The following morning, the early sunlight washed over the earth. The emerald grass on the lawn teemed with vitality, bringing with it a sense of new hope.
On the competition grounds before the Pope's Palace, fourteen members of the Heaven Dou Imperial Team and the Spirit Hall Team stood facing each other, separated by a distance of thirty meters. Today was the day to determine the final champion of this Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament.
Both teams were undoubtedly composed of the top geniuses of the younger generation. Among them, Qian Renxue of the Spirit Hall team boasted a soul power of Rank 74; at only twenty-four years old, she was already a powerful Soul Saint. On the Imperial Team, Gu Xuan's strength stood at the pinnacle. At only fifteen years old, he had reached Rank 56; his talent seemed in no way inferior to Qian Renxue's.
Indeed, Gu Xuan's age had been revealed. In these final stages, specialists tested the bone age of the participants to prevent cheating or infiltrators. However, not many knew his exact age yet, as it wasn't announced publicly unless the participant spoke it themselves.
Most importantly, Gu Xuan's true strength remained a mystery because, until this very moment, he had not used his Martial Soul even once. With Dugu Yan's precedent fresh in their minds, many spectators wondered if a genius like Gu Xuan also possessed the ability to absorb soul rings beyond the normal limits.
The referee's voice rang out as the two teams stood in opposition. "Will both teams please release your Martial Souls."
As the command fell, Gu Xuan and Qian Renxue stepped forward simultaneously. Their gazes locked. Qian Renxue still wore that captivating smile, though it was obscured by a golden veil, making it indistinct to Gu Xuan.
Despite his great strength, facing a Qian Renxue who had already broken through to the Soul Saint level caused Gu Xuan's expression to turn grave. He wasn't entirely certain he had the power to defeat the current her.
While this version of Qian Renxue was stronger than her original counterpart at this timeline (as she hadn't appeared in the tournament in the original story), she was technically weaker than when she officially debuted five years later in the original work. Back then, she could hold her own against an ordinary Titled Douluo, losing to Tang San only due to her "romance-brain" and lapses in judgment.
Nevertheless, even if she wasn't that terrifying yet, her true combat power should be roughly on par with a Soul Douluo-level expert. Gu Xuan knew he had to give it his all. He considered using his knowledge of her identity to feign weakness and draw out a blunder, but he had to remember: the current Qian Renxue was not exactly the same as the one in the book. He had to prioritize full effort while utilizing any other advantage possible.
Qian Renxue took a step, a golden aura beginning to swirl around her. Two pairs of golden angelic wings with a wingspan exceeding six meters unfurled from her back. They didn't flap, yet they lifted her ten meters into the air.
As her martial soul manifested, she shone brilliantly like a holy maiden from the celestial realms. Seven soul rings—two yellow, two purple, and three black—rose and pulsed around her. The staggering pressure of a Soul Saint erupted, pressing down directly upon the Imperial Team.
Seeing this, Gu Xuan no longer saw the need to hide. He stepped forward, bracing himself against Qian Renxue's pressure. A layer of silver-white, dark-silver bone armor manifested over his body. His arms transformed into a pair of dark-silver bone claws, exceptionally sharp.
This was the change that had occurred after Gu Xuan absorbed his fifth soul ring from the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger. Upon releasing his soul, his bone armor now flowed with faint traces of lightning and darkness, vastly increasing his defensive power.
With his martial soul released, Gu Xuan's long red hair flew wildly. The two blue strands of hair at his brow swayed like azure dragons, and the two-colored dragon head marks on the backs of his hands emitted a lustrous glow. At the same time, his soul rings began to rise one by one.
Yellow, Yellow, Purple, Black, Black!
As the five rings ascended, every spectator let out an involuntary gasp of amazement, confirming their suspicions. Another ten-thousand-year fourth soul ring! Since when had over-limit absorption become so common?
Beyond the stunning rings, eight dragon swords extended from Gu Xuan's back, their edges interlocking to form a pair of sword-wings. In terms of presence alone, Gu Xuan was currently not at all weaker than the Rank 74 Soul Saint, Qian Renxue. He stood his ground, meeting her power head-on.
With the two leaders manifested, the other members held nothing back. Xie Yue, Hu Liena, and Yan released their martial souls—five rings each: two yellow, two purple, and one black. Today, Yan had taken the stage, while the flying soul master Zhang Ping sat out. Aside from the three Soul Kings and Yan, the other three were Li Kai, Sun Chuantao, and Xu Yu.
On the Imperial side, besides Gu Xuan, there were two Soul Kings: the Rank 51 Yu Tianheng and the Rank 53 Ye Lingling. Shi Mo, Shi Mo, Osler, and Yu Feng were all at least Rank 48. Their overall strength was not much lower than Spirit Hall's.
"Match... start!"
The final battle of the Continental Elite Tournament was officially underway.
As the referee's voice faded, Gu Xuan's sword-wings flapped, turning him into a streak of light as he charged straight for Qian Renxue. Her Angelic Domain was too domineering; if they fought on the ground, it would severely hinder Yu Tianheng and the others. Gu Xuan intended to take the fight to the sky.
Qian Renxue's beautiful eyes flickered as she saw him advance. Her wings beat, and she soared to meet him. Neither used soul skills yet. Gu Xuan's dark-silver bone claws aimed for her chest, while Qian Renxue's fists, shimmering with golden light, collided with him.
They clashed thirty meters in the air, the powerful shockwave even affecting the battle below.
As the leaders engaged, Yu Tianheng charged toward Xie Yue and Hu Liena, who had already merged into the Charm Demon. Without the suppression of the Angelic Domain, the Charm Demon could exert its full power.
However, the current Yu Tianheng was far different from his original self. Although his speed couldn't match the Charm Demon's, he deployed a lightning field around himself; the moment the Charm Demon entered, his reactions would be instantaneous. Coupled with the Water Armor Shield provided by Shi Mo and Shi Mo's fourth soul skill, Yu Tianheng possessed the ability to stall the fusion. Furthermore, his lightning was a rare counter to the Charm Demon's red mist, giving him the edge needed to fight two-on-one.
Osler and Shi Mo engaged Li Kai and Sun Chuantao. Their soul power exceeded their opponents', who only stayed in the fight due to the buffs from their auxiliary soul master.
Shi Mo, whose rank was nearly 50, took on Yan. Though he lacked a fifth ring, his strength was more than enough to pin Yan down. Meanwhile, Yu Feng circled toward the auxiliary soul master, Xu Yu. If they could eliminate the support, the scales of victory would tip instantly. They might even resolve the rest of the team quickly and turn back to help Gu Xuan against Qian Renxue!
(End of Chapter)
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