Buzz—!
The sharp water blades spinning rapidly around Bo Xi did not shoot out but instead merged into the massive water tornado above his head like homing birds!
The addition of the water blades was akin to injecting countless high-speed rotating sharp blades into the already violent water tornado.
Rumble—!!!
The rotation speed of the water tornado suddenly doubled, emitting an ear-piercing shriek that tore through the air. Vacuum blades formed by the water cutting through the air scattered in all directions.
The entire water tornado instantly transformed into a destructive meat grinder, its might several times greater than before. The terrifying suction made the protective shield at the edge of the platform emit a near-breaking wail.
"Come and fight!"
Bo Xi leaned forward, controlling the super water tornado that had merged with the "Walking Wake Divine Kill," charging toward Tang Wulin, who was about to pursue Long Yue while holding the Golden Dragon Spear.
Tang Wulin's pupils contracted sharply. Facing this fifteen-meter diameter, disaster-like vortex of slashing water blades, he could not reach Bo Xi, who was at the core of the water tornado, controlling everything.
The raging water currents mixed with high-speed rotating blades instantly engulfed him.
"Wulin!" The crowd from Shrek Academy gasped.
The terrifying cutting force, high-pressure water impact, and suffocating suction instantly acted on Tang Wulin.
The dominant body of "Unmovable as a Mountain" made him immune to being knocked back and dizziness, but his soul power defense was precarious under such relentless attacks!
The golden protective light flashed intensely. The Golden Dragon Claw and the Golden Dragon Spear frantically blocked and deflected the incoming water blades, producing a dense rain-like clatter.
He was pushed back continuously by this terrifying force, plowing two deep trenches in the alloy floor, and was quickly forced to the edge of the platform.
"Devour!" On the other side, Bai Yuan attempted to use the Abyss Taotie's power to tear apart this violent water tornado.
However, the water tornado, which had merged with Bo Xi's fifth soul skill, contained too much energy, both vast and violent. The speed of abyssal devouring couldn't keep up with its destruction and replenishment rate.
The devouring domain could only barely tear open a small gap at the edge of the vortex, unable to calm the entire storm.
Tang Wulin lacked large-scale attack methods and could only rely on the sharpness of the Golden Dragon Spear and his robust physique to endure.
His wounds increased, blood seeped out, and was instantly washed away by the raging water currents.
"Roar!" Tang Wulin let out a defiant roar, fully igniting the Golden Dragon King bloodline in this desperate situation.
He fiercely thrust the Golden Dragon Spear into the already shattered alloy platform beneath his feet. The spear emitted a brilliant golden light, like a divine needle stabilizing the sea.
Holding the spear tightly, he unleashed a terrifying force from his core muscles, using the Golden Dragon Spear as a pivot to resist the terrifying pushing force of the water tornado.
"Stop… for me!"
His eyes glowed golden, muscles bulging, resembling a divine dragon wrestling against the forces of heaven and earth. Despite the violent water blades cutting his body and the high-pressure water impacting his internal organs, he stabilized his stance amidst the terrifying force of the water tornado and stopped retreating!
Then, to everyone's shock, he began to take steps.
Against the steel-shredding raging water and blades, relying on the Golden Dragon Spear, he took one step, then another, moving extremely difficultly yet unwaveringly, walking towards the core of the destructive vortex against the direction of the water tornado's rotation.
Each step left a deep pit in the alloy ground, adding more wounds to his body, dyeing the surrounding water red with blood.
This willpower and physique moved the entire audience!
In the core of the water tornado, Bo Xi clearly "saw" Tang Wulin's almost self-destructive journey upstream.
A flicker passed through his eyes, a subtle fluctuation hard to detect.
He quietly manipulated the raging water currents—not to attack, but cleverly and imperceptibly collected and gathered the blood flowing from Tang Wulin's body, imbued with the aura of the Golden Dragon King…
Finally, Tang Wulin braved the infinite pressure and charged to a position very close to Bo Xi's core area.
"Now!"
Golden light burst from Tang Wulin's eyes. He fiercely pulled out the Golden Dragon Spear, his left hand's Golden Dragon Claw unleashing forcefully—"Golden Dragon Shocks the Heavens!"
An extremely condensed golden claw shadow tore through the water, while countless Blue Silver Emperor vines intertwined into an array—"Blue Silver Golden Light Array!"
Dual soul skills erupted!
Boom! Crack!
The violent water tornado was briefly torn open by these inside-outside forces, exposing Bo Xi clearly to Tang Wulin.
"Break!"
Tang Wulin roared, transforming the Golden Dragon Spear into a golden lightning bolt that tore through space, directly piercing towards Bo Xi's chest. Before the spear arrived, the terrifying presence originating from the Dragon God's essence made Bo Xi's breath hitch.
