Chapter 122: Total Collapse! Huo Yuhao and the Other Three Instantly Defeated by Liu Yuan
Dark red evil fire and dark golden soul power clashed with devastating violence across the arena floor.
Ma Xiaotao fought like a woman possessed. Each frantic beat of her blazing Phoenix wings unleashed a torrential downpour of meteor-like fire, desperately trying to force a breach through Long Aotian's flank.
Long Aotian, however, had crossed the threshold into an absolute do-or-die state. Burning his essence blood granted him terrifying defensive resilience. Combined with his Body Martial Soul's hyper-acute spatial perception, he materialized at the exact node of every single blind spot Ma Xiaotao tried to exploit.
"First Soul Skill, Phoenix Fire Wire!"
Ma Xiaotao slammed her palms together. A dark red beam of concentrated evil fire, thrice its usual thickness, erupted forward, instantly incinerating the oxygen in front of Long Aotian.
"Good!"
Long Aotian barked, refusing to yield a single inch. He stepped directly into the blinding heat, his right fist snapping forward. Dark golden soul power condensed into a massive fist projection, violently shattering the fiery beam in mid-air.
The explosive backlash shredded his chest armor into twisted metal and bloody ribbons of flesh, but he did not even blink. Pivoting on his heel, he unleashed a Body Martial Soul shockwave with a brutal backhand, blasting Ma Xiaotao backward once more.
This suicidal method of interception snapped the last threads of Ma Xiaotao's sanity. Catching sight of Liu Yuan beginning to move in the distance, panic and fury twisted her features. Her voice cracked into a shrill shriek. "Damn it! You absolute lunatic! Get out of my way right now!"
Long Aotian dragged a thumb across his bloody jaw, revealing a crimson-stained grin. His voice remained flat, yet heavy as a mountain. "That will not do... I said it before. As long as I am breathing, do not even dream of stepping past me to bother my Junior Brother."
Around the arena, the spectator stands erupted into a deafening roar.
Nobody had anticipated this. A battle that should have been a one-sided slaughter led by a Soul Emperor had devolved into a gruesome, grinding war of attrition.
Up in the VIP viewing area, Elder Xuan's face looked as though it had been carved from storm clouds. He gripped the armrests of his wooden chair so tightly the timber groaned and splintered into dust. Deep anxiety swirled within his usually turbid eyes.
"Xiaotao! What in the world are you doing!" Elder Xuan cursed under his breath, the psychological dam in his mind fracturing piece by piece.
He understood the battlefield dynamics far too well. Dai Yueheng and Ling Luochen, their apex vanguard, were already incapacitated. If Ma Xiaotao remained bogged down by Long Aotian's suicidal stalling, the remaining Shrek Academy students would be nothing but helpless lambs waiting for Liu Yuan's slaughter.
A foreign, icy sensation crawled up the Taotie Douluo's spine. Fear.
"Damn it... Is our Shrek Academy actually going to lose?" he muttered, a bead of cold sweat sliding down his wrinkled temple.
For ten thousand years, Shrek Academy had known nothing but absolute victory. In every tournament, they stood at the absolute summit, looking down upon all living beings. If this ten-thousand-year legacy of invincibility shattered here, today, under his supervision... Elder Xuan's massive frame shuddered.
He could not fathom facing the elders of the Sea God Pavilion, nor could he imagine the look of deep disappointment in Elder Mu's eyes. He could not bear the weight of this sin.
Worse still was the continent-wide wager that had become the talk of the world. He was a dignified Level 98 Taotie Douluo, a man whose seniority and strength commanded reverence across the continent. If he lost to the Heavenly Soul Imperial Academy, he would have to drop to his knees, kowtow, and publicly admit defeat to Du Busi and Liu Yuan before tens of thousands of spectators.
That level of humiliation was a fate far worse than death.
"We absolutely cannot lose! We cannot!" he roared in his mind, but reality delivered a swift, merciless backhand.
Down on the arena floor, Liu Yuan finally made his move.
The purple-gold light flames wreathing his body flared with blinding intensity, supercharged by the activation of Ultimate Sublimation. Without a fraction of hesitation, the Qilin Precious Technique ignited.
A sharp sonic boom tore through the air. Liu Yuan vanished. In less than half a second, he crossed dozens of meters, materializing directly inside the chaotic skirmish involving Vina and the others.
The crossfire in the middle of the battlefield had reached a boiling point. Chen Lu and Wang Yanfeng fought desperately to hold the line against Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi.
However, as the two undisputed strongest disciples of Shrek's outer courtyard, Bei Bei's Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon possessed overwhelming offensive might, while Xu Sanshi's Xuanming Turtle Shield provided an impenetrable fortress. During a ferocious clash, a momentary gap appeared in the soul power synchronization between Chen Lu and Wang Yanfeng. Bei Bei's volatile lightning surged through the opening, blasting both of them back with pale, bloodless faces.
"Now!"
Lightning crackled wildly within Bei Bei's eyes. He transformed into a streak of azure electricity, lunging straight for Chen Lu to secure a quick elimination.
But just as his crackling claws neared Chen Lu's throat, a dark purple phantom materialized in his path without a single warning.
Bei Bei's pupils contracted to pinpricks. He saw nothing but a pair of glowing purple-gold double pupils, followed instantly by an apocalyptic force slamming into his chest.
Liu Yuan's face remained entirely impassive. He did not bother activating any complex Soul Skills. He simply channeled the raw kinetic momentum of his sprint into a single, devastating punch.
