Chapter 58: Gu Yue's Strength

"How about it, Xia Yi? Do you still dare to battle against the students of Shrek Academy?" The official in charge of the Skysea Alliance Tournament tried to provoke Xia Yi, hoping to goad him into another match against Ye Xinglan.

Ye Xinglan also raised her head to look at Xia Yi, her beautiful eyes filled with unprecedented fighting spirit. If Xia Yi agreed, she would make sure he paid back in full for the humiliation she suffered yesterday.

"Damn Xia Yi, you bastard! No sense of chivalry at all, treating me like that…!" Ye Xinglan cursed him and his ancestors in her heart. She couldn't forget how Xia Yi had used her as a punching bag in front of tens of thousands of spectators, slamming her into the ground repeatedly. The memory made her want to tear him apart.

Why mix personal grudges with a competition?

"I won't fight." To the disappointment of the audience, Xia Yi shook his head slowly.

"What's the matter? Are you afraid? Or do you think you can't defeat Shrek Academy's Ye Xinglan without bending the rules?" The official pressed on aggressively.

This was a task Shen Yi had given Wu Zhangkong last night. If the official could persuade Xia Yi to fight Ye Xinglan again in front of everyone, Shen Yi would reward him with a set of one-word battle armor.

Battle armor! Even if it was just one-word armor, it was the lifelong goal of most soul masters.

No soul master without battle armor could resist such a tempting offer.

"No, I simply believe she no longer qualifies as my opponent," Xia Yi said flatly, his tone as calm as possible. "Once defeated by me, my enemies never earn my recognition as opponents. I'll give her time to catch up—until she can't even see my back."

Silence. Dead silence.

Even Long Hengxu's eyes widened in disbelief. He hadn't expected Xia Yi to dare say something like this. Did Xia Yi not realize that his opponent was a Shrek Academy student?

Ye Xinglan's expression mirrored his astonishment. Xia Yi's words were a blatant insult to her.

"This is too arrogant! Saying this to a Shrek Academy student? Doesn't he fear the public's outrage? No way, I need to distance myself from him before he gets lynched!" Gu Yue quietly moved away from Xia Yi, already envisioning an enraged crowd storming toward him.

"You're ridiculously conceited. If you have the guts, fight me again. If you can beat me this time, then say such things!" Ye Xinglan glared at Xia Yi coldly. She wasn't just any Shrek Academy student; she was an Inner Court student.

To be looked down upon like this? She couldn't accept it.

Xia Yi glanced at Gu Yue, who was retreating, and then turned back to Ye Xinglan. With a faint smile, he said, "I've already said, those defeated by me are no longer my opponents. But, as a courtesy to Shrek Academy, I'll give you a chance. If you can defeat another student from Eastsea Academy, I'll grant you the opportunity to challenge me again."

"Fine! Who is it? Let them both come at me together," Ye Xinglan responded coldly.

"Both of them? Are you truly that confident in yourself, or are you preemptively making excuses for failure?" Xia Yi sneered.

"Alright, I'll defeat them first and then defeat you. Tell me who my opponent is," Ye Xinglan said confidently.

"Gu Yue from Class Zero of Eastsea Academy," Xia Yi replied indifferently.

"Gu Yue? Fine, I'll defeat her first." Ye Xinglan's gaze snapped toward Gu Yue, who was still backing away.

"Gu Yue?" Long Hengxu furrowed his brow. He had thought Xia Yi would name Wu Zhangkong. He hadn't expected Xia Yi to choose Gu Yue.

As the vice-dean of Eastsea Academy, Long Hengxu knew the three students in Class Zero well. However, Gu Yue was usually very reserved, and her true strength remained a mystery even to him.

"Gu Yue," Wu Zhangkong muttered under his breath, his expression slightly changing. Having Ye Xinglan challenge Gu Yue was undoubtedly unwise.

Gu Yue, at her full strength, was an unknown quantity even to him.

As the instructor of Class Zero, Wu Zhangkong could see that Gu Yue always held back during training sessions. Perhaps Ye Xinglan could defeat Tang Wulin, but defeating Gu Yue would be exceedingly difficult—if not impossible!

"I hope your confidence lasts," Xia Yi said, casting Ye Xinglan a sidelong glance before turning to Gu Yue. He remarked flatly, "You're not telling me you can't beat her, are you?"

