No soul skills. No flashy light effects.
Yet the deep chasm gouged into the earth said everything about the young man's terrifying power.
Even a few of the supervising instructors felt their hearts skip—none of them could cleave the ground so casually.
The instructor from Balak Academy glanced pitifully toward Platinum Bishop Salas, hoping he would step in and "uphold justice."
Salas acted as if he hadn't seen a thing.
With a sigh, the instructor looked to Ning Fengzhi, famed for his kindly reputation.
Ning Fengzhi gave a mild glance—and said nothing.
Clearly: not my problem.
What on earth…?
"I expect a fair match. Please continue," Li Chang'an said, sheathing his sword.
He spared the Balak instructor a calm look, then turned to the referee. Only then did he pat Xiao Wu's shoulder and step down from the stage.
No one noticed the thread of gold-and-crimson light that slipped from his palm into Xiao Wu's sleeve.
Not even Xiao Wu felt it.
Still, that single sword stroke had cowed their opponents.
They didn't dare provoke further—but their anger simmered, hard to hide.
In tournaments like this, face was everything.
Balak Academy, clearly incensed, sent up another fighter—and to Crimson Rose's mild surprise, he was also a Spirit Ancestor above rank forty.
On a stage like this, a Spirit Ancestor counted as high-end combat power.
For Balak to field two in a row was a sign: they were going all out.
He strode up and, even before the referee could start the bout, released his Martial Soul.
It was a strange one—a flower, with a red core and orange petals.
"As expected—Sunflower," Li Chang'an murmured, patting Mu Xi on the shoulder with a knowing smile.
Just as he'd anticipated, Xiao Wu's second opponent possessed a plant Martial Soul with strong control capabilities.
Wild sunflowers could release a peculiar scent that robbed enemies of fighting strength—a mental toxin.
The plant's body was tough as iron; as a Martial Soul, it combined poison and bludgeoning in one.
Clearly, this opponent wouldn't be easy.
Seeing the man's ring configuration—white, yellow, purple, purple—Xiao Wu's expression grew more solemn.
She'd already revealed her abilities once; the enemy would be prepared.
Sunflower carried a poison attribute, notoriously troublesome—especially since she lacked any clean counterpoison method.
"You'll pay for what you did just now," the Balak fighter growled.
He wasn't tall, but he was built like a boulder; muscles bunched under the fabric at his broad shoulders.
The image of such a man brandishing a flower was… odd, to say the least.
"Remember the rules," the referee warned. "Violation means disqualification from further matches."
Both nodded—yet neither restrained their killing intent.
"Begin!"
At the call, the Balak student's first ring lit.
The sunflower in his hand surged with the wind—its disk expanding to a full meter across, the stem lengthening to over three meters.
In an instant it had become a bizarre polearm.
He swept it once; a thick yellow mist billowed from the flower's heart, rolling straight toward Xiao Wu.
Xiao Wu could not advance—so she retreated in quick bounds.
Even so, a faint sweet fragrance reached her nose.
The scent was rich. One breath was enough to make her head swim.
At equal tiers, especially when neither side possessed overwhelming soul power, poison-type Spirit Masters held a natural edge.
Used well, poison could severely limit an opponent.
This Balak student's attributes meant that, aside from Martial Souls that specifically countered toxins, only fire and water types like Huo Wu and Shui Bing'er could restrain him.
A heaviness pressed against Xiao Wu's chest—the poison had begun to act.
She hurriedly circulated her soul power to suppress it.
Her opponent didn't rush.
He smiled coldly and fanned the sunflower again and again, driving a fresh wave of yellow fog toward her.
The coverage widened with each sweep.
Now his first and second rings glowed at once—
one for enlarging the sunflower, the other for the poisonous mist.
'What now?'
Xiao Wu hesitated for a heartbeat.
To win, she had to break in like thunder and finish him quickly—
but would he be unprepared for that? He still had two skills—third and fourth—untouched.
After the first fight, her remaining soul power was enough to use techniques, but not enough to close safely through that miasma.
Just then, a strange warmth flowed from her chest into her meridians.
The tightness vanished from her lungs, and a golden-red radiance welled up beneath her skin, unfurling around her like a thin aegis.
The poisonous fog washed over her at that exact moment—
and stopped.
No matter how dense, it could not seep through the golden-red light.
Worse for the Balak fighter, the mist that touched her aura melted like frost in sunlight.
Within seconds, a clear bubble ten square meters wide yawned open around Xiao Wu—utterly free of poison.
Her opponent was stunned.
So was Xiao Wu.
But her battle instincts were keen; she didn't waste the opening. She charged.
"What is that golden-red glow?" Hu Liena turned to Li Chang'an. "Only you touched her after the last bout. You must know."
Li Chang'an glanced at Mu Xi, then smiled.
"Mu Xi has a blossom called Lovesick Heartbreak Red—the king of flowers. It has a spirit of its own. After she made brief contact with it, I took the chance, when I patted Xiao Wu's shoulder, to pass the flower to her."
"Then why did I get White Reverie, while Mu Xi has Lovesick Heartbreak Red?" Hu Liena asked, baffled.
"Um… Changsheng, didn't you say White Reverie existed as only one blossom?" Ning Rongrong and Meng Yiran asked in unison.
The three women looked at one another—then all turned the same chilly smile on Li Chang'an.
…Well. That's a crash-and-burn if I've ever seen one.
On the field, Xiao Wu—still unsure what had happened—pressed her advantage.
Seeing his poison nullified, and feeling his soul power drain as the miasma evaporated, the Balak student panicked and unleashed his third skill.
He pivoted and whipped the sunflower wide.
Pale yellow motes showered from the massive disk, flooding a huge area with crushing force. There was no room to dodge.
Normally, Xiao Wu could have slipped away with teleportation—
but some quiet voice inside told her not to evade.
She obeyed it without thinking.
When she realized and tried to trigger a skill—
it was already too late.