted.
"Don't sound so pleased. I still would've beaten you."
Liuyu gave him a faint smile.
"Perhaps."
That somehow irritated him even more.
The Tianshui dugout erupted into cheers. A draw was still a draw, but Liuyu had accomplished something few soul masters could claim. She had found a weakness in the Elephant Armored Academy's seemingly impenetrable defense and exploited it without relying on overwhelming power.
Teacher Leng allowed herself a small smile.
"Good. She remembered."
Beside her, Xue Wu nodded. "Don't attack the wall. Make the wall crack itself."
Yue'er leaned forward excitedly. "And that trick came from elder sister?"
Bing'er nodded quietly.
"Yes."
Her eyes, however, had already drifted across the arena. Toward the Heaven Dou dugout.
Arthev sat there calmly, his wooden cup resting in one hand. His gaze was fixed on Liuyu.
He gave the slightest nod.
Bing'er's lips curved upward. She knew exactly what that meant.
'Good work.'
Up on the VIP platform, Ning Fengzhi watched the arena with genuine interest.
"An impressive tactical adjustment," he said. "She didn't attempt to overpower the Elephant Armored defense. She weakened one point repeatedly, then exploited it."
Prince Xue Qinghe nodded. "Their tactics have become much more deliberate this year."
Prince Xue Xing stroked his beard thoughtfully.
"That girl nearly crippled Hu Yanmo's leg with nothing more than patience and timing."
Sword Douluo Chen Xin remained silent for a moment before speaking.
"The technique was good."
His eyes shifted toward the Heaven Dou dugout.
"But the idea behind it was better."
Ning Fengzhi just smiled.
--------
Down below, Shen Liuyu returned to her team. Bing'er met her halfway.
"You did well."
Liuyu smiled. "I remembered what you told me."
Bing'er shook her head gently.
"No. You remembered what he taught me."
Liuyu glanced toward the Heaven Dou bench.
The team had already know the boy in black was Arthev via Shui Bing'er.
Arthev was already looking back down at his notes, as though nothing particularly interesting had happened.
Liuyu laughed softly.
"He's strange."
Bing'er looked at him for another moment.
"Very."
She lowered her eyes, hiding the small smile forming on her lips.
'And somehow, I think that's what makes him so endearing'
To be continued.....