To be honest, if it weren't for the ongoing battle, Han Li might have laughed out loud.
In a match between opponents of the same level, with the soul rings already revealed and glowing, indicating that skill had been activated, it was incredibly stupid for anyone to try to catch the opponent's attack, no matter how weak it looked.
"Did you leave your brain behind in your training?"
"Yan, get out of the way!"
Two voices sounded almost simultaneously—one slightly mocking, the other extremely anxious.
Although Yan wasn't very bright, he was obedient enough. The moment he heard Hu Liena's voice, he started dodging and tried to activate his second soul skill, "Granite Rock."
But unfortunately, he was still too slow.
The slowly flying arrows that were some distance away suddenly accelerated and reached him before he could activate his second soul skill.
In Yan's widened eyes, the energy on the arrows began to fluctuate, and he heard Han Li's voice.
A cold, emotionless "Boom" sounded in his ear.
The next second, the three arrows exploded violently in front of him.
The nearby bishop hadn't even reacted when a fiery red figure, covered in blood, was thrown from the center of the battlefield and landed on a nearby open space.
"Don't worry, there's no life-threatening danger. I controlled the explosion's power. He'll probably be bedridden for ten days to half a month, but then he'll be able to get up."
As the smoke from the explosion in the center of the battlefield cleared, Han Li's voice came through clearly.
The most surprising thing was that he had retracted his martial soul and was standing there with his arms crossed, looking at Hu Liena and Xie Yue.
"Honestly, I knew you were weak, but I didn't expect you to be not just weak, but stupid too."
"Weak people have a chance to become stronger. Fools, however, are beyond saving."
"Now, you can go save that fool. I permit it."
Han Li's words, amplified by his soul power, echoed throughout the arena, rendering the entire place silent.
Arrogant—he was incredibly arrogant.
Combined with Han Li's introduction less than a minute ago, the effect was astounding, effectively silencing the entire audience.
An eight-year-old child facing three opponents six or seven years old.
With one strike, he incapacitated one of them and then retracted his martial soul mid-battle, speaking to his opponents in the tone of a victor, allowing them to save their comrade.
This was undoubtedly an extreme humiliation.
The most critical aspect was that he was humiliating the Pope's people, and the Pope herself was sitting on the high platform, watching everything.
This wasn't just a slap in Yan's face; it was a slap in Bibi Dong's face.
"You..."
Hu Liena immediately wanted to rush forward but was firmly held back by Xie Yue, who shook his head.
A round of applause came from the opposite side.
It was Han Li, who had noticed Xie Yue's actions and was looking at him with an appreciative gaze.
"A wise choice. Be good, take him to the bishop, and then come back. I'll continue to fight you."
What should have been the bishop's job as the referee was being assigned to his opponents by Han Li, and he spoke in a tone one would use to coax a child.
This made the bishop, who was approaching Yan, stop in his tracks, unsure whether to continue.
Meanwhile, Hu Liena was glaring at him with eyes full of hatred, and Xie Yue had to forcefully keep her calm, holding her in place.
"Forget it. Your Excellency, Bishop, please take that fool away. It seems his teammates have abandoned him."
Han Li's smile was warm, and his tone was exceedingly gentle, even respectful towards the bishop.
But his words pierced the hearts of Hu Liena and Xie Yue sharply, as well as the hearts of everyone present.
Indeed, after hearing Han Li's words, Hu Liena and Xie Yue remained motionless. If this were a real battle, Yan would have been considered abandoned.
The sunlight was warm, but Hu Liena and Xie Yue felt a chilling cold.
They could almost feel the weighted gazes from the stands around them, making it hard to breathe, as if suffocating.
Even after the bishop had taken Yan off the field and returned, the two of them stood there in a daze.
"So, do you still want to continue the match?"
Han Li's voice snapped them back to reality, reminding them that the battle wasn't over yet. To be precise, it hadn't even started.
They had only performed their Martial Soul Possession and hadn't even used any soul skills.
"Of course."
Hu Liena was on the verge of tears. She bit her lip until it bled, the taste of blood filling her mouth, and managed to reply.
