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"I declare the final tournament of the All-Continent Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Competition now open! Next is the ranking match segment. Spirit Hall Academy, Heaven Dou Royal Academy, and Ten Thousand Beasts Academy, send seven members to participate in the ranking match. The academy that can endure to the very end will advance directly to the grand finals. The eliminated academies will then engage in a seven-versus-seven team battle, and the victorious side will compete against the team that advanced from the ranking match for the All-Continent Championship!" Bibi Dong announced loudly.
At this moment, Qin Ming stepped forward and declared loudly, "Heaven Dou Royal Academy forfeits the ranking match!"
Bibi Dong cast an intrigued glance at Qian Renxue. What was the meaning of this?
Xiao Xue was definitely not the type of person to give up on a match. She was extremely competitive; even if she were to lose, she would never give up.
In that case, there was only one possibility. Xiao Xue wanted to defeat Spirit Hall Academy.
Only if Heaven Dou Royal Academy conceded could they be guaranteed to face Spirit Hall Academy.
Having thought of this, Bibi Dong circulated her spirit power and used a spirit power sound transmission:
"Nana, you all will concede as well. Prepare to battle Heaven Dou Royal Academy."
Hu Liena looked at her teacher, Bibi Dong, in confusion. She had never expected her teacher to actually have a day where she would concede.
Why was this?
Hu Liena turned her gaze toward the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, guessing inwardly:
Is it because of Qian Renxue?
Ever since she was young, Hu Liena had been extremely puzzled as to why Qian Renxue's relationship with her teacher had become so strained.
And every time she asked her teacher this question, her teacher would become angry and tell her not to concern herself with the matter.
Not long after, Qian Renxue had disappeared.
She never imagined that over a decade later, Qian Renxue would appear as 'Xiao Xue' in the Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
Since her teacher wanted her to concede and fight against Heaven Dou Royal Academy and Xiao Xue, then she would prove to her teacher that her teacher had not misjudged her!
Hu Liena spoke up: "Spirit Hall Academy also concedes."
Xie Yue and Yan looked at Hu Liena in astonishment, asking confusedly, "Nana, why are we conceding? Although Ten Thousand Beasts Academy is terrifying, we should at least try, no matter what, right?!"
Hu Liena said helplessly, "I don't even know what you two have been busy with these past few days. You don't even know who your opponent is. Go and see who is on the Heaven Dou Royal Academy team."
Xie Yue and Yan's gazes shifted toward the Heaven Dou Royal Academy. The moment they saw the golden-haired young woman, both of them turned pale with fright.
Wasn't that the Young Master of Spirit Hall?
Why would she appear in the Heaven Dou Royal Academy?
"We understand. Next up is our battle with Heaven Dou Royal Academy, then?"
"Mhm. I hope you can help me defeat Heaven Dou Royal Academy!" Hu Liena requested.
"Nana, just watch me perform! My Flame Lord is second to none!" Yan said with confidence.
As her older brother, Xie Yue sensed Hu Liena's emotional fluctuations. He patted her on the shoulder and said, "Don't be under too much pressure. Just display the strength you're supposed to have, and Her Majesty the Pope will not be disappointed."
The other members of the Spirit Hall team also puffed out their chests, vowing to help Hu Liena defeat Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
The tournament staff officials were momentarily put in a difficult position upon seeing both Spirit Hall Academy and Heaven Dou Royal Academy forfeit the ranking match segment.
This was because the ranking match was supposed to be held in the morning, with the elimination match in the afternoon.
Could it be that they were to directly announce Ten Thousand Beasts Academy as the winner and dismiss the audience without a single match being fought?
At this juncture, Bibi Dong spoke: "Since Heaven Dou Royal Academy and Spirit Hall Academy have both conceded, the elimination match scheduled for the afternoon will be moved to the morning. You have ten minutes to prepare. Ten minutes from now, the match will begin."
"Your Majesty is wise!" the twelve Red-robed Cardinals said in unison.
Hearing that the elimination match was about to begin, Qin Ming asked, "Xiao Lan, how should we arrange our tactics? Who should we send up?"
