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Freed from the Adamantine Freeze, Ning Rongrong's Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda in her palm flashed, releasing three streams of nine-colored radiance.
"Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda—first, Power!"
"Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda—second, Speed!"
"Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda—third, Soul!"
Three bands of prismatic light fell upon Xiaoxue, Zhu Zhuqing, and Dugu Yan.
Strength +40%. Speed +40%. Soul power +40%.
By this moment, Tianshui Academy's three Assault-type soul masters and two Agility-type had already closed to within five meters of Xiaoxue!
Their strongest—Soul Sect Yu Hairou (Coral Barracuda)—lit her first and third rings at once, yellow and purple flaring in tandem.
Coral Carapace!
Coral Lunge!
A crystal-blue armor reformed over Yu Hairou's body, layered with a heavier Coral Carapace. At the same time, Coral Lunge spiked her speed by 200% for several seconds!
Yu Hairou turned into a streak of blue lightning. In that split-second, Shui Bing'er's first soul skill lit again.
Their target: the strongest on the field—Xiaoxue!
The instant Xiaoxue raised her sword, her body was frozen in place by Ice Seal.
Yet at the very moment the blue flash slammed into her, the Adamantine Ice clamping her shattered to steam—the platinum blaze on the Angelic Holy Sword melted it within half a heartbeat.
Xiaoxue swept the holy sword horizontally to catch the meteoric strike. The instant the coral cuirass on Yu Hairou's body touched the Angelic Holy Sword, dense white smoke hissed forth.
Even the ice mail within the coral began to thaw, water beading across its surface.
Yu Hairou's face filled with disbelief.
Not only had her full-speed collision failed to move Xiaoxue, even her big sister's Ice Seal hadn't held the golden-haired girl for a single second!
Bang!
A violent force exploded against the armor at Yu Hairou's abdomen.
Having steadied the crashing impact with her cross-held blade, Xiaoxue lifted a leg and kicked into the coral armor.
Bang—crack!
The coral and ice shells burst into a shower of fragments, and Yu Hairou's body tumbled backward through the air.
Although both layers shattered, the armor bled off enough force for Yu Hairou to barely withstand the kick—she'd taken only light injury.
At that moment, Zhu Zhuqing moved.
"Nether Thrust!"
Launching late yet arriving first, the cat-eared girl—amplified by Saint Meow—Speed Form, Nether Thrust, and Nine Treasure—Speed—erupted forward.
A black afterimage appeared before the airborne Yu Hairou in an instant.
Shui Yue'er glanced toward the cat-eared youth and went cold. They were both speed-specialized Soul Elders, yet the gap between them was this vast?!
Right now, the cat-eared girl's speed rivaled that of a Soul King!
Shui Bing'er frowned the moment Zhu Zhuqing blurred into a streak of black.
So all of Idol's women are this terrifying?
The pressure was immense.
Shui Bing'er's first ring flashed yellow again—Ice Seal froze Zhu Zhuqing once more.
But the ice hadn't held even a second before Zhu Zhuqing blasted free of the Adamantine Freeze!
Ning Rongrong had stacked three attributes upon her—strengthened Shadow Saint Meow could now break the ice by brute force and speed, escaping even faster.
During that single second Zhu Zhuqing was frozen—
Shui Yue'er (Jade Dolphin) and Qiu Ruoshui (Azure Anemone Perch) ignited their rings.
"Azure Sonar Ripple!"
"Anemone Breath!"
Shui Yue'er opened her tiny mouth and lanced Zhu Zhuqing with a shrill sonic attack, while Qiu Ruoshui exhaled a billow of black mist.
The moment Zhu Zhuqing broke free, both Azure Sonar Ripple and Anemone Breath struck home.
Her eardrums vibrated at savage frequencies; the barbed ultrasound lanced a spike of pain through her skull, a wash of tinnitus roaring in her ears.
Then came a briny tang—sea-scent in the air that made her head swim.