Bo Xi's gaze was solemn, his reaction lightning-fast.
He held his hands empty, and the raging water currents around him instantly condensed into two enormous azure whips covered in spiraling water blades rotating at high speed!
Snap! Snap! Snap!
The whips, like two awakened deep-sea giant snakes, brought an ear-piercing sound and high-speed rotating cutting force, wildly lashing towards the charging Tang Wulin.
The whip shadows overlapped, covering all his evasive spaces.
Clang! Sizzle!
The Golden Dragon Spear was incomparably sharp, its tip precisely shattering the lashing whip shadows.
But the water whips reformed instantly under Bo Xi's control.
And the gaps between the whips always found tricky angles to lash Tang Wulin's body.
Although defended by the Golden Dragon Spear and his robust physique, every hit left deep-to-the-bone wounds, blood flowing profusely.
Tang Wulin's assault was hindered, forcing him to wield the spear to protect himself, falling into a stalemate with the continuously regenerating and lashing water whips!
Bo Xi relied on his exquisite control over water elements and the nearly infinite soul power replenishment provided by "Boundless Ocean," stubbornly withstanding Tang Wulin wielding the divine artifact.
The two fiercely clashed amidst the remaining turbulent water currents of the water tornado, golden light colliding with azure brilliance!
However, on the other battlefield, the outcome had already been decided.
When Bo Xi focused entirely on manipulating the water tornado and dual whips against Tang Wulin, his support and protection for Long Yue inevitably weakened. And his opponent was Bai Yuan in full bloom!
"It's over." Bai Yuan's cold voice rang out. In the Abyss Phantom state, his speed reached its peak, instantly escaping the entanglement of the water tornado's aftermath, appearing before Long Yue, whose breath was unstable and strength limited due to bloodline suppression.
"Ultimate Devouring!"
The Abyss Taotie's giant mouth opened, and a terrifying suction instantly enveloped Long Yue.
Long Yue roared, swinging his fists, but his strength vanished like mud into the sea.
He was already heavily depleted. Now, facing Bai Yuan's ultimate devouring, he had no resistance.
His soul power, along with part of his blood essence, was madly extracted. His massive body visibly shriveled, collapsing heavily and losing all combat capability.
After defeating Long Yue, Bai Yuan didn't pause, locking his gaze onto the two figures fiercely battling at the core of the water tornado.
His figure flashed, like a ghost merging into the abyss, instantly appearing behind Bo Xi.
The three-head six-arm Dharma Body reappeared, six giant palms covered with devouring maws, bringing an annihilating force, ferociously slapping at Bo Xi, who was fully controlling the dual whips.
Facing the deadly threat of the Golden Dragon Spear in front and the devouring giant palms of the Abyss Taotie behind, Bo Xi was caught between two fires.
A trace of helplessness and acceptance flashed in Bo Xi's eyes. He had done his best.
The dual whips returned to defend, attempting to block Bai Yuan's attack, while his body shifted to the extreme limit to avoid the sharpness of the Golden Dragon Spear.
Boom! Sizzle!
Bai Yuan's Taotie giant palm heavily slapped the defensive water whip, and the terrifying devouring force instantly dissolved most of the whip.
Although it didn't directly hit Bo Xi, the residual force still made his blood essence surge, his movements faltering. Meanwhile, Tang Wulin's Golden Dragon Spear grazed his ribs, drawing a streak of blood!
Bo Xi grunted, staggering backward. The remaining water tornado above his head, losing his powerful control, collapsed spectacularly, turning into a torrential downpour.
Cupping the wound on his ribs, he looked at Tang Wulin and Bai Yuan, their auras locked onto him from both sides, glanced at the fallen unconscious Long Yue and the devastated platform, and finally slowly raised his hand.
"Monster Academy surrenders." His voice carried fatigue, but also a trace of acceptance. Though defeated, he had secured enough dignity for the academy.
The referee felt relieved, announcing loudly: "Team competition, Shrek Academy wins!"
On the Star Luo Empire royal family stand, Dai Tianling's face couldn't be described as iron-gray but rather nearly ashen.
En Ci closed his eyes, seemingly aging ten years instantly. Other high-ranking officials were deathly pale. The nine Heavenly Kings of Monster Academy were thoroughly crushed by Shrek in both individual and team competitions!
This was a century-old humiliation for the Star Luo Empire! It seemed to suggest that their years of support for Monster Academy were nothing but a joke!
Though Bo Xi displayed astonishing strength and fighting spirit, though defeated, he remained honorable. However, the Star Luo Empire lost too disastrously, too completely!
...
The Youth Soul Master Competition finally concluded. The reward for the team competition, a precious soul-forged metal, was pocketed by the students of Shrek Academy.
