Ye Xinglan's aura surged two levels the moment both her hands gripped her sword.
With the support of her battle armor gauntlet, the strength in her arms was now enough to contend with a Soul King. But that still wasn't enough. All she could do now was hold back Qian Xingmo at any cost.
'Is that… battle armor?'
Qian Xingmo was briefly stunned. Even if it was just a single piece, it was enough to surprise him.
He had only forged his first piece of battle armor in his third year. Yet the girl before him, barely fourteen years old, had already completed a piece of her own in her first year.
'What kind of monsters are in this year's freshman class?'
The Star God Sword in Ye Xinglan's hands flared with starlight, and her battle armor gauntlet glowed with a consistent radiance—clear signs of full compatibility.
Seizing the brief moment Qian Xingmo was dazed, Ye Xinglan unleashed her person-and-sword-unity, slashing out seven consecutive strikes with the Star God Sword.
Her sword light was chilling, yet the starlight that followed each slash carried a strange warmth.
Qian Xingmo's expression changed—his own Thousand Star Sword trembled faintly.
"Star Blade!"
His third soul ring lit up, and a brilliant streak of starlight shot forth, clashing naturally with Ye Xinglan's sword.
But the moment their blades collided, Qian Xingmo saw it—she was smiling.
"That soul flute is disgusting. My head still feels like it's splitting," Xie Xie suddenly appeared behind him. With the peak speed of a Soul Elder specializing in agility, he slashed down with his Light Dragon Dagger.
'Damn!'
Qian Xingmo's pupils contracted. He hadn't expected that, as a powerful assault-type Soul King, he'd be driven to this point by a couple of Soul Elders.
A flash of light spread from his chest to his legs.
"No! Xie Xie, don't get any closer!" Ye Xinglan shouted.
Xie Xie wanted to stop, but he couldn't. He slammed into Qian Xingmo head-on and was sent flying straight off the arena. The Shrek medical team carried him off.
"Why is it always me who gets hurt…" he muttered weakly in mid-air.
"Tsk, poor kid. Took quite the hit," a medic clicked his tongue.
"Less talking, more moving. Go call the dean—this child's been wrecked," another said with a helpless sigh.
Chest armor, leg armor—seeing Qian Xingmo fully equipped, Ye Xinglan broke out in a cold sweat.
'How are we supposed to fight that?'
"I'll help you! Gu Yue's holding off the other six!" came Xu Xiaoyan's voice.
"Just fight. We're right here with you." Gu Yue spoke coldly, a massive cyclone howling behind her.
"Heh heh, hot buns ready!" came Xu Lizhi's cheerful voice.
'You guys…'
Ye Xinglan looked back at them. Though the soul flute's effects still lingered in their minds as a dull pain, their words drove the ache away entirely.
'Yeah! So what if they're Soul Kings? I'm going to challenge them. I'm going to grow stronger in the face of adversity.'
Most importantly, she wasn't alone!
Boom—!
Gu You's entire body slammed into the Golden Leaf Wall. The tremendous impact made his dragon scales tremble.
The wall shattered on contact, though the collision left a numbing sensation across his body. 'This thing's seriously tough,' Gu You thought.
"Let's go!" Taking advantage of Gu You's moment of numbness, Ye Shihong dashed toward Bai Hanying and tightly embraced her.
Gold and red lights burst from their bodies, interweaving and merging.
Gold! Red! Double One-Word Battle Armor!
The crowd roared in shock. This match was worth every second—not just a battle of many against the few, but a showdown between battle armor masters.
With both suits equipped, Ye Shihong and Bai Hanying's aura became even more terrifying.
Already Soul Emperors, with their One-Word Battle Armor, they could now exert the power of a Soul Douluo.
Gold and red soul power continuously interwove and surged. The golden leaves scattered by Gu You's earlier charge rose again. The entire arena was now bathed in shimmering golden leaves and the fragrant scent of blooming peach blossoms. One by one, the blossoms appeared again, merging with the leaves.
'So beautiful,' thought the spectators. That's all they could say.
Golden leaves and red peach blossoms drifted across the sky, glowing brilliantly as they rose and fell.
"Martial Soul Fusion Skill—Dance of Red Peach and Golden Leaf!"
In an instant, every golden leaf and petal fused.
Like a thousand flying swords, they gathered into a massive dragon that rushed toward Gu You.
The fusion skill of two Soul Emperors, amplified by battle armor—this was at least the equivalent of a single strike from a standard Title Douluo.
Could Gu You block it?
The numbing sensation in his body faded. His eyes grew unusually solemn. His entire body became covered in dragon scales as the Purple-Gold Dragon Armor activated at full defense.
At the same time, his soul rings lit up one after another beneath him.
A terrifying series of soul ring colors flickered into view.
Orange soul ring!
Most of Shrek Academy's students had heard stories about Gu You—how he had a red third ring. At first, they treated it like a myth. Even with video footage online, many still didn't believe it. But now, seeing it in person—it was even more outrageous than the rumors.
What was an orange soul ring? A true beast-level soul ring. Its enhancement far surpassed even the leap from Soul Sage to Soul Douluo.
More shocking—why did Gu You have ten soul rings in total?
Didn't twin martial souls require switching to display the other set of rings?
It wasn't that the crowd misunderstood—it was that Gu You had already exceeded their imagination.
Six soul rings beneath his feet, four bloodline soul rings floating behind him.
To those who didn't understand the inner workings, this was a recipe for serious misjudgment.
The golden leaves and peach blossoms rained toward Gu You at incredible speed.
Clang! Clang!
The dragon scales covering Gu You screeched as the attacks rained down.
The fusion technique was no joke—it was powerful.
But don't forget—even if the Purple-Gold Dragon Armor couldn't block it…
He still had battle armor!
Purple—Gold—!
Roar!
A dragon's roar exploded from Gu You's body. Full armor deployment. His aura surged to the level of a Title Douluo.
Two-Word Battle Armor!!
"What?!"
The arena fell into dead silence. Normally, high-compatibility One-Word or Two-Word Battle Armor would grant a 20% power boost.
But Gu You's armor… was clearly boosting him by 30%.
This wasn't a bug.
It was because Gu You used incredibly high-quality spirit-forged alloy, and it was fully matched to him. It was only natural that the effect would be stronger.
That said, even spirit-forged armor shouldn't grant 30% by itself.
The real reason—was Gu You's soul power had already reached level 68, just shy of Soul Sage level. His leap in power…
(End of Chapter)
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