At the moment Feng Xiaotian broke through, the pressure Water Wuhen faced suddenly increased.
"Broke through?"
Facing the surging pressure, Water Wuhen's gaze sharpened slightly. Although Feng Xiaotian had changed the form of his self-created spirit ability, the new ability still retained its stacking capability.
Previously, Water Wuhen could easily suppress the Twenty-Four Consecutive Slashes, but after Feng Xiaotian's breakthrough, Water Wuhen discovered that his Ice Slash · Instant Nine Slashes was no longer able to suppress the semicircular green streaks unleashed by his opponent.
The most direct manifestation of this was that Water Wuhen's advancing steps had come to a halt.
His hands still moved like flowing shadows, and the nine blade lights around him still blocked the incoming green streaks, but the atmosphere on the battlefield had undergone a drastic change.
If earlier Water Wuhen was like a traveler strolling through rain with an umbrella, now he was like a fisherman in a lone boat, struggling to survive amidst raging winds and towering waves.
Though his safety was not yet in immediate danger, it was unclear when the furious sea might swallow him whole.
"Hmm~"
Seeing this, in the sky showed a trace of चिंता in her eyes, clearly thinking that Water Wuhen's situation was becoming dangerous, even considering stepping in to help.
"Articuno, don't interfere!"
At that moment, Water Wuhen's voice suddenly rang out in Articuno's mind.
Hearing this, Articuno relaxed slightly and gave up the idea of intervening.
She knew that Water Wuhen never acted without purpose—since he told her not to act, he must have full confidence.
After persuading Articuno, Water Wuhen focused all his attention on dealing with Feng Xiaotian's new Gale Demon Wolf Thirty-Six Consecutive Slashes.
In truth, his current predicament could be instantly resolved if he let Articuno act. As a soul master with an external beast spirit, a large portion of his combat power lay with Articuno. Fighting Feng Xiaotian head-on like this was inherently unfair to him.
But Water Wuhen didn't care.
Having finally encountered someone who could match his true body and even pressure him, he naturally wanted to fully enjoy this rare battle. Why let Articuno break that balance?
Amid the endless encirclement of semicircular green streaks, nine brilliant ice-blue blade lights continuously appeared, like a small boat drifting upon the sea—though tossed by waves, it never capsized.
Time slowly passed in this stalemate.
One minute…
Two minutes…
Three minutes…
Perhaps due to having Water Wuhen as a sparring partner, or perhaps driven by the desire to defeat him, Feng Xiaotian improved rapidly. In just a few minutes, he refined and modified his newly broken-through Gale Demon Wolf Thirty-Six Consecutive Slashes.
The semicircular green streaks became more solid, faster, more unpredictable in angle, and their stacking power increased rapidly.
All of this made Water Wuhen's defense more difficult, pushing him into an even more dangerous situation.
"Bing'er, your brother's situation doesn't look too good!"
Seeing this, Xue Wu spoke with concern, turning to Shui Bing'er.
Shui Yue'er also patted Shui Bing'er's shoulder and sighed, "Ah… Wuhen is already very strong, but Feng Xiaotian is even stronger. In the end, Wuhen is still too young. If he had another year, Feng Xiaotian definitely wouldn't be his opponent."
But in response to their concern, Shui Bing'er simply smiled, still watching Water Wuhen on the stage.
"I believe in my brother. He will win."
Her tone was filled with confidence.
This confidence came from over a decade of knowing Water Wuhen—from all those moments she thought impossible, yet he accomplished them.
"Besides…"
Shui Bing'er glanced at the soaring Articuno in the sky and thought to herself:
"Articuno hasn't even made a move yet."
VIP seating area.
"It seems this match will still go to Feng Xiaotian in the end."
came back to his senses from shock and said to beside him.
Ning Fengzhi smiled slightly. "Feng Xiaotian is slightly stronger, but Water Wuhen is no weakling either. Many peak Soul Emperors might not even be their match."
Suddenly, Emperor Xue Ye looked at with a faint smile. "Bishop Salas, I wonder if there is anyone in Spirit Hall Academy this year who can rival the two of them?"
Hearing this, Salas's expression darkened, and he pretended not to hear, ignoring the question.
At this moment, he felt truly fortunate—luckily, and possessed a spirit fusion technique and had once defeated a level 68 Spirit Hall teacher. Otherwise, facing opponents like Water Wuhen and Feng Xiaotian, it would be impossible to fight.
Only remained silent, his eyes fixed unwaveringly on the battlefield below.
"Is Water Wuhen going to lose? No… he's going to win!"
The moment this thought arose in Chen Xin's mind, on the battlefield, where Water Wuhen had been submerged in semicircular green streaks, twelve even more condensed, refined, and dazzling blade lights suddenly appeared around him.
After enduring for nearly five minutes, Water Wuhen finally used Feng Xiaotian's pressure to break through, elevating Ice Slash to the level of Instant Twelve Consecutive Slashes.
The situation on the battlefield instantly reversed.
The surrounding semicircular green streaks could no longer pose any threat to him.
Enduring Feng Xiaotian's attacks, Water Wuhen stepped forward quickly. With a flap of his ice wings, his body turned into a streak of icy light, instantly piercing through the green tornado formed by Feng Xiaotian.
In the next moment, the green tornado dissipated, and Feng Xiaotian's figure staggered backward, staring at Water Wuhen in shock.
The ice-blue long blade in Water Wuhen's hand dispersed as he turned to look at Feng Xiaotian.
"You lost!"
As he spoke, Articuno shrank to the size of a sparrow and landed on his shoulder.
Feng Xiaotian touched his neck. When he felt the bead of blood that had already frozen into frost, he gave a bitter smile.
"Yes… I lost."
But despite losing, Feng Xiaotian showed no frustration. Instead, he felt the loss was worthwhile.
This battle with Water Wuhen allowed his self-created spirit ability to break through into the Thirty-Six Consecutive Slashes, and even further refine and perfect it.
This alone saved him over a year of effort, with immeasurable impact on his cultivation.
Compared to victory, Feng Xiaotian now valued his own improvement more.
Moreover, from the battle just now, it was clear that there was still a significant gap between his strength and Water Wuhen's.
Although Water Wuhen had appeared to be pushed to the brink, in reality, he had never called on Articuno for help—likely using only half of his full strength.
Under such circumstances, even if he had won, what would there be to be proud of?