Spirit Hall Academy and Tianshui Academy quickly completed their preparations. Once the referee announced the start of the match, Hu Liena sprang into action.
A gleam flashed in Hu Liena's eyes, and she immediately activated her most potent seductive technique.
Tianshui Academy had long heard rumors about her. Hu Liena's charm wasn't limited to her eyes—it extended to her voice as well. Instinctively, the girls closed their eyes and covered their ears.
"Will that work?" Hu Liena smiled seductively. Ever since she had obtained the Spirit Concentration Skull, her charm-based soul skills had evolved drastically.
Now, she no longer relied solely on sight or sound. She could invade her opponents' minds, making them see her within their own spiritual worlds—and then forcibly bewitch them.
In an instant, all of Tianshui's members—except for Shui Bing'er, whose top-tier martial soul Ice Phoenix barely resisted—had their eyes flash with a pink glow. Clearly, they were bewitched.
These were all girls. If Hu Liena had used this technique on a group of young men, the effect would have been even more overwhelming.
'Amazing! She bewitched six people with just one look. If Shui Bing'er didn't possess a top martial soul, she wouldn't have escaped either' Tang San commented with awe 'That Hu Liena alone could handle an entire team.'
"So, you're the one the Sword Lord favors. You're even prettier than me... but resisting my charm must've taken a toll, huh?" Hu Liena said with a mocking smile.
Shui Bing'er's face turned pale. It was true—while she had resisted the charm, doing so had drained a tremendous amount of mental energy. After all, Hu Liena's level was far higher than hers.
"Alright, leave the rest to us."
Xie Yue and Yan stepped forward and charged at the weakened Tianshui team.
"First soul skill—Freeze!" Shui Bing'er refused to stand by and watch her teammates fall. Her skill could be cast instantly, and she used it twice in succession, freezing both Xie Yue and Yan in blocks of ice.
Unfortunately, this once-powerful ice soul skill now crumbled easily before the strength of two Soul Kings.
"Crack, crack!"
With a few sharp sounds, Xie Yue broke free from the ice almost instantly. Yan, whose Fire Lord martial soul countered ice, melted it effortlessly.
"Third soul skill—Resist Ice Ring!" Shui Bing'er wasn't giving up yet. This technique, similar to Huo Wu's Resist Fire Ring, generated a repulsive wave of ice. It could injure enemies and repel opponents no more than ten levels above her.
Sadly, Xie Yue and Yan were exactly ten levels higher.
"Hmph. Pointless struggle. Fourth soul skill—Magma Boil!" Yan sneered and struck the ground
The ground turned searing hot, and magma burst from below.
"Ah!"
Six members of Tianshui's team screamed as they were blasted out of the arena, suffering burns of varying severity.
Shui Bing'er, the only one left standing, was drained from her spiritual exertion and the consecutive use of three soul skills. She collapsed to one knee, barely able to move.
"Stop! We surrender!" the Tianshui teacher called out.
But Xie Yue ignored him. He walked up to Shui Bing'er, pointed his Moon Blade at her face, and said coldly "Blame your Sword Lord. If he hadn't spoken for you, I might have gone easy."
He intended to ruin her face. The rules forbade killing, but disfigurement was not off-limits—and for many girls, this was a fate worse than death.
Xie Yue grinned cruelly and brought his blade down
"Don't even think about it!" At that moment, Jun Tianlin's eyes flared. Xie Yue's strike faltered, veering off just enough to cut only a few strands of Shui Bing'er's hair.
The Tianshui teacher rushed in and shielded her "I already announced our surrender! Why did you keep attacking?"
"Sorry" Xie Yue said indifferently "I was too caught up in the fight to hear you."
He then approached Jun Tianlin "That was your doing, wasn't it?"
"So what if it was? I didn't break any rules. You ignored the surrender, but I didn't. My interference wasn't a violation." Jun Tianlin stood his ground
Xie Yue smiled coldly, hiding his irritation. He wasn't the impulsive boy he once was. He had only approached to assess Jun Tianlin's abilities.
Now, he knew Jun Tianlin's mental power was formidable—likely on par with Hu Liena's. He also possessed a soul skill that could interfere with perception, causing attacks to miss their mark.
Xie Yue let it slide. But others were less composed.
Among the crowd, someone shouted provocatively "See, Jun Tianlin? This is strength! The Golden Generation didn't even use the Demon Charm. As long as our goddess Hu Liena is here, no one can stand against us!"
He wasn't wrong. While Xie Yue and Yan had dominated physically, it was Hu Liena who had broken Tianshui's spirit. If not for her charm skill, Tianshui might've put up a fight.
Even Shui Bing'er had collapsed after exhausting her mental reserves.
Hu Liena had effectively defeated the entire Tianshui team by herself.
Back at Thunder Academy, Yu Tianxin turned to Jun Tianlin with concern "Their strength is far greater than we expected. Sword Lord, do you think you can defeat them?"
To his surprise, Jun Tianlin just smiled and looked at the arrogant heckler "Them? Including your goddess? They're weaker than I thought."
"What did you say?!" Yan snapped. If not for the eyes watching, he would've retaliated immediately.
Yet Jun Tianlin remained calm "I'm sorry. You're so weak, you're not even worth talking to."
Pretending to be strong? Anyone can do that.