Chapter 403: Frozen Solid—Victory for Tianshui Academy

Seeing Su Ming's confidence reassured Xiao Wu and the others. This extreme cold was nearly impossible to resist without the proper countermeasures. They realized that unless Shui Bing'er and Xue Wu were stopped at the start, countering their martial soul fusion skill would be challenging.

Xiao Wu and the others had a good guess as to why the skill was so powerful: Shui Bing'er likely received a significant boost from the diary reward, just like Huo Wu. This intense ice attribute had Xiao Wu suspecting the reward must be "Ice Mastery"—it had to be!

Near the ring, staff closely monitoring the match called out urgently, "Activate the spirit shield! This cold is too intense!"

In response, a spirit power shield was quickly placed around the entire arena. Tang San and his team, realizing that Shui Bing'er and Xue Wu had kept this fusion skill as a hidden ace, felt a chill of dread.

Tianshui Academy was already a formidable opponent. Now, with this fusion skill, what could they possibly do?

Tang San spoke resolutely, "Tianxin, Tianheng, we'll have to risk everything and launch one last attack!"

While Tang San's confidence was wavering, he had to sound decisive. He was beginning to doubt himself; traditionally, both Blazing Fire Academy and Tianshui Academy should have been weaker than Thunder Academy. Yet here they were, battered and bruised from yesterday's match and now struggling against an even stronger opponent.

Gritting his teeth, Tang San glanced at the Clear Sky Hammer in his hand, gathering his remaining spirit power to stack sixty strikes. Though this still couldn't rival his father's level, it was potent enough to threaten a Spirit Emperor.

"Clang!"

Suddenly, a powerful, majestic cry resounded from above.

Tang San looked up, his expression tense. "A top-tier beast spirit, the Ice Phoenix! And why does it feel more overwhelming than Ma Hongjun's Evil Fire Phoenix?"

This was the first time Shui Bing'er had fully revealed her Ice Phoenix spirit. Tang San immediately shouted, "Attack!"

But as he and his teammates prepared to unleash their final attack, they found themselves unable to move. The instant Shui Bing'er reappeared, the icy power on the field surged exponentially.

This was the true might of their martial soul fusion skill.

Cracks began appearing in the spirit shield around the arena. The guards were alarmed; even a Spirit Emperor would struggle to break through the shield in such a short time.

"Strengthen the spirit output—quickly!"

"Captain, we're already at full power! We can't hold it!" one guard shouted helplessly.

The captain's expression darkened, acknowledging the terrifying power of Tianshui Academy's fusion skill. "To all capable spectators, please lend your spirit power to the shield!"

At that moment, a green light surged into the shield, stabilizing it. The captain breathed a sigh of relief, glancing at the source of the spirit power. It was Su Ming, the captain of Heaven Dou Imperial Academy's main team. Remarkable!

Su Ming's intervention didn't go unnoticed by Yu Yuanzhen, who scoffed, "Your Majesty, it seems your academy truly has a genius on its hands."

Emperor Xue Ye gave Su Ming a satisfied nod. "Indeed. This time, our academy's goal is the championship!"

Yu Yuanzhen, inwardly dismissive, was still determined to seize Su Ming's cultivation method one day.

Meanwhile, on stage, Yu Tianxin and Yu Tianheng had abandoned any thoughts of attacking and focused solely on survival. Encased in ice crystals from head to toe, their lower bodies were already immobilized.

Desperately, they pounded at the ice around them with their clawed hands, but the ice seemed invincible, regenerating almost immediately and creeping further up their bodies.

In mere moments, both were frozen, standing wide-eyed and open-mouthed, a frozen tableau of shock. Seeing his teammates encased, Tang San felt despair settling over him. Though still resisting with his Clear Sky Hammer, he sensed his situation was hopeless.

Above, Shui Bing'er's voice called down, "Tang San, give up. You're no match for our martial soul fusion skill!"

Tang San retorted, "Never!"

Though he knew surrender was wise, repeated failures had unhinged him. After all his hard work, how could he lose to a Five Elements Academy?

Seeing his defiance, Shui Bing'er shook her head, no longer holding back.

Instantly, Tang San turned into an ice sculpture, the entire arena becoming a frozen wasteland.

"Stop! We surrender!" Yu Xiaogang shouted angrily. "Tianshui Academy, this is attempted murder!"

The announcer cautiously approached from the edge of the stage, announcing, "The match is over. Tianshui Academy wins!"