The match wasn't over yet, so Ignaz and the rest of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy team couldn't leave the stage to treat Shui Bing'er and her teammates.
Seeing the situation, the announcer declared,
"The losers' bracket final, Shrek Academy versus the Skywater Academy team—Shrek Academy is victorious."
The Shrek Seven Devils, having fought bitterly for so long and lost one member while the others drained themselves of spirit power, jumped up together, cheering wildly at their victory.
In the middle of the team, Ma Hongjun looked down at Shui Bing'er, collapsed on the ground, desperately suppressing the poisonous mix of the Eight Spider Spears' venom inside her. His face brimmed with smug pride.
"This is what you get for turning Shrek down. Shui Bing'er will regret that decision for the rest of her life. If she'd agreed to marry me, she wouldn't be suffering like this now."
The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became. Someday, when he reached Shui Bing'er's level, his innate advantage of Evil Fire would let him completely overpower her. By then, he'd make sure to capture her, force her to kneel at his feet like the other women he'd toyed with, and serve him for life. If she bore him a child or two, so much the better. Maybe his children would inherit her Ice Phoenix spirit—or, like Tang San, be born with twin spirits.
At that moment, Ma Hongjun was itching all over with restless desire. He firmly believed he was destined to become a Titled Douluo. Once Tang San's father or the Clear Sky Clan took care of Ignaz, Shui Bing'er would fall right into his hands. After all, having a fire burning inside him wasn't the worst thing.
But just as the match ended and Tang San raised fragments of the Eight Spider Spears spirit bone to detoxify the Skywater team, Ignaz leapt down from the stands.
"Their poison doesn't need your treatment."
Then Ye Lingling, Dugu Yan, and the other five from the Heaven Dou Royal Academy squad jumped onto the stage as well.
"Yearning Heartbroken Red—open."
At Ye Lingling's thought, a red-and-white begonia blossomed behind her. Countless petals scattered across the entire arena, and a glow of red and white slowly enveloped all seven members of the Skywater Academy team.
The sight left everyone present stunned, eyes locked on the spectacle.
"This… it's too beautiful."
The sudden change in the begonia and the Ice Phoenix didn't arouse much suspicion. Everyone knew that fusing with a perfectly suited spirit beast carried a chance of awakening a second evolution in one's spirit.
Dugu Bo's Emerald Phosphor Serpent Emperor had been one such example. Even the Shrek Seven Devils were shocked by the scene before them.
"Could this be the true power of the evolved Nine-Star Begonia? Just its healing aura alone pulls you in, and the group recovery effect is terrifying…"
"Third Brother, with such a top-tier healing spirit, could it completely remove the Eight Spider Spears' poison from you?" Ning Rongrong asked curiously.
The Nine-Star Begonia was a tool spirit on par with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, and its role was extraordinary. According to her clan's records, it was said that a Spirit Master with this spirit who reached Rank 90 could bring the dead back to life, regrow severed limbs, and heal anything short of death itself.
What mattered most was that, unlike the Seven Treasure Pagoda, the Nine-Star Begonia wasn't shackled by ring restrictions. With enough talent and luck, a Nine-Star Begonia user could cultivate all the way to Titled Douluo. By contrast, a Seven Treasure Pagoda Spirit Master could only reach Rank 70 Spirit Sage at best, with a lifespan no different from long-lived ordinary humans.
Fortunately, the Begonia line carried a curse: only two users could exist at once. That limited it to a small family at most. But Ye Lingling's begonia had mutated. If the curse no longer applied, the Glazed Tile Clan's status could be in real danger.
Up in the stands, Ning Fengzhi and the two Douluos beside him—Sword and Bone—watched with heavy expressions. Their attention was fixed on Ye Lingling's fully revealed gift.
"Fengzhi, this girl's Nine-Star Begonia has already evolved once. If that evolution wiped out the curse, then centuries from now, the Begonia spirit could truly threaten our Glazed Tile Clan's standing," Sword Douluo said quietly.
"My advice is to cut it off at the root. This evolved Nine-Star Begonia must never appear on the continent."
"You're overreacting," Bone Douluo countered. "The Glazed Tile Clan is still far superior. The Pagoda's amplification ability is real and unmatched, and we also excel in treasure-seeking. No matter how strong the Begonia is, its use is limited. It'll never replace us."
Ning Fengzhi nodded in agreement with Bone Douluo's reasoning.
"Uncle Sword, Uncle Bone, every spirit has strengths and weaknesses. Our Pagoda may lack the Begonia's healing power, but in other areas we're far ahead. Besides, the Nine-Star Begonia is an asset of the Empire. If we killed Ye Lingling, Heaven Dou would lose a vital force in any future war."
At that, both Douluos fell silent, watching the arena without another word.
Minutes passed. Ye Lingling, drenched in sweat, was still working. As Shui Bing'er's purple poison slowly faded, her pallor gave way to a healthy flush, and the venom of Tang San's Eight Spider Spears was completely purged.
Shui Bing'er and the others stood, deeply grateful to the Royal Academy team.
"Brother Iggy, Lingling, you'd better give it your all in the matches ahead. We're counting on you."
"Brother-in-law, beat the life out of that poison-loving creep who uses spirit bone shards as weapons!"
"Moon, what are you saying? I'm not even—"
Shui Bing'er's face flamed red at her younger sister's teasing, wanting nothing more than to shut her mouth.
Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling exchanged glances at Shui Bing'er's flustered look, then turned their eyes toward Ignaz and couldn't help but laugh.