Boom—!
As those circles of purple-black dragon-shaped air currents completely stabilized around Liu Yuan, adhering to his body like a suit of dragon-scale battle armor...
The entire Star Luo Plaza fell into a brief, deathly silence, followed by an explosion of boiling sound like a mountain tsunami.
"He did it! He really did it!"
"Six layers of Dragon Dance! He stacked them to the limit again!"
In the spectator stands, countless Spirit Masters' faces were flushed with excitement; some even couldn't help but stand up, their eyes fixed intently on that figure in the center of the arena.
After so many days of competition, even the most slow-witted spectator had already figured out Liu Yuan's fighting style.
This youth, who seemingly only had the Rank of a Spirit King, possessed a terrifying augmentation Spirit Ability that defied common sense—Dragon Dance.
And once he was allowed to fully stack this move...
It would no longer be a match, but a one-sided massacre!
In the previous match, Shrek's Ma Xiaotao had fallen under that powerful force.
And today, history seemed to be repeating itself, and in an even more shocking and unstoppable manner!
"It's over... it's all over..."
On the main stage, the Emperor of Star Luo Xu Jiawei's originally calm face was now so gloomy it looked as if it could drip water.
As the monarch of a nation, his vision was far more acute than that of an ordinary spectator.
He could see that Liu Yuan's Aura had completely surpassed anyone else present, even faintly overshadowing Ma Xiaotao, who was a Spirit Saint.
That sense of oppression didn't just come from his spirit power Rank, but from a pure, ultimate crushing force on a biological level.
"Ma Xiaotao... can't stop him anymore."
Xu Jiawei closed his eyes in pain, a deep sense of powerlessness welling up in his heart.
If Ma Xiaotao lost, it meant Shrek Academy would completely collapse.
Although there were other teammates, given the dominance Liu Yuan was showing now, combined with the Sun Moon Team's endless high-Rank spirit tools... Shrek simply had no chance of winning!
And if Shrek lost and stopped at the top sixteen...
For the Star Luo Empire, it would be nothing short of a disaster!
After all, if even Shrek couldn't stop them, who else could?
And once the Sun Moon Empire won the championship, how arrogant would those ambitious fellows become?
They would promote the superiority of spirit tools, stepping over the corpses of Shrek and all the academies of the Three Dou Luo Nations to announce to the entire continent: the era of Spirit Masters is over, and the era of spirit tools has arrived!
At that time, the border pressure faced by the Star Luo Empire would multiply!
"Damn it! Damn it! Why did it turn out like this?!"
Xu Jiawei roared in his heart, yet he could only watch helplessly as the situation spiraled into the abyss step by step.
And even more pained than Xu Jiawei was Xuan Zi, sitting in the Shrek waiting area.
Gulp... gulp...
Xuan Zi picked up the wine gourd in his hand and took a fierce gulp of strong liquor.
The pungent liquid flowed down his throat, but it could not extinguish the regret and anxiety spreading like wildfire in his heart.
"Again... it's happening again..."
Xuan Zi's cloudy old eyes were bloodshot, his vision blurred as he stared at the high-spirited youth on the arena stage.
How familiar was this scene?
In the previous match, Liu Yuan had been like this, using Dragon Dance to strengthen himself, finally sweeping the field with an invincible posture.
And today, facing Ma Xiaotao who had deployed an eighth-rank soul tool, the script hadn't changed in the slightest!
What did this mean?
It meant that Liu Yuan's strength was not as simple as they had previously estimated!
He didn't rely on luck or trickery, but possessed solid, terrifying hard power sufficient to crush his generation and even challenge those of higher Ranks!
"Top sixteen... is my Shrek really going to stop at the top sixteen?"
Xuan Zi's hand was trembling.
If they were really eliminated at this Rank, it would be the greatest disgrace in the ten-thousand-year history of Shrek Academy!
And the creator of this disgrace was none other than he, Xuan Zi!
At this moment, the regret in Xuan Zi's heart regarding his decision to expel Liu Yuan reached its peak...
...
Meanwhile, on the arena stage.
The clamor from the outside world did not affect the two people facing each other.
Liu Yuan stood there quietly, the air currents around him having settled, but that restrained, terrifying Aura was instead even more heart-palpitating.
He looked at Ma Xiaotao not far away, his eyes devoid of a victor's arrogance.
There was only a sense of calm.
A respect for the strong, and a detached indifference toward a victory or defeat he already understood in his heart.
