Across from them, the six students of Tianding Starry Sky Soul Master Academy—excluding Li Zhilong—reacted simultaneously, leaping into the air.
Their captain, Xiao Tiantian, bent forward slightly. Suddenly, a layer of dark red light exploded from his body. Even his eyes turned dark red. Behind him, a pair of massive bat-like wings unfurled. With a powerful flap, he shot skyward. All four of his soul rings glowed purple. As he released his martial soul, his originally slender frame expanded, becoming tall and powerfully built.
Next to Xiao Tiantian, another student's martial soul was even stranger. He pressed his palms together in front of him, and a yellow light flared—revealing a long bamboo stalk. The second of his four soul rings lit up. The bamboo swayed gently, and countless bamboo leaves flew into the air, gathering behind him into two wings. He planted the bamboo pole against the ground and vaulted upward, floating into the sky. His flight seemed airy and weightless, more like willow catkins drifting upward than normal flying.
Every one of them had an unusual martial soul, yet without exception, all could fly. One female student stood out—not only was she strikingly beautiful, but after releasing her martial soul, her entire body turned jet-black, like an enraged volcano. Flames erupted continuously from her arms.
Meanwhile, below, Li Zhilong fully unleashed his power. A crushing soul pressure burst from him, forcing even the Shrek side—except for Gu You—to turn pale.
Of the three who had just charged forward, two instantly had their speed reduced by more than twentyfold.
Xie Xie suffered the worst—one of the three who had rushed out, he now found his face pressed helplessly to the ground under the oppressive force.
Eight soul rings floated around Li Zhilong—not the usual mixed colors, but all eight were pure black!
Everyone felt as if they couldn't breathe. Even the Tianding Starry Sky Academy students were stunned. They had never imagined Li Zhilong was this powerful. He had been teaching and overseeing them for years without once displaying his full strength. Only now did they truly feel the suffocating oppression of a top-tier soul master.
His martial soul remained unseen, but starlight all around him grew more dazzling, as if countless motes of dust were rising into the air—beautiful and dreamlike.
Then beauty turned to menace. The stardust transformed into a blizzard, lashing toward Gu You and the others.
Wherever it passed, the air howled with a sharp, cutting wind.
The sound made one's hair stand on end.
"You must get off the stage now! You can't withstand this attack!" Gu You barked sharply.
Purple light burst from his body as scales began to cover him.
Beside him, five blood-energy soul rings rose and fell in a vertical rhythm.
His companions obeyed without hesitation—they could clearly sense that being engulfed by this stardust would have disastrous consequences.
In an instant, all six leapt down from the platform. Barely seconds later, the entire arena was drowned in stardust.
Visibility dropped to zero—it was nothing but a dense, swirling golden mist.
Li Zhilong smiled faintly. Children were still children, but their quick reaction had been good—recognizing they couldn't block the attack and retreating in time.
The remaining six Tianding students were completely baffled. Wasn't this supposed to be a fight? How had everyone suddenly vanished?
And… there was still one they couldn't beat at all!
From within the stardust, a brilliant purple light flared—tinged with gold.
Purple-Gold Destruction Slash!
A dragon's head erupted forth, scattering the stardust around it and surging straight ahead.
Its speed was so great that even Li Zhilong failed to react in time.
Not good!
"Students, quickly—!"
But before he could finish, the dragon head's massive jaws closed around them.
"Ahhh!"Screams rang out.
Gu You swept his arms outward—he had held back.
The dragon head's phantom dissipated, leaving the six Tianding students collapsed on the ground, unrecognizable.
Li Zhilong hadn't escaped unscathed either. Though his powerful soul force prevented serious injury, he looked decidedly disheveled. He bore no resentment toward Gu You—the delay in his warning had been his own fault.
In battles between powerful soul masters, it was always the weaker ones who suffered. He understood this well.
Moreover, had Gu You not ordered his companions to leave the stage earlier, their injuries would have been far worse.
The medical team rushed in at full speed, carrying the injured away one by one.
"What a domineering attack method!" Li Zhilong wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
His whole body began to shimmer with starlight—like infinite tribulation lightning.
His seventh soul ring lit up.
Martial Soul True Body!
A deep, resonant dragon's roar answered it.
The entire arena trembled, as though it might collapse at any moment.
The referee suffered most—his hands shook uncontrollably, his body unable to stay steady.
He shouted that he was done—how could a mere Soul King referee control a match like this? At this level, a single stray shockwave could injure him.
It was as if heaven itself answered him—the arena was suddenly enveloped in a denser, more brilliant golden light.
"P–Principal…" the referee stammered, staring up at the figure in the sky.
Xuan Shi glanced at him and gave a small nod.
The referee swallowed hard. The man before him had an extraordinary reputation—A level 98 Super Douluo, one step away from breaking past the limits, a four-word battle armor master, and the Federal Speaker of Tianding City.It could be said without exaggeration: Tianding City thrived because of him; the Starry Sky Academy flourished because of him.
"Are today's young people truly this strong?" A flicker of shock passed through Xuan Shi's eyes—his own soul power was actually being corroded by Gu You's purple light.
Of course, with his cultivation, the corrosion would take time to have any effect.
The True Body of the Purple Emperor!
Gu You's figure shifted instantly. Perhaps due to the spatial limits of the arena, his true body was only a little over ten meters long.
Li Zhilong's true body was strange—like a planet formed entirely of stardust.
Gu You lunged immediately—he had to end this before Li Zhilong could deploy his battle armor.
Inside the stardust planet, a muffled boom sounded, as though an explosion had gone off within. Waves of stardust began radiating outward from it.
The sight was spectacular—like a vicious dragon attempting to invade a planet, complete with explosive special effects.
The stardust waves struck Gu You's body. He had expected pain, but instead… it only caused a faint itch.
Has my defense really grown this strong?Gu You wondered to himself.
Dragon God's Grasp!
The soul rings around his body shifted, revealing their true form.
Even Tang Wulin's group, who had seen Gu You's soul ring configuration before, couldn't help but be shocked upon witnessing it again.
Especially Xuan Shi—he understood deeply what a soul ring's age meant for a soul master. Perhaps in the early stages it was not so obvious, but at higher levels, and especially upon reaching Title Douluo rank, the age of one's first soul ring—and those that followed—would absolutely cap one's potential.
(End of Chapter)