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To help her idol gather information, Huo Wu suppressed the fear in her heart and threw her strongest soul skill, 'Fire Dance Radiant Sun', towards the silver-haired girl.
Seeing the blazing white sun flying over, Gu Yuena pointed the 'Elemental Staff' in her hand at the 'sun'. The fifty-meter diameter 'Taiyin' immediately flew towards the five-meter blazing white 'sun'.
!!!
The massive 'sun' was instantly annihilated by the 'Taiyin'. The huge temperature difference caused a rapid explosion where the 'sun' and 'Taiyin' met. The explosive fusion of two repulsive attributes was a terrifying thing; water and fire generated an ultra-high-temperature steam explosion between them.
Just as the Titled Douluo from Spirit Hall were about to take over the match to prevent the ultra-high-temperature steam explosion from injuring people.
Gu Yuena's second soul ring lit up again, and her silver-white staff pointed towards the explosion.
In an instant, the countless bursting clouds of steam and boiling water droplets completely stopped.
For a moment, it was as if time itself had been paused.
The steam mushroom cloud that should have erupted from the explosion never appeared.
At this moment, all that remained on the arena stage was the forty-plus-meter diameter 'Taiyin' and countless frozen-in-time water droplets and mist.
"So strong," Ye Lan commented. This was the first time he had ever evaluated someone else as being very strong.
Gu Yuena's strength wasn't just simple strength; it was that terrifying level of control. The elements seemed to be mere toys in her hands.
Fortunately, Ye Lan was still able to analyze some of Gu Yuena's power. Gu Yuena's elemental power was formidable, and she was proficient in all elements.
But luckily, Gu Yuena's elemental power had not yet reached the 'Ultimate' level; it was merely close to 'Ultimate'.
Otherwise, having 'Ultimate' power in all attributes would be far too outrageous.
Although Gu Yuena's elements hadn't reached the 'Ultimate' level, Ye Lan would never naively believe she couldn't unleash an 'Ultimate' level attack. Gu Yuena definitely still had a killer move she hadn't used.
Huo Wu looked at the countless immobilized boiling water droplets, gaining a new understanding of the silver-haired girl's power.
"Shui Bing'er, I'm leaving the rest to you!" Huo Wu smiled freely. After losing to such a terrifying opponent, she actually felt a sense of relief.
With Gu Yuena being so powerful, Huo Wu began to look forward to her idol, Ye Lan, being able to defeat her.
After all, Ye Lan had always been synonymous with miracles.
"Alright! Huo Wu, you and Huo Wushuang go down and rest. Leave the upcoming battle to us!"
"Xue Wu, start setting the field!" Shui Bing'er commanded. "Yes! Big Sister!" Xue Wu shouted in reply.
Following that, all four types of soul rings on Xue Wu's body lit up. Her soul skills were: 'Dark Clouds', 'Rainfall', 'Ice and Snow', and 'Cyclone'.
In just a moment, a dark cloud appeared above the arena, and then a torrential downpour began.
Large raindrops fell towards the ground, but before they could even touch the surface, the large raindrops had already turned into individual snowflakes.
Then, a tornado appeared on the stage, pulling in the countless snowflakes.
With the addition of ice and snow, the tornado transformed into an ice-blue snow cyclone.
After Xue Wu finished releasing all her soul skills, she pulled Shui Bing'er's small hand.
The figures of the two instantly vanished, transforming into an ice-blue streak of soul light that rushed into the blizzard cyclone.
"Ice and Snow Drifting!!"
The massive blizzard cyclone expanded once more, and countless sharp, diamond-shaped snowflakes frantically shot out towards the members of Ten Thousand Beasts Academy.
Facing the sky full of slicing snowflake blades, Gu Yuena remained exceptionally calm.
Her fifth soul skill lit up, 'Elemental Deprivation'!!
Although 'Ice and Snow Drifting' was an 'Ultimate Ice' attribute attack, and she couldn't strip it away entirely, as the snowflakes neared Gu Yuena, both their speed and rotational velocity were greatly reduced.
After that, Gu Yuena's first and second soul rings shone with a dark golden light, and an igloo was instantly constructed by her.
The massive igloo enveloped the entire Ten Thousand Beasts Academy team, protecting them from being harmed by 'Ice and Snow Drifting'.
Zzz-ka~~
Countless snowflake blades began to rapidly slice at the 'Snow House', sending innumerable ice chips flying from its surface.
But Gu Yuena's soul power seemed endless. The 'Snow House' was continuously cut and thinned, only to be immediately replenished and made whole again by Gu Yuena.
After a long while, 'Ice and Snow Drifting' finished its assault, but the constantly regenerating 'Snow House' still had not been breached by the attack.
