"Sect Leader Tang, use Blue Silver Prison!"
Ma Rulong shouted to Tang Ya.
Tang Ya frowned and responded, "But… my Blue Silver Grass doesn't have fire resistance…"
"Just use it!" Ma Rulong urged sharply.
At his command, Tang Ya didn't hesitate. She immediately activated Blue Silver Prison to trap Ma Xiaotao. However, the moment the blue silver vines made contact with the flames swirling around Ma Xiaotao's body, they were instantly ignited, rapidly burning away.
"Do your best to maintain it!" Ma Rulong continued, raising the Judgment Sword in his hand.
Seeing his action, Tang Ya gritted her teeth and channeled her soul power, forcing new vines to grow as fast as they burned. Maintaining Blue Silver Prison under such intense conditions was incredibly draining on her soul power.
Ma Rulong poured all his soul power into the Judgment Sword, activating the soul tool's internal core formation array.
As a peak-grade level-8 soul tool, the Judgment Sword contained the elemental forces of both light and darkness. It was a weapon that even Silvermoon Douluo Kong Deming had personally praised.
Compressing all of his soul power, Ma Rulong forcefully activated its true core formation.
The Judgment Sword suddenly unfurled a pair of wings—one as white as snow, the other as dark as ink. Light and darkness swirled around it, forming a two-colored storm.
With the Judgment Sword held high, Ma Rulong's eyes locked onto Ma Xiaotao, who was still being restrained by Blue Silver Prison, and he charged forward with a roar.
"Sect Leader Tang, release the Blue Silver Prison!" Ma Rulong shouted just as he slashed down.
Hearing him, Tang Ya immediately dispelled the prison.
The elemental storm of light and darkness from the Judgment Sword fell directly upon Ma Xiaotao. A surge of dark energy poured violently into her body.
"AAAHHH—!!"
Ma Xiaotao let out a blood-curdling scream as the massive wave of dark energy invaded her body. Her already-burning Evil Fire completely lost control, and endless black flames engulfed her form.
Behind her, her Evil Fire Phoenix martial soul spread its wings and let out a sky-shaking screech. The crimson feathers rapidly darkened, becoming completely black and surrounded by terrifying black flames. In just a blink, it had transformed into a Black Phoenix.
"That's…"
Seeing Ma Xiaotao's martial soul mutate, Xuan Zi and Wang Yan were both horrified.
"Elder Xuan! That's… the Black—"
Wang Yan's voice trembled.
"Black Phoenix Martial Soul! Ma Xiaotao's martial soul has mutated into the Black Phoenix! This is bad…"
Xuan Zi's expression was dark. He no longer cared that the match was ongoing. In a flash, he appeared on the stage, struck both Ma Rulong and Tang Ya off the platform with a palm, then turned and moved to restrain the now completely berserk Ma Xiaotao, shrouded in black flames.
It was the first time ever that a teacher had interrupted a match mid-battle.
Countless spectators craned their necks, eyes wide in disbelief. Members of the Sun Moon Empire's rest area also rushed over to Ma Rulong and Tang Ya to help them up.
Huang Jinxu stepped onto the platform, but as soon as he felt the raging pressure of Xuan Zi's soul power, he hesitated and didn't dare approach.
"Senior, this…"
Huang Jinxu began, cautiously.
"Didn't you see the danger my student was in?! What kind of referee are you?!"
Xuan Zi glared coldly at him.
Huang Jinxu was completely flustered, unable to respond to the scolding.
At that moment, Dai Hao descended from the spectator stands and respectfully cupped his hands to Xuan Zi.
"Elder Xuan, the situation escalated too quickly. With both sides being prodigies, it was natural for the Heavenly Fiend Douluo to be a bit slow to react."
As the White Tiger Duke of the Star Luo Empire, Dai Hao still held considerable prestige—even Xuan Zi had to show him some courtesy. With a cold snort, Xuan Zi finally said:
"This match ends here."
Then, he raised his hand and summoned the Judgment Sword from Ma Rulong's grip.
"That's our soul tool!"
Ma Rulong shouted, panicked.
Jiang Shengyu frowned and asked, "Senior, are you planning to seize items from juniors like us?"
"Hmph. A mere level-8 soul tool? You think I care about such a trivial object? But this very soul tool triggered a mutation in my student's martial soul. I need to inspect it."
Xuan Zi said coldly, holding the sword.
"And when the inspection is over, will you return it?"
Jiang Shengyu pressed.
With so many people watching, Xuan Zi naturally wouldn't say "no." After examining the Judgment Sword carefully, he confirmed something:
While the soul tool had catalyzed Ma Xiaotao's martial soul mutation, the true cause was still her inherent Evil Fire.
The Judgment Sword was just a trigger, not the root cause, nor could it reverse the mutation.
With this conclusion, Xuan Zi tossed the sword back to Jiang Shengyu and left the arena with Ma Xiaotao.
Back in the rest area, Wang Yan and the others rushed over. Xuan Zi said sternly:
"I'll take her back first. Wang Yan, the rest is up to you. Remember—winning doesn't matter anymore. Her safety comes first."
"Yes, Elder Xuan."
Wang Yan understood clearly. He and the others watched silently as Xuan Zi carried Ma Xiaotao away from the arena.
"Your Excellency White Tiger… what should we do now?"
Huang Jinxu turned to Dai Hao, brows furrowed.
Would this match be counted as a draw?
Anyone could see that Shrek Academy could no longer continue the fight. Ma Xiaotao's martial soul had mutated and she had lost all control—let alone the ability to battle.
But if this match was declared a win for the Sun Moon Empire, it would mean that—for the first time in a thousand years—the Soul Dueling Tournament would have a Sun Moon Empire champion.
After a long silence, Dai Hao finally declared:
"This match will be counted as a draw. No points awarded to either side."
Which meant that the final 3v3 match would now determine the overall champion.
As long as Shrek Academy could win the trio battle, they would have one more point than the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy—and claim the championship.
But… would winning that final match be so easy?
On stage, Jiang Qingtong, Jiang Nannan, and Ling Luochen stepped forward for Shrek. At the same time, Jiang Shengyu, Nana, and Aicao entered for the Sun Moon Empire.
Ling Luochen turned to Jiang Qingtong and said:
"Qingtong, I'll be counting on you to help me amplify the ice element suppression later."
"Mm."
Jiang Qingtong nodded without elaborating.
Jiang Shengyu had already summoned his Twilight Sword, but with Dai Hao watching from the stands, he had no intention of using Void Swallowing Flame or Pure Lotus Demonic Fire—the dual-colored flames would be too conspicuous. If he used them, Dai Hao would immediately realize who had burned down his estate.
As Huang Jinxu declared the final match underway, Nana's body melted into the shadows, flitting across the battlefield like a ghost.
The other team member, Aicao, had iron chains coiled tightly around both arms.