So beautiful!
That was almost everyone's first thought upon seeing the scene. Even those like Dai Mubai and the others, who were facing the attack, were no exception.
The sky-blue uniforms, intertwined with faint black claw marks glowing with ghostly light, nearly filled their entire vision.
Unfortunately, beneath this magnificent sight lay an overwhelming killing intent.
At the forefront, a shadow, enhanced by extreme speed, struck the four when they made contact, sending them flying into the air.
Following closely were identical shadows, gracefully tracing arcs through the air, barely pausing between each, crashing into the four with relentless attacks.
Each time the ghostly claw marks flickered, the four's bodies twitched in sync, blood splattering like red flowers accompanying the spectacle.
On the stage, no sound could be heard because the four had already passed out the moment they were hit by the barrage of attacks.
Ten seconds. A full ten seconds!
As the afterimages unleashed their final attacks and vanished, Zhu Zhuqing's clones dissipated. The attacked four remained suspended in midair, crashing heavily to the ground only after the onslaught ended.
In the glowing screen above, only Zhu Zhuqing remained, her face expressionless as she hovered in the air.
"Wow!"
At first, the entire venue was deathly silent.
Then, seemingly all at once, countless people stood from their seats, their cheers and applause deafening.
A visual feast!
From the audience's perspective, this was the most thrilling match they had seen so far.
Leaving aside the fact that Zhu Zhuqing fought seven opponents alone, there was first the near-half-court blaze, followed by Tang San's dazzling hidden weapon techniques.
Finally, Zhu Zhuqing transformed into dozens of shadows, launching the decisive strike.
For the audience, it was simply exhilarating.
No one knew who started it, but moments later, the massive venue erupted in a synchronized chant of "Skywater! Skywater!"
The astonishing commotion caused even those passing by the competition venue to stop, curious about what had happened inside the Soul Master Tournament.
For nearly a minute, the audience's enthusiasm persisted before the cheers and applause slowly subsided.
By that time, Zhu Zhuqing and the others had already disappeared from the stage without anyone noticing.
In their place stood the referee and a healing-type soul master, who had just retracted their martial soul.
They were directing the support staff to carry off Tang San and the others, whose bleeding had stopped, to receive further treatment after being taken off stage.
With the audience's attention now on him, the referee cleared his throat and officially announced:
"This match, Skywater Academy wins!"
The host, absent since the match began, suddenly appeared beside the referee.
"Thank you to both academies for presenting us with such a spectacular, high-quality match!"
"Everyone can rest assured that the injuries of the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy's second team members have been stabilized. After evaluation, it has been determined that the injuries will not affect the rest of the tournament. Let's give another round of applause to the victors, Skywater Academy!"
"Well then, with the first match concluded, let's welcome the next teams…"
The Soul Master Tournament continued in an orderly fashion; after all, today wasn't just about this one match.
However, the audience seemed to have lost some of their energy, as the last match had drained much of their enthusiasm.
Even in the stands, the atmosphere turned somewhat cold.
"These young people today are truly remarkable."
After a long silence, Emperor Xue Ye finally spoke.
He had wanted to observe how Zhu Zhuqing's martial soul had evolved, but he hadn't expected her to single-handedly defeat the second team.
Although truth be told, he had mentally prepared for a loss before the match.
Fortunately, the young man named Tang San had demonstrated combat power beyond his soul power level, salvaging some pride.
"Just luck, pure luck."
"Your academy's student Tang San performed outstandingly as well. If he can maintain consistency, reaching the finals shouldn't be too difficult."
Han Li responded with a light-hearted chuckle as if lifting a flowered sedan chair for everyone to ride. But he was also speaking the truth.
Although the Royal Second Team suffered defeat, Tang San had at least developed a new form of attack, one that could be used openly and effectively.
With his current strength, as long as he fought strategically, aside from teams like Skywater Academy and Blazing Academy, which had a natural advantage over him, once Dai Mubai obtained his soul ring and with Ning Rongrong's support, they could still challenge other academies. It might even be easier than in the original story.
However, without the immortal herbs and fusion technique, it would be difficult for them to go much further.
Even if they could replicate the Seven-in-One Fusion Technique from Canghui Academy, it would still be insufficient.
Tang San's current mental power, at most, was comparable to a newly promoted Soul Emperor. He couldn't control a true Martial Soul Avatar.
Of course, if they wanted to create a weakened version or simply put on a fireworks display, they could give it a try. But whether Tang San had the guts to do so, and whether Ning Rongrong would cooperate, was another matter entirely.
