Watching Huo Wu walk onto the stage with a dark expression, Tang San took a deep breath. On the surface, he looked no different from when he'd fought his first match. But in truth, he was already extremely exhausted.
He'd conserved his Soul Power as much as possible, but over the course of six matches, he had faced three opponents above level forty. Besides Huo Wushuang, the Fire Crane Martial Soul of the Huo Yun and Huo Yu brothers had given him considerable trouble — especially since they'd unleashed their strongest Soul Skills right from the start, forcing Tang San to expend enormous amounts of energy dodging and escaping their range of attack.
Moreover, conserving Soul Power meant he had to control every single ability with the utmost precision, requiring an immense amount of calculation.
As a result, although Tang San had only consumed roughly forty percent of his Soul Power, his mental exhaustion had already exceeded seventy percent. He was an arrow at the end of its flight.
The spectators — whether soldiers of the Royal Knight Corps or Soul Masters from the other academies — now wanted to see only one thing: whether Tang San could single-handedly demolish Flaming Academy and achieve the feat of sweeping all seven.
Gazing at Tang San, Huo Wu had gradually settled into a state of calm. She knew this match wasn't just between her and Tang San — it concerned the honor and disgrace of Flaming Academy.
If she lost and allowed him to complete the one-versus-seven sweep, then Flaming Academy would never be able to hold its head high among the five element academies again. No matter what, she could not lose. She absolutely could not lose.
It was with this conviction of certain victory that Huo Wu composed herself. She was not yet twenty years old this year, the youngest genius in Flaming Academy's history. Her intensive training over this period had pushed her Soul Power up another level, reaching forty-four. She believed that in both Martial Soul and Soul Power, she should surpass the young man standing before her.
But why? Why was it that the entire Flaming Academy couldn't defeat one person? Just because he was a Control Type Soul Master? Because of his fire immunity? No — it couldn't be just that.
Tang San watched quietly as Huo Wu came to a stop thirty meters away. To his surprise, he noticed that her aura seemed to undergo some strange transformation. He had never exchanged words with Huo Wu. Every time he saw her, the aura she radiated was fierce and combative. In some ways, her temperament bore a strong resemblance to Liu Erlong.
But now, having calmed down, Huo Wu seemed like an entirely different person. Her already slender figure, bathed in a faint red glow across her skin, appeared even more strikingly beautiful — as though she could set every man's heart ablaze.
With a subtle shift of her body, a faint orange-red shadow gradually materialized behind Huo Wu, a blurred silhouette identical to her own figure. It was filled with an illusory quality. But this was her Martial Soul — Fire Shadow.
A fire-attribute shadow — an extraordinarily unique Martial Soul that could channel the power of fire elements to their absolute maximum.
In today's promotion tournament, Flaming Academy had clearly already lost any chance of overall victory, since Shrek Academy still had six members in reserve. But this individual match — Huo Wu had sworn to win it no matter what.
The match began.
Tang San had been considering what kind of offensive approach Huo Wu would take. At the moment the referee announced the start, she gave her answer: a direct charge.
Huo Wu's long, powerful legs pumped with rapid, rhythmic strides as she sprinted straight toward Tang San.
Her speed couldn't compare to that of an Agility Attack Type Soul Master, but after reaching level forty, a Soul Master's body — enhanced by the attributes granted by Soul Rings and their own Soul Power — far surpassed that of an ordinary person. With this full-speed rush, her velocity was astonishing. The distance between them closed rapidly.
A strand of Blue Silver Grass lashed out in a horizontal sweep, aimed squarely at Huo Wu's slender yet powerful waist.
A probing attack. Tang San's energy had already been heavily depleted, and the calculations required for an active assault were far greater than those for a patient defense.
He had chosen a strategy of holding firm and counterattacking. With the advantage of fire immunity, Huo Wu's skills could only be deployed against him in the same explosive manner as Huo Wushuang's.
So Tang San wasn't overly concerned.
If Huo Wu tried to use her fourth Soul Skill, the charging process alone would give him enough time to react.
Facing the sweeping Blue Silver Grass, Huo Wu not only didn't dodge — she actually accelerated. The thirty-meter gap between them shrank to ten in the blink of an eye.
Huo Wu's eyes lit up. As her bright, luminous eyes blazed, her third Soul Ring simultaneously began to glow. A purple radiance diffused outward, adding to her striking beauty.
In that instant, a flash of insight struck Tang San's mind, and he immediately understood Huo Wu's method of attack. The Blue Silver Grass sweep continued unchanged, but his body moved swiftly as well — neither forward nor backward, but laterally, shifting sideways at tremendous speed.