Chapter 408: A Dire Situation

After dispatching Ye Xinglan, Yue Zhengyu took stock of the situation. He quickly noticed that his team was at a disadvantage and promptly took action. A holy aura enveloped him, and he raised his holy sword, his three soul rings taking on an intense sheen at the same time. He lit up like a soul bulb, radiant as a the sun itself. Powerful waves of holy might rolled off of him. With his sword raised to pierce the heavens, holy light descended around him. The entire stage basked in the brilliant splendor, an expanse of golden clouds gathered in the sky above. The very sight filled everyone with awe.

"Judgement!" Yue Zhengyu's voice resounded throughout the arena, the entire stage trembling before his holy might. Three golden beams of light fell upon Tang Wulin, Xu Lizhi, and Xu Xiaoyan. They swallowed them up in an instant, their figures disappearing.

The beams were made of pure holy energy. Inside of them, Xu Lizhi and Xu Xiaoyan felt as if their souls were ascending to a higher realm. They felt no pain or suffering, only a comforting warmth. However, the soul power in their bodies gushed out of them uncontrollably. In the blink of an eye, half of their soul power reserves were gone. Then weakness took hold of their bodies.

Before this could go on any further, two beams of white shot out. They disrupted the beams of holy energy, taking their places on Xu Xiaoyan and Xu Lizhi to whisk them away in a flash of light.

Both were eliminated.

No one had expected Yue Zhengyu to explode with such power. His attack carried the might of his three soul skills, possessing the power to dissolve the energy within his the bodies of his targets. The tide of battle had been turned in an instant.

The moment his two teammates were eliminated, Tang Wulin's golden soul ring shone brightly. A golden aura blazed into existence around him and fought back the holy light. Compared to Yue Zhengyu's brilliant aura, Tang Wulin's aura held a hint of darkness.

Five streaks of dark-gold sliced through the holy light and continued onward to Yue Zhengyu. Spatial cracks appeared around Yue Zhengyu as the streaks approached him. In another flash of white light, Yue Zhengyu disappeared from the stage. With just a wave of her hand, the Holy Spirit Douluo saved another student from fatal harm.

And Yue Zhengyu was also eliminated!

Tang Wulin may have defeated Yue Zhengyu by using both his Golden Dragon Dreadclaw and Bluesilver Golden Array, but he did not come away from the holy light unscathed. Immediately after retaliating, he fell to one knee, gasping for breath. The concentrated bombardment of holy judgement had depleted Tang Wulin's energies and washed away the Bloodthirst effect. After taking a beating from Yuanen Yehui, and now this, his reserves had now run dry.

The first grade team now found itself facing a dire situation. If Tang Wulin couldn't continue fighting, then only Gu Yue and Xie Xie remained. To make matters worse, at that very moment, Duan Hunxiao cornered Xie Xie's clone.

As expected! The second grade is stronger in the end! Confidence glimmered in the eyes of the second grade students.

Weakness weighed down on Tang Wulin's body. This battle had placed him under the most pressure. He had gone toe-to-toe with Yuanen Yehui and kept her occupied, had taken a full blast of holy might, and had even mustered the strength he still had to take out Yue Zhengyu!

But the battle wasn't over. Neither side had won yet.

Tang Wulin pushed off the ground with his right hand, swaying and teetering until he found his footing. He then took in a deep breath, raised his hands, and began moving them in circles. The flow of his blood essence reversed once more.

As he did that, the showdown between Gu Yue and Yuanen Yehui reached its climax.

Gu Yue danced like a specter, her figure flickering in and out of existence around Yuanen Yehui. Each time she appeared, a tri-element palm strike quickly followed.

Despite all her strength, all Yuanen Yehui could do was passively defend. As the countdown on Devil Titan's duration reached its end, her expression grew darker and quickly soured into a frown. She had never considered switching to her Fallen Angel martial soul for this match. She kept it a secret that few were privy to. If she did use it, her true gender would be revealed. However, Gu Yue's strength far exceeded her expectations. Isn't she supposed to be a ranged attacker? How is she able to condense the elements and use it in close quarters combat like this?

Although Devil Titan did power her defenses up to an impressive level, Yuanen Yehui still needed to move soul power through her body to dispel the elemental energies left by each of Gu Yue's palm strikes. The elemental energies quickly accumulated on her body, fusing together to produce more potent effects.

If Yuanen Yehui were in peak condition, she would have had nothing to fear from Gu Yue. She could have just used a wide-ranged attack to force her away. Teleportation was indeed a powerful ability, but Yuanen Yehui could have just created a spatial disturbance with a full-strength punch. That, by itself, would have prevented Gu Yue from teleporting all over the place.

