When the Godlock Ring shattered, Lei Dong's soul power was completely spent. He had lost.
Yet what shook him even more was not his defeat—but what he had seen.
Li Chang'an possessed the lightning attribute.
If even lightning couldn't restrain him, what hope did Thunder Academy have left?
---
As expected, the next to take the stage was Thunder Academy's captain—
their final trump card.
Yu Tianxin, Level 43 assault-type Spirit Ancestor.
Martial Soul: Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon.
He was a direct descendant of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, one of the Seven Great Sects.
By bloodline, he was the cousin of Yu Tianheng from the Heaven Dou Royal Academy team—though a touch weaker in raw strength.
"You'll pay for what you did!" Yu Tianxin snarled, glaring at Li Chang'an with undisguised hatred.
"I don't believe your lightning surpasses mine! And if I'm not mistaken… you were the one who obtained that stone, weren't you?"
That stone—a rare lightning treasure—had been promised to Yu Tianxin by his clan. His father had poured everything into acquiring it, only for it to end up in Li Chang'an's hands at the auction. The resentment still burned in his heart.
Li Chang'an's expression remained calm.
"So what if I did? So what if I didn't? I bought it fairly. If you want revenge, then come take it—if you have the ability."
---
Yu Tianxin snorted coldly, then gave a low growl as his martial soul erupted.
A blinding blue light flared from the center of his brow, expanding across his entire body.
Arcs of blue-violet lightning coiled around him like serpents, crackling and writhing with primal energy.
A lightning-shaped sigil appeared on his forehead. Unlike Yu Tianheng, his transformation affected not one but both arms.
With a tearing sound, his sleeves disintegrated as his forearms swelled, lengthening half a foot, muscles bulging beneath scales of dark violet-blue. His hands turned into taloned dragon claws, each finger joint thick and powerful. Lightning flickered continuously across his arms, and the two yellow and two purple soul rings revolved not around his body—but around each arm, two per side, spinning like orbits of power.
From level thirty onward, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon manifested partial draconic transformation with every new soul ring.
Yu Tianheng at level thirty-nine had only one dragon arm—
Yu Tianxin, at over forty, had both.
The oppressive aura he emitted now surpassed his cousin's entirely.
Even Li Chang'an had to nod inwardly.
As expected of a dragon-type martial soul. Few in the beast line can match such raw dominance.
He smiled faintly and gestured with one hand. "Go ahead. You strike first."
Yu Tianxin needed no invitation.
With the blood of the Tyrant Dragon boiling in his veins, attack was his nature. In that clan, offense wasn't just a tactic—it was instinct.
Blue Dragon Claws!
Twin arcs of lightning ripped through the air, as if two enormous claws were tearing at the void itself.
That was the might of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon—each new level made its user's power rise exponentially. The same technique, when unleashed at a higher realm, could multiply in potency.
It was the privilege of a top-tier martial soul.
But Li Chang'an didn't flinch.
Instead, his second soul ring glowed brightly.
"Second Soul Skill—Thunder Moon Slash!"
A halo of crackling lightning encircled the Taibai Sword, merging weapon and thunder into one seamless arc.
The sword blazed with electric-blue light, humming with unstoppable force.
After all, Li Chang'an was also an assault-type Spirit Master—
how could he possibly yield?
"Zzzk—!"
"Boom—!"
Sword met claw.
The violent explosion of thunder filled the arena with a deafening roar.
In the next instant, Yu Tianxin was sent crashing to the ground, rolling six or seven meters before he could rise again.
Li Chang'an stood in place, steady but dust-covered, his hair disheveled by static.
That was the one flaw in lightning duels—no matter how strong you were, you'd always end up looking like you'd wrestled a storm.
---
But Yu Tianxin wasn't finished.
The moment he landed, he pushed himself up again, his third soul ring bursting to life.
Third Soul Skill—Wrath of the Thunder God!
Power doubled through his body—his lightning intensified a hundredfold, his soul force surged.
The blue glow deepened into violet, forming an armor of pure electricity that wrapped around him like a living storm.
His claws grew even larger, and the cuts left by Li Chang'an's sword vanished in a crackle of healing thunder.
Li Chang'an grinned, eyes gleaming. "Good! That's the spirit!"
Then his first soul ring flared.
"First Soul Skill—Heavenly Cleave!"
The Taibai Sword howled through the air, meeting the dragon claws once more in a direct collision.
Li Chang'an suppressed his soul power to the level of a twenty-fifth rank Spirit Master—the same strength he'd been displaying throughout the tournament.
Yu Tianxin, meanwhile, was going all out.
This was a true clash of will and mastery.
Outside the arena, the spectators were frozen.
Students, nobles, knights—all eyes were fixed on the stage.
This was no ordinary match—this was a duel of conviction, raw and pure.
Even those far stronger—Spirit Kings, even Emperors—felt a thrill of respect watching these two exchange blows.
Yu Tianxin and Li Chang'an, through sheer determination, had stirred every heart.
---
"Thunder's Fury!"
"Thunder Moon Slash!"
Blue and violet light collided, bursting into a miniature sun that illuminated the entire arena.
The sheer force of their soul power shook the ground.
No tricks, no fancy techniques—just a head-on contest of energy.
It was the most dangerous kind of fight.
When two powers of equal might clashed directly, even the slightest imbalance could decide everything—and the loser would pay with severe injury.
---
Another explosion resounded—
the two were blown apart, thrown in opposite directions.
Li Chang'an's hair was a wild mess, his breathing ragged.
But Yu Tianxin's condition was worse—blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
A twenty-fifth rank fighting a forty-third rank, and still holding the upper hand—
that was the measure of Li Chang'an's dominance.
A normal level-twenty-five Spirit Master would have been annihilated.
But Li Chang'an wasn't normal. His battle sense alone rivaled that of a Titled Douluo.
---
Yu Tianxin was no ordinary opponent either.
He was Thunder Academy's ace, one of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's two rising stars.
Together with his cousin Yu Tianheng, they were known as the Twin Dragons—their strength nearly identical.
But because Yu Tianheng was younger, he received more attention, more expectation.
Yu Tianxin refused to be overshadowed.
He trained twice as hard, pushing himself to the brink day after day.
Before coming to this tournament, he had made a vow—
to defeat his cousin in the finals, to prove to the clan that he, not Yu Tianheng, was the rightful heir to the Tyrant Dragon legacy.
And now, before even reaching that goal—he stood on the brink of defeat.
No.
He clenched his fists, lightning dancing madly around him.
'Not yet. I won't lose. Not before I meet him… not before I've proven myself.'
He would fight.
He would fight—until the very end.