Clearly, Shui Yue'er and Qiu Ruoshui were layering control-type skills to cripple the fleetest on the field.
Seeing Zhu Zhuqing impaired, the other Agility-type, Gu Qingbo (Cobalt Sailfish), cried out in delight:
"Now!"
"Sailfish Lunge!"
"Cobalt Flash!"
A razor sailfish lance congealed in Gu Qingbo's hands. She transformed into a blue blur; the spear-tip, like a cobalt star, pricked toward Zhu Zhuqing's heart.
Just as Gu Qingbo thrilled at the hit—
Xiaoxue murmured, "Angelic Purification."
A white glow swept Zhu Zhuqing; all abnormal statuses evaporated at once.
In the same heartbeat that Gu Qingbo's lance should have found flesh, purple light flickered over Zhu Zhuqing.
"Become Shadow!"
Zhu Zhuqing turned into true shadow—her body a living silhouette!
Gu Qingbo felt something wrong the instant her point "landed." The haft in her grip transmitted no feedback at all.
Bewildered, she shot through the "shadow" without resistance.
With Cobalt Flash still active, Gu Qingbo streaked past the shade and ended up tens of meters behind it—nearly overshooting the platform entirely!
In Shadow Form, Zhu Zhuqing's speed spiked by another 100%!
How fast was that?
Of everyone present, only Ye Lan and Xiaoxue could so much as track Zhu Zhuqing's trail.
To all others, she simply vanished, leaving nothing but a black line in the air and a fading afterscent of shadow.
She locked onto the nearest target—Yu Hairou (Coral Barracuda). In Shadow Form, even a Soul Sect was not invincible.
The shade slipped through Yu Hairou's body in a blink, reappearing at her back; the shadow twisted, unleashing a skyward kick.
Yu Hairou, pierced through by the "shadow," sensed danger on pure battle instinct.
Her second and fourth rings flared at once.
Before she was blasted off the stage, Red-Tide Vortex and Barracuda Stampede detonated successfully!
A blue whirlpool ten meters across yawned beneath Zhu Zhuqing's feet, teeming with countless racing "barracuda."
The instant Zhu Zhuqing booted Yu Hairou from the platform, the vortex and fish surged up to bind her.
Inside the maelstrom, her speed plummeted!
Shui Yue'er (Jade Dolphin), Qiu Ruoshui (Azure Anemone Perch), and Gu Qingbo (Cobalt Sailfish) instantly converged to mob the ensnared Zhu Zhuqing.
Her speed dwindled within the current, while theirs, like fish in water, soared.
Before they could complete the encirclement, Dugu Yan moved!
Borrowing the monstrous amplification of Poison Dragon Warplate and the Nine Treasure Pagoda, she plunged straight into the cluster without a hint of restraint!
Shen Liuyu (Enamel Luck Gator) would never allow Dugu Yan to break the siege; her first and second rings flared.
"Enamel Carapace!"
"Luck Gator Tail-Whip!"
A crimson crescent flashed before the charging Bilin Dragon Empress. Dugu Yan twisted, answering tail with tail.
Red crescent slammed into viridian.
Boom!
The gator's enamel shell and Ice-Lock Plating shattered beneath the dragon's strike, and Shen Liuyu's tail went numb with pins and needles.
She hadn't imagined that with three skills adding up she'd still trade even blows with the Bilin Dragon Empress!
Before Shen Liuyu could recover, Dugu Yan's claws tore down on her ice armor—an immense silver crescent smashed into the plate.
Shards of ice fountained skyward. As Shen Liuyu was hurled away, her third ring flared purple.
"Gator Domain—Devour!"
A ten-meter-wide waterfield opened beneath Dugu Yan's feet, crawling with water-shaped crocodiles, each gaping to swallow everything whole.
Dugu Yan sank into the "gator" waters in an instant.
At the fore of Tianshui's formation, only three remained.
Three-on-three!