Unfortunately for Yuanen Yehui, the effects of Devil Titan were about to expire. Her strength was already plummeting rapidly. She wouldn't be able to hold out much longer. She couldn't sustain her Titan Giant Ape form much longer either. Her soul power was nearly depleted. Even if she switched over to her Fallen Angel martial soul, her combat power would take a massive hit.

What can I do?

At that moment, a sharp, melodic sound pierced the air. On the other side of the battlefield, two figures stumbled backward and fused into one. Xie Xie stumbled, nearly falling to the ground. He had no way of defending against Duan Hunxiao's attack.

Duan Hunxiao's eyes had a frosty edge to them. Despite being his team's control-type soul master, he had failed to stop the enemy agility-type soul master from attacking his teammate. He felt utterly humiliated. He had his own pride, and Yuanen Yehui was the only person in his class that he respected.

Xie Xie had used his surprise attack to throw Bai Hanying and Duan Hunxiao into disarray, then worked with his clone to keep them occupied. However, his clone had been dispelled and he no longer had enough soul power to call another one.

Duan Hunxiao didn't let this opportunity go to waste. His third soul ring lit up and he blew into his flute. A screech pierced the air, a baleful aura enveloping Xie Xie.

It was his third soul skill, Death Song, a sound wave attack that also affected the target's mind!

Bai Hanying chose this moment to act. She waved the branch in her hand, scattering cherry blossom petals into the air. The petals drifted over to Yuanen Yehui. The moment they touched her, her back straightened, ferocity returned to her gaze, and a shimmering aura of white enveloped her. With her strength restored, she stomped at the ground.

Space in a ten meter radius of her warped and trembled. Gu Yue suddenly appeared out of thin air and dropped to the ground. After retreating a few steps, she took up her battle stance.

Shen Yi and Wu Zhangkong furrowed their brows at this sight. Yuanen Yehui slowly strode over to Gu Yue. With Xie Xie completely restrained by Duan Hunxiao, his fate was decided. No suspense remained in this battle.

Bai Hanying's cherry blossom petals were like a bridge between her and Yuanen Yehui. She revealed a sweet smile as she stared at Yuanen Yehui's back. This soul skill was called Lover's Bridge! Once formed, it linked the soul power reserves of the user and the target. The connection allowed Bai Hanying to funnel her soul power into Yuanen Yehui! With access to a Soul Elder's soul power reserves, it was only natural that Yuanen Yehui would be able to continue to fight in her Titan Giant Ape form.

Today's battle was full of surprises. With Tang Wulin's schemes and Ye Xinglan's strength, the first grade team had been able to take out Ye Xingmo and He Xiaopeng.

However, they hadn't expected Yue Zhengyu to unleash such a powerful attack. Xu Xiaoyan and Xu Lizhi had been eliminated in an instant. Although Tang Wulin took Yue Zhengyu down swiftly afterward, their supply line had already been cut off. The first grade team's situation only worsened from there, yet the second grade team still had Yuanen Yehui, the four-ringed Duan Hunxiao, and the support-type Bai Hanying.

It was clear which side would win.

The roar of a dragon filled the stage. Tang Wulin's body glowed gold as he walked to Gu Yue's side. The two now stood shoulder-to-shoulder. At that moment, a white light flashed and Xie Xie disappeared from the battlefield. He reappeared beside the Holy Spirit Douluo an instant later. He hadn't been able to endure the Death Song any longer.

Duan Hunxiao turned to face them Tang Wulin and Gu Yue. It was now two versus three.

If Tang Wulin were in peak condition, then maybe there would have been hope. However, since the Bloodthirst effect wore off, he was in a weakened state. His golden aura wasn't as magnificent as it usually was. With just him and Gu Yue remaining, there was no hope for victory.

Yuanen Yehui came to a stop and looked Tang Wulin in the eye. "Surrender."

Even if they lost, they had already earned enough glory. There was a three-year age difference between grades at Shrek Academy. The gap in strength that three years of time created was like that of heaven and earth.

But Tang Wulin couldn't give up here. Tang Wulin's gaze did not possess its usual calm. Determination still burned brightly in it, so bright that his eyes resembled a pair of fireballs. He held his head high as he strode forward, the dragon's roar growing louder with each step.

He stopped a short distance ahead of Gu Yue. She stared at him blankly, the sight of his broad shoulders filling her eyes.

Duan Hunxiao brought his flute back up to his mouth. With a cold glint in his eyes, he sucked in a deep breath and prepared to blow. If Tang Wulin and Gu Yue didn't concede, he would immediately launch his attack.

Yuanen Yehui sighed. Defeating her opponent in a battle was a show of respect.

"I shouldn't have asked."

Tang Wulin smiled. He slowly raised his dragon claw and squeezed out the last shred of strength in his body, pushing his golden soul ring shine brightly once more.