Hearing the silence, Gu Yuena waved both hands, and the 'Snow House' vanished from its spot.
Where the 'blizzard cyclone' had been, a twenty-plus-meter-long Ice Phoenix appeared!
Looking at the Ice Phoenix, Gu Yuena nodded in satisfaction.
This Ice Phoenix was even more terrifying than the blazing white sun released by the 'Fire Shadow' girl earlier.
Furthermore, the Ice Phoenix was also at the 'Ultimate Ice' level.
Scree!! Scree!!
The Ice Phoenix cried out continuously. Every time it flapped its enormous wings, it would kick up countless bone-chilling winds.
"It's gotten a bit cold," Gu Yuena said.
Then, her first and second soul rings lit up once again!
Gu Yuena's body flashed with red soul light, and an 'egg'-shaped fireball appeared in mid-air.
In just a short while, the egg of fire had already grown larger!
In the blink of an eye, the small fire egg had become a giant, one-hundred-meter-tall flame egg.
Kcha!!
The moment the flame egg cracked open, an extremely loud phoenix cry resounded from within.
A 'Firebathed Phoenix' burst from the shell. It spread its wings, which spanned over one hundred meters long!!!
The originally huge Ice Phoenix seemed like a common bird in front of it!
After spreading its wings, the 'Firebathed Phoenix' gave just a slight flap and flew towards the Ice Phoenix at an extreme speed.
As it approached, the space around it seemed to distort as if by gas, a strange phenomenon caused by the rapid fluctuation of the air.
Facing the 'Firebathed Phoenix', the Ice Phoenix showed no sign of weakness.
For a time, the two phoenixes, one large and one small, battled together. When the ultra-low and extreme-high temperatures collided, they generated countless clouds of steam and boiling water droplets.
This ultra-high-temperature boiling steam was, as before, kept under Gu Yuena's control within the bounds of the arena.
Subsequently, the battle in the sky above the arena's center grew even more intense. Although the Ice Phoenix was an 'Ultimate Ice Ice Phoenix', the quality of the 'Firebathed Phoenix's' flames was not much worse than 'Ultimate Fire'. Moreover, the quality of Gu Yuena's soul rings and her control over the elements were far too terrifying.
The 'Ice Phoenix' could be said to be completely dominated by the 'Firebathed Phoenix'. As time passed, the Ice Phoenix was continuously melted by the 'Firebathed Phoenix'. The Ice Phoenix's body grew smaller and smaller, until it was too small to maintain the 'Spirit Fusion Skill'.
After the 'Ice Phoenix' dissipated, Shui Bing'er and Xue Wu fell straight down from the sky. Just as they were about to hit the ground.
Gu Yuena casually flicked her 'Elemental Staff', and a gust of wind appeared beneath the two.
Then, this rising wind caught them perfectly, causing them to neither rise nor fall. The two seemed to be floating just above the ground.
"Ten Thousand Beasts Academy versus Elements Academy, Ten Thousand Beasts Academy wins!!" the referee announced loudly.
Countless spectators began to cheer for 'Ten Thousand Beasts Academy'. Their captain, 'Yue'er', was simply too terrifyingly overpowered.
Originally, many people thought that the soul rings of 'Ten Thousand Beasts Academy' were just an illusion.
But 'Yue'er's' strength proved without a doubt that their soul rings were real!
Moreover, 'Yue'er' was the only Soul Emperor level contestant in this competition. This level of strength was utterly outrageous, her soul power was incredibly high, and her appearance was like that of a celestial fairy. With all these fantastical elements combined...
After just one battle, countless spectators had become fans of 'Yue'er'.
"Bi Ji, heal the opponents," Gu Yuena said.
However, just as Bi Ji was about to move, a rain of 'Nineheart Sacred Begonia' flower petals drifted down from the sky.
When the petals landed on the bodies of the injured 'Elements Academy' members, their wounds flashed with a green soul light, and in just a moment, the wounds began to heal rapidly.
The jade-haired beauty (Bi Ji) opened her fair palm, and a tri-colored petal of white, pink, and yellow landed in her hand.
Bi Ji sniffed it gently and said in surprise, "Young Mistress, this petal's healing ability is no weaker than mine, and its healing speed is even faster."
Gu Yuena was a little surprised. The 'Emerald Swan' was the being with the strongest healing ability among all soul beasts.
Furthermore, the quality of Bi Ji's soul rings was much higher than that of the blue-haired girl. Even so, Bi Ji wasn't stronger than her?
