Chapter 99: Unity of Heaven and Man
The referee's voice cracked, sounding dry and strained as it echoed across the ruined arena. Amidst the announcement, Liu Yuan, Long Aotian, Vina, and the rest of the Heavenly Soul Imperial Academy team slowly descended the stone steps.
The battle had officially ended, yet the clamor within Star Luo Plaza was just beginning to boil over, reaching a fever pitch unseen since the tournament's inception.
Countless spectators rose to their feet without prompting. A sea of gazes tracked the retreating figures clad in dark golden uniforms. Whispers and shouts merged into a tidal wave of noise that swept through the massive venue.
"Too strong. That was just too strong." An older Soul Master from the Star Luo Empire leaned against the railing, his weathered face tight with disbelief. He turned to his companion, gesturing vaguely toward the arena floor. "That boy named Liu Yuan... did you see the sheer force behind his final punch? That did not look like an attack a Soul Ancestor could unleash."
His companion, a middle-aged man with a scarred jaw, nodded slowly. "Even the Soul King leading our Star Luo Battle Team looked as fragile as paper in front of that strike. Absolute, pure martial suppression. I have lived a long time, and I have never seen such terrifying physical dominance in a child that young."
"It leaves a bitter taste to watch our home team lose," another spectator chimed in, crossing his arms. "But you have to admit, the Heavenly Soul Imperial Academy brought absolute monsters this year."
"And what about Long Aotian?" A younger Soul Master pointed toward the tall, imposing youth walking beside Liu Yuan. "His physical defense is completely outrageous. The Dark Demon Tiger's claws struck him directly, and they did not even leave a white scratch on his skin. Losing to opponents like that... our Star Luo Battle Team cannot even claim they were wronged."
Similar conversations sprouted like wildfire across every corner of Star Luo Plaza. This was the Star Luo Empire's home turf. They had just watched their own elite team get dismantled. Yet, the world of Soul Masters bowed only to absolute strength. Liu Yuan's violent, solitary dominance against five opponents, coupled with Long Aotian's overwhelming offensive pressure, had thoroughly conquered the notoriously picky crowd.
Across the plaza, within the Shrek Academy preparation area, the atmosphere was suffocating. The air felt heavy enough to freeze water.
Elder Xuan sat rigidly in his chair. His bloodshot, murky eyes were glued to Liu Yuan's retreating back. Extreme confusion and twisted, festering anger warred on his wrinkled face.
Crack.
The reinforced wine gourd in his grip shattered. Shards of dried wood and metal bit into his palm, flattening under his immense grip strength. Cheap liquor spilled through his calloused fingers, dripping onto the floor in a steady rhythm, but he did not even blink.
"This isn't right... This is absolutely not right!" Elder Xuan hissed, his voice dropping into a manic, desperate whisper.
His chest heaved violently. "Did he not awaken the Spirit Eyes? That is the absolute peak of the mental attribute among Body Martial Souls! How can his physical vessel possess such monstrous strength? That Mountain-Collapsing Force in his punch... that is a technique exclusively reserved for top-tier power-type Soul Masters!"
Elder Xuan felt his entire worldview fracturing. As a high-ranking veteran of Shrek Academy, he had evaluated countless geniuses over the decades. Yet, he had never witnessed a single entity perfectly fuse the eerie, intangible lethality of a mental-type with the brutal, crushing dominance of a power-type.
"And those eyes..." Elder Xuan muttered, his breathing growing ragged. "Can the Spirit Eyes even be used like that? What exactly was that red beam Soul Skill? There was no soul ring rhythm. No warning. Yet it instantly pierced straight through a Soul King's absolute defense."
The more he analyzed the fight, the tighter the vice around his heart squeezed. The crushing regret of throwing away a peerless genius intertwined with the blinding fury of watching that same genius shine like a sun in a rival's camp. The conflicting emotions tore at his insides, turning his face a sickly shade of green, then a pale, ugly white. He looked half-dead from sheer rage.
Meanwhile, in the adjacent Body Sect preparation area, Du Busi sprawled brazenly across a massive armchair.
His sharp senses easily picked up the venomous glare burning into the side of his head. Du Busi slowly turned his neck, locking eyes with Elder Xuan. A wide, exaggerated, and utterly predatory grin stretched across his face.
Without breaking eye contact, Du Busi lazily raised his right hand. He extended a single thumb and drew it slowly across his own throat.
The message was crystal clear: 'Wait for your death. I have not forgotten our bet.'
Seeing this blatant mockery, Elder Xuan choked. A mouthful of sour wine vapor burst from his lips in a violent cough. He wrenched his head away, his fingernails digging into his thighs as he forced himself to ignore the Body Sect Master's provocation.
The tournament did not halt for the defeated. As the shockwaves of the first round settled, the referee's voice rang out again, calling the names for the subsequent matches.
Colorful bursts of soul power soon erupted across the repaired arena stages, accompanied by the heavy thuds of collisions and battle cries.
Back in the Heavenly Soul preparation area, Liu Yuan took his seat.