Ye Lan pondered for a moment before saying, "Next up, it will be me, Xiao Xue, Leng Leng, Rongrong, Yanyan, Zhuqing, and Shi Mo."
Shi Mo's younger brother, Shi Mo, patted his shoulder, "Brother, good luck!"
Shi Mo nodded. For the captain's sake, he had to exert one hundred percent of his strength.
"Once the battle begins, I want you all to keep your eyes tightly closed and hold your breath. Do not give Hu Liena any opportunity to charm you. Her martial spirit specializes in 'Charm'."
Ning Rongrong grabbed Ye Lan's hand and shook it, "Teacher, aren't you closing your eyes? Aren't you afraid of having your soul hooked away by that fox?"
"He dares!" Qian Renxue raised a fist.
Other women, she could perhaps tolerate.
But if Ye Lan's soul was hooked away by Hu Liena, that was something she could not tolerate one bit.
Ye Lan gave an embarrassed laugh, "I'm immune to illusions. How could my soul possibly be hooked away by Hu Liena?!"
"That's hard to say. Her martial spirit is a fox! Foxes specialize in seducing people!" Dugu Yan continuously sized up the brown-haired Hu Liena, whose bodily curves were even more bewitching than her own, feeling a sense of threat in her heart.
"I trust Ye Lan. As soon as the battle starts, I will close my eyes and hold my breath," Ye Leng Leng said.
"I will also follow Captain Ye's arrangement!" Shi Mo stated.
"Everyone just needs to perform normally in a moment. Today is Xiao Xue's home ground; she will be the one to deal with Spirit Hall Academy's main force," Ye Lan said in a relaxed tone.
A moment later, a tournament official announced loudly:
"The All-Continent Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Competition finals! Heaven Dou Royal Academy versus Spirit Hall Academy is about to begin! Heaven Dou Royal Academy Captain, Ye Lan, martial spirit Blue Silver Grass, level 39 Life-type Spirit Ancestor."
"Xiao Xue, martial spirit Angelic Sacred Sword, level 54 Power-attack-type Spirit King."
"Spirit Hall Academy, Xie Yue, martial spirit Moon Blade, level 52 Power-attack-type Spirit King."
"Hu Liena, martial spirit Fox, level 52 Control-type Spirit King."
"Yan, martial spirit Flame Lord, level 52 Power-attack-type Spirit King."
"Sun Chuantao, martial spirit Ring Greatblade, level 48 Power-attack-type Spirit Ancestor."
"Zhang Ping, martial spirit Golden-Waist Swift, level 47 Agility-attack-type Spirit Ancestor."
"Li Cuo, martial spirit Black-Horned Mountain Boar, level 47 Power-attack-type Spirit Ancestor."
"Xu Yu, martial spirit Gilded Scepter, level 46 Auxiliary-type Spirit Ancestor."
"Everyone has one minute to release your martial spirits. After one minute, the battle will begin!"
After the official finished the announcement, he handed the arena over to the proud geniuses of the Douluo Continent.
Fourteen individuals ascended the stage together. Afterward, spirit lights of various colors soared into the sky as they all activated their spirit avatar possessions and summoned their martial spirits.
A pair of yellow fox ears sprouted from Hu Liena's head, and a large, fluffy fox tail, resembling a flowing mass of fire, grew from her lower back.
After the fox possession, Hu Liena's face became even more enchanting. Even without using a spirit ability, her appearance alone could likely charm a great many people.
A pair of silver, crescent-moon-shaped blades appeared in Xie Yue's hands. He held this pair of long, slender moon blades in a reverse grip, which complemented his silver-white hair color perfectly.
As the strongest individual combatant in the Spirit Hall Academy, Yan's transformation was even greater.
Following his martial spirit possession, his bones cracked and popped, and his skin was covered by a layer of black armor intermingled with molten lava. He directly transformed into a Flame Lord standing over six meters tall. Merely standing there, he appeared exceptionally powerful.
After the fourteen individuals had finished preparing, they began to wait for the time to pass.
One minute passed in the blink of an eye.