Qiu Ruoshui (Azure Anemone Perch), Shui Yue'er (Jade Dolphin), and Gu Qingbo (Cobalt Sailfish) used the time Shen Liuyu had bought to light their rings. Leaning on Barracuda Vortex and Gator Waterfield, they unleashed water-type arts:
Cyan Billow Bind!
Dolphin Glide!
Bluewave Piercing Surge!
The two waterfields fused into one. Within it, waves of crocodiles, barracuda, sailfish, dolphins, and perch launched suicidal charges, ramming again and again into Dugu Yan and Zhu Zhuqing.
The Bilin Dragon Empress bared her fangs in a grin. "Surfing feels amazing!!!"
Dragons love water; with Poison Dragon Warplate active, her defense had doubled. Coupled with Ye Lengleng's Nine-Heart Sacred Tang, the Bilin Dragon Knight simply ignored all their water-attribute damage.
Zhu Zhuqing's third ring lit once more. She became a streaking afterimage again, ignoring the terrain of the waterfield entirely.
In the blink between presence and absence, the "shadow" reappeared—Shui Yue'er went flying off the platform in the same instant.
Yet a faint smile curved Shui Yue'er's lips, like someone who'd finished her task.
With two left on Tianshui's side, Xiaoxue moved!
With the level advantage of a Soul King over Soul Elders, plus the 40% triple-stat buff from the Nine Treasure Pagoda, she didn't even bother using a soul skill. She flashed twice in golden streaks—
Qiu Ruoshui and Gu Qingbo were swept from the field.
Just as Xiaoxue rocketed toward Shui Bing'er, Shui Bing'er and Xue Wu's fourth rings flared violet together.
"Repelling Ice Ring!"
"Tornado!"
A blinding blue halo burst from Shui Bing'er, hurling Xiaoxue, Zhu Zhuqing, and Qian Renxue to the edge of the stage.
Every waterfield and water-creature in the arena tore free into a towering white cyclone—a colossal waterspout!
Its rotation accelerated, flinging water into atomized mist; and still the vortex drew in more!
Indeed—Tianshui's front line hadn't been trying to eliminate Xiaoxue, Zhu Zhuqing, Dugu Yan, and the rest.
With Ye Lan and Ye Lengleng present, they knew that was impossible.
All they could do was build a terrifying aquatic environment for their eldest sister—Shui Bing'er.
"Idol! This is Tianshui Academy's full strength! Please, savor it!" Shui Bing'er cried, gripping Xue Wu's right hand. Blue and black hair spiraled together into a pillar of blue-white light, lancing into the heart of the waterspout.
"Snowfall Without End!"
As they vanished within their Martial Soul Fusion Skill, the temperature plunged.
On the stands, the packed crowd refused to leave despite the sudden freeze—this match was far too brilliant.
They huddled together like penguins, circles within circles, warming each other with body heat.
Ye Lan tilted his head back, watching the waterspout soar past twenty meters and still swell. He smiled.
So this is Tianshui's complete form?
Exquisite indeed.
"Xiaoxue, Zhuqing, Rongrong, Yanyan, Lengleng—my turn to protect you," Ye Lan said.
All five girls flushed at his sudden confession.
Xiaoxue had intended to face Snowfall Without End alone. Now she only wanted to stand quietly behind Ye Lan and be protected.
"Blue Silver Grass—Summon!"
Thirty-six golden Blue Silver tendrils sprang up around them!
I Want to Grow Up—over the past year and a half, its HP bonus had risen from +600% to +700%!
That made each Blue Silver unit's life force eight times its base.
"Blue God—Prophet!"
The thirty-six golden vines tri-fused into twelve towering Blue Silver Sacrificers!
Each possessed life force equal to 2,400× a base Blue Silver grass.
"Domain of Nature!"
A verdant ring surged outward; the Sacrificers' life force spiked to 3,600× base!
Then Ultimate Water pushed every Blue Silver unit's final HP another +100%—
—bringing each Blue Silver Sacrificer to 7,200× base Blue Silver life!
