Just as he was about to make a move, Yunze released a faint aura and calmly glanced at his opponent's martial soul.
That aura—the majestic presence of the phoenix, the king of all birds—instantly made the Blazing Firebird martial soul tremble uncontrollably, overwhelmed by an instinctive sense of submission.
The Soul Elder's soul power spiraled out of control. His body went limp, and he collapsed to the ground, losing all ability to fight.
Many in the audience stared in confusion, completely unable to understand what had just happened.
Not only the spectators—even the referee was dumbfounded. After checking and confirming the condition of the fallen contestant, he finally announced:
"Yunze wins!"
And so, Yunze's first solo match ended in a way no one could comprehend.
"What the heck just happened? How did he make a Soul Elder lose the will to fight like that?" asked Long Yue, the bald-headed young man.
"It shouldn't be pure suppression through strength," said Hualantang thoughtfully.
If someone could knock out a Soul Elder just through aura alone, that would be terrifying. If that were the case, even he might not be a match for Yunze.
"I have no idea," Long Yue admitted, shaking his head.
The individual elimination rounds would last for three days. Yuntian, aside from attending on the first day, spent the rest of his time at the hotel.
He had little interest in watching others fight; rather than standing around wasting time, he preferred doing other things in peace.
After three days, the two-on-two matches began. The number of stages was reduced from fifty to fifteen, each one significantly larger than before.
Yunze and Gu Yuena's match was the first of the day, assigned to Arena No. 15.
"This time, his opponent shouldn't get scared out of their wits again, right?" said Dai Yueyan eagerly from the Monster Academy's rest area.
The eight of them had gathered specifically to watch Yunze's match, eager to see what this mysterious young man was truly capable of.
"Who knows? Maybe it'll happen again," Dai Yun'er giggled. "I still have a good feeling about that kid."
"How could that be possible?" Hualantang said, skeptical. "If everyone who faces him gets scared like that, then he'd be unbeatable!"
"Last time, it was because his martial soul—the phoenix—completely restrained that Firebird and overpowered it in flame quality. That's why the guy fainted. Against other types of martial souls, he shouldn't be able to do the same thing."
"Let's watch closely," said Long Yue, leaning forward. "We should be able to see what he's really made of this time."
The match had begun.
Even Shrek Academy's members were paying attention, curious to see Yunze's true power.
Of course, they were interested in his strength without relying on external aids, which, to them, represented true combat ability.
Yunze and Gu Yuena's opponents were a Soul King and a Soul Sect. The Soul King's martial soul was a White-Headed Griffin, and the Soul Sect's was an Ice-Armored Python—both quite decent.
As the fight started, Gu Yuena released her martial soul. A terrifying pressure flooded the entire stage, her aura crushing down on the two opponents so powerfully that both felt suffocated.
Then Yunze made his move—without even releasing his martial soul.
He dashed forward, and within a few meters, the space before him rippled. The next moment—he vanished.
The two opponents froze in shock.
Then Yunze appeared midair—right in front of the Soul King.
Before the Soul King could even react, Yunze's hand shot out and grabbed his left arm.
The Soul King was stunned. "He can teleport? But I didn't see any soul skill!"
Before he could think further, he felt an overwhelming force surge through his arm, and his body was flung uncontrollably.
Yunze swung him like a chain ball and hurled him outward with nearly 30% of his strength.
The moment of impact made the Soul King feel as though his arm would be torn off.
He flew out like a ragdoll, crashing toward the arena's edge at incredible speed.
The referee's face changed drastically—he had to intervene.
A Soul Saint-level referee caught the flying Soul King midair but was forced several meters back before he could stabilize himself, his expression one of shock.
"That strength… at least on par with a high-level Soul Emperor!"
If he hadn't acted in time, that collision with the arena's energy barrier might've been fatal.
"Wha—?"
The audience was utterly speechless.
The battle had lasted less than ten seconds.
A Soul King had been eliminated—just thrown off the stage.
So simple.
"What the hell is going on?" The remaining Soul Sect was panicking, his face pale with fear.
The space beneath Yunze shimmered again, and he disappeared once more.
When he reappeared, he was already in front of the Soul Sect.
Again, he reached out, grabbed his arm—and threw him.
"Ahhh!"
The Soul Sect screamed in pain as his arm nearly dislocated, his body spinning violently in the air. The world blurred; wind roared past his ears; the speed made it hard to even breathe.
Yunze had even thrown him in the direction of the referee, as if deliberately tossing him over for safekeeping.
The Soul Saint referee hastily let go of the Soul King and rushed to catch the Soul Sect midair.
The poor Soul Sect was so terrified that he fainted on the spot, his martial soul automatically retracting.
Both opponents were now outside the stage boundary—meaning Yunze and Gu Yuena had officially won.
"Winner: Yunze and Gu Yuena of Sun and Moon Royal Academy!"
The referee's voice echoed through the arena.
"My space-transfer was pretty good, right?" Gu Yuena said, smiling proudly as she withdrew her martial soul.
Yunze chuckled. "Not bad. Your timing was perfect."
"Heehee!" Her delighted grin showed that the praise meant more to her than the victory itself.
The two stepped down from the stage, walking toward the rest area while countless pairs of eyes followed them in stunned silence.
The spectators were still processing what they'd just seen.
The match was over—already?
It was, without a doubt, the fastest and easiest fight anyone had seen in days.
From start to finish, it had lasted less than thirty seconds—no flashy techniques, no drawn-out exchanges, just two throws.
Or rather—one technique used twice.
"Brother Hua," Dai Yun'er teased, poking Hualantang's arm, "if you fought him, do you think you'd just get tossed off the stage too?"
Hualantang's confident smile froze slightly. After all, he had boasted privately before that he could definitely beat Yunze.