"Fire immunity?!"
Those two words detonated like a depth charge in Shrek Academy's waiting area.
To ordinary people, the term might only mean "not afraid of fire."
But to Shrek students, it carried a meaning etched into their very bones.
Because in Shrek's historical records, it was written that the legendary ancestor who founded the Tang Sect—Tang San—once possessed a physique described as impervious to ice and fire.
That was a heaven-defying trait, obtained only after consuming Immortal Herbs from the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well—an aura that belonged solely to those who stood at the very pinnacle of the continent.
"Fire immunity… how is that even possible?!"
Xu Sanshi's eyes went wide, his grip nearly loosening on the Xuanwu Tortoise Shield in his hand.
"That was something only Ancestor Tang San had! What right does this kid have?!"
"No wonder… no wonder he didn't suffer any real damage earlier," Chen Zifeng muttered darkly, his face twisted.
"So it was all an act. He calculated everything from the start, using the captain's attacks as cover to stack that enhancement Spirit Ability!"
The most extreme reaction, however, came from Xuan Zi.
"Bastard! Absolute bastard!"
His beard trembled violently as rage filled his clouded eyes. Veins bulged as he pointed at Liu Yuan on the stage and roared:
"Sinister! Cunning! Despicable and shameless!"
"He clearly has fire immunity, yet he deliberately pretended to be burned alive, tricking Xiaotao into wasting spirit power on him! He even used her ultimate move as cover!"
"This brat is so young, yet his schemes are this vicious! He's practically an Evil Soul Master!"
Xuan Zi felt like his lungs were about to explode.
Just moments ago, he had been declaring with absolute confidence that Ma Xiaotao would win.
Now reality had slapped him across the face—hard.
That feeling of plunging from the clouds straight into an abyss was more than even a Titled Douluo could bear. His composure had completely collapsed.
Meanwhile, the atmosphere on the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy's side was the exact opposite.
"Hahahaha! This is killing me!"
Meng Hongchen laughed so hard she was shaking, tears nearly forming.
"Look at that old man's face—doesn't it look like he swallowed a fly? Weren't they so arrogant earlier? Why aren't they talking now?"
Xiao Hongchen's grin was pure satisfaction.
"This is the gap in intelligence. They thought the captain was meat on the chopping block, never realizing he was the hunter holding the knife. This reversal is better than any grand play I've ever seen."
"Fire immunity plus maxed Dragon Dance stacks," Mi Jia said calmly, pushing up his glasses.
"There's no suspense left in this match."
On the arena.
Liu Yuan looked at the stunned Ma Xiaotao across from him and smiled faintly.
"Since you've figured it out, I won't bother hiding it anymore."
He lightly rolled his wrists, feeling power surge through his body like a boundless ocean. That intoxicating sense of being able to tear through anything made his blood boil.
"Congratulations. You guessed correctly."
His eyes sharpened, his voice turning cold as steel.
"Unfortunately—there's no reward."
The instant those words fell—
Whoosh!
Before the afterimage left behind could even fade, Liu Yuan himself was already gone.
Too fast.
So fast that the naked eye couldn't follow it.
So fast that the air didn't even have time to boom.
If his previous Extreme Speed was a raging gale, then Extreme Speed after fully stacking Dragon Dance was true lightning—a movement that bordered on teleportation.
"Not good!"
Ma Xiaotao's vision blurred as a lethal sense of danger swallowed her whole.
She instinctively tried to activate the Evil Fire Domain again, her mental force spreading frantically in all directions.
But this time—
It was useless.
When speed surpassed the limits of thought and reaction, prediction became nothing more than a joke.
Because the moment she sensed the disturbance in the airflow—
The fist was already at her face.
"Over here."
A whisper brushed past her ear, like the murmur of a death god.
Ma Xiaotao turned her head in sheer horror, only to see a dragon claw glowing dark green, expanding endlessly in her vision.
Bang—!!!
A dull, thunderous impact echoed.