Unlike Long Aotian, who leaned forward to analyze the new competitors, Liu Yuan ignored the stage entirely. He slowly closed his Double Pupils, resting his hands flat against his knees. He needed to smooth out the slight soul power fluctuations lingering in his meridians from the intense bout.
As he sat in silence, the world around him began to shift.
The deafening roar of the crowd, the blinding glare of the midday sun, the violent clashes of soul power on the distant stages... all of it began to peel away, drifting into a distant void.
Liu Yuan felt his perception expanding outward. He was no longer seeing with his physical eyes, but observing through a deep, mysterious spiritual sense.
He could hear the deep, slow pulsation of the earth buried far beneath Star Luo Plaza. He could feel the chaotic, vibrant joy of every single elemental soul power particle dancing in the air.
Without realizing it, Liu Yuan's consciousness slipped into an impossibly tranquil, ethereal state.
His breathing slowed, becoming incredibly faint and drawn out. A moment later, a translucent, dark purple halo bloomed from his skin. The halo pulsed outward in perfect rhythm with his heartbeat, creating a deep, invisible harmony with the natural energy of heaven and earth.
Sitting beside him, Vina turned, intending to ask him a few details about his final strike. The moment she looked at him, the casual smile froze on her lips.
Liu Yuan was sitting right next to her, yet his presence had completely vanished. It felt as though he had melted into the very fabric of the space around them, becoming one with the tournament venue itself.
"Sect Master, look at Liu Yuan quickly!" Vina whispered urgently, reaching out to tug on Du Busi's dark golden sleeve. "Something is happening to him. His entire aura feels completely different."
Du Busi snapped his head around. His hawk-like eyes swept over Liu Yuan's seated form. In a fraction of a second, the Sect Master's nonchalant, arrogant demeanor vanished, replaced by a look of absolute, unhinged ecstasy.
"This is..." Du Busi's breath hitched in his throat. He muttered incoherently, his voice trembling with disbelief. "Unity of Heaven and Man? This little monster... he actually slipped into the Unity of Heaven and Man state just by sitting here after a match?!"
Du Busi knew exactly what this phenomenon represented.
This was a legendary state of enlightenment. It was something entirely dependent on karmic chance, impossible to seek out through mere effort. Even a Limit Douluo might only stumble into this realm a handful of times in their entire, centuries-long life.
While immersed in the Unity of Heaven and Man, a Soul Master's comprehension of the Great Dao and the purification speed of their soul power would skyrocket to a terrifying degree. It was nothing short of a divine miracle.
"Aotian, Vina, step back immediately! Do not make a single sound!"
Du Busi's expression turned deadly serious. Without a second of hesitation, he raised both hands.
A terrifying wave of dark golden soul power, as vast and heavy as the ocean, surged from his body. It instantly condensed into a thick, semi-transparent dark golden dome, sealing off a three-meter radius around Liu Yuan.
This absolute barrier completely eradicated the eardrum-shattering noise of the outside world. Beyond that, it stabilized the chaotic soul power field within the dome, acting as an impenetrable fortress to protect Liu Yuan's enlightenment.
Du Busi stood directly in front of the barrier, his towering frame acting as a physical shield. His usually arrogant face was pulled taut with extreme tension and burning anticipation.
Such a massive fluctuation of power naturally drew the eyes of the surrounding spectators and the leading teachers of the various academies.
"Look over there! At the Heavenly Soul Team's resting area! What is happening to that boy, Liu Yuan?"
"What is that dark golden shield? Is he... is he having an epiphany right in the middle of the plaza?"
Countless bewildered and envious gazes locked onto the Heavenly Soul Imperial Academy's seating section.
Not far away, Elder Xuan stared at the dark purple rhythm radiating from Liu Yuan's body, watching it harmonize perfectly with the surrounding heaven and earth. His already ugly complexion darkened into a grotesque mask of pure, unadulterated jealousy.
As a Level 98 Super Douluo, Elder Xuan recognized the phenomenon instantly. It was the legendary Unity of Heaven and Man—the ultimate dream of every high-tier Soul Master in existence.
"Damn it... Unity of Heaven and Man?" Elder Xuan cursed through gritted teeth. He glared at Liu Yuan, who sat perfectly safe behind Du Busi's towering guard. The sour, acidic jealousy burning in his chest threatened to rot him from the inside out.
"Why?!" Elder Xuan's mind screamed. "A twelve-year-old child! How can a mere child casually step into a realm that I have chased for decades and failed to grasp?!"
Elder Xuan felt as though an invisible hand had just slapped him across the face, harder than ever before.
The more heaven-defying Liu Yuan proved to be, the more Elder Xuan's original decision to expel him looked like the greatest joke in the history of Shrek Academy.
He sat there, utterly paralyzed, forced to watch Liu Yuan's aura sublimate and evolve within that dark golden dome. The bitter regret and suffocating anger swirling in Elder Xuan's heart finally pushed him to the absolute brink of collapse.
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