The match began.
Zhu Ziyang's three teammates immediately released their Spirits; they still had four yellow spirit rings each. Zhu Ziyang, however, still hadn't released his Spirit.
Seeing this, a flicker of anger crossed Zhou Tianhe's eyes. He felt insulted, and with a furious roar, his body rapidly expanded, soon reaching two meters in height and tearing his clothes, revealing his muscular upper body. Brown fur then covered his body, a pair of fangs grew from his mouth, and his eyes enlarged to occupy half his face. Two yellow spirit rings floated behind him.
Su Li and Yang Yumeng followed closely. A pair of fox ears sprouted from Su Li's forehead, her eyes transformed into characteristic foxy Charm eyes, shimmering with captivating light. Two yellow spirit rings floated behind her; her transformation wasn't as drastic as Zhou Tianhe's. Yang Yumeng's Spirit was quite unexpected: an ancient, simple round cauldron with two ears and three legs, about one meter tall and one meter wide. It looked comical and very eye-catching in the hands of the petite girl.
"A-Li, Mengmeng, stick to the original plan!" Zhou Tianhe roared. His first spirit ring behind him lit up, and the gray-brown fur on his robust body turned bright yellow. Yellow spirit power fluctuations shimmered in his large eyes as he charged towards Zhu Ziyang.
First Spirit Ability, Wild Soul, strength increased by fifty percent!
"Okay!" Su Li and Yang Yumeng responded, also making their moves.
Just as the battle involving Zhu Ziyang and his teammates was about to erupt, Yan Shaozhe, accompanied by Du Weilun and other Outer Courtyard teachers, ascended the high platform at the assessment area's main stand. From here, they could clearly observe the battles in the four arenas below.
"Dean Yan, that's Zhu Ziyang," Du Weilun said, standing beside Yan Shaozhe and pointing at Zhu Ziyang, who was holding the Pacifying Life-Reaping Scythe in assessment area number one, introducing him.
"Oh! So that's him! Hmm, a very strong aura of light!" Yan Shaozhe's gaze lingered on Zhu Ziyang, a hint of surprise flashing across his face as he said, "It's actually a superb level of Spirit control! It's truly rare to reach such a level at this age!"
Yan Shaozhe was even more intrigued. He could clearly see that Zhu Ziyang was hiding his strength, but the more he did so, the happier he became. If his aura of light was so strong even while concealing his strength, it was conceivable that his Spirit's affinity for light elements must be very high, perhaps even comparable to his own Light Phoenix Spirit.
Xia Yu stood among the teachers behind Yan Shaozhe. Hearing Dean Yan's words, a brilliant smile involuntarily appeared on his face. The deeper the impression Zhu Ziyang left on Dean Yan, the better, and the happier he would be, after all, Zhu Ziyang was his student.
On the stage, Zhu Ziyang, holding the Pacifying Life-Reaping Scythe, looked at Zhou Tianhe charging at him. Unhurriedly, he said to Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya, "You two prioritize dealing with Su Li." Then, he dragged the Pacifying Life-Reaping Scythe behind him and strode forward to meet Zhou Tianhe.
Zhu Ziyang strode forward, and Zhou Tianhe was not to be outdone. Behind Zhou Tianhe was Su Li. Her second spirit ring flashed rapidly, a charming smile appeared on her face, and her entire demeanor changed, filled with alluring aura. Pink light shimmered in her eyes, staring directly into Zhu Ziyang's eyes.
Charm!
Zhu Ziyang immediately realized what Su Li's second Spirit Ability was, and he inwardly thought, "Not good." Sure enough, he felt a momentary daze in his mind, and his entire body trembled. Seeing this, Zhou Tianhe's face lit up with joy, and his speed surged. His second spirit ring behind him lit up, and his massive body leaped up, smashing down heavily towards Zhu Ziyang's position.
Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya also realized something was wrong and wanted to assist Zhu Ziyang, but a large cauldron suddenly appeared in front of them. As they looked on in confusion, it flipped over, trapping them inside.
Yang Yumeng's first Spirit Ability, Cauldron Prison. As a defense-type Spirit Master, her first Spirit Ability was a control Spirit Ability, which indeed had an unexpected effect at critical moments.
It seemed Zhu Ziyang was already in danger, but they could never predict what would happen in the next second. After Su Li used Charm on Zhu Ziyang, she instantly suffered a backlash, a trace of blood appeared at the corner of her mouth, and her entire face turned pale. She looked at Zhu Ziyang in disbelief. She realized with horror that Zhu Ziyang's mental force was actually stronger than hers!
