Chapter 104: Diao vs. Qianling (Conclusion)

Chapter 104: Diao vs. Qianling (Conclusion)

Du Qianjue was somewhat puzzled, not understanding the meaning behind Fei Yu Yan's gaze.

"What's wrong? Am I that scary?"

"The match begins!" The referee, moving faster than ever, shot up into the air, even forming a soul power shield around himself.

"...?"

"What are you implying, referee?!" Du Qianjue felt slightly annoyed. Alright then, if that's how it's going to be, don't blame me if the referee gets accidentally hurt!

Seven soul rings sprang up from under his feet, and the fourth-ranked Thunderous Inferno Vine soul ring lit up abruptly.

Centered around Du Qianjue, countless bolts of lightning covered the entire platform.

Prison of Thunderous Retribution!

After his battle with Xuan Zi, Du Qianjue's control had improved by countless folds, now able to easily manipulate the strength of his soul skills. Thus...

On Fei Yu Yan's side, Du Qianjue intentionally weakened his power, merely shocking them enough to render them desirous of heaven yet unwilling to die, disabling them without causing serious harm. The ultimate thunder purification even tempered their bodies to some extent, although the effects were minutely subtle over such a short period.

You see, before being sacrificed to Du Qianjue, the Thunderous Inferno Vine was a treasured asset of the Sect, and most disciples, upon reaching a certain level, would endure its strikes for a time.

But the referee was not so lucky.

Du Qianjue even directed most of the thunderous force upwards, particularly caring for that flying annoyance above.

After about ten seconds of crackling electricity, Du Qianjue withdrew the Prison of Thunderous Retribution. Except for himself and his pink-tagged leg accessory, the other three looked almost like clones—hair frazzled, faces blackened, smoke puffing from their mouths...

"Cough cough... It's forbidden to injure the referee!"

The flying annoyance, his nose nearly crooked from irritation, was about to rant but caught sight of Du Qianjue's seven soul rings and could only grudgingly utter those words.

"I'm terribly sorry for not controlling the power of my soul skill!" Du Qianjue looked up, smiling amiably at the disheveled referee.

Unseen by the referee, Du Qianjue almost turned his concealed tail into an electric fan...

"Shall we continue?" asked Du Qianjue.

Fei Yu Yan and the Lingxi Shield soul master, trembling from the shock, quickly shook their heads.

"No more, no more, we concede!"

Their decision was incredibly decisive and heartfelt.

Even Fei Yu Yan's look towards Du Qianjue was now filled with even greater fear...

The referee's mouth twitched.

" Diao Academy versus Qianling Academy, the second round of the two-two-three battle format, Diao Academy wins!"

"In the second round of the tournament, Diao Academy defeats Qianling Academy 2-0!"

Ignoring the crowd, which was oddly exhilarated again at seeing Du Qianjue's overwhelming victory, Du Qianjue walked back to his room at the Star Emperor Hotel alone. The others stayed to watch the matches, but Du Qianjue wasn't interested, so he returned to the hotel.

If it hadn't been for today's matches, Du Qianjue wouldn't have wanted to go out at all, especially after last night's fight with Xuan Zi, which had been quite fruitful. Not only had the operation of his Yin-Yang Dual Soul Cores become smoother, but he had also completely resolved the elemental imbalance in his second soul core.

He owed Xuan Zi for that. If it weren't for Xuan Zi acting as a punching bag, allowing Du Qianjue to unleash his full power unrestrictedly, who knows when he would have managed to establish a complete elemental cycle. Though he possessed many elements, they were mostly grafted onto his soul rings, making them poorly integrated and of uneven quality.

The compatibility issue was resolved after forming the second soul core. With the core acting as a foundation, these elemental powers became indistinguishable from his innate abilities. As the soul core grew, all the elements within it also strengthened.

Reaching ultimate attribute levels was just a matter of continuously refining and elevating the quality of one's elemental powers. With the second soul core, it was only a matter of time before Du Qianjue could elevate all his attributes to ultimate levels. But this would take a long time.

After last night's battle, however, the elemental cycle in his soul core had somehow completed itself, operating autonomously without Du Qianjue's control, enhancing even the weaker elements.

Upon discovering this change post-battle, Du Qianjue was nearly moved to tears.

Xuan Zi, you really are a good guy! Not only did you provide a golden opportunity, but you also helped solve my most troubling issue with the elemental cycle.

Oh right, there was also that Imperial Fist: Shatter the Heavens!

With such significant gains, Du Qianjue knew it would take a substantial amount of time to fully assimilate them. After all, the elemental cycle had been completed unintentionally.

Understanding the principles and insights was almost like using a soul-guided device: knowing how to activate an attack by injecting soul power, but not understanding why it works or how the core array is configured. One can use a soul-guided device without learning how to make one.

But wielding elemental powers requires understanding their mysteries. Soul-guided devices are external aids with limited benefits; knowing how to use them suffices. However, elemental powers are the foundation of Du Qianjue's strength.

Thus, Du Qianjue plunged into a state of cultivation, delving into the workings of the elemental soul core. For the first time, even with his talents, he found the process headache-inducing.

Even when he had been mastering unity of heaven and man, although progress was slow, Du Qianjue could still feel daily improvements, achieving the realm in a year or two. But mastering elemental control was truly difficult, showing no signs of progress.

After seven days of intense focus without stepping outside, not even participating in the third round of matches, he left Wei Feng and the others to handle it. They probably guessed Du Qianjue was in the midst of an important cultivation breakthrough and didn't want to interrupt. So they said little, handling the relatively weak tournament opponents with ease.

The third round featured one-on-one battles. Yang Lian took the lead with his Hunting Falcon's speed, effortlessly defeating three opponents. After exhausting a considerable amount of soul power, he conceded and was replaced by Lin Mo.

As the saying goes, "The quieter ones are the most cunning," which might not always be true, but it certainly applied to Lin Mo. His seamless control over his dark, enchanting martial spirit, his traps, and spiritual tortures wore down his opponents.

With just two people, two Soul Kings facing seven, they ousted their opponents and won the third match of the tournament.

(End of Chapter)