A sickening crunch of shattering bone echoed across the stage. The dense, lightning-infused soul power armor Bei Bei had condensed shattered like brittle glass beneath Liu Yuan's fist.
Bei Bei let out a ragged scream. His body folded inward, launching backward through the air as a massive spray of blood trailed behind him. He crashed violently into the stone tiles. The sheer magnitude of the physical trauma forcibly ripped his Martial Soul out of its possession state. His eyes rolled back into his skull, and he blacked out instantly, completely stripped of his combat effectiveness.
"Beautiful!" The entire stadium erupted into absolute pandemonium. The supporters of the Heavenly Soul Imperial Academy leaped from their seats, screaming themselves hoarse.
Vina and the others felt the crushing pressure on their shoulders evaporate. Seeing Liu Yuan standing there, their faces lit up with unadulterated ecstasy. "Liu Yuan! You finally came!"
Liu Yuan tilted his head slightly, a faint, razor-thin smile touching his lips. His voice was calm, dripping with absolute control. "Leave the rest to me."
The moment the words left his mouth, the tip of his shoe tapped the shattered stone. The Qilin Precious Technique roared to life once more.
This time, he reappeared directly in front of a horrified Xu Sanshi.
Xu Sanshi's combat instincts were terrifyingly sharp. The split second Bei Bei fell, he knew death was approaching. He gripped his massive Xuanming Turtle Shield with both hands, instantly detonating his Third Soul Skill, Xuanming Shield Array, desperately layering his heavy defenses to buy even a fraction of a second.
Yet, against a Liu Yuan operating under Ultimate Sublimation, such mundane defenses were entirely meaningless.
Liu Yuan did not bother flanking. He pulled his right arm back, his dark purple soul power condensing into the roaring, ferocious visage of a Qilin over his knuckles.
"Qilin Precious Technique — Crushing!"
The punch slammed dead center into the Xuanming Turtle Shield.
Crack!
A sharp, terrifying fracture sounded out. A jagged fissure half a meter long spider-webbed across the surface of Xu Sanshi's prized, supposedly indestructible shield. A catastrophic mental shockwave bypassed the physical barrier entirely, slamming directly into Xu Sanshi's brain.
Xu Sanshi let out a muffled groan. The sheer kinetic force of the blow launched his heavy frame, along with his massive shield, completely off the arena floor. He tumbled ungracefully into the safety zone below.
Bei Bei, instantly crushed. Xu Sanshi, blasted out of bounds.
The two foundational pillars of the Shrek reserve team had not even lasted two breaths against Liu Yuan.
Witnessing this absolute slaughter, the blood drained from Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong's faces. They knew conventional tactics were utterly useless now.
"Wang Dong!" Huo Yuhao growled, throwing his hand out toward his partner.
Their flawless tacit understanding flared to life. They intended to burn the very last dregs of their soul power to forcibly ignite their Martial Soul Fusion Skill, the Golden Road, in a desperate bid to stall this monster.
But why would Liu Yuan ever give them the time?
The exact millisecond their fingertips brushed and their soul power began to merge, a terrifying blood-red light ignited within Liu Yuan's double pupils.
"Laser Eye!"
Two hyper-concentrated, needle-thin crimson beams lanced across the arena. Liu Yuan deliberately avoided lethal vitals, instead driving the beams straight through Wang Dong's left shoulder.
Wang Dong screamed in agony. The sudden, blinding pain violently severed their soul power connection, sending his body stumbling backward.
Liu Yuan moved like a phantom. He stepped directly into their personal space, his arm sweeping out to physically tear their connection apart. Casually grabbing Wang Dong by the collar, the brute strength of the Qilin Precious Technique surged through his arm, and he hurled the disoriented Wang Dong entirely off the arena stage.
Finally, only Huo Yuhao remained standing in the center of the ruined arena.
Huo Yuhao ground his teeth together, his eyes flashing a brilliant, desperate emerald green. He frantically attempted to switch to his Ice Empress Martial Soul, praying to unleash the power of Extreme Ice for one final, suicidal stand.
But before his arm could even rise, Liu Yuan's heavy palm clamped down onto his shoulder.
Their eyes met. Huo Yuhao felt an apocalyptic mental pressure, vast and crushing as a raging ocean, slam into his consciousness. This absolute, impossible chasm in mental strength caused his Spirit Eyes to emit a silent, agonizing wail.
"Too weak, Yuhao," Liu Yuan said softly, his voice barely a whisper over the roaring crowd.
Shifting his right hand from a palm into a loose fist, Liu Yuan pressed it lightly against Huo Yuhao's abdomen.
The seemingly gentle strike carried the terrifying, structural vibration of the Double Pupils' Origin.
A deafening roar echoed inside Huo Yuhao's skull. The world before his eyes violently smeared into a blur of meaningless colors. He could not even form a single syllable before the vibrating force completely severed his consciousness. His knees buckled, and he collapsed softly into Liu Yuan's waiting arms.
[Akarin's Note:
Enjoying the story? Dropping a quick review, comment, or Power Stone means the world to me and keeps these daily updates flowing!
Want to read 50 chapters ahead or just want to help keep a shameless translator alive? (My livelihood actually depends on this, haha 😭). You can support me directly here:
(P.S. Just remove the brackets and replace the [.] with a regular dot . to use the links!)
✨ Patreon (50 Advanced Chapters): patreon[.]com/AkarinTL
☕ Ko-fi (Support / Sponsor): ko-fi[.]com/AkarinTL
🔗 All My Links: linktr[.]ee/AkarinTL
Thank you so much for reading and keeping this project alive!]