Gu Yuena once again turned her attention to 'Heaven Dou Imperial Academy'. She saw the blue-haired girl standing next to the golden-haired young man, holding a 'Nineheart Sacred Begonia' plant in both hands. The breeze brushed past the tips of her blue hair, creating an extremely beautiful picture that reflected in Gu Yuena's purple pupils.
The era she had awakened in was twenty thousand years before the era in her memory fragments. This era seemed to be the one when the Sea God ascended to godhood.
Why hadn't she seen the Shrek Seven Devils in the finals?
Ye Lan, Ye Lengling, Xiao Xue... these were all names she had never heard. Could it be that the memory fragments she dreamed of were related to these people?
Gu Yuena glanced at the golden-haired young man a few more times, then with a wave of her arm, she left the arena with the rest of her team.
On the other side, after all the members of Elements Academy were healed, they all went to the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy's rest area to thank Ye Lengling. Huo Wu grabbed Ye Lengling's small hand and said gratefully, "Thank you, Lengling, your spirit is too amazing! We were so heavily injured, I never expected we could heal so quickly just by relying on your spirit."
"No need to thank me, it's what I should do. Are you all okay?" Ye Lengling quickly waved her hands; healing patients was her duty.
"We're fine, much better now. I just didn't expect the captain of Ten Thousand Beasts Academy to be so strong!" As Shui Bing'er spoke, her eyes flickered towards Ye Lan from time to time.
"Yeah, we had no power to resist at all. The last time I felt this way was when facing Ye Lan," Feng Xiaotian said with emotion.
Yu Tianxin said, "The captain of Ten Thousand Beasts Academy is just too outrageous. Is she proficient in all elements? I can't believe our Elements Academy lost so completely. If only she were the captain of our Elements Academy!"
Feng Xiaotian jabbed Yu Tianxin in the waist with his elbow, joking, "If you think I'm weak, just say it."
"Idol! Can you defeat Ten Thousand Beasts Academy?" Huo Wu asked, her eyes full of anticipation. Shui Bing'er also revealed a hopeful gaze.
Feng Xiaotian watched Huo Wu's adoring expression as she looked at Ye Lan and sighed inwardly.
He had been thoroughly convinced by his loss to Ye Lan.
"I don't know. Gu Yuena hasn't revealed her full strength at all. And besides her, the rest of Ten Thousand Beasts Academy are not to be trifled with. Their soul rings are definitely not fake!" Ye Lan affirmed.
Shui Bing'er said, looking dejected, "Sorry. Even though I gave it my all, I still couldn't push Ten Thousand Beasts Academy to their limit."
Huo Wu's eyes were also full of apology.
Ye Lan waved his hand, "No need to apologize. You all fought very well today, you just ran into a monster academy. Otherwise, with your strength, you would have had a fighting chance even against the Spirit Hall Academy."
"By observing your battle, I've gained a general understanding of Gu Yuena's strength."
Huo Wu encouraged, "Idol, I believe your Heaven Dou Imperial Academy can create a miracle and defeat Ten Thousand Beasts Academy. After all, you are... the 'Azure Emperor'!"
"'Azure Emperor', please avenge us, okay? Defeat Ten Thousand Beasts Academy and become the champion of the entire Douluo Continent!" Shui Bing'er requested.
Dugu Yan watched as Huo Wu and Shui Bing'er moved closer and closer to Ye Lan. She quickly hurried over to Ye Lan's side and said, "Don't worry! Idol will definitely defeat Ten Thousand Beasts Academy!"
"I'll do my best," Ye Lan said.
"Okay! Go, Idol! We'll all come to support your Heaven Dou Imperial Academy then. We hope this year's champion can be brought back to the Heaven Dou Empire." Huo Wu and Shui Bing'er waved goodbye to the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy.
"Ye Lan, what's the arrangement for the top three in the finals?" Ye Lengling asked, gazing at Ye Lan's profile.
Ye Lan pondered for a moment and said, "The top three finals have a one-on-one ranking match mechanism. However, we'll just forfeit it."
Zhu Zhuqing asked in confusion, "Teacher, why forfeit? If we win the final ranking match, don't we go straight to the grand final?"
The others from Heaven Dou Academy all cast confused glances his way.
"This is because we have a reason why we must defeat Spirit Hall Academy. As for why, I'll tell you in the future if there's a chance."
Even if they lost to Ten Thousand Beasts Academy in this tournament, the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy team had to defeat the Spirit Hall Academy team. This was Xiao Xue's battle of proof.
As for the conflict between Xiao Xue and Bibi Dong, he couldn't easily explain it. Even if he knew the truth of the matter, resolving the conflict between Qian Renxue and Bibi Dong was still extremely tricky. He didn't even know where to start.
