"Undying Body: grants the host five minutes of immortality. Note: physical durability rises to a demi-god level."
"Hah…" Li Chang'an drew a sharp breath as he read the description. Only five minutes, and only three uses—but paired with his demi-god–tier spiritual power, the effect would be more than the sum of its parts. For that window, mind and body would have no weak points.
Decision made, he steadied his thoughts and fixed his gaze on Huo Wushuang. The gunpowder in the air seemed to catch fire.
Li Chang'an moved. His footwork looked simple at first glance, yet carried a subtle profundity as he closed in on Huo Wushuang.
Huo Wushuang's first soul ring flashed. The dark red sheen on the scales covering his body turned crystal-bright, like armor snapping into place. He didn't rush; he simply locked his eyes on the rapidly approaching Li Chang'an.
Even as the distance shrank, Li Chang'an still didn't trigger a soul skill. The sword remained loose in his hand.
Huo Wushuang's patience snapped. He clapped his palms together before his chest. Dark-red light surged between them, compressing into a palm-sized sphere.
No flames rose. No heat spilled out. The moment he locked on, the sphere shot forth, streaking straight for Li Chang'an.
At the instant before impact, Li Chang'an's steps shifted lightly. He slipped past the projectile without effort, now less than five meters from Huo Wushuang.
The attack wasn't so easily avoided. The orb curled midair and chased him again, like a lock-on guided by spiritual force.
A tracking strike with spiritual lock?
Li Chang'an didn't pause. A flower of flame kindled on his fingers and met the incoming orb head-on. The two collisions canceled one another out.
But in the wake of the detonation, a wave of violent force swept in—an unavoidable blast.
Blazing Academy's countermeasure was straightforward: suppress the fire attribute itself and convert it into another mode of attack.
Fire wasn't only heat; it was explosion.
Huo Wushuang had compressed his fire-attribute soul power to the limit, then released it at the moment of contact to create explosive force. Even if fire couldn't harm Li Chang'an directly, the blast could still be devastating.
As one of the Five Element Academies, Blazing lived up to its name. Their instructors and students had devised a counter in such a short time—impressive.
Li Chang'an acknowledged that much in his heart. But so what? It was still only fire.
Huo Wushuang lunged, body-first, to crash into him.
Li Chang'an had already read the plan: if they touched, the dark-red scale armor would chain explosions across its surface and tear him up. Compress soul power that far and the blasts were no joke.
He didn't dodge. Instead, a blue crystalline armor unfurled over his own body—ice.
He charged in wearing that ice armor.
No explosion followed. At the instant of impact, Huo Wushuang froze solid, transformed into a man-shaped sculpture of ice. Li Chang'an's armor shattered to frost and vanished.
"My ice is an ultimate attribute. You can't match it." With a light bump, Li Chang'an had felled Blazing's captain. Effortless, and all the more unfathomable.
After the referee dispelled the ice and announced the result, Huo Wushuang stared at Li Chang'an with unwilling shock.
'I really am beneath him. The precision of his timing and technique—even that opening stepwork—was on another level.'
"When you faced me, you'd already lost your belief," Li Chang'an said quietly. "A Spirit Master without confidence—how can he win?"
Hearing those words, and seeing those calm eyes, Huo Wushuang suddenly felt as though this younger man had become his teacher.
Li Chang'an didn't want to see his future brother-in-law crushed, so he offered the single reminder.
Huo Wu rushed up then, gripping Huo Wushuang's arm. "Brother, are you all right?"
"I'm fine," he said, shaking his head. "I lost—and I accept it."
Huo Wu's head snapped up. Her eyes seemed to shoot flame as she stared at Li Chang'an.
He met her look with the same even calm. Deep hatred is the shadow of deep feeling, after all.
The first bout ended just like that. There were no cheers, no chaos like in the preliminaries—but the "shock value" Li Chang'an harvested soared all the same, leaping past a hundred thousand in an instant.
From there, everything felt easy. He remained composed while Blazing sent five more in succession. The twin brothers, Huo Yun and Huo Yu, even broke through from level thirty-nine to forty mid-event.
None of them forced Li Chang'an to use even his second soul skill.
Blazing effectively had four Spirit Ancestors above forty. Yet after six fighters, they still couldn't halt his advance. His soul power was abundant; not a hint of fatigue touched his face.
Meanwhile, his point tally had climbed by over a million. That's the dividend of a first-round show of dominance: the more jaws that drop, the more points you earn.
At last, Blazing's final fighter, their vice-captain Huo Wu, stepped onto the field with heavy steps.
One-versus-six. The most lopsided scoreline since the advancement matches began—and the team on the receiving end was the veteran powerhouse Blazing Academy. No one had imagined such a result before today, and yet here it was.
Now, whether Royal Knights or academy students, everyone had only one question: could Li Chang'an finish it alone? Could he truly sweep all seven?
Fixing her gaze on Li Chang'an, Huo Wu found her mind growing calm. This wasn't just between the two of them. It was Blazing Academy's honor on the line.
If she lost and let him complete a one-versus-seven, her academy would never lift its head among the Five Element Academies again.
So she could not lose. No matter what.
With that conviction, her emotions cooled and settled.
Not yet twenty, she was the youngest genius in Blazing's history. The last month of harsh training had pushed her another level, to forty-four. By soul power and by Martial Soul, she believed she surpassed the man before her.
Then why—why could none of them defeat him? Was it only because of those two ten-thousand-year soul rings? Because his fire attribute was stronger?
No. It couldn't be just that.
Li Chang'an watched her from thirty meters away and blinked in surprise. Her aura felt… different.
They had never truly spoken. Every time he'd seen her, she had radiated a volatile, explosive heat—much like Liu Erlong used to be.
Of course, nowadays Liu Erlong in bed was all gentle spring water; like a ripe peach—sweet and juicy, hard to resist another bite.