From Spirit Hall Academy, Hu Liena was the first to move.
She took light, graceful steps, and a faint pink spirit light flashed across her body. She directly activated her fifth spirit ability, 'Charm'.
Facing Hu Liena's 'Charm Attack', the rest of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy team all followed Ye Lan's prior instructions, tightly closing their eyes and holding their breath.
A golden spirit light surfaced within Ye Lan's pupils. 'Golden Pupils' activated.
Ye Lan, who was immune to illusions, directly sized up Hu Liena's appearance. He had to admit, even without using a spirit ability, her appearance was extremely captivating.
"Hmph, what are you looking at?!" Qian Renxue said in a low voice.
"It's a match, don't mess around!" Ye Lan hurriedly replied.
After Hu Liena activated her spirit ability, she discovered that the opposing side had all closed their eyes. There were only two who had not.
Qian Renxue—she hadn't even attempted to use her charm on her. She knew that her spiritual power was definitely inferior to Qian Renxue's.
But the Heaven Dou Royal Academy's captain, 'Azure Emperor', 'The Scholar' Ye Lan, left her utterly astonished.
He was actually completely unresponsive. Could it be that to him, she didn't possess a single shred of allure?
Ye Lan's reaction caused the usually self-confident Hu Liena to feel a momentary lack of confidence. She looked toward the golden-haired youth in confusion.
With just one glance, Hu Liena froze. She had, contrary to her intent, been charmed by Ye Lan's appearance.
Just at this moment, Xie Yue spoke up: "Nana, since your charm failed, let's just use our ultimate move!"
Hearing her brother's shout, Hu Liena finally reacted. She, who played with the charm system, had actually been charmed by Ye Lan!
"Alright!" Hu Liena quickly nodded, concealing her own abnormality.
"Enchantment!"
All the spirit rings on Hu Liena's body lit up, and the red light surrounding her became increasingly dense.
Xie Yue dashed straight toward Hu Liena. The instant the two collided, Xu Yu (Gilded Scepter) flashed with two intense, golden spirit lights, which swiftly merged into Xie Yue and Hu Liena's bodies.
A red mist materialized from the location where the two had been, and then it began to spread out at extreme speed.
In just a moment, the red fog had covered half the area of the arena.
And in the very center of the red mist, a person with long, flowing hair, wearing a black mask, and clad in pitch-black battle armor, with a slender figure, appeared—'Enchantment'. The Heaven Dou Royal Academy members who were enveloped by the red mist would have their senses reduced by fifty percent, their spirit power suppressed by fifty percent, and all their actions slowed by fifty percent.
Moreover, within this red mist, apart from 'Enchantment' who could see the scene inside, everyone else's range of vision was zero. They simply couldn't see anything.
'Enchantment's' total spirit power was the sum of Hu Liena and Xie Yue. At this moment, 'Enchantment's' strength was comparable to a top-tier Spirit Emperor.
It silently arrived behind Ye Lan. Its twin blades crossed, and a cross-slash chopped toward Ye Lan's back.
'Enchantment' did not see Ye Lan splatter blood on the spot. Instead, the moon blades in its hands gave no feedback.
Ye Lan had suddenly disappeared from before its eyes!
How is his speed so fast!?
'Enchantment' marveled at the explosive speed Ye Lan had unleashed and began to search for his figure.
Ye Lan, at this moment, had already appeared outside the red mist.
Although Xie Yue and Hu Liena's martial soul fusion skill was outrageous, his 'Golden Pupils' true sight was not to be underestimated either.
Inside the red mist, he could clearly see 'Enchantment' circling behind him. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. Sensing 'Enchantment', he had immediately used 'Flash Step' to escape the red mist's range.
After exiting the red mist, a golden spirit light flashed over Ye Lan's body. Five slender Blue Silver Grass vines instantly shot into the red mist. In the blink of an eye, Ye Lan used the Blue Silver Grass to pull Leng Leng, Yanyan, Rongrong, Zhuqing, and Shi Mo all out of the red mist, leaving only Xiao Xue behind to deal with 'Enchantment'.