She glanced at the high platform, unable to see anything clearly but knowing her teacher was watching.
Today, she had to win, by any means necessary.
She had no way out.
Xie Yue said nothing, standing by his sister's side. He glanced at her blood-stained lips and silently gripped his Moon Blades, aiming them at Han Li.
"Alright, are you ready? I'm going to attack now."
Han Li's smile remained unchanged, but suddenly, a pair of cyan wings unfurled from his back.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, the wings behind Han Li gave a barely perceptible flutter, and he vanished from his original position.
A figure trailing cyan light rapidly crossed the midfield, heading straight for the two on the opposite side.
Hu Liena hadn't expected him to be so fast, but she was no slouch either.
Her first soul ring lit up, her eyes glowing with a purple light, as she looked towards Han Li's charging direction, trying to forcibly stun him in place.
"It's useless. Your mental strength is too weak."
The figure with the cyan glow didn't pause at all after being attacked; instead, he sped up even more, while a trickle of blood appeared at the corner of Hu Liena's mouth.
Seeing this, Xie Yue stepped forward and stood in front of his sister, his three soul rings flashing rapidly.
"Slash, Guard, Break."
As he spoke, two blood-red, crescent-shaped blades were hurled out with incredible speed toward the approaching cyan figure.
"Not a bad attack."
Han Li's voice came through clearly as he continued to approach.
Then, everyone saw that the cyan figure now held two crescent moon-like blades, one vermilion and the other milky white, both glowing with three soul rings: black, purple, and black.
After the outermost black soul ring lit up, the two blades met Xie Yue's flying crescent blades head-on.
At the moment of contact, the cyan glow paused briefly, revealing Han Li's figure.
Under Xie Yue's watchful eyes, his aggressive crescent blades were knocked away, spinning out of the arena.
"Martial Soul: Ice and Fire Dragon God Blades. Please, give me your guidance."
Han Li stopped three meters in front of the two, holding his twin blades, a faint smile still on his face.
"He's a twin martial soul user? And with the same soul ring configuration?"
Many in the audience could no longer remain calm. They stood up, seeking confirmation from those around them, seemingly forgetting that this was still a match and the battle wasn't over.
Amidst the chaos, Han Li looked at the pale-faced siblings in front of him.
"It seems that no one is paying attention to you."
Upon hearing his words, the siblings' faces grew even paler.
"Silence."
From the stands, Qian Daoliu's voice rang out, and the entire training ground fell silent again.
All eyes returned to the center, observing the developments.
"Surrender. You are not my opponents, even if I don't use my martial soul."
Han Li spoke the harshest words with the gentlest tone. Indeed, he did just that, and his martial soul disappeared from his hands once more.
"Surrender? Impossible. I will never surrender!"
Hu Liena's somewhat sharp voice echoed in the arena, her eyes already blood-red and looking crazed.
"Then, as you wish, the game continues."
As soon as he finished speaking, Han Li vanished again.
The distance between them was so close that Han Li didn't even need to flap his wings.
A red light flashed under his feet, the ground instantly cracked, and before the siblings could react, he was already in front of them.
"Explosive Fist."
Both his fists shot out simultaneously, landing precisely on their abdomens.
A compressed fire element exploded from his fists, sending the two flying.
"Be grateful for your weakness. I even have to hold back my strength, fearing I might accidentally injure you."
In mid-air, blood gushed from their mouths like it was free, and they crashed heavily to the ground, blood flowing from their cheeks to the ground, dirtying their hair.
"We haven't lost yet..."
Hu Liena struggled to get up from the ground, her palms blackened from the mix of blood and dust.
Xie Yue, being a Tool Soul Master, was physically weaker than his sister. After two failed attempts, he was finally helped up by Hu Liena.
Supporting each other, they managed to stay on their feet.
"Brother, I want to win."
Hu Liena was now completely crazed, with only one thought in her mind: her teacher was still watching her, and she couldn't lose.
Xie Yue glanced at his sister, his expression unreadable. He waved his hands towards the moon blades embedded in the ground not far away, and they spun back into his hands.
