At the moment of collision, Long Yue's eyes nearly rolled back as he crashed once again into the deep pit.
Yet his wildness had long been thoroughly ignited; he forced himself to hold a breath of Qi as an earthy-yellow light, tinged with the color of blood, stained the rocky walls of the massive pit crimson.
"Again!"
A roar scattered the dust. Long Yue crawled out of the pit on all fours like a Vicious Beast. He stomped his feet violently, launching himself like a cannonball straight at Arthur once more, his Dragon Claw tearing through the air with a sharp, whistling sound.
"You kid, you really are stubborn."
Arthur shifted his body half a foot to the side, narrowly avoiding the sharp edge of the Dragon Claw.
Simultaneously, he raised his hand and lightly flicked his wrist holding the Holy Sword; the spine of the blade struck Long Yue's back with immense force.
"Bang!"
Another muffled sound echoed as Long Yue, like a kite with a broken string, was smashed back into the pit, sending shattered rocks flying everywhere.
But it wasn't over yet.
Long Yue charged up only to be beaten back, repeating this several times.
Finally, everything fell silent.
"Not coming anymore?"
Looking at the vast cloud of dust below, Arthur lightly swung his sword, striking down with the Hammer of the Wind King.
While revealing the form of the Holy Sword, it also blew away all the dust.
The scene at the bottom of the pit was finally clearly presented before everyone's eyes.
Long Yue had lost all reason; he was in the pile of rubble, mindlessly destroying everything around him.
A beast-like low growl issued from his throat, and only a deep crimson remained in his clouded eyes.
The reason he hadn't attacked again just now was simply that the dust had blocked the beast's vision, causing it to lose its target.
On the rostrum, En Ci's expression was grim. From the moment he saw Arthur equip his Battle Armor, he knew that Long Yue would inevitably lose control in this battle.
However, he hadn't expected it to reach such a state.
"Is this how the nickname 'Dragon Madman' came about?" Arthur asked in doubt, but no one answered.
"The future of Star Luo?"
The audience in the stands was as silent as cicadas in winter. The Soul Masters of the Star Luo Empire were even paler, keeping their mouths tightly shut, and even their breathing became much lighter.
En Ci's face on the rostrum turned livid.
He opened his mouth, wanting to say something to salvage the Star Luo Empire's dignity, but looking at the demon-like Long Yue at the bottom of the pit and the calm Arthur in mid-air, he eventually let out a heavy sigh.
"I'll help you fix him." Arthur retracted the Holy Sword and landed. He actually had a very poor impression of Long Yue.
Aside from anything else, just the fact that he had snatched someone else's tuition to enroll for no reason and then mocked them after the fight made Arthur really want to deal with him.
Having spotted his target, Long Yue instantly charged over. His posture was exactly like a Vicious Beast poised to pounce on its prey, the crimson in his eyes almost dripping like blood.
A deafening roar erupted from his throat.
The rubble at the bottom of the pit suddenly transformed into countless sharp rock spikes, shooting toward Arthur like a torrential rain. Each spike carried the heavy power of the Mountain Dragon King, enough to pierce through the protective Soul Power of an ordinary Soul Master.
Arthur didn't move an inch. Before the rock spikes could even get close, they all crumbled into powder, leaving not even a trace behind.
Long Yue's figure closed in.
His claws tripled in size, their tips flashing with a chilling light as they lunged fiercely at Arthur's chest, tearing the air with two ear-piercing shrieks.
"Too slow."
The moment Arthur sidestepped to avoid the attack, he raised his hand and grabbed Long Yue's wrist. Golden light spread along Long Yue's arm, forcibly suppressing the flow of his Soul Power.
Long Yue cried out in pain as an invisible shockwave exploded outward from him, causing the rubble at the bottom of the pit to fall and the air to buzz.
This Spirit Ability was originally meant to shatter an enemy's protective Soul Power, but now he used it as a trump card to break free. The shockwave, carrying a violent aura, slammed into Arthur's arm.
Arthur's brows rose slightly. Instead of loosening his grip on the wrist, he tightened it even more.
A golden halo flowed against the current of Long Yue's Meridians. Wherever it passed, the violent Soul Power was instantly crushed by an even stronger force.
"Roar—!"
Long Yue became completely desperate. His other free claw slammed toward Arthur's face while he simultaneously exerted force from his waist, his thick Dragon tail sweeping across with a powerful wind.
This pincer attack was extremely tricky; even a Spirit Douluo expert would have to temporarily avoid its edge.
But this was Arthur.
With a sudden twist of his wrist, Long Yue's body was pulled off balance. The sharp claw aimed at Arthur's face grazed past his helmet, while the sweeping Dragon tail struck his own back squarely.
"Crack—"
A sharp sound echoed as a wave of intense pain shot from Long Yue's spine. He let out a muffled groan and spat out a mouthful of blood.
Arthur didn't stop. He raised his foot and kicked hard at the back of Long Yue's knee.
Long Yue's legs gave way, and he knelt heavily on the ground, his knees hitting the rubble and sending a spray of blood into the air.
Arthur leaned down and pressed his palm against the back of Long Yue's neck. Golden Soul Power flooded in like a tide, instantly sealing all the Meridians in his body.
He didn't use much strength; it was purely an overwhelming display of technique.
The berserk Long Yue felt mediocre to Arthur, perhaps even less impressive than when he wasn't wearing his Battle Armor.
"Xia Xi."
"Eeya!" The little Auspicious Beast jumped out, standing at attention with its chest puffed out.
"Come, give him a Purification." Arthur tilted his chin slightly, his tone flat.
Although the little Auspicious Beast, Xia Xi, was confused as to why she should purify an enemy, she still wagged her fluffy tail and jumped onto Long Yue's shoulder, pressing her two small paws against his temples.
Simultaneously, her third eye opened, emitting a divine light.
The divine light gently enveloped Long Yue's head. The violent Soul Power that had been rampaging inside him seemed to be soothed by an invisible hand, gradually calming down.
The Meridians that had been disrupted due to the loss of control were also slowly being repaired under the nourishment of the divine light, closing the tiny cracks.
Long Yue's tense body relaxed visibly. The crimson in his eyes receded like a low tide, and his clouded pupils gradually regained their clarity, though they still carried a heavy sense of exhaustion and bewilderment.
He opened his mouth and made a dry sound in his throat, but he couldn't utter a single word, only staring blankly in Arthur's direction.
After finishing all this, Xia Xi wagged her fluffy tail, her third eye slowly closing. She then hopped back onto Arthur's shoulder, rubbing her small head against his cheek and making a soft, sweet "eeya" sound, as if asking for credit.
Arthur raised his hand to rub its head. Without even looking at Long Yue, he said to the referee, "The result of the match should be announced now."
Only then did the referee snap out of his shock and hurriedly raised the microphone: "In this match, the winner is Arthur!"
However, the stadium was silent, with only faint cheers coming from the people of the Douluo Continent.
Even Dai Tianling on the stage fell into a brief silence before finally sighing, "Alas, Teacher. The protagonist of the next generation is in the Douluo Continent again. We should... Hmm? Teacher?"
Dai Tianling turned to look at En Ci beside him, only to see the usually rock-steady National Advisor.
He was currently staring intently at Arthur, his eyes burning with fervor and his breathing hurried.
Dai Tianling was confused: "Teacher, what's wrong?"
"Long Yue recovered instantly..." En Ci muttered to himself.
"It's likely a Purification-type Spirit Ability; it is indeed very rare, but it's not enough to... Wait! Dai Tianling vaguely guessed something, and his heart skipped a beat. "Teacher, are you thinking...?"
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