Inside the red mist, 'Enchantment' watched helplessly as the five members of Heaven Dou Royal Academy were dragged out by the 'Golden Blue Silver Grass'.
It didn't have time to feel sorrow over Ye Lan pulling five people out of the mist. At this moment, Xiao Xue was already raising her 'Angelic Sacred Sword' and chopping down at it.
'Enchantment' hurriedly brought its blades up horizontally to block Xiao Xue's chop.
Zheng!
A sound of metal colliding rang out. Sparks scattered from the point of impact between the circular blades and the 'Angelic Sacred Sword'.
Inside the red mist, Xiao Xue's senses, spirit power, and speed were all drastically reduced, and furthermore, she could not see the situation within the mist.
She might as well just close her eyes completely and rely on her combat instincts to battle 'Enchantment'.
At first, she couldn't sense anything.
Gradually, a faint breeze brushed past the pores on her skin.
She felt as if she could perceive something. It was a hazy gray figure. Subsequently, she directly swung her sword and chopped at it.
'Enchantment's' block let Qian Renxue know that her feeling was not wrong.
Following that, Xiao Xue, relying on her combat instincts, used a flawless upward-swinging blade.
Faced with Xiao Xue's change in move, 'Enchantment' could only lean back to dodge the 'Angelic Sacred Sword'.
Then, 'Enchantment's' body twisted at an extremely bizarre angle, executing a spinning blade swing from bottom to top.
Two attacks, one after the other, struck toward Xiao Xue's waist.
Xiao Xue lightly stepped on the granite; in just two steps, she managed to perfectly dodge 'Enchantment's' spinning twin blades.
Afterward, as if Xiao Xue had opened a 'celestial eye', she instantly seized the attack stiffness 'Enchantment' exhibited. The 'Angelic Sacred Sword' flashed with a blazing white flame and thrust straight toward 'Enchantment'.
'Enchantment' instantly felt its scalp go numb. It found it very difficult to comprehend how Qian Renxue could possibly grasp its opening while her eyes were tightly closed.
Faced with this extremely tricky sword thrust, 'Enchantment' could only relax its standing leg.
As its foothold lost support, 'Enchantment' went with the momentum and lay back on the ground, narrowly and perilously dodging this fatal strike.
Qian Renxue, having gained the upper hand, was unforgiving. Tightly gripping the 'Angelic Sacred Sword' with both hands, she continuously chopped down at 'Enchantment' on the ground.
Dang!
Dang!
Dang!
Faced with Qian Renxue's every chop, 'Enchantment' could only roll left and right on the ground in a sorry state, dodging the opponent's attacks.
With every sword strike Qian Renxue brought down, a massive fissure would crack open in the arena's granite, sending countless fragments of shattered stone flying out.
Relying on three rolls to gain some space, 'Enchantment' escaped from the attack range of Qian Renxue's 'Sacred Sword'.
'Enchantment' hurriedly scrambled up and moved out of Qian Renxue's attack range.
Within Qian Renxue's 'heart eye' perception, the hazy gray figure was slowly disappearing.
Outside the red mist, after Ye Lan pulled the five people out, he immediately released his 'Blue Silver Grass'. He then activated 'Life Share', connecting the life force of all the Heaven Dou Royal Academy members to himself and his Blue Silver Grass.
Ye Lan was worried about Xiao Xue and had wanted to use Life Share to link to her, but what surprised Ye Lan was that Xiao Xue refused the connection, so Ye Lan had no choice but to drop the matter.
When Yan saw Ye Lan use the Blue Silver Grass to pull the five people out, the first spirit ring on his body lit up immediately.
"Hell Lava Burst!"
The giant Flame Lord cupped his hands, and a red ball of molten lava energy instantly condensed in his palms.
The Flame Lord possessed dual attributes of fire and earth. Although neither of these attributes had reached the 'ultimate' level, they weren't far from it.
Moreover, the two attributes fused, enhancing its power to an even higher level.
Fire is easy to extinguish, but extinguishing lava is much more difficult.