After all, he couldn't just rip open Bibi Dong's old wounds to ease the relationship between them. That would be too cruel to Bibi Dong.
"In the team battle format, we have a chance to defeat Ten Thousand Beasts Academy. But in the ranking match format, their lineup of six Soul Kings paired with a Soul Emperor is just too ridiculous."
"Moreover, every spirit of Ten Thousand Beasts Academy is a top-tier spirit, all of them are 'Super Spirits'."
"The Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion. The regular Ice Jade Scorpion already possesses the 'Ultimate Ice' attribute, let alone the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion. Besides 'Ultimate Ice', its base stats are definitely no worse than the 'Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon'."
"And the Darkgold Terrorclaw Bear possesses the 'Ultimate Metal' attribute. Its attack power is absolutely on an unimaginable level. A thousand-year Darkgold Terrorclaw Bear can fight a ten-thousand-year soul beast. A Soul King level 'Darkgold Terrorclaw Bear' Soul Master would have attack power comparable to a Soul Saint, with base stats that could match a Soul Emperor."
"The Demon Eye Devil Tree, an 'Ultimate Wood' spirit, and it also has poison and spiritual attributes. Its control ability is definitely several times stronger than Tang San's. My soul power is two ranks lower than his; I don't have much confidence that I can counter him."
"The Emerald Swan spirit. Her healing ability is likely no worse than Lengling's, and she has an advantage in soul power reserves. Fortunately, Lengling's healing efficiency and soul power utilization efficiency should be beyond her."
"The Hell Devil Dragon King spirit, a true dragon-level spirit. Its dragon blood is purer than the 'Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon'. In terms of potential alone, this spirit is even close to a God-level spirit!"
"Even the weakest spirit in Ten Thousand Beasts Academy, the 'Three-Headed Scarlet Devil', can be compared to Tianheng's 'Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon'."
"And as for the 'Silver Dragon Spear' who can be their captain, her strength is definitely beyond imagination. I don't think her spirit is as simple as a tool spirit. Moreover, the 'Clear Sky Hammer' definitely cannot compare to the quality of the 'Silver Dragon Spear'."
"So the origins of their spirits are actually this terrifying!" Ausluo exclaimed in amazement.
"As expected of God Ye, to know all these spirits like the back of his hand," Yu Feng lamented.
Ye Lan shook his head, "I only know the gist of it. Aside from Gu Yuena, none of them have revealed their soul skills. Even I don't know what their soul skills are."
"With these extremely powerful spirits, combined with the new system's ten-thousand-year or even hundred-thousand-year soul rings... even I don't have the confidence to lead you all to victory."
Shi Mo and Shi Mò (the Shi brothers) clapped a hand on Ye Lan's shoulder, shouting, "Captain, we believe in you!!"
"We believe in you too!" The members of Heaven Dou Imperial Academy also gathered around Ye Lan. If anyone could lead them to victory against a stronger opponent, it had to be God Ye, Ye Lan!
"Alright. Since everyone believes in me so much, I will do my absolute best to lead you all to win the championship of the entire continent!"
The next day, Spirit City, Papal Palace.
The arena for the final tournament had been moved from the center of Spirit City to the front of the Papal Palace.
Unlike the previous elimination rounds, this time, in addition to the countless Soul Master spectators, there were also many clergy members and Holy Imperial Warriors helping to maintain order.
After a short while, several figures appeared in the VIP seating area of the Papal Palace.
They were: Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School's Master Ning Fengzhi, Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan, Ghost Douluo Gui Mei, Pope Bibi Dong, and the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect's Master, Di Tian.
Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo glanced at Di Tian with apprehension. The sense of pressure Di Tian gave them made their entire bodies uncomfortable, even more uncomfortable than when they were near the Great Elder of the Douluo Palace, Qian Daoliu.
Bibi Dong gripped her Papal Scepter tightly, swept a glance at Di Tian, and then fixed her gaze on Xiao Xue.
Xiao Xue sensed something and met Bibi Dong's gaze. After just one glance, both of them shifted their line of sight elsewhere.
Bibi Dong sized up the golden-haired young man. In Ye Lan, she saw a unique temperament composed of 'nonchalance', 'control', and 'laziness'.
Just glancing at Ye Lan's appearance, Bibi Dong nodded to herself.
Xiao Xue's taste was much better than hers. It was just that Ye Lan had a few too many women around him, but this flaw was nothing compared to her own misjudgment, Yu Xiaogang.
Today, Yu Xiaogang had become a complete laughingstock across the continent.
Originally, because of Yu Tianheng's connection to the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's Master, Yu Yuanzhen, was also supposed to attend this final tournament. However, because of that matter, he didn't have the face to show up.