Then, without any hesitation, he collided with his sister beside him.
Just as their bodies were about to collide, a layer of red light suddenly illuminated, enveloping them together.
As the red light flickered, the siblings had transformed into one person.
A person with long red hair, indistinguishable in gender, with Xie Yue's martial soul now in their hands. However, the two moon blades had grown to twice their original size.
Simultaneously, the red light around them exploded outward like a spreading light sphere, emitting a dense red mist throughout the arena.
The expansion of the red mist happened almost instantaneously, enveloping Han Li. The figure of the merged siblings vanished from sight.
Inside the red mist, Han Li assessed his condition. Both his senses and soul power were suppressed and reduced by fifty percent, and his body felt slightly sluggish.
Perhaps due to Hu Liena's intense anger, Han Li noticed that their martial soul fusion technique had reached its optimal state immediately, contrary to what his master's intelligence suggested, which indicated it would take time to gradually strengthen.
At that moment, he seemed to sense something, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, interesting. Not hiding first, but preparing to attack me directly."
"I admire your courage, but unfortunately, courage cannot bridge the gap in our strength."
Suddenly, he spun around, reaching out with his right hand to grab a wrist behind him accurately.
With a powerful throw, the enlarged moon blades collided with a crisp sound, and the figure was flung away.
"Impossible! In the red mist, how could you know our location?"
A shocked voice came from the merged form of the siblings, their expression one of disbelief.
"That's because I am strong enough."
Han Li slowly turned around, speaking useless words, disinclined to reveal his intelligence.
"Also, this is at least a competition. Not letting the audience see the battle is somewhat unreasonable, don't you think?"
Without waiting for their reaction, he flapped his wings slightly and ascended into the air.
As he rose, flames and cold air surged around him, evaporating the surrounding red mist.
From the stands, the spectators saw only that the siblings had activated their martial spirit fusion technique, becoming one person, with the mist enveloping Han Li.
Then, the sound of weapon collisions emerged from the red mist.
Amidst the swirling mist, Han Li reappeared above it, seemingly having escaped their control.
As he ascended, arrows formed from flames and cold air appeared in the air alongside his figure.
Under the watchful eyes of the audience, within just a few breaths, the arrows spread across the sky, almost covering the entire area shrouded by the red mist.
"Go."
With a wave of Han Li's hand, the arrows in mid-air seemed to receive an order and began to tremble in unison.
Under the astonished gazes of everyone, countless arrows fell toward the red mist below like a rainstorm.
A barrage of arrows; this time, it was truly over. This was the shared thought that arose in the minds of all the onlookers.
This time, the arrows did not explode, and there wasn't even a puff of dust. However, the red mist below had quietly dissipated at some point.
The crowd's gaze returned to the arena, where the martial fusion had been undone. Two figures lay on the ground, each with a dual-colored arrow piercing their limbs and abdomen, already unconscious.
Surrounding them, the remaining arrows were neatly arranged, even intentionally forming a red-and-white "Soul Land" character on the ground.
"Bishop, you can announce the result now."
Han Li slowly descended to the ground, a faint smile still on his face.
"Of course."
The bishop at the edge of the arena gave Han Li a deep look before walking over to him, raising his right hand, and shouting:
"I declare that in this duel, the victor is Han Li!"
But as his voice fell, the arena remained silent. There were no cheers, no applause; instead, everyone turned their gaze in unison towards the center of the stands.
"Clap, clap, clap."
Suddenly, a round of applause broke out, led by Qian Daoliu who stood up. The few people behind him, including Guang Ling, followed suit, smiling and nodding toward Han Li in the arena.
After a moment of silence, more and more applause and cheers rang out from the stands, becoming almost deafening for a time.
Han Li put away his smile, waved toward his master and Xiu'er in the stands, and then calmly exited the arena.
The subsequent events no longer concerned him, even though he was the victor of this match.
His task was completed and completed well.
For him, this match was a performance from beginning to end.
He had destroyed the confidence of his three opponents and branded them as incompetent, ensuring that Hu Liena would never have a chance to become a Holy Maiden.
In exchange, he had qualified to become a Holy Son.