Extreme terror drove Xuan Zi completely out of his mind.
He suddenly sprang to his feet, utterly discarding the composure of a top-tier powerhouse, and roared hoarsely toward the ruins below the stage:
"Ma Xiaotao! Get up!"
"You are Shrek's captain! The leader of the monsters! How can you lose to a Spirit King from the Sun Moon Empire?!"
"Get up! Turn it around! No matter the cost, you must not lose!!!"
That thunderous roar, reinforced by spirit power, instantly swept across Star Luo Plaza, making countless spectators clutch their ears in pain.
Everyone stared at Xuan Zi in disbelief.
This… was this really how a leading teacher was supposed to behave? Publicly pressuring a student in the middle of a match?
Yet Xuan Zi's roar actually seemed to have an effect.
Deep within the rubble—
Ma Xiaotao, whose consciousness was already fading, heard that desperate, commanding shout.
"I… can't lose…"
"I am… Shrek's glory…"
An overwhelming obsession, mixed with the madness inherent to an Evil Fire Phoenix Spirit Master, erupted completely at that moment.
Her eyes, which had been dim, suddenly ignited once more—burning fiercer and hotter than ever before!
"AAAAAA—!!!"
A shrill, piercing phoenix cry exploded from the depths of the crater, shooting straight into the clouds!
Boom—!
A terrifying pillar of fire blasted upward, shattering the rubble and melting everything around it into molten lava.
Within the flames, Ma Xiaotao's battered body slowly rose into the air.
The seventh soul ring around her—the black ten-thousand-year ring symbolizing a Spirit Saint's ultimate power—was radiating a chilling, ominous glow.
"Liu—Yuan—!!!"
Her voice no longer sounded human. It carried a metallic resonance, filled with boundless killing intent.
"Seventh Soul Skill—Martial Soul True Body!!!"
As she roared those words, Ma Xiaotao's body vanished instantly.
In her place appeared a gigantic fire phoenix with a wingspan exceeding twenty meters!
Its entire body burned with dark red Evil Fire. Every feather looked lifelike, as if carved from the purest fire crystal.
Within its massive eyes, there was no trace of reason left—only the madness to destroy everything.
Scorching heat swept across the arena, and even the protective barrier around the stage began to emit a sizzling sound, as if it might melt at any moment.
"Heavens! That's… Martial Soul True Body?!"
"The signature ability of a seven-ring Spirit Saint—a complete qualitative transformation!"
"With the phoenix incarnation, her strength has skyrocketed several times over! Liu Yuan is in danger now!"
The audience erupted in alarmed cries.
No one had expected Ma Xiaotao—who had been beaten to the brink—to unleash such terrifying power in desperation.
A Spirit Saint with Martial Soul True Body active was on a completely different level of existence.
"Hahaha! Good! Excellent!"
Seeing this, a spark of hope reignited in Xuan Zi's ashen eyes. He clenched his fist excitedly.
"That's it! Xiaotao, crush him with your Martial Soul True Body! Let him see what true power is!"
On the stage—
Facing the colossal fire phoenix blotting out the sky, Liu Yuan hovered calmly in midair.
Violent heatwaves whipped his hair about, yet the calm in his eyes remained undisturbed.
"Martial Soul True Body, huh?"
He tilted his head slightly, looking at the roaring phoenix, a cold sneer tugging at his lips.
"Unfortunately… it's useless."
Before stacking Dragon Dance, he might have needed to avoid her Martial Soul True Body head-on.
But now?
Six full stacks of Dragon Dance—an all-around limit break to every attribute.
In his eyes, this so-called fire phoenix was nothing more than a slightly stronger… wild chicken.
"Since you've already played all your cards," Liu Yuan said coolly, "I'll let you experience what real despair is."
He slowly raised his right hand and pointed toward the sky.
The heavens—previously dyed red by Ma Xiaotao's flames—suddenly darkened.
A vast, ancient, overwhelmingly domineering Dragon Might descended upon the entire arena without warning.
Under this pressure, the raging phoenix flames actually trembled, as if encountering their natural enemy, instantly suppressed at the source!
This was absolute suppression born of bloodline origin!
Rayquaza—the sovereign of the skies beyond the ozone layer, the true emperor of dragonkind.
What right did a corrupted fire phoenix tainted with evil aura have to flaunt its power before it?
"Fifth Soul Skill—"
Liu Yuan's voice was calm, yet it echoed clearly in everyone's ears.
The pitch-black ten-thousand-year soul ring behind him flared brightly!
High above, the clouds churned violently, as if some terrifying existence was about to descend.
"Draco Meteor!"
Rumble—!
The firmament shattered.
Countless enormous meteors, blazing with purple-gold light, materialized out of thin air.
Unlike Ma Xiaotao's fire-based meteors, these were wrapped in violent dragon-type energy—each one carrying enough destructive force to punch through mountains!
"Fall!"