Gu Yue gave Xia Yi an exasperated look. She truly didn't want to reveal too much, but Xia Yi had thrust her into the spotlight.

"An opponent defeated by you? I wouldn't waste my attention on them," Gu Yue replied evenly, stepping forward reluctantly.

She glanced at Ye Xinglan and asked, "Are you sure you want to fight me?"

"Shrek Academy students fear no challenge," Ye Xinglan said coldly. She could endure her loss to Xia Yi, as she had failed to fully utilize her abilities. But she couldn't believe Gu Yue would be the next Xia Yi.

"Very well. As you wish," Gu Yue said softly.

As the arena platform rose, Gu Yue and Ye Xinglan stepped onto it.

"Begin!" The referee, who had suggested the rematch between Xia Yi and Ye Xinglan, signaled the start of the match. His gaze stayed fixed on Gu Yue the entire time.

He silently hoped Gu Yue wouldn't win; the consequences of another Shrek loss would be catastrophic.

With the rise of two yellow soul rings around her, Gu Yue raised a hand and launched an ice spike toward Ye Xinglan.

Ye Xinglan's Star God Sword flicked lightly, shattering the incoming ice spike with precision.

"Is this all you've got?" Ye Xinglan sneered.

"I hope you can keep laughing," Gu Yue murmured, her tone indifferent as she raised her left hand. A burst of dazzling light erupted from her palm.

Ye Xinglan cried out in surprise as her vision went white, temporarily blinding her.

This was Light Element Manipulation: Flash.

Ye Xinglan reacted quickly, activating her second soul ring on her ankle. A starry barrier materialized before her.

But she soon realized that light elements couldn't be blocked by starlight.

Taking advantage of Ye Xinglan's temporary blindness, Gu Yue activated her first and second soul rings.

Flames ignited in her hands, while green winds swirled around her. As her arms moved in harmony, a massive fiery tornado began to form.

The flaming tornado, initially only a meter tall, rapidly grew as it absorbed the surrounding wind and fire elements. Within moments, it reached two meters in height.

"She's mastered Elemental Heart!" Shen Yi exclaimed from the stands.

Even Wu Zhangkong's expression shifted. He hadn't known that Gu Yue had achieved Elemental Heart mastery.

Elemental Heart was a key milestone for elemental soul masters. It allowed them to manipulate not only their own soul power but also the elemental energies in the environment, dramatically increasing their power.

"Stop this match! Are you trying to kill someone?" the referee shouted at Gu Yue.

Once the Heart of the Element loses control, everyone on the competition stage would be in danger. Who knows what Gu Yue's level of control over it is?

Generally speaking, soul masters who have comprehended the Heart of the Element would stop absorbing external elements once they approach their control limit, to avoid backlash. But Gu Yue was only ten years old. The referee didn't dare take any chances.

"Heh!" Gu Yue sneered, ignoring the referee. She folded her arms and coldly watched the wind-fire vortex grow larger and larger on the competition stage, sweeping toward Ye Xinglan.

Ye Xinglan, having regained her sight, turned pale with fear. Against Xia Yi, she had many techniques, but facing Gu Yue's full-strength attack, she truly understood what crushing power felt like.

Facing the wind-fire vortex that had gathered almost all the surrounding wind and fire elements, she realized that even if she used all her methods, she would be severely injured.

Xia Yi also swallowed nervously. This was absolute power.

"If I were Ye Xinglan, how could I counter this attack?" Xia Yi furrowed his brows and quickly realized that he didn't have the ability to counter it, let alone Ye Xinglan.

Indeed, although Gu Yue's soul rings were only a century old, her strength clearly exceeded that of a thousand-year soul ring like Na'er's.

"Didn't she join the Spirit Pagoda? She could have increased her soul rings to the thousand-year level in the Ascension Tower. Why is she still using century-old soul rings?" Xia Yi was puzzled. Gu Yue's mental strength and body were more than capable of handling thousand-year soul rings.

But Na'er had upgraded her soul rings to the thousand-year level, yet Gu Yue didn't seem to have any intention of doing so.

"Let's do this!" Ye Xinglan gritted her teeth and also activated her two soul rings.

She carried the honor of Shrek Academy. She couldn't afford to admit defeat, nor could she afford to lose.

"Alright, you're no match for her," Shen Yi sighed helplessly and stood in front of Ye Xinglan.

(End of this chapter)