While Shui Wuhen was talking over here, on the other side, the battle between Shui Yue Ruo, Huo Yangyan, and that Fallen Spirit Master was nearing its end.
"Boom—"
Another explosion rang out, and the Fallen flew dozens of meters back. Looking at the dense energy radiating from the two in front of him, his face turned grim.
The Fallen croaked, "You're really willing to go that far… to fight me, you even activated your Martial Soul True Forms. Even at your current levels, you'll be weakened for four or five days afterward, won't you?"
"As long as we can kill you, a few days of weakness are nothing," Shui Yue Ruo said coldly, a pale moon floating behind her in the water, casting a faint glow.
Huo Yangyan, now transformed into the Uni-horned Fire Dragon, nodded in agreement. "That's right. Today is the day you die."
The Martial Soul True Form, a power only Spirit Masters possess, greatly amplifies the user's strength. After activating it, the first six Spirit Skills enter a no-cooldown state for thirty minutes.
The price, however, is a period of weakness afterward—only those who reach the Spirit Master's Title Douluo level can eliminate this side effect.
"Then none of us will survive!"
Suddenly, the Fallen's aura surged, surpassing the Spirit Master level and reaching Spirit Douluo.
Seeing this, Shui Yue Ruo and Huo Yangyan's faces changed—this Fallen still had a hidden ace!
But just as they instinctively prepared to defend, the Fallen shifted his body and dashed toward the distance.
"No! He's trying to escape!"
Seeing this, Shui Yue Ruo realized she had fallen into a trap.
"We can't let him get away!"
Without hesitation, Huo Yangyan gave chase.
When dealing with a madman like a Fallen, if you provoke him, you must eliminate him completely. Otherwise, once he recovers, his family, friends, or even the entire Huo Academy could face brutal revenge.
But the Fallen was skilled at escaping. By the time the two reacted, he had already gotten far. Soon, Shui Yue Ruo and Huo Yangyan lost sight of him.
The two exchanged a glance, both looking extremely displeased.
"Damn it, he got away!"
Shui Yue Ruo angrily kicked a nearby tree. It cracked with a sharp sound and broke.
Huo Yangyan sighed. "Sorry for dragging you into this."
The Fallen had escaped this time. Unless he went straight to the City of Slaughter, he would definitely seek revenge on their academies first.
"No, it's not your fault!"
Shui Yue Ruo shook her head, unwilling to accept defeat. "If only Feng Qingcang were here… with his speed, the Fallen wouldn't have gotten away."
"His academy is in a different direction. He wouldn't be along the way."
Huo Yangyan shifted the topic. "We should head back. The other two Fallen are strong too, and if that one circles back, it wouldn't be good for our students."
"True."
With that, the two transformed into streams of blue and red light, rushing toward their students.
After running at full speed, they arrived where Shui Wuhen and the others were. Seeing that everyone was unharmed, they both breathed a sigh of relief.
Huo Yangyan walked up to Huo Wushuang and Huo Wu and praised the Huo Academy students. "Well done. You were able to kill Spirit King-level Fallen."
Although Huo Yangyan knew that the Tianshui Academy must have helped, even defeating a Fallen alone was impressive.
After all, Fallen are stronger than ordinary Spirit Kings.
However, the Huo Academy students looked a bit awkward upon hearing the praise.
The reality was far from what Huo Yangyan imagined.
Noticing the change in their expressions, Huo Yangyan immediately asked Huo Wushuang, "Wushuang, tell me what happened just now."
Under his father's gaze, Huo Wushuang reluctantly stepped forward and pointed at Shui Wuhen. "Actually, these two Fallen were killed by Brother Wuhen. We didn't help at all."
"Oh? Wuhen?"
At this, Huo Yangyan followed the finger and looked at Shui Wuhen.
After observing him carefully, a realization dawned on Huo Yangyan. "So you came too… no wonder, no wonder!"
"You know me?"
Shui Wuhen looked at Huo Yangyan, confused.
Huo Yangyan smiled. "At the last Fourth Element Academy Exchange, I saw you fight as a child. It's a pity you left too quickly, or I would have known your identity."
Normally, he wouldn't remember a child, but Shui Wuhen had left such a deep impression that he had regretted missing out on such a talent for a while.
"Oh, I see."
Shui Wuhen nodded lightly. He did attend the exchange with Shui Bing'er and remembered sparring with someone named Feng Xiaotian. He wondered how that person was doing now.
"All right. Wuhen, go check if our carriage is usable. If not, we'll have to walk back to Tiandou City."
Seeing the situation, Shui Yue Ruo stepped between them, smiling, and instructed Shui Wuhen.
Without hesitation, Shui Wuhen went to inspect the carriage.
Once he left, Shui Yue Ruo glared at Huo Yangyan and said fiercely, "Huo Yangyan, I warn you. Wuhen is from Tianshui Academy. Don't think I don't know what you're plotting."
Shui Wuhen was her trump card—the secret weapon for Tianshui Academy to win the championship. If he were taken away, it would be disastrous.
Huo Yangyan couldn't help but chuckle. "Shui Yue Ruo, do you think everyone is as sensitive as you? Wuhen isn't a Fire-type Spirit Master. What could I possibly do to him?
"It's surprising he's even on your Tianshui team. I didn't know you allowed male students now."
"Is it wrong for me to change the rules? Wuhen is my disciple Bing'er's brother. They're very close. It's reasonable for me to make an exception, right?"
Even as she said this, Shui Yue Ruo's eyes flicked outward instinctively.
Clearly, she felt a little guilty. Calling in outside help was technically unfair to the other academies since Shui Wuhen was not a genius trained by Tianshui Academy.