With Zhu Ziyang's mental force, Su Li's Charm only slowed him down by half a beat, but in battle, half a beat can decide many things.
Zhou Tianhe, who trusted Su Li implicitly, had already released his second Spirit Ability. The attack, carrying immense pressure, was about to land and hit Zhu Ziyang. He no longer had time to react, and the examiner teacher was already prepared to intervene and save him.
However, at that moment, Zhu Ziyang's right eye turned silver, and an inexplicable fluctuation spread across the arena. Zhou Tianhe, who was falling at high speed, suddenly paused in mid-air, and the movements of everyone else in the arena also slowed by a second. Only Zhu Ziyang suddenly burst forward, rushing towards Su Li without any hesitation, the Pacifying Life-Reaping Scythe in his hand glowing faintly.
Time Stop!
The next moment, everything returned to normal, but the situation on the field had undergone a drastic change. Zhou Tianhe was very surprised to find that Zhu Ziyang, whose movements had been hindered, suddenly accelerated for some unknown reason, instantly rushing out of the attack range of his second Spirit Ability and charging towards Su Li. At this point, he noticed Su Li's pale face and immediately realized that Su Li's Charm had been ineffective against Zhu Ziyang and had even backfired!
His face was instantly covered with anxiety, yet he was helpless, because although his second Spirit Ability was powerful, it had limitations. Once released, it could not be interrupted, otherwise he would also suffer a severe backlash. If he suffered a backlash, then they would definitely lose the match!
He could only pray that Su Li would hold on a little longer.
"Cauldron Wall!"
A bronze-colored wall abruptly appeared in front of Su Li. It was Yang Yumeng, who had noticed the change in situation here and decisively chose to provide support, using her first Spirit Ability to try and block Zhu Ziyang for a while to help Su Li.
Facing the suddenly appearing wall, Zhu Ziyang swung the battle scythe in his hand without hesitation. The golden blade instantly shattered the bronze cauldron wall, then directly struck Su Li. Su Li was still in the weakened state from the backlash at this time, and facing the incoming Pacifying Life-Reaping Scythe, she wanted to resist but was powerless. She was immediately sent flying and caught by the examiner, then placed on the ground.
Zhu Ziyang, having eliminated Su Li, did not stop his actions. He retrieved the Pacifying Life-Reaping Scythe, turned, and slashed towards Yang Yumeng. Yang Yumeng hurriedly raised her Reverting Cauldron to block, but the scythe blade struck the cauldron's body, emitting a crisp clang. The violent vibration spread along the cauldron to the young girl's arm, causing Yang Yumeng to immediately let go of her Spirit. She herself was thrown to the ground by the powerful recoil, and then instantly sent flying by Zhu Ziyang.
"Ah! It hurts so much! Zhu Ziyang, you big meanie, don't you know you should be gentle with girls? Hiss~ It hurts~" The unfortunate young girl landed on her bottom first, which hurt terribly, and tears welled up. She pitifully rubbed the sore spot, cursing Zhu Ziyang for not knowing how to cherish women.
However, Zhu Ziyang paid her no mind. His gaze turned to the last remaining Zhou Tianhe, only to find that Zhou Tianhe had already been dealt with by Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya working together. Since Yang Yumeng chose to turn back to support Su Li, the large cauldron that had trapped Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya naturally disappeared. The two, seeing Zhu Ziyang's display of divine might and noticing Zhou Tianhe who had just landed, made a snap decision to attack him and prevent him from interfering with Zhu Ziyang.
Thus, Zhou Tianhe landed heavily, creating a five-meter-diameter pit in the ground. As soon as he stood up, he was covered by a giant net of Blue Silver Grass. His suppressed emotions instantly erupted. In his fury, he reached out and tugged at the Blue Silver Grass netting him, but he never expected the Blue Silver Grass to be so tenacious. The more he pulled, the harder it was to break, leaving him flustered for a moment.
Jiang Nannan also entered the fray at the opportune moment. Her second Spirit Ability activated instantly. She grabbed Zhou Tianhe's waist, and with a powerful leap, her long legs propelled her six or seven meters into the air. Then, she rotated 360 degrees and slammed Zhou Tianhe down heavily.
Zhou Tianhe, dealt with by the combined efforts of Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya, undoubtedly lost his combat effectiveness.