"Ma Xiaotao."
Liu Yuan spoke slowly, his voice not loud, yet clearly reaching the entire field wrapped in spirit power. "Your resilience has indeed exceeded my expectations."
"Whether it's the explosive power of the Phoenix Evil Fire or your control over this eighth-rank soul tool, you've done very well. If we weren't on opposite sides, you would indeed be a respectable opponent."
At this point, Liu Yuan paused slightly, his gaze sweeping over Ma Xiaotao's eyes which, though in a wretched state, still burned with Battle Intent, and continued:
"Although your temper is terrible, your personality is explosive, and sometimes you're even brainless."
"But... as a Spirit Master, your fighting spirit is qualified."
"So, to show my respect for you, I don't intend to end this match as if I were playing with a clown."
Liu Yuan slowly raised his right hand and made a "please" gesture toward Ma Xiaotao.
"Come, use your final strength."
"Concentrate all your spirit power, all your rage, and all your methods into this one strike."
"I will meet it head-on, and then... send you off the stage."
These words were incredibly arrogant, yet they also seemed upright and honorable.
This was the charity of the strong to the weak, and the final etiquette of a warrior to a warrior.
"Heh... hehe..."
Hearing Liu Yuan's words, Ma Xiaotao suddenly began to laugh.
That laughter was somewhat shrill and a bit crazed.
She wiped a trace of blood from the corner of her mouth and stood up unsteadily, her originally scattered pupils refocusing as she stared fixedly at Liu Yuan.
"Liu Yuan, you really are strong... and also very annoying."
"Are you trying to tell me that you're certain to win?"
"Are you trying to use this high-and-mighty posture to grant me my final dignity?"
Ma Xiaotao took a deep breath, her chest heaving violently.
But she knew Liu Yuan was telling the truth.
Continuing to entangle with him no longer had any meaning.
Her only choice was to put everything on the line!
Only by exhausting everything!
Would there be a glimmer of a chance!
"Fine! Since you want to see it, then I'll show you!"
"I, Ma Xiaotao, the captain of Shrek Academy, will never fall in such a pathetic way!"
"I must win!"
Boom—!!!
Accompanied by Ma Xiaotao's roar, an unprecedentedly terrifying heatwave erupted from her body.
This time, she no longer cared about the burden on her body, and no longer reserved even a single shred of spirit power.
The Phoenix flames behind her instantly turned from golden-red to dark red—a symbol of burning her life's potential!
Martial Soul True Body—Evil Fire Phoenix!
A resonant Phoenix cry echoed through the clouds as a massive dark-red fire Phoenix phantom condensed into form behind her, emitting an Aura that could destroy everything.
But that wasn't enough!
Ma Xiaotao fiercely raised the golden crystal sword in her hand, injecting the boiling Evil Fire within her into it without reservation.
The originally golden sword blade actually began to melt at this moment, merging perfectly with the dark-red flames.
The Core Formation of the eighth-rank soul tool operated at an overload, emitting a buzzing sound that signaled it was on the verge of collapse.
The sharpness of the metal and the fury of the flames were forcibly fused by Ma Xiaotao in a near-manic fashion at this moment.
She knew Liu Yuan had Fire Immunity.
Therefore, she compressed and re-compressed all the flame energy, transforming it into the purest propulsion and explosive force, all to bring the physical destructive power of this sword strike to the extreme!
"This move is my final trump card..."
Ma Xiaotao's body slowly floated into mid-air; her entire being seemed to merge with the sword in her hand and the Phoenix behind her, becoming a dark-red sun.
"Liu Yuan! Take this!"
Phoenix · Golden Crystal · Heaven-Shattering Slash!!!
With Ma Xiaotao's sharp cry, the "dark-red sun" in mid-air suddenly plummeted.
There were no fancy techniques, only an indomitable Aura.
As that sword slashed out, it was as if even space was torn apart by the high temperature and shock, trailing a long dark-red tail of flame like a world-ending meteorite, carrying Shrek's final glory and stubbornness as it smashed fiercely toward Liu Yuan below.
Gales howled and heatwaves rolled.
Liu Yuan, at the center of the storm, had his clothes flapping loudly, and his black hair danced wildly behind his head.
Facing this world-destroying strike, there was still not a trace of fear on his face.
On the contrary, the corners of his mouth curled into an excited arc.
"Very good."
"Watch this—Extreme Speed!"
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