Again with the Slaughter Domain… and an external soul bone?! And it's already at the ten-thousand-year level! Just how lucky is this guy? Bibi Dong stared unblinking into the red mist, her thoughts racing.
"Could it be Lin Fan foresaw everything for him? Did he guide Lin Xuan's cultivation step by step?"
She grew increasingly suspicious. Lin Xuan's martial soul wasn't just "superior"—to awaken a martial soul domain at the Soul King level, something only beings like her with the Angel Domain could do, was monstrous.
What she wanted was to determine whether all of Lin Xuan's opportunities were tied to Lin Fan.
Meanwhile, outside the red mist, the others couldn't see what was going on—but they all sensed an intense, beast-like aura exploding from within.
"Uncle Jian, did you feel that?" Ning Fengzhi asked Sword Douluo.
"I saw it," Dustheart replied. "His silhouette inside the red mist… changed. Something seems to have grown out of his back."
"Oh?" Ning Fengzhi raised an eyebrow.
"This pressure must be from Lin Xuan," said Xue Qinghe, joining the speculation.
Tang San, Dai Mubai, and the others on the field felt it even more clearly.
"What's going on? If only my Purple Demon Eye had reached the Micro level, I might be able to pierce this mist…" Tang San thought to himself.
"Stop staring. Inside that red fog, no one at the same level can match the fusion technique Enchanting Demon. You can barely save yourselves, let alone him."
"Fourth Soul Skill – Lava Surge!"
Yan launched his attack, leading his teammates against Zhu Zhuqing and the others.
—
Back inside the mist, Enchanting Demon had just caught his Moon Blades, knocked away by Lin Fan's Eight Spider Lances.
"Impossible! My Moon Execution technique was deflected like it was nothing!"
"If you're out of tricks… then it's time you went down!"
With a cold smile, Lin Fan raised his Slaughter Sword. The Eight Spider Lances, enhancing all of his attributes by 30%, completely neutralized the mist's debuffs.
In a blink, he appeared before Enchanting Demon and unleashed a powerful slash.
CLANG!
Enchanting Demon raised both Moon Blades in defense, but Lin Fan's strike forced him back several meters.
"Damn it! He should be weakened in this red mist! But after releasing that soul bone, it's like none of the suppression is working. That sword strike was ridiculously strong…"
Enraged, Enchanting Demon melted back into the mist, reassessing the situation.
"It has to be that soul bone—it's boosting his body and negating the mist entirely."
But he couldn't stop Lin Fan from using it. All he could do was curse how bottomless the guy's hidden cards were.
"You think you can still hide in this red mist?" Lin Fan's golden eyes glowed faintly—he could now see through them.
Whoosh!
With another precise attack, he cut off Enchanting Demon's movement through the mist.
"How? Even with your martial soul domain, there's no way you should've been able to trace my path like that!" Enchanting Demon gasped, panic in his voice.
He and Hu Liena had maintained the fusion from the very start of the match, and still couldn't take Lin Fan down. Their soul power was nearly drained.
"I've already seen through your tactics. Now it's my turn."
"First Soul Skill – Death Strike!"
A sweeping arc of blood-red sword energy locked onto Enchanting Demon.
"Moon Execution!" Enchanting Demon roared, pouring everything into his strongest move.
He had no way to dodge—not with Lin Fan's mental lock on him. It was all or nothing.
CLANG!
The twin spinning blades were shattered by the Death Strike. Though the sword energy had thinned slightly, it still struck Enchanting Demon with devastating force.
BOOM!
A cry of agony rang out as the fusion technique collapsed. Hu Liena and Xie Yue were blasted apart and flung into the arena walls.
They hit the ground hard, unconscious.
"Na… Na! Xie Yue!" Yan, who had been suppressing Tang San's group, immediately shouted.
"Captain! Vice-Captain!" the rest of their team cried out, shocked.
"Slaughter Domain, external soul bone, and possibly even a divine-level martial soul... Hu Liena and Xie Yue's loss is no injustice." Bibi Dong shook her head slightly.
She knew they had given it their all. Lin Xuan's strength was undeniably real.
The red mist from the fusion faded. As it dissipated, Lin Fan stood there in full view—bare-chested, wielding the Slaughter Sword, with the Eight Spider Lances rising menacingly from his back. His long ash-white hair hung loose over his shoulders.
"Soul bone… a torso bone?" Flender exclaimed.
"No. That's an external soul bone, one of the rarest types," Yu Xiaogang corrected in a low voice.
"External soul bone… this Lin Xuan isn't just talented, he's lucky too." Ning Fengzhi sighed deeply.
"Indeed." Sword Douluo nodded, a hint of envy in his voice.
"External soul bone?" Xue Qinghe murmured, curious.
"He's so cool!" Ning Rongrong's eyes sparkled as she looked at Lin Fan.
"You bastard! You dared hurt Na Na—and even knocked her out?! Unforgivable!"
"Fifth Soul Skill – Flame Sandstorm!"
In a rage, Yan unleashed his strongest move. The arena was filled with blazing heat and swirling sand.
"You overestimate yourself. Slaughter Domain!"
With a burst of blood-red light, Lin Fan's domain disrupted Yan's soul skill instantly.
"Killing Thrust!"
With a flicker, Lin Fan appeared in front of Yan and struck him down.
The rest of the Spirit Hall team tried to surround him, only to be systematically defeated one by one.
In the end, Lin Fan knocked out the final auxiliary soul master with the flat of his sword.
All seven Spirit Hall members lay scattered, unconscious on the stage.
—
Host Hus looked awkwardly at Bibi Dong. Then, with no choice, he raised his voice:
"The champions of this year's Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournament are…"
"Shrek Academy!"
"Wooooo! We did it!" Ma Hongjun and Oscar roared with excitement from the sidelines.
Yu Xiaogang and Flender exchanged smiles of genuine relief and pride.
"Excellent—this brings great honor to the Heaven Dou Empire," someone in the crowd exclaimed.
—
Onstage, Bibi Dong waved her hand, signaling attendants to carry Hu Liena and the others off the field.
Then, flanked by Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo, she descended from the high platform and walked toward the main entrance of the Supreme Pontiff Hall.
Everyone quiet! His Holiness the Pope will now present the awards for this year's tournament! Chrysanthemum Douluo's cold voice rang out.