Chapter 188: with translation of chapter title

A sword dragon thirty meters long, its body surrounded by endless sword qi, collided with a blue‑red lotus.

The terrifying sword qi devoured the lotus, which was only about one meter in diameter, giving a feeling of a dragon playing with a pearl.

After the two sides' attacks collided, a terrifying energy surge instantly swept the entire arena; the Soul Saint from the Spirit Hall serving as referee immediately released his sixth soul skill to block the spreading aftershocks, so as not to affect others.

At this moment, the sky above the competition platform seemed as if the clouds had been blasted apart, revealing a expanse of pure white sky.

The lotus was devoured by the sword dragon, but the sword dragon's length unexpectedly shrank by one‑third; from the original thirty meters it was now only about twenty meters.

Feng Xiao Tian felt helpless inside; he had used all his trump cards, yet in the end he couldn't even force Gu Xuan to reveal his martial soul—clearly the power of Gu Xuan's soul bone and his extraordinary swordsmanship.

I am no longer the frog in the well I once was; after three years of countless hardships and sweat, I have achieved what I have today, but Gu Xuan is no longer the Gu Xuan of before.

Three years ago, Gu Xuan defeated me with his powerful martial soul and his own strength, but now Gu Xuan has become a swordsmanship expert once again—times have changed; truly, after three days apart, one should look at him with new eyes.

Although Feng Xiao Tian felt regret inside, he was not discouraged, for only someone like Gu Xuan, a heavenly pride, could motivate and spur him on.

Feng Xiao Tian glanced down at the competition platform; at this moment, the fire clouds and fire rain had already been controlled by Yu Tianheng and Osluo, although neither of them could fly, but the aftershocks of Gu Xuan and Feng Xiao Tian's recent battle also affected the fire clouds, fire rain, and the two other Soul Masters of God Wind Academy.

That is why they were so easily taken down.

After all, Yu Tianheng is a Soul King, and Shi Mo and the others are all high‑rank Soul Masters; as long as they seize the opportunity, controlling them is no problem.

At this point, the only one from God Wind Academy still able to stand is Feng Xiao Tian, but his soul power is now exhausted, leaving him no strength to fight again.

Gu Xuan now stood on the sword dragon's skull, looking proudly at Feng Xiao Tian.

After a long while, Feng Xiao Tian withdrew his martial soul and said to Gu Xuan, 'Brother Gu, your strength remains as formidable as ever; I lost this battle again.'

After a pause, a gleam flashed in Feng Xiao Tian's eyes: 'But Brother Gu, I will not give up; someday I will surely defeat you fair and square!'

Hearing Feng Xiao Tian's words, Gu Xuan smiled and said, 'Brother Feng, it's also a fortune to have you accompany me on this journey; I await your next challenge.'

When Gu Xuan finished speaking, Feng Xiao Tian looked toward the referee and said, 'God Wind Academy, we concede.'

This match undoubtedly fully displayed Feng Xiao Tian's trump cards, yet even so he still failed to defeat Gu Xuan, and he didn't even manage to force Gu Xuan to reveal his martial soul.

This match can also be said to be Gu Xuan's personal showcase; with a single hand, his Seven Slaughters Sword Technique is unmatched in slaughter; in this battle, Gu Xuan can be said to have fully demonstrated his strength, and it also proves why he could suppress Yu Tianheng to become captain of the Royal Battle Team.

The Royal Battle Team and the God Wind Team stood opposite each other; the light of the Nine Heart Begonia fell, and the injuries of the members of both teams healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Although God Wind Academy lost this battle, their loss was not unjust; even without mentioning Gu Xuan's strength, just having Yu Tianheng and Ye Lingling, two Soul Kings, makes victory far from easy for them.

However, it is precisely because of Gu Xuan that Feng Xiao Tian's long‑held trump cards were also brought out, allowing everyone to see his strength and talent.

And precisely because of this, Gu Xuan's strength has become an even greater riddle.

Now, aside from the students of the various academies, everyone else present at least possesses Soul Emperor‑level strength, so their vision is naturally beyond that of ordinary people.

Being able to defeat such a terrifying Feng Xiao Tian without using a martial soul, relying solely on an external soul bone—just how powerful could Gu Xuan's strength be?

Of course, it cannot be ruled out that this is Gu Xuan's true strength, for if a soul bone is strong enough, it can indeed grant a Soul Master power far exceeding their own soul power level even before they possess the true form of their martial soul.

But regardless of which possibility it is, judging from Gu Xuan's current state, this is certainly not his present limit.

Moreover, many people envy Gu Xuan; even some Soul Masters of Soul Douluo level or higher want to kill and take his bones.

However, Gu Xuan's Eight‑Winged Sword Dragon is not any of the six major soul bones; it is an external soul bone, and external soul bones have a very special trait: once they fuse with a Soul Master, they become part of that Soul Master.

Therefore, those who thought of killing to take the bone have abandoned that idea—after all, they would gain nothing and would only be remembered for it, something they're not foolish enough to do.

Gu Xuan led the Royal Battle Team off the field, enjoying the joy of victory.

It must be said that Feng Xiao Tian's current strength is indeed formidable; thanks to his martial soul fusion technique with Huo Wu, his power can even match that of a Soul Emperor, yet for himself it is still lacking somewhat.

If Gu Xuan were to unleash his full power, even a Soul Saint‑level expert could fight him, let alone Feng Xiao Tian.