She didn't even have time to scream before her body was blasted away like a meteor struck by heavy artillery.
The spirit power defense she took pride in shattered instantly, as fragile as paper.
Terrifying force tore through her body, violently displacing her internal organs. She spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, painting a tragic arc through the air.
Boom!
Ma Xiaotao slammed into the protective barrier hundreds of meters away, making the sturdy soul tool shield quake violently before she slid down limply, kicking up a cloud of dust.
The entire arena fell into deathly silence.
Mouths hung open. Eyes stared blankly.
No one could process what they had just seen.
Ma Xiaotao—the Spirit Saint who had been completely suppressing Liu Yuan just moments ago—had been sent flying with a single blow?!
"Cough… cough…"
Amid the distant rubble, Ma Xiaotao struggled to prop herself up. Her once-ruddy face was now pale as paper, bright red blood trailing from the corner of her lips.
Her eyes were filled with disbelief.
"How… how is this possible…"
"The power and speed of that attack… how did they increase so drastically?!"
She couldn't accept it.
The Spirit King she had been chasing and beating down had suddenly transformed into a monster.
That suffocating pressure felt no weaker than facing a Spirit Douluo.
"I won't accept this! I haven't lost yet!"
Her pride as Shrek's captain refused to let her admit defeat.
Roaring, Ma Xiaotao endured the agony wracking her body and shot back into the sky.
"Third Spirit Ability — Phoenix Wings Skyward Surge!"
"Fourth Spirit Ability — Phoenix Sky-Shaking Strike!"
She poured out every last bit of spirit power she had, unleashing her remaining Spirit Abilities in a desperate all-out assault.
Yet in the face of her frenzy, Liu Yuan remained utterly calm.
Calm to the point of… playing with her.
Whoosh!
His figure flickered, easily slipping past the range of the Phoenix Sky-Shaking Strike.
Whoosh!
Another flash—those massive flaming wings couldn't even brush the edge of his clothing.
The current Liu Yuan moved as if strolling through his own backyard, weaving leisurely through the storm of attacks.
The stacked Dragon Dance didn't just grant terrifying power—it gave him overwhelming speed and reaction time.
Attacks that seemed lightning-fast to Ma Xiaotao appeared like slow-motion playback to him.
"Too slow."
His cold voice rang out.
In the next instant, he appeared behind her once more.
"It's over."
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
A series of heavy impacts echoed.
Liu Yuan didn't use any flashy Spirit Abilities. He relied solely on raw physical combat, unleashing a relentless storm of strikes.
One punch shattered her defense.
One kick sent her flying.
One elbow strike crushed her consciousness.
Under this overwhelming assault, Ma Xiaotao was like a puppet with its strings severed—kicked back and forth in midair, utterly unable to fight back.
The flames around her body dimmed rapidly. Her once-dominant aura vanished completely, replaced by sheer misery and pain.
"This… this is a complete one-sided massacre!"
Spectators covered their mouths in shock, chills creeping up their spines.
Too brutal.
Too overwhelming.
Is this really something a Spirit King is capable of?!
Ma Xiaotao was being beaten so badly she couldn't even retaliate.
"Pfft—"
Finally, with a crushing downward kick from Liu Yuan, Ma Xiaotao was smashed violently into the ground, carving out a deep, bottomless crater.
Shrek waiting area.
Xuan Zi's face was deathly pale. He slumped back into his chair as if his soul had been drained.
"It's over…"
"Xiaotao… she's really going to lose, isn't she?"
A terrifying realization surfaced in his mind.
Ma Xiaotao wasn't just losing.
She was in danger.
And they had agreed beforehand—whoever lost this match would have to admit total defeat.
That meant Shrek Academy had lost its very first clash with the Sun Moon Royal Team in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Tournament.
Not only would Shrek's reputation plummet—
More importantly, this matter would definitely reach Mu En's ears.
At that thought, Xuan Zi shuddered.
If things truly developed that far…
It would really be the end.