The match began.
Zhu Ziyang's team immediately released their martial souls—still the same four yellow soul rings. As before, Zhu Ziyang did not release his soul rings, which instantly irritated Zhou Tianhe, their opponent. He felt humiliated and roared furiously toward the sky. His body expanded rapidly until he was over two meters tall, ripping through his clothes and revealing a muscular upper body. Brown fur spread across his body, fangs protruded from his mouth, and his eyes grew so large they seemed to take up half his face. Behind him, two yellow soul rings hovered.
Su Li and Yang Yumeng followed suit.
Su Li sprouted fox ears on her forehead, her eyes turned into seductive fox-like eyes glowing with an enchanting gleam. Two yellow soul rings shimmered behind her, though her transformation was far less dramatic than Zhou Tianhe's.
Yang Yumeng's martial soul, on the other hand, was quite surprising: an ancient three-legged cauldron with two handles—a one-meter-tall and one-meter-wide bronze vessel. In the hands of the petite girl, it looked almost comically oversized and drew a lot of attention.
"Li, Mengmeng, stick to the plan!" Zhou Tianhe shouted. His first soul ring lit up as his brown fur turned golden yellow, and his enormous eyes flickered with yellow soul power. He charged straight at Zhu Ziyang.
First Soul Skill: Wild Soul — Strength boost by 50%!
"Got it!" Su Li and Yang Yumeng replied in unison and began their coordinated moves.
Just as the battle was about to erupt, up on the observation platform, Dean Yan Shaozhe, accompanied by Director Du Weilan and other outer court instructors, arrived to watch. From the platform, they had a clear view of all four arenas.
"Dean, that's Zhu Ziyang right there," Du Weilan pointed to the arena, introducing the boy holding the Scythe of Life and Death.
"Oh? That's him?" Yan Shaozhe's eyes landed on Zhu Ziyang, a flicker of surprise appearing on his face. "Such a powerful Light aura… He's already reached the mastery realm of martial soul control? At his age? Remarkable."
The more he observed, the more interested Yan Shaozhe became. He could tell that Zhu Ziyang was concealing his full strength, and yet the Light aura he emitted was so rich and intense. His compatibility with the Light element must be incredibly high—perhaps even strong enough to rival his own Radiant Phoenix martial soul.
Behind Yan Shaozhe, a teacher named Xia Yu beamed with pride. Zhu Ziyang was his student. The more impressive Zhu Ziyang appeared to Dean Yan, the happier he was.
Back in the arena, Zhu Ziyang held his scythe calmly and addressed Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya:
"Focus on taking down Su Li first."
Then he dragged the scythe behind him and strode confidently toward Zhou Tianhe.
As they clashed, Su Li's second soul ring lit up. A seductive smile spread across her face as her entire demeanor changed—now oozing charm and allure. Her eyes sparkled with pink light, locking directly onto Zhu Ziyang's.
Charm!
Zhu Ziyang instantly realized what soul skill she had used and thought, "Not good!" A wave of dizziness struck him. His body trembled, and his reaction slowed noticeably.
Zhou Tianhe saw this and grinned with delight. His second soul ring lit up, and he leapt high into the air, his massive body descending like a meteor toward Zhu Ziyang.
Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya sensed something was wrong and moved to assist, but suddenly a massive bronze cauldron appeared before them. Before they could react, the cauldron flipped over and trapped them inside.
Yang Yumeng's first soul skill: Cauldron Prison!
As a defense-type Soul Master, her first skill was a control-type ability—a surprise to be sure, but a very effective one in this scenario.
It seemed like Zhu Ziyang was in real danger...
But what happened next shocked everyone.
Su Li's Charm was instantly countered. She gasped, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. Her face turned pale as she stared in disbelief at Zhu Ziyang.
She realized in horror that Zhu Ziyang's spiritual power was stronger than hers!
While his mind had indeed faltered for a moment, it was only by half a beat—which, in battle, can mean everything.
Zhou Tianhe, completely trusting Su Li, had already committed to his leap and activated his second soul skill. His massive, crushing blow was almost upon Zhu Ziyang. The referee was preparing to intervene to prevent injury.
Then—
Zhu Ziyang's right eye turned silver.
A mysterious fluctuation spread across the arena. Zhou Tianhe, midair, suddenly froze, hanging in mid-leap. Everyone else in the arena seemed to slow down by one second, except Zhu Ziyang.
Time Stop!
Zhu Ziyang moved in a flash, darting past Zhou Tianhe's attack and lunging straight for Su Li, his scythe glowing faintly.
The next moment, time resumed.
Zhou Tianhe was stunned to find Zhu Ziyang had completely escaped his attack range and was now charging toward Su Li. When he noticed Su Li's pale face and bleeding lips, he immediately realized what had happened—her Charm had failed and rebounded!
Zhou Tianhe panicked. But his soul skill couldn't be canceled mid-cast—if interrupted, he'd suffer backlash, which would surely cost them the match.
He could only hope Su Li would hold on...
"Cauldron Wall!"
A bronze wall suddenly rose in front of Su Li—Yang Yumeng had noticed the danger and rushed to protect her teammate.
But Zhu Ziyang didn't hesitate. He slashed with his scythe, shattering the wall instantly, then continued his attack. Su Li, still weakened from backlash, couldn't defend in time and was blasted out of the arena, caught by the referee.
Su Li was eliminated.
Zhu Ziyang didn't stop. He turned to Yang Yumeng and slashed again. She raised her Heaven-Circling Cauldron to block, but the impact rattled the cauldron and her arms. She lost control and was sent flying.
"Ah! Ow! Zhu Ziyang, you big bully!" she cried, landing painfully on her backside. "You should treat girls more gently! Oww…"
Zhu Ziyang ignored her.
His gaze turned toward Zhou Tianhe, only to find that he was already being double-teamed by Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya.
As soon as Yang Yumeng had left to help Su Li, the cauldron trapping the girls had vanished. They saw Zhu Ziyang dominate the field, then noticed Zhou Tianhe crashing to the ground and acted immediately to stop him.
He hit the ground hard, creating a five-meter crater.
As he staggered to his feet, a massive Blue Silver Net from Tang Ya ensnared him. Enraged, he tried to tear through it—but the more he struggled, the more tangled he became.
Jiang Nannan moved in.
Her second soul ring lit up. She grabbed Zhou Tianhe's waist, leapt six or seven meters into the air, spun 360 degrees midair, and slammed him into the ground.
Zhou Tianhe was instantly incapacitated.
Zhu Ziyang's team had won again—flawlessly.