With a downward sweep of Liu Yuan's palm—
The purple-gold meteor storm descended like divine punishment, smashing mercilessly toward the giant fire phoenix!
"ROAR—!"
In phoenix incarnation, Ma Xiaotao let out an unwilling roar, trying to block the attack with her flames.
But before Draco Meteor, her fire was as fragile as gauze.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The meteors slammed relentlessly into the phoenix's massive body, each impact exploding with blinding sparks and agonized shrieks.
The terrifying force sent her tumbling wildly through the air, feathers scattering everywhere as the once-majestic Martial Soul True Body was battered into ruin.
But it wasn't over.
"Second Soul Skill—Hurricane!"
Liu Yuan gave her no chance to recover.
He spread his arms as the dragon shadow behind him roared to the heavens.
Whoooosh—!
The world changed color.
A monstrous hurricane formed out of nowhere, splitting into multiple sky-reaching tornadoes laced with razor-sharp wind blades, tearing toward Ma Xiaotao from every direction.
Wind fuels fire?
No—that was ordinary wind.
Under Liu Yuan's control, this Hurricane shredded steel and drained the surrounding air, forming a terrifying vacuum domain!
"Screeech—!"
At the center of the storm, the fire phoenix let out a shrill scream.
Savage wind blades tore mercilessly through her True Body, peeling away her flames layer by layer.
The overwhelming suction made it impossible for her to stabilize herself; she was flung around like a ragdoll, completely at the mercy of the storm.
"Is this your limit?"
A cold glint flashed in Liu Yuan's eyes as he watched her struggle.
"Then let it end."
"I'll send you on your final journey."
"Fourth Soul Skill—"
He drew a deep breath as the fourth soul ring behind him blazed with light.
Water elements surged wildly.
Despite being on land and surrounded by fire, under Liu Yuan's summoning, space itself seemed to tear open. Behind him appeared the phantom of a boundless ocean.
"Surf!"
Crash—!!!
The thunderous roar of ocean waves shook the sky.
A colossal wave over a hundred meters tall condensed instantly above the arena.
This was no ordinary water—it was a shockwave infused with overwhelming soul power.
Water restrains fire.
An eternal truth.
The moment this world-covering wave appeared, Ma Xiaotao's Martial Soul True Body instinctively sensed annihilation and tried to flee.
But there was nowhere to escape.
Draco Meteor sealed her from above.
Hurricane bound her from all sides.
All she could do was watch as the colossal wave—carrying the force of ten thousand tons—crashed down upon her!
"No—!!!"
With Ma Xiaotao's final cry of despair—
Rumble—RUMBLE—!!!
The massive wave slammed violently into the fire phoenix.
Hiss—hiss—hiss—!
Blinding white steam erupted instantly, swallowing the entire battlefield.
The violent clash of water and fire shook Star Luo Plaza like an earthquake.
Even with the protective barrier, the audience could feel that apocalyptic power, their faces drained of color as they trembled.
After a long while—
The meteors faded.
The storm died down.
The flood receded.
On the stage, the once-invincible fire phoenix was gone.
Only devastation remained.
At the center of the ruins—
Ma Xiaotao had reverted to her human form.
She was soaked through, her clothes in tatters, hair plastered to her face, looking utterly miserable.
Her eyes were shut tight, her face deathly pale. She lay unconscious in the mud like a lifeless doll.
And above her—
Liu Yuan hovered calmly in midair, standing upon the void. His clothes fluttered gently, untouched by water.
The contrast was absolute.
The result was clear.
Silence.
The entire Star Luo Plaza fell into a suffocating dead silence once more.
Even quieter than when Liu Yuan had sent Ma Xiaotao flying with a single punch.
Eyes were wide.
Mouths hung open.
Not a single sound could be made.
It's… over?
Is it really over?
Shrek Team's captain, the seven-ring Spirit Saint Ma Xiaotao, after unleashing her ultimate trump card—the Martial Soul True Body—
Had been knocked unconscious by Liu Yuan through a dazzling, overwhelming combo?!
Draco Meteor.
Hurricane.
Surf.
Is this… Liu Yuan's true strength?
"H-He won…?"
In the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy's waiting area, even though they had already expected this outcome, Xiao Hongchen and the others still couldn't help but swallow hard at the sight.
Too strong.
This was the kind of strength that bred despair.
On Shrek's side—
"Pfft—"
Xuan Zi, who had just been shouting encouragement, felt as if lightning struck him the moment Ma Xiaotao fell.
A sharp pain exploded in his chest. He could no longer suppress it.
A mouthful of old blood sprayed out.
His bulky body swayed before collapsing back into his chair, eyes hollow and lifeless, as if all spirit had been drained from him.
It's over.
This time… it's truly over.
Shrek Academy had lost.
Lost completely.
Lost everything.
And they had lost—to Liu Yuan.
He, Xuan Zi, would become the greatest laughingstock and sinner in Shrek Academy's history.
-------------Author---------------
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