After all, the core of the Grandmaster's Imitation of Seven-in-One Fusion Technique was Ning Rongrong. It relied on her soul harmonization and the unique properties of her Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda to mediate the fusion.
Given the current atmosphere within the team, Ning Rongrong was unlikely to cooperate.
Han Li believed that if it weren't for Ning Fengzhi's request, Ning Rongrong would have long since quit the team. From her perspective, the Soul Master Tournament didn't matter at all—she didn't need this kind of resume or platform to showcase her abilities.
"Yes, Tang San is indeed worth cultivating."
Hearing Han Li's words offering a way out of the conversation, Emperor Xue Ye nodded in agreement.
However, what he didn't notice was that apart from Yu Yuanzhen, who remained silent with his head lowered, and the three Board members who echoed his sentiments, the expressions of the others were somewhat peculiar.
At this moment, the match below had already resumed, so they stopped their idle chatter and refocused their attention on the competition.
In the rest area, after receiving permission, the head of the Ye family had been called in to assist with the healing. The injuries sustained by the group weren't as light as the host had claimed, though, in front of the Nine Heart Begonia, they weren't considered too severe either.
In less than ten minutes, the healing was complete. Aside from looking a bit pale due to blood loss, the group just needed to take some supplements and rest well for a night. At the very least, it wouldn't affect their future matches.
Sun Buyu glanced at the group, who had already woken up but remained in a rather gloomy mood and sighed inwardly.
After Flender was dismissed, he became the temporary leader of the second team, a responsibility he took on during a time of crisis.
However, these people didn't respect him at all.
When discussing tactics or analyzing opponents, they acted respectfully, but there was still a subtle sense of rejection toward him, which left him feeling quite troubled.
"Even though we lost this match, there's no need to be discouraged. All of you performed quite well. Tang San, your idea of using Blue Silver Grass leaves as weapons, combined with your self-created soul skill, was excellent. After we return to the academy, you should try incorporating it as a regular attack."
"Rest well for now. Tomorrow's opponents are about to compete, so I'm going to gather some information. After their match, we'll head back together."
Sun Buyu checked the time. Although he wanted to continue comforting them, he had other tasks to attend to. Letting them cool off for a while was probably for the best.
After speaking, he gave Oscar, who seemed to be the most emotionally stable, a meaningful look and walked out.
Oscar grimaced, gazing up at the ceiling with a look of hopelessness.
This royal treatment wasn't as enjoyable as he thought.
He was just a food-type soul master, but now he had somehow become the team's unofficial psychological counselor. What kind of situation was this?
He glanced at Ning Rongrong, who sat idly nearby, already pulling out a storybook from her storage soul tool to pass the time. Bracing himself, he walked over to his teammates.
...
Perhaps due to the excitement of the first match, the rest of the day's matches ended unusually quickly.
Since their identities had already been exposed and Skywater Academy didn't have a match the next day, the group decided to leave early. After stepping down from the stands, Han Li saw the four girls waiting for him.
"Zhuqing's performance was outstanding. I imagine she'll be the center of attention for quite some time."
Han Li teased Zhu Zhuqing, who seemed more lively than usual.
"Of course! You didn't know? On our way here, people were already calling her the Shadow Queen," Dugu Yan chimed in with a playful grin, ignoring Zhu Zhuqing's attempts to stop her.
"Is that so? Quite the fitting title."
Laughing and chatting, the group walked together in the direction of their temporary home.
...
As the sky gradually darkened, Heaven Dou City was ablaze with lights. The events of the day's matches spread quickly among the taverns, fueled by alcohol, frequently causing bursts of exclamations.
In the exclusive villa of Heaven Dou Academy's second team:
Tang San lay on his bed in the dark, staring blankly into the void.
He had failed again. He had lost to Zhu Zhuqing, the person he had sworn to kill.
From the accounts of others, he knew everything that had happened on the stage.
Using Blue Silver Grass as a hidden weapon was something he had tried back when he had only two soul rings. However, at that time, the Blue Silver Grass was too fragile, so he gave up on the idea.
Now, his combat abilities had slightly improved, but he couldn't feel any joy.
Even though Xiao Wu later smiled and said it didn't matter, that her brother was already very strong, he couldn't forget the sight of the bright red handprint on her face.
Moreover, he knew that this scene would undoubtedly become a hot topic, as would their defeat in a one-vs-seven match.
Why? Why!?
In the darkness, Tang San clenched his fists tightly, his heart filled with unwilling anger.
What he didn't notice was that, outside his window, a figure briefly flashed through the trees.