"Eight-Faced Exquisite Heart! Three-Aperture Royal Heart!"
Ye Lan split his mind into twenty-nine strands to steer the twelve Sacrificers.
He'd already cultivated to Seven-Aperture Exquisite Heart, but that would be overkill. With Three-Aperture Royal Heart, three minds sufficed to control all twelve perfectly.
As the water-spout climbed into a fifty-meter Blizzard Cyclone, Ye Lan's twelve thirty-meter Sacrificers wove around the Heaven Dou Royal Academy team—twelve golden pillars crossing in spirals to form a nest of living ramparts.
The Blizzard Cyclone fired out myriads of twelve-pointed snowflakes—each perfect, the craft of nature itself.
But these gorgeous flakes had edges sharper than razors.
A single flake could take an ordinary life with ease.
And here there were not one but countless.
Like milling cutters, the snow-blades planed away the Absolute Blue Silver Bastion. The Sacrificers met flensing knives; layers of golden "flesh" peeled under the blizzard's bite.
Just when everyone thought Ye Lan's giant golden vines would finally give—
Extreme Life surged. The Sacrificers' regeneration spiked.
What had been pared to the bone plumped whole in an instant. Yet the Blizzard Cyclone seemed endless, relentless.
Again the nest was shaved thin; again it swelled back. Between the Sacrificers' extreme recovery and Snowfall Without End's ceaseless cutting, a grim equilibrium settled.
Xiaoxue, Zhuqing, Ning Rongrong, Dugu Yan, and Ye Lengleng stood behind Ye Lan. The sense of safety he gave them now was unmatched by any moment before.
At length, the harsh rasp of snowblades gnawing the Sacrificers stopped.
"Kee—!"
A clear phoenix cry split the sky.
Ye Lan spread the Blue Silver nest; the twelve Sacrificers unfurled counterclockwise, opening their interlaced shell.
There, at the heart of the storm where the blizzard had raged, spread an Ice Phoenix.
Its wings, when flared, shadowed half the heavens.
Ordinarily, Shui Bing'er and Xue Wu's fused Ice Phoenix should reach about twenty meters. Now the wingspan topped seventy!
The earlier deluge of water that Tianshui's vanguard had poured into the field had spawned a vaster blizzard—more snow for the phoenix to absorb, birthing an even greater Ice Phoenix.
Each beat of its pinions loosed the clatter of shattering ice.
The moisture in the air froze to hail and was smashed to dust beneath those wings.
Suddenly, the thick ice over the platform vanished; the temperature around them jumped from below zero to scorching in an instant, as countless cold currents were drawn into the phoenix's beak.
Ye Lan was about to command the Sacrificers when—
"Leave her to me. I said I would defeat her." Xiaoxue stepped before him.
In her palm, the Angelic Holy Sword manifested again, its platinum flames fiercer than ever.
With the blade's arrival, the heat spiked higher still.
The spectators felt what "ice and fire" truly meant—within mere minutes they went from polar midnight to desert noon.
The fifth ring on Xiaoxue's body flared an eye-searing black.
"Sacred Flame!"
She raised the Angelic Holy Sword high overhead. A golden flame tens of meters long erupted from the edge.
It burned as if to consume all things under heaven; the very air wavered with heat. Many who stared into it felt a dizzying swim as light bent and danced.
The stands roared with unrest.
"Heaven Dou Royal might be too arrogant! They're sending Xiaoxue alone against a Martial Soul Fusion this terrifying?!"
"Right? Why isn't the Green Emperor acting? Only the Green Emperor's sky-piercing vines can weather the Ice Phoenix's ultimate assault!"
"Trust the Green Emperor! Idol must have a reason. All we can do is pray for the Angelic Holy Sword!"
"Can Xiaoxue really do it?" Ye Lengleng fretted.
"Relax—don't you have her back?" Ye Lan ruffled her hair.
The Ice Phoenix struck first, spewing the amassed cold in a titanic cerulean wave from its beak toward the lone figure below.
