On the arena, the battle continued to rage with unabated intensity.
After being forcibly repelled several times in succession by Wang Qiu'er's golden dragon spear, the pride of Long Aotian—the favored genius of the Body Sect—finally shattered completely.
As the successor nurtured with the full resources of his generation, Long Aotian had grown up looking down on countless peers. In his eyes, even the so-called geniuses of Shrek Academy were nothing more than overrated mediocrities.
Yet reality was merciless.
Not only had he failed to touch Liu Yuan from start to finish, he had even been suppressed and driven back step by step by one of Liu Yuan's teammates.
This overwhelming gap trampled his self-esteem like never before. His eyes instantly turned bloodshot.
"This is impossible! The Original Body Martial Soul is supreme!"
Long Aotian let out a low, hoarse roar.
At this moment, he could no longer tolerate being passively beaten. Abandoning all restraint, he chose to go all out.
He took a deep breath, and the spirit power within his body surged violently, like boiling magma. His aura underwent a qualitative transformation, as though his entire being resonated mysteriously with the surrounding air, the arena beneath his feet, and even the space itself.
He activated the Body Sect's top-tier combat art—one that was never passed down to outsiders.
Unity of Man and Nature.
In this state, Long Aotian's perception and spirit power mobilization speed leaped to an entirely new level.
But this was only the beginning.
"Unity of Man and Nature: Aura Condensation!"
With a sharp shout, a pressure as heavy as a city wall erupted from Long Aotian's body. This aura was no illusion—it was the perfect fusion of materialized mental force and spirit power, directly locking onto Wang Qiu'er and attempting to crush her from the mental plane first.
Immediately after, his hands traced complex arcs before his chest, leaving behind overlapping grey afterimages.
"Unity of Man and Nature: Heaven and Earth Rotation!"
This was a domineering technique that forcibly stripped energy from the surrounding space and converted it into raw offensive power.
A rotating sphere of grey light rapidly condensed between his palms, radiating an annihilating aura that made hearts tremble. With a powerful stomp, Long Aotian shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow, carrying a mountain-toppling gale as he launched a desperate strike straight at Wang Qiu'er.
Facing Long Aotian's charge at peak momentum, Wang Qiu'er's expression turned solemn for the first time.
She could clearly sense that this attack had faintly touched the threshold of Spirit Saint–level power. Even with her Golden Dragon Martial Soul, she could not afford the slightest carelessness.
Her eyes narrowed as the first, second, and sixth spirit rings beneath her feet flared simultaneously.
Golden Dragon Body.
Dragon Gold Sharpness.
Golden Dragon's Pride.
Three of her strongest enhancement abilities surged into her limbs and bones at once.
With a resonant dragon roar, Wang Qiu'er tightly gripped her golden dragon spear. Every rune along the spear shaft lit up as she condensed all her strength into a single point, charging straight toward the rotating grey light sphere.
Boom—!
A deafening explosion erupted at the center of the arena.
Brilliant golden light collided violently with the grey annihilating aura, the two forces tearing into and neutralizing each other. Terrifying shockwaves spread outward, causing the Soul Tool defensive barrier around the arena to ripple violently.
In this direct clash of pure power, Long Aotian—relying on the Body Sect's desperate combat techniques—ultimately gained a slight upper hand.
The backlash released when the grey light sphere shattered sent Wang Qiu'er sliding backward with her spear.
Though she forcefully stabilized herself and did not fall, her face turned pale from the enormous spirit power consumption. Her hands trembled slightly as she was pushed back dozens of meters by the impact.
"Die!"
Seeing his attack succeed, ruthless killing intent flashed through Long Aotian's eyes.
Still under the peak amplification of his combat art, he had no intention of giving Wang Qiu'er any chance to recover. He forcibly squeezed his already strained meridians, twisted his body mid-air, and pursued her relentlessly with claw-shaped hands.
Just as Long Aotian's fingertips were about to touch the defensive field around Wang Qiu'er—
Liu Yuan finally moved.
The figure that had stood calmly at the center of the formation from beginning to end vanished in an instant.
There was no violent spirit power eruption, no sound of air being torn apart. He simply passed effortlessly through the chaotic battlefield.
In the next second, under the stunned gazes of tens of thousands of spectators, Liu Yuan appeared beside Wang Qiu'er.
With a casual wave of his hand, a warm yet immeasurably heavy spirit power spread out, effortlessly dissolving all of Long Aotian's momentum.
Then, as naturally as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world, Liu Yuan scooped Wang Qiu'er up in his arms and carried her away from her original position.
Wang Qiu'er froze.
Her tightly wound battle intent shattered instantly under the shock of the sudden embrace.
Long Aotian's all-out claw strike hit nothing but empty air. Carried by inertia, he staggered forward more than ten steps before stopping awkwardly.
He whipped his head around, staring at Liu Yuan holding Wang Qiu'er not far away. His eyes were filled with rage—and a faint, uncontrollable fear.
The entire venue fell into dead silence.
In the stands, Xuan Zi abruptly stood up, his cloudy eyes locked onto Liu Yuan, his heart in complete turmoil.
The speed and spatial control Liu Yuan had just demonstrated had utterly surpassed the limits of a Spirit Saint.
"This speed… this control…"
Ma Xiaotao muttered in the Shrek rest area, her expression turning extremely grim.
"Has he really reached this level?"
Liu Yuan lowered his head to look at Wang Qiu'er in his arms. Seeing that she wasn't injured—only heavily drained—he finally relaxed slightly.
"Good. You're fine…"
Then he frowned.
"I'm really impressed by you. When you fight, you only know how to meet force with force. He's clearly using a desperate ultimate move, and you still choose to clash head-on?"
He couldn't help complaining.
In his arms, Wang Qiu'er's usually cold and stubborn face showed a faint blush.
"Put me down first. I can still fight," she said stubbornly.
"Still fight?" Liu Yuan snapped. "Leave the rest to me."
"Go stand aside and behave."
After speaking, he gently set Wang Qiu'er down.
Then Liu Yuan raised his head and looked at Long Aotian.
His face still wore that calm, breezy smile—but the coldness in his eyes sent a chill straight to the marrow.
"This farce should end now."
He spoke lightly, yet every word weighed like iron.
"Congratulations, Long Aotian."
"You are finally qualified for me to take action."