After scanning Ye Lan, Bibi Dong was drawn to the silver-haired girl.
In this silver-haired girl, she saw the same temperament as her own—a temperament of being supreme and unrivalled under the heavens.
"Interesting," Bibi Dong murmured.
Gu Yuena's attention was also on Bibi Dong, her brow furrowing slightly.
She hadn't expected the Pope of Spirit Hall to be a God's Chosen. From the Pope's body, she sensed the aura of the Rakshasa God.
Ripples stirred in Gu Yuena's purple pupils as she began to ponder the matter of the Rakshasa God.
In her memory fragments, there were no memories related to the Rakshasa God at all.
Her wariness towards humans deepened by another degree.
Following the appearance of the Pope and the several Titled Douluo, the originally noisy arena instantly fell silent.
Bibi Dong waved her left hand, and two clergy members brought up the rewards for this final tournament. On a red brocade tray were three spirit bones, glowing with a faint soul light.
The moment the spirit bones appeared, countless Soul Master spectators began to exclaim in shock.
Even one ten-thousand-year spirit ring was priceless; an ordinary Soul Master family couldn't afford one even if they bankrupted themselves, let alone three spirit bones!
And among the three spirit bones, there was even an incomparably precious skull bone.
The six members of Ten Thousand Beasts Academy became extremely agitated. For spirit bones of their kin to be used as prizes was very difficult for them to accept.
"Quiet," Gu Yuena said flatly.
Ten Thousand Beasts Academy instantly quieted down. Gu Yuena transmitted her voice using soul power, "You are human now. You must learn to see things with a human mindset. Before we achieve the great cause of the soul beasts, we must accept necessary sacrifices."
"Do not let your bestial nature overcome your reason. You must learn to control your emotions."
"Yes, Young Mistress," the members of Ten Thousand Beasts Academy replied in unison.
After the three spirit bones were brought up, Pope Bibi Dong walked forward with twelve Cardinals. The twelve Cardinals stood divided to her left and right, six people on each side.
One of the white-robed Bishops announced, "Her Holiness, the Pope, has arrived!"
"Long live!"
"Long live!"
"Long live!"
Countless Soul Masters knelt on one knee in perfect unison to worship the Pope of Spirit Hall. The roar of their voices was like a mountain collapsing or a tsunami.
Just as Ausluo, Yu Feng, and the others were about to kneel, Xiao Xue, gazing at Pope Bibi Dong who stood above the tens of thousands, spoke, "Everyone, there's no need to kneel."
"Just stand."
Yu Tianheng and Ausluo froze, looking at Xiao Xue in confusion.
Was Xiao Xue really this brave?
Wasn't she afraid of offending the Pope of Spirit Hall?
This generation's Spirit Hall Pope was known as the strongest and wisest Pope in history. Regardless of strength or prestige, paying respects to the Pope wasn't a big deal to them.
Besides Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, the Ten Thousand Beasts Academy on the other side did the same.
They only knelt to their lord, the Silver Dragon King. They would certainly not kneel to a human Pope.
"How audacious! To actually show such..." a Cardinal was just about to reprimand them.
Chrysanthemum Douluo shouted, "Insolence! Has Her Holiness the Pope even spoken yet?"
Chrysanthemum Douluo cursed inwardly. This idiot. Trying to stand up for Her Holiness, but not even looking at the situation.
Xiao Xue is Qian Daoliu's granddaughter and Bibi Dong's daughter. Is her not respecting the Pope truly 'disrespect'?
This is a family matter.
"But..." That Cardinal looked at Ten Thousand Beasts Academy, wanting to say more but hesitating.
"Alright, everyone may rise," Bibi Dong waved her hand, and the countless kneeling Soul Masters all stood up.
Whether others knelt or not was unimportant to Bibi Dong. It was just that her relationship with Xiao Xue was like fire and water, which made her immensely regretful.
Why did my past self have to treat Xiao Xue that way? If I hadn't treated Xiao Xue with such indifference back then, perhaps Xiao Xue wouldn't be standing in opposition to me today?
Qian Renxue saw a trace of sorrow flash through Bibi Dong's eyes. This was the first time she had ever seen sadness in the Pope's eyes.
For some reason, her heart ached a little.
Suddenly, she was embraced by Ye Lan. Qian Renxue instantly felt at ease and leaned against Ye Lan's shoulder.
Ye Lan gently stroked Xiao Xue's shoulder. He had already sensed that Xiao Xue's emotions were amiss, and it was likely related to Bibi Dong.
If only these two could just be direct with each other, it wouldn't be so troublesome for me.
(End of Chapter)