After condensing a massive molten lava energy ball, the Flame Lord directly smashed it toward the five members of Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
Faced with this attack, Shi Mo quickly activated his first spirit ability, increasing his defense while simultaneously increasing his resistance to energy damage.
When Ning Rongrong saw Shi Mo stepping forward to charge toward the molten lava energy ball, she quickly chanted, "Nine Treasures famous, Fourth: Defend!"
Under the two layers of defensive enhancement, Shi Mo braced his black tortoise shield and charged toward the lava ball.
Bang!
The instant the 'Hell Lava Burst' struck Shi Mo, it immediately detonated. A mass of lava exploded in front of the tortoise shield, scattering in all directions. Black smoke immediately enveloped Shi Mo.
"Cough, cough, cough!"
Shi Mo was momentarily choked by the black smoke.
As the black smoke dissipated, Yan was astonished to discover that Shi Mo was completely unharmed.
Although the 'Black Tortoise' had the support of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, it shouldn't be completely unharmed when facing his spirit ability, right?!
One must know, he was a Spirit King, and his martial spirit was, strictly speaking, even stronger than the 'Black Tortoise'!
Shi Mo was merely sighing inwardly that Captain Ye's Life Share was just too outrageous.
At this moment, a Blue Silver Grass plant near Ye Lan had already exploded, transferring the injury for Shi Mo.
"Bring it on!" Shi Mo roared, and then charged straight toward Yan.
The one with the strongest attack power in the Spirit Hall Academy was the 'Flame Lord' Yan. His attacks would be greatly weakened when they hit the tortoise shell, so for the total health pool of Life Share, it was negligible.
But if the 'Flame Lord's' area-of-effect attack were to explode in the middle of the six Heaven Dou Royal Academy members...
Then it would pose a threat to the Life Share health pool. After all, Ning Rongrong's and Ye Leng Leng's defense was far from comparable to the 'Black Tortoise'.
Once they were hit by the 'Flame Lord's' AoE attack, the 'Life Share Total Health Pool' would decrease very rapidly.
Therefore, in order to draw the 'Flame Lord's' fire, the usually quiet Shi Mo even used the tank's innate skill, "Taunt."
Faced with the charging 'Black Tortoise', the 'Flame Lord', holding the mentality of 'it's a free hit, might as well take it', swung his massive black lava fist to hammer at him.
Dong!
Shi Mo's arms went numb, and he was knocked back more than ten steps by the 'Flame Lord'.
The 'Flame Lord's' defense and attack power were both at the top tier of the same level. Facing the 'Black Tortoise', it naturally felt little pressure.
Seeing Shi Mo at a disadvantage, Ning Rongrong's Nine Treasure Glazed Pagoda flashed with two rays of light, immediately increasing his strength by fifty percent and his spirit power by fifty percent.
The greatly enhanced Shi Mo once again charged at the 'Flame Lord'. This time, he was not knocked back by the 'Flame Lord', but instead entered a fierce melee with him.
On the other side, the 'Biphosphorus Dragon Emperor' Dugu Yan activated her fourth spirit ability, 'Toxic Dragon Battle Armor'. After transforming into a very cool-looking 'Kamen Dragon Rider', she bypassed the main battlefield of the 'Flame Lord' and the 'Black Tortoise' and charged toward the other four Spirit Ancestors.
A look of astonishment flickered in Li Cuo's eyes. How are you even wilder than a mountain boar, charging straight at the four of us like this? Do you really think you're a dragon and I'm a pig?
"Sun Chuantao (Ring Greatblade), Zhang Ping (Swift), attack together! Don't give the Heaven Dou team any chance!" Li Cuo immediately commanded.
Following that, Sun Chuantao scooped up his greatblade and charged forward together with Li Cuo (Black-Horned Mountain Boar). Zhang Ping, meanwhile, tucked in her wings and descended from the sky, charging straight for the 'Biphosphorus Dragon Emperor'.
Xu Yu ('Gilded Scepter'), seeing this, quickly applied buffs to the 'Mountain Boar' charging at the front.
What they didn't know was just how satisfying it was for the members of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy team to fight. They had the dual protection of the 'Nine Heart Saint Begonia' and 'Life Share'; the concept of 'cowering' simply did not exist in their dictionary.