Back at the Star Luo Grand Hotel where they were staying, everyone was tired but filled with the joy of victory. After treatment by the healing-type soul masters sent by the royal family, Tang Wulin, thanks to the robustness of the Golden Dragon King bloodline, had no major issues with his injuries, though he had lost a lot of blood and needed a few days of rest.
A day later, Bai Yuan arrived as promised, taking the drop of essence blood paid by Tang Wulin.
The golden-red blood, imbued with abundant vitality and terrifying dragon might, was carefully sealed by Bai Yuan using a specially-made soul conductor. The transaction completed, neither party said more.
Next, the delegation from Shrek Academy would separate from the official group, following the plan to travel across various places in the Star Luo Continent, delve into the towns and countryside, experience local customs, and broaden their horizons and experiences.
Meanwhile, Tang Wulin received a secret mission from the Tang Sect.
At the outskirts of a hidden mountain range somewhere in the Star Luo Continent.
Gu La's true form hovered high above the cloud layer. His powerful telekinetic force spread like an invisible spider web, distantly covering the advancing team below in the forest—it was indeed Tang Wulin's Tang Sect squad.
His six avatars had come to the Star Luo Continent through various channels, now acting like perfect phantoms, using Gu La's telekinetic force to mask themselves and their own concealment abilities, silently trailing far behind without leaking any presence.
The Tang Sect squad was led by the strong figure codenamed "Black One."
The team stopped to rest in a concealed valley. Black One looked seriously at everyone, especially Tang Wulin, codenamed White Three:
"The target location is ahead in the valley. Remember the rules: Within the Dragon Valley, there is a set of rules. The longer you stay, the greater the benefits, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
"One point must be remembered—no one is allowed to reveal specific gains inside the valley to outsiders. Violators will be considered traitors to the sect, severely punished, and expelled from the Tang Sect!"
He paused, his tone becoming even more solemn: "Additionally, the Dragon Valley has peculiar rules, allowing only soul masters below the rank of Soul King to enter. Once someone breaks through to Soul King inside the valley, they will be immediately expelled by the rules' force, wasting the opportunity. Moreover, within the valley, martial soul power is greatly suppressed and unusable; everything relies on one's blood essence, willpower, and physique."
These rules, Gu La already knew.
With a slight thought, his seven bodies simultaneously began self-sealing.
The powerful soul power fluctuations were forcibly suppressed back into their bodies, and their realm aura rapidly dropped, eventually
stabilizing at the peak state of a Level 49 Soul Ancestor. Previously, he had already released the power of the "Ancient Memory" soul skill multiple times, storing it in the "Forest Sea Space" he had created within himself.
Although martial soul power was suppressed, the essence of his temporal authority remained, ensuring that he could normally open the "Forest Sea Space" under the rules of the Dragon Valley and utilize stored soul skills.
The next morning.
The Tang Sect team arrived at the end of an ordinary-looking valley.
An elder dressed in Tang Sect attire was already waiting here.
"I'll have to trouble you, Wu Lao."
Black One addressed respectfully.
Wu Lao nodded slightly. His expression was solemn, his hands forming seals. His powerful soul power surged out, transforming him into a massive blue tyrannosaurus rex, towering fifteen meters high. The terrifying dragon aura stirred the rules of the Dragon Valley.
"Open!" Wu Lao commanded lowly.
Buzz!
Above the void, ancient dragon-shaped runes lit up, exuding a vast and heavy atmosphere.
Space rippled like water, and a softly glowing white portal, wide enough for several people to walk abreast, slowly appeared—the entrance to the Dragon Valley.
"Quickly enter." Black One commanded. The Tang Sect members entered one after another, their figures disappearing into the portal.
Just as the portal was about to close in the final instant, seven indiscernible shadows, untraceable to both the naked eye and soul power, seamlessly blending into space itself, silently followed the Tang Sect members into the spatial portal at an incredible speed and angle.
Their speed was so fast that even Wu Lao, responsible for opening the portal, only sensed an extremely faint, indescribable fluctuation flash by, thinking it was a normal spatial ripple caused by the opening of the Dragon Valley, and didn't investigate further.
The entrance to the Dragon Valley slowly closed, and the valley returned to peace, as if nothing had happened.
Black One sighed: "I hope these youngsters can gain sufficient rewards. It has been decades since anyone brought out a soul bone from there."
Wu Lao remained silent, merely shaking his head slightly.
No one knew that Gu La and his six avatars had successfully infiltrated this burial ground of the dragon race, a small world known to the Tang Sect that rivaled the Ice-Fire Yin Yang Well. Unfortunately, it ultimately didn't belong to them.
Because on the other side, Gu Yue and Di Tian forcibly opened another breach, stepping into the Dragon Valley.
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