Xue Nu channeled her soul power, concentrating it in both arms to enhance her strength, and then cleaved apart Liuxing's flaming spear.
She moved lightly, retreating a few steps, and looked at Liuxing with a solemn expression. "Do you dare to take a strike from my sword? If you can withstand it, I will admit defeat."
Liuxing, who had been preparing to pursue, was momentarily stunned before he laughed. "Alright! Why wouldn't I dare?"
With his superior soul power, weapon, and physical attributes, he felt confident.
Xue Nu was highly skilled in swordsmanship, but that alone wouldn't be enough to defeat him.
He was curious to see what trump card she had left.
"Then, prepare yourself."
Xue Nu took a deep breath and gave Liuxing a deep look. She dispersed the ice swords in her hands and raised her right hand into the air.
As she moved, the temperature on the battle stage plummeted.
The moisture in the air rapidly froze, snowflakes began to dance, and bitter winds howled throughout the trial ground.
At that moment, Xue Nu's silver hair floated behind her, and her blue eyes radiated divine brilliance.
She seemed like an ice goddess, unparalleled in grace and power.
Liuxing finally understood why Xue Nu was ranked just below Gu Yuena on the Goddess List.
Despite not being as flamboyant as Gu Yuena, nor having many dazzling performances, she still firmly held the second place.
Right now, Xue Nu exuded nobility, strength, and mystery, drawing the attention of every spectator in the arena.
That snow-white, jade-like hand reached into the void and pulled out a long sword of deep blue, as if formed entirely from ice crystals.
Before Liuxing could clearly see the sword's details, Xue Nu had already swung it down.
A deep blue radiance streaked through the air in a fan-shaped arc, transitioning from dark blue to light blue, then to pale blue, and finally to pure white.
Wherever the terrifying sword energy passed, cracks appeared in the air itself, as if the entire atmosphere had been frozen solid and then shattered by the slash.
At this moment, the whole world seemed to freeze in time.
"This is, ?"
Jing Hongchen abruptly stood up, his eyes fixed on the sword energy, ready to intervene at any moment.
Gu Yuena's gaze also sharpened as she murmured, "Imperial Sword, Absolute Ice."
Liuxing's pupils shrank, and every fiber of his being screamed that he must not take this strike, he would die!
But in the next moment, his face lit up with excitement. His fourth soul ring shone with deep black light, and golden flames engulfed his blazing spear.
Amid the golden flames, the faint cry of a mighty bird echoed.
"Fourth Soul Skill, Sun Wheel Golden Wing Flame!"
Liuxing thrust his spear forward with all his might. A brilliant golden fire erupted from the spear's tip, forming immense golden wings that shone with dazzling light.
The entire arena was engulfed in this vast blaze, its destructive aura spreading outward.
The flames finally coalesced into the form of a golden-winged roc, its vast wings stirring up powerful currents as it charged toward Xue Nu's sword strike.
Xue Nu's eyes narrowed as she watched the clash unfold.
Her Imperial Sword, Absolute Ice met the Golden-Winged Roc, and in an instant, ice and fire devoured each other.
However, through the battle of elements, a golden-tipped spear pierced through the dissipating sword energy and continued its course toward her.
Having poured all her soul power into her ultimate technique, Xue Nu was now drained, she couldn't stop this spear.
She gritted her teeth and thrust her ice-blue sword toward the incoming golden spear, trying to block it.
"Crack!"
As soon as the spear and sword clashed, golden flames erupted. Xue Nu's expression changed as she saw the golden fire rapidly consume her ice sword, creeping toward her arm.
She gripped the sword hilt tightly, releasing an intense chill from her body in an attempt to extinguish the flames.
Liuxing was momentarily stunned. She could have simply let go of her sword to avoid being burned, why was she resisting?
He didn't understand Xue Nu's past, nor did he realize that her pride would never allow her to abandon her sword.
Ji Juechen, however, understood. If it had been him, he wouldn't have let go of his sword either.
Liuxing quickly restrained the spreading flames, stepping forward to grab Xue Nu's wrist and forcefully prying the ice sword from her grip before tossing it to the ground.
The sword barely touched the ground before it was completely devoured by golden flames. With its target gone, the fire gradually dissipated into the air.
"Are you an idiot? My Sun Wheel Golden Wing Flame burns through everything it touches! Even souls can be incinerated!"
Liuxing looked at Xue Nu, still shaken.
He had only recently acquired this fourth soul skill, and because of its immense destructive power and his limited control over it, he hadn't intended to use it.
But Xue Nu's final sword strike had been too powerful, and he instinctively resorted to Sun Wheel Golden Wing Flame, fearing that his earlier Absolute Extinction Spear wouldn't be enough to stop her.
Even though he had done his best to restrain the flames, Xue Nu had stubbornly chosen to resist instead of letting go of her sword.