In Dugu Yan's line of sight...
She saw the 'Single-Horned Mountain Boar' seemingly transform into a black flood surging toward her.
The 'Kamen Dragon Rider', momentarily excited, also sped up and charged toward the black flood.
At the instant of impact, Ning Rongrong's Nine Treasure Glazed Pagoda once again flashed with eight spirit lights, four of which shot directly into the Kamen Dragon Rider.
Bang!
The 'Single-Horned Mountain Boar' was instantly sent flying back more than ten meters. He felt as if his head and chest were about to explode!
The 'Biphosphorus Dragon Emperor', however, only retreated five or six steps before stopping her backward momentum.
Originally, she also should have received considerable injuries. After all, the 'Biphosphorus Dragon Emperor' did not excel in defense.
But she was linked to 'Life Share', so she wouldn't be injured at all!
But the 'Single-Horned Mountain Boar' was not alone. Behind him and above his head, there were still the 'Ring Greatblade' Spirit Ancestor and the 'Golden-Waist Swift' Spirit Ancestor!
The 'Golden-Waist Swift's' second and fourth spirit rings lit up at this time. Its wings and beak turned golden, its attack power and speed simultaneously increasing by one hundred percent!
Just as the 'Golden-Waist Swift' descended from the sky, transforming into a golden shadow and pecking directly at the 'Biphosphorus Dragon Emperor', a black shadow was even faster than him!
That's right, the other four of Ning Rongrong's eight nine-colored lights had been given to buff Zhu Zhuqing.
Zhu Zhuqing, with her four attributes enhanced, activated 'Saint Meow - Speed', 'Nether Thorn Stab', and 'Shadow Form', and directly charged toward the 'Golden-Waist Swift'.
A golden afterimage descending from the sky, and a thin black line.
As if a black bullet had struck a golden arrow, the 'Golden-Waist Swift' was instantly sent flying by a kick from the 'Shadow Saint Meow'.
Its slender body, like a soft cushion, was instantly kicked off the arena by 'Zhu Zhuqing'.
The other one, the 'Ring Greatblade', had leaped high. After the spirit rings on his body flashed with black and yellow light, he swung his blade down in an 'Earthshaker' chop toward the Kamen Dragon Rider.
Before Dugu Yan could even react, she could only retreat and dodge to the side. The instant the greatblade hit the granite arena, three wind blades shot out from the ground toward the sky, accompanied by countless fragments of stone from the exploding fissures.
The three wind blades instantly struck Dugu Yan and Zhu Zhuqing. Just as the 'Ring Greatblade' thought he had accomplished a great feat and eliminated two members of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy team...
He was astonished to discover that the two of them were actually completely unharmed!
Before he could even be shocked, Sun Chuantao (Ring Greatblade) was just about to pull his greatblade up when the furious Dugu Yan stomped one foot on top of the greatblade.
The immense force caused a sharp pain in Sun Chuantao's ten fingers. The greatblade flew from his grasp and was directly stomped into the granite by the Kamen Dragon Rider.
Sun Chuantao, who had been stomped so hard he stumbled, suddenly felt a fierce, strong wind assaulting him.
He saw the Kamen Dragon Rider take a step and twist her body. The ridged armor dragon tail at her waist instantly whipped toward Sun Chuantao.
Bang!
A sonic boom rang out. Sun Chuantao's chest exploded open, revealing stark white ribs, as countless bits of flesh and blood flew out.
Seeing his brother Sun Chuantao heavily injured, Li Cuo (Single-Horned Mountain Boar) flew into a rage. His pupils turned completely white, and white steam blasted from his huge tusks.
His first, second, third, and fourth spirit rings all lit up.
The 'Single-Horned Mountain Boar's' body expanded rapidly, turning into a five-meter-tall black mountain boar, its long single horn like a sharp spear.
Snort!
Snort!
The 'Single-Horned Mountain Boar' let out a death charge, madly crashing toward the Biphosphorus Dragon Emperor.
(End of this chapter)