"Ji Hui is out!"
The referee's voice rang out, but Ji Tongxuan could no longer hear it.
Red light spread from his wings to his entire body. Even his eyes turned crimson, and the chirping sound from his mouth changed from loud to hoarse, finally settling into a low growl from his throat.
When the light dissipated, Ji Tongxuan's wings had grown more than twice their original size, and their color had shifted from gray to blood red.
With his wings spread, Ji Tongxuan rose from the ground, flying in mid-air and looking down at Wang Nan.
Ji Hui, in his hand, had already fainted.
Ji Tongxuan glanced at him with some disgust before throwing him aside.
The referee, sensing something was off with Ji Tongxuan's state, was about to stop the match, but suddenly paused.
It seemed he heard something, and the referee teacher casually swept his gaze over the audience, then changed direction, sending Ji Hui off the stage.
Ji Tongxuan flapped his wings and swooped down toward Wang Nan, his right hand forming a claw, reaching for Wang Nan's throat.
Wang Nan held his Coiling Dragon Rod vertically in front of him, but this claw strike forced him back several steps.
This was the first time Wang Nan had been directly outmatched by an opponent.
In previous matches, he had faced opponents skilled in strength, like Yu Chenyu, but with Gongyang Mo's support, even a Dragon-transformed Yu Chenyu was manageable.
However, the strength of the person in front of him was a bit too excessive.
"Speed!" Wang Nan shouted toward Gongyang Mo, unable to contend head-on.
Regardless of whether the opponent used an extra Spirit Ability or some secret technique, it was impossible for an agility-attack system Spirit Grandmaster's strength to increase to such an extent and last indefinitely.
Wang Nan's goal was to constantly maneuver and drag out his burst time.
His wings flapped continuously, and Ji Tongxuan flew into the air again, quickly gaining the aerial advantage. He reached out to grab the back of Wang Nan's neck.
From a distance, this posture had the distinct feeling of an eagle catching a rabbit.
Wang Nan, fully aware of his 'rabbit' status, slammed his Coiling Dragon Rod hard into the ground on his right side, using the recoil to lean to his left and narrowly avoiding the fierce strike.
Ji Tongxuan missed his attack, grabbed his own wing with his left hand, and swung it fiercely. His second spirit ring lit up, and the edge of the wing sliced to the left like a blade.
Wang Nan quickly adjusted his posture, about to turn and dodge again, but suddenly felt his body sink.
Looking back, Ji Tongxuan's teammate, Song Chang, had already reached Gongyang Mo's side.
Even though Gongyang Mo was a three-ring Spirit Elder, his Spirit's characteristics meant he couldn't contend with Song Chang, an attack system Spirit Master.
Under Song Chang's continuous attacks, Gongyang Mo could only reluctantly interrupt his support for Wang Nan.
Without the amplification of Gongyang Mo's thousand-year Spirit Ability, Wang Nan, relying solely on his speed, seemed unable to compare with the current Ji Tongxuan.
With thoughts racing, Wang Nan made his decision.
Then he would go all out; at worst, it would just be a loss.
Wang Nan's consciousness once again connected to his mental force. Unlike before, the light cluster in his mental force—almost always dormant—seemed to come to life, constantly flickering with white light like breathing. The lake symbolizing his mental force also rose and fell with it.
He didn't bother to check the changes in his mental force. Instead, he held the Coiling Dragon Rod at his waist with both hands and instantly 'pointed' it forward.
The rod and the wing collided, and Wang Nan's mental force poured out along the Coiling Dragon Rod.
What neither of them expected was that Ji Tongxuan's spirit power rapidly receded, as if encountering a natural enemy, and his wings disappeared.
Ji Tongxuan, who had just been full of confidence, instantly lost all his strength, and the sound of bones breaking came from his left arm, from his fingers all the way to his shoulder.
"Wang Nan's team wins!" Du Weilun's voice rang out from the high platform.
As he arrived, Yan Shaozhe silently left the high platform, and Du Weilun finally called a halt to the match.
As Du Weilun ascended the stage, the noisy new students around them quieted down.
"The champion of the new student elimination round is Wang Nan's team. I presume there are no objections?" With his strength as an eight-ring Spirit Douluo, Du Weilun's voice carried far.
There were no dissenting voices in the audience. The sound of Ji Tongxuan's bones breaking would likely be remembered by these new students for a long time, so naturally, no one questioned the champion's title.
"Then, everyone is dismissed.
All new students will gather in Shrek Plaza two days later for class assignments.
The teachers responsible for the entrance examination and all homeroom teachers will come to my office for a meeting."
After Du Weilun left the assessment area, Wang Yan hurried over from the high platform.
"Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine, Uncle.
But what happened?"
Wang Nan sensed that the atmosphere was a bit off. Even though it was just a new student assessment, it shouldn't have ended so hastily, right?
"You will learn about this in your future courses," Wang Yan said, glancing around.
The new students were already walking out of the assessment area.
"Come, let's talk as we walk."
"Do you know what an Evil Soul Master is?"
"Our Spirits can be anything, and because of this diversity, Spirits possess various characteristics.
Some Spirits, while possessing great power, can also cause extremely detrimental effects to the Spirit Master themselves or to others around them."
"If these Spirit Masters can control their Spirits and suppress these characteristics, then they are no different from ordinary Spirit Masters.
However, once they cannot suppress their Spirit's characteristics, or if they intentionally indulge the evil side of their Spirit due to a desire for readily available power, they will fall into being Evil Soul Masters."
"Teacher Wang means Ji Tongxuan was an Evil Soul Master?"
It was Gongyang Mo who asked the question; for him, this was the first time he had encountered the concept of an Evil Soul Master.
"That's right. Ji Tongxuan's Spirit is called Crying Blood Chirp, and it mutated from other bird Spirits.
Before I introduce this Spirit, let me tell you a story.
There is a type of bird that lays its eggs in the nests of other birds. When the young hatch, they snatch food from the other young birds to ensure their own survival."
"And the Crying Blood Chirp Spirit is like the bird in the story.
It can strengthen itself by absorbing the spirit power of other bird Spirits, while simultaneously transferring the damage it receives.
If used properly, a Crying Blood Chirp Spirit Master with several bird Spirit assists can reach a terrifying level of strength."
"So, Ji Tongxuan relied on this method to rush into the finals?"
"Yes, a Crying Blood Chirp Spirit Master can possess such power with the assistance of other Spirits, but unfortunately, in the final match, Ji Tongxuan couldn't suppress the nature of his Spirit.
Absorption, plunder, greed—once the characteristics of Crying Blood Chirp fully erupt, what just happened will occur: Ji Tongxuan loses control, and Ji Hui is squeezed until he faints."
"I see." Gongyang Mo nodded, then changed the subject. "But Xiaonan, I didn't expect such a powerful Evil Soul Master to be knocked unconscious by your rod."
"Well..." Wang Nan felt his mental force inexplicably increase by a large margin, recalling the unusually active light cluster in his mental force just now. "I'm not sure either. I just felt like Ji Tongxuan suddenly wasn't that strong anymore."
Hearing this, Wang Yan, who was beside him, showed a mysterious smile but didn't intend to explain, instead patting Wang Nan's shoulder.
"Alright, don't think too much about it. For these two days, just enjoy the joy of being the champion."