A gigantic blue-white beam crashed down on Xiaoxue.
A flicker of reluctance crossed the phoenix's eyes. It began to turn aside from the golden-haired girl—
Xiaoxue moved.
In a blink, a golden sword-shadow bloomed in midair.
It existed for the space between heartbeats—then vanished.
With it vanished the frigid torrent, cleaved cleanly in two. Where the blade met the phoenix, the colossal form unraveled from solid to spectral.
Shui Bing'er and Xue Wu dropped from the sky. Before they could touch the ground, two Blue Silver Sacrificers sprang up to catch them.
The stadium stared, stunned beyond words.
One stroke.
A single stroke that severed all.
As though nothing could persist before the Angelic Holy Sword.
"Xiaoxue!"
"Xiaoxue!"
"Xiaoxue!"
A thunder of voices exploded, far beyond any cheer that had come before.
Basking in that adulation, Xiaoxue smiled. Even a faint curve of her lips carried the warmth of fulfillment, joy, and release.
So this is how beautiful the world looks beneath the sun.
The love in her eyes as she looked at Ye Lan deepened by three degrees.
"Xiaoxue… is this the resolve with which you guard Ye Lan?" Shui Bing'er whispered, staring at the dazzling golden-haired girl.
"That's right. No one will take Ye Lan from me," Xiaoxue said, unshakable.
"Then take care of Idol for me. I believe you can." With sudden ease in her voice, Shui Bing'er took Xue Wu's hand and stepped from the platform without looking back.
"Let us congratulate Heaven Dou Royal Academy on extending their streak of legend! Is there any team left that can challenge them?!" the referee cried, nearly delirious.
The battle had been too spectacular.
So the true trump card of Heaven Dou Royal wasn't the captain—it was the vice-captain, Xiaoxue.
Alone, Xiaoxue had shattered Tianshui Academy's ultimate soul skill.
Up in the stands, a black-robed man's expression curdled to pitch.
He ached to obliterate the golden-haired girl on the spot. The pulse from the Angel's Sword had told him who she must be.
Others might not know the Six-Winged Seraph's holy blade. But he, who had fought Qian Xunji, could never mistake the Angel's Sword.
Yet the killing intent burned only in Tang Hao's heart.
He knew the girl would be guarded by a Titled Douluo. In Heaven Dou City, he walked on eggshells, not daring to leak even a breath of his presence.
If exposed, he'd have to flee at once. He was still the Spirit Hall's most wanted man.
Others might not recognize his aura—but every Titled Douluo of Spirit Hall knew Tang Hao's like the back of their hands.
If he left Heaven Dou City, he would lose his watch over Tang San and Xiao Wu. That, he could not abide.
All his hope of vengeance against Spirit Hall now rested on his twin-martial-souled son.
Only Tang San could topple Spirit Hall. So everything else ranked beneath Tang San's cause.
Though Tang Hao could not strike at the golden-haired girl, some matters had become clear.
Did Ye Lan enjoy the protection of multiple Titled Douluo because he was suckling at Spirit Hall's teat?
Tang Hao had always despised "scholars," those theoretical masters. For the first time, he drew Ye Lan into the circle of his attention.
All tied to Spirit Hall must die.
Since you've chosen to eat their soft rice, don't blame me for being merciless when I make my move.
After arriving in Heaven Dou, Tang Hao had heard by the grapevine that the clan's loyal servant Titan had gone missing.
Clueless at first, he now understood.
Titan had perished at the hands of Spirit Hall.
He must have gone to intercept Ye Lan—only to be killed by the Titled Douluo guarding the golden-haired girl.
Tang Hao clenched his fists until his palms creaked. He had to endure.
Titan was only a clan retainer. Annoying as his death was, it wasn't enough to break Tang Hao's restraint.
Breathing deep, he stilled his heart, cast one last look at Ye Lan and the golden-haired girl, and slipped away into the boiling crowd.
(End of Chapter)