"Huo Yu!"
Seeing her younger sister struck down, Huo Yun shouted in alarm.
The moment Huo Yu was eliminated by Oscar, the entire situation shifted dramatically.
Huang Weiyuan, Li Mengqi, and Qiu Wuji — all Soul Elders — immediately coordinated and closed in on Huo Yun.
Oscar followed up with another condensed soul power sphere, delivering the finishing blow.
Huo Wu, Huo Wushuang, and Huo Chexiang tried to break away to assist, but they were tightly entangled by Yang Tai and Feng Xiaotian.
Meanwhile, Niu Tian used his flight advantage to pin down the twin brothers Huo Xing and Huo Chen.
Not long after, the Fire Crane sisters, Huo Yun and Huo Yu, were eliminated.
No one could have imagined that the true turning point of the match would come from the food-type Soul Master they had all overlooked.
With the sisters gone, the balance of power tipped sharply.
Huo Wu's expression darkened. It was now five versus seven, and the opposing team still had four Soul Ancestors.
After the elimination of the Fire Crane sisters, Oscar and his team turned their attention to cleaning up the remaining two control-type Soul Elders, Huo Xing and Huo Chen.
Suddenly, Huo Wu shouted at Feng Xiaotian:
"Feng Xiaotian! Fine, you win this time!"
"We'll admit defeat in this match," she added, though her voice carried a clear tone of unwillingness.
"Huo Wu, that's just how battles are. Win or lose — it's part of the game," Feng Xiaotian replied calmly, thinking he was being considerate.
But that only seemed to irritate Huo Wu even more.
"Hmph! Don't get ahead of yourself, Feng Xiaotian!" she snapped.
"This battle isn't over. Unless you defeat me personally, I won't acknowledge this loss!"
"Very well."
"Oscar, Yang Tai, Niu Tian — stop."
Feng Xiaotian's voice carried weight. As the third-in-command of Wuji Academy's team, his words held authority.
Oscar and the others paused their assault and moved behind him.
Of course, they all knew what was going on between Feng Xiaotian and Huo Wu.
It was obvious this was about more than a tournament — and no one wanted to get in the way of it.
Anyway, the outcome was already decided. Even if Feng Xiaotian and Huo Wu went one-on-one and it resulted in a draw, it would still be a 6v4 — with three Soul Ancestors and three Soul Elders against two Soul Ancestors and two Soul Elders. Wuji still had the upper hand.
The remaining members of Blazing Fire Academy also stepped behind Huo Wu, but with two members eliminated, their presence lacked the same momentum.
From the stands, many spectators couldn't quite understand what was going on.
But there was no need for explanation — both Wuji and Blazing Fire teams stepped back, clearing the stage for Feng Xiaotian and Huo Wu to fight.
"Don't say I bullied you," Feng Xiaotian said.
"I'm already at Level 49, just one step from becoming a Soul King. You're welcome to borrow your teammates' strength."
Feng Xiaotian had once been the ace of Godwind Academy, one of the Five Elemental Academies. He was well aware of their unique secrets.
The reason the Five Elemental Academies were the face of the Heaven Dou Empire wasn't just their strength — it was because each academy specialized in one elemental attribute, allowing them to develop powerful combination techniques exclusive to their teams.
The most iconic example was Elephant Armor Academy's Seven-in-One Fusion Technique: Mammoth Spiral Blast.
Likewise, Blazing Fire Academy had its combination soul skill, centered around Huo Wu, and the move she could perform was classified as a forbidden soul skill.
"Hmph." Huo Wu snorted. Her tone was cold, but her actions betrayed