"Alright, you two step down for now. I will be the referee for the next match," Yali said, looking at Xie Xie and Shen Yi.
Shen Yi had clearly failed to react in time just now, which resulted in Xie Xie getting seriously injured.
Although Yali was there to quickly heal Xie Xie, she still preferred to avoid injuries altogether.
"Dark Phoenix! How did I not notice before? We'll have to talk about this later!" Yali's gaze fell on Xia Yi, her lips curving into a faint smile, as if she already knew the outcome of the match.
She was beginning to understand why Leng Yaozhu had chosen to take Xia Yi as her disciple.
At this moment, Wu Siduo had already stepped onto the Soul Battle Stage.
As Yali announced the start of the match, Xia Yi did not dare to be careless this time. Just like Wu Siduo, he immediately entered his Martial Soul Possession state.
Wu Siduo's first soul ring lit up first—Nether Thrust—and she charged straight at Xia Yi.
When she was about ten meters away, she suddenly leaped high into the air. A dazzling light erupted from her body as she transformed into a massive, semi-transparent Nether White Tiger, pouncing directly toward Xia Yi's head.
"A Martial Soul Fusion Skill right from the start? That's a bit much," Xia Yi said with a helpless smile as his second and third soul rings lit up simultaneously.
At the very moment the Nether White Tiger was about to strike him, it was instantly frozen in midair.
Without hesitation, Xia Yi raised his Genesis Hammer and smashed it down.
"Roar!"
The Nether White Tiger let out a furious roar, and with a powerful push from all four limbs—crack!—the ice shattered instantly.
This reminded Xia Yi of the Tianhai Alliance Tournament when he had used sheer brute force to break through Xu Xiaoyan's ice-based soul skill.
Seeing Xia Yi's hammer coming down, Wu Siduo did not hesitate. She raised both of her tiger palms and met the attack head-on.
With the power of her Martial Soul Fusion, she was as strong as a Five-Ring Soul King.
She feared no one in a direct clash.
Using the Martial Soul Fusion Skill at the very beginning was a last resort for Wu Siduo.
In fact, she even felt fortunate to have done so.
Otherwise, whether it was Nether Ghost Cat or White Tiger, she wouldn't have been able to break free from Xia Yi's second and third soul skills in time.
If she couldn't escape, she would have suffered severe injuries under his two hammer strikes.
Boom!
Xia Yi's Genesis Hammer clashed fiercely with Wu Siduo's tiger palms.
Many of the watching students instinctively stood up.
They hadn't expected that, instead of retreating from the freed Nether White Tiger, Xia Yi had chosen to fight head-on.
Boom!
As expected, Xia Yi was sent flying over ten meters, crashing directly into the Soul Battle Arena's protective barrier.
His Genesis Hammer was also knocked from his grasp.
Meanwhile, Wu Siduo's Nether White Tiger was only forced back two or three meters.
"Phew!" Many students breathed a sigh of relief. Luckily, Xia Yi didn't pull off another miracle.
If Xia Yi had managed to overpower the Nether White Tiger, they would have seriously started questioning reality.
"No wonder it's a Martial Soul Fusion Skill, the strength really is impressive," Xia Yi chuckled as he got up from the ground.
"He's fine after that?!" The students were dumbfounded. Even a Soul Ancestor wouldn't be able to take a direct hit from Wu Siduo without consequences.
"He used his second soul skill at the moment of impact to control his body's retreat and leveraged Wu Siduo's force to propel himself back. He didn't actually take the full brunt of the attack," Silver Moon Douluo Cai Yue'er explained to the students.
Hearing this, they finally noticed that Xia Yi's second soul ring had been glowing the whole time.
"Xia Yi was holding back. Even against the Nether White Tiger, he wouldn't have suffered that much in a pure power clash," Na'er suddenly said.
She glanced at Gu Yue and saw that Gu Yue's expression was calm, as if she had expected this result all along.
If Xia Yi was only this strong, then he wasn't worth challenging.
Wu Siduo also realized that Xia Yi had deliberately retreated.
She knew that his previous attack wouldn't have harmed him, so the moment she neutralized the force of his hammer, she pounced again.