This was a soul skill obtained from slaying a powerful spirit beast with the bloodline of a divine beast, the Sun Wheel Roc.
Sun Wheel Golden Wing Flame was an extremely rare ability in the entire Douluo Continent, capable of burning not just physical bodies but even souls, spirits, and consciousness itself.
Had the flames truly reached Xue Nu, her very soul would have been damaged, ruining her future.
The thought of it sent chills down Liuxing's spine.
Upon hearing his words, Xue Nu turned pale. She had sensed danger but never expected the flames to be capable of harming the soul itself.
Feeling Liuxing's lingering fear, she remained silent for a moment before coldly saying, "How much longer do you plan to hold onto me?"
Liuxing blinked, then quickly released her wrist.
"I lost."
Xue Nu gave him a deep look before turning and stepping off the battle stage.
Liuxing sighed. He had gotten too caught up in the fight. How could he have used such a lethal soul skill in a sparring match?
He made a decision, moving forward, he would forbid himself from using Sun Wheel Golden Wing Flame in sparring matches.
Though… it was incredibly powerful. Even Xue Nu's strongest sword strike couldn't block it.
But it was simply too dangerous.
A moment later, the referee, glancing at the devastated battle stage with a twitching expression, stepped forward and announced loudly:
"Winner, Liuxing!"
The entire audience erupted in excitement!
The battle between Liuxing and Xue Nu had been absolutely spectacular.
Though the ending was unexpected and confusing to many, the duel had ignited their blood.
In the spectator stands, Jing Hongchen finally exhaled and sat back down.
He had nearly rushed onto the stage himself, the golden flames had even made him feel a deep unease.
He couldn't imagine what would have happened if Xue Nu had been truly burned.
Fortunately, Liuxing had managed to control it just in time.
But now, Jing Hongchen was in an excellent mood, happier than if he had successfully crafted a ninth-tier soul tool.
Because based on the strength displayed by Liuxing and Xue Nu, they were both superior to the current regular team members of Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy for the upcoming Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament.
Perhaps, they wouldn't have to wait for the next tournament, this year's competition might already be their moment to shine.
He thought of his grandchildren, Liuxing, Liuying, Xue Nu, Gu Yuena, and the others.
Wasn't this the true Golden Generation of Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy?
What could Shrek Academy possibly use to fight against them?
The next matches, aside from the eye-catching battle between Ye Guyi and Liuying, were rather mediocre.
For those who had already witnessed more intense battles, they felt dull and uninspiring.
Originally, Liuxing intended to forfeit and let Liuying take first place, but after her match against Ye Guyi, Liuying voluntarily conceded.
As expected, Liuxing took first place.
Although only the champion could officially earn the status of a core disciple, students who performed exceptionally well in the tournament also had a chance to become core disciples, ultimately, the decision rested with the academy's leadership.
---
Two days later.
The annual competition of Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy officially came to an end, and the outstanding students were rewarded accordingly.
Liuxing secured first place in the first-year division, while Gu Yuena took first place in the fifth-year division.
The reward for ranking first in each grade wasn't just core disciple status; it also included a soul bone.
However, since this tournament was held only once a year, it was unrealistic to expect high-quality soul bones, the best they could get were century-old soul bones.
Neither Liuxing nor Gu Yuena had any intention of absorbing a century-old soul bone. No one around them needed one either, so they decided it would be more useful for Gu Yuena to use in crafting a soul tool.
According to Meng Hongchen, the competition's rewards varied each year, sometimes it was medicinal pills, sometimes soul tools.
Soul bones were the rarest of all rewards.
Judging by Meng Hongchen's sly smile, it was clear that the original prize wasn't supposed to be a soul bone.
Of course, swapping the reward for a soul bone was merely a small benefit.
There was no way Jing Hongchen would allow them to absorb such a low-quality soul bone anyway.
"This tournament is over, so the academy will be on break for a month. After that, the preliminary matches will begin. You guys plan on participating, right?"
Meng Hongchen asked as she took a bite of her candied hawthorn stick.
"Preliminary matches?"
Everyone was slightly taken aback.
"You've heard of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament, right?" Meng Hongchen asked.
Liuxing nodded. "Yes, the tournament is held every five years, hosted alternately by the four great empires: Sun Moon, Star Luo, Heavenly Soul, and Douling. It's a large-scale competition open to all academies on the continent, with participants limited to students under the age of twenty."
"Exactly~"
Meng Hongchen nodded slightly and continued, "The next Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament is three months away. Our Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy will select seven official members for the main team. Additionally, we will choose seven students under the age of fifteen to form a reserve team as substitutes and let them compete as well."
"I see, the reserve team is meant to prepare for the next tournament."
Liuxing nodded in understanding. If they were only choosing substitutes, why limit the age to fifteen? Clearly, the goal was to train them for the next tournament in advance.