With her current cultivation, her Martial Soul Fusion Skill couldn't be maintained for long.
She had to defeat Xia Yi within this time limit.
"Then let's go!"
This time, Xia Yi didn't even use his Genesis Hammer. He clenched his right fist and charged straight at Wu Siduo.
Seeing his stance, not only the students but even some of the teachers stood up in shock.
Was he seriously planning to fistfight the Nether White Tiger?!
Wu Siduo was momentarily stunned, but only for a brief moment.
As she closed in on Xia Yi, her right front paw struck out fiercely.
Xia Yi showed no fear. He rotated his body 45 degrees to the right before suddenly twisting forward, using the immense momentum to drive his fist directly into the center of the Nether White Tiger's right paw.
Boom!
Xia Yi was once again sent flying over ten meters, but this time, the Nether White Tiger was also knocked back by eight or nine meters.
Even Yali swallowed hard at the sight.
What kind of monster was Xia Yi?! He actually matched the Nether White Tiger in raw power.
That last clash had no fancy tricks, no soul skills—just pure strength.
And yet, Xia Yi had barely lost ground.
"Again!"
Wu Siduo shook her right palm, which felt almost numb, and gritted her teeth as she charged again.
She refused to believe that Xia Yi's physical strength was really this terrifying.
This time, she lifted her left palm.
Xia Yi also felt his right hand go numb, but his first soul ring lit up, and he used his left side to heal his right. His hand recovered instantly.
He repeated the same move—charging forward, rotating 45 degrees, and striking with a punch.
However, just as their fists and paws were about to meet, Xia Yi's fist suddenly turned into a claw, and razor-sharp Dark Gold Dreadclaws extended from his fingertips.
"Not good!"
Wu Siduo instantly sensed danger, but it was too late.
She didn't even have time to extend her tiger claws.
But as one of the top ten young geniuses, she made a split-second decision.
She abandoned her left paw and extended her right, aiming for Xia Yi's head.
She wanted to see if Xia Yi dared to trade blows with her.
To her shock, Xia Yi did not hesitate.
His Dark Gold Dreadclaws pierced through her left palm.
"You're out."
The excruciating pain made Wu Siduo instinctively lash out at Xia Yi's head.
But just as Yali prepared to intervene—
Two flashes of light erupted from Xia Yi's hands, and suddenly, five bloody holes appeared in Wu Siduo's right palm as well.
The terrifying wounds and searing pain forced her out of her Martial Soul Possession state.
Looking at the ten bloody holes in her hands, Wu Siduo glared at Xia Yi with pure fury.
He had deliberately held back at first, then provoked her curiosity and competitive spirit, only to catch her off guard in the end.
Yali raised her hand, sending a holy light onto Wu Siduo's wounds, which rapidly healed.
Weakened from leaving her Martial Soul Possession state and injured, she could no longer continue fighting.
"Next time, I won't trust you again." Wu Siduo cast a cold glance at Xia Yi before turning and leaving the stage.
"You used Dark Gold Dreadclaws' right hand bone and a reversed Star Shifting Technique. You're becoming more and more interesting," Yali said, her gaze filled with intrigue. "Did you use your full strength when you clashed with the Nether White Tiger?"
"You guess," Xia Yi smirked mysteriously, then sat down cross-legged. "I need a short rest."
Although Yali could restore soul power, muscle fatigue and mental exhaustion were things she couldn't recover.
In fact, he had wanted to compete openly and fairly against Wu Siduo.
But there were tough battles ahead.
He could only conserve his energy as much as possible.
"He never said anything about meditating to recover in the middle of the challenge!" Down in the stands, Xie Xie was immediately upset upon seeing Xia Yi meditating.
His purpose in challenging Xia Yi was to drain his energy.
But now that Xia Yi was resting halfway through, didn't that mean his five hundred contribution points were spent for nothing?
Next up, Yuanen would still be facing a fully recovered Xia Yi.
"Shut up!" Yuanen Yehui's cold voice rang out.
Win or lose, she would only challenge Xia Yi at his full strength.
The stronger Xia Yi was, the more excited she felt.
It had been a long time since she had met someone of the same level who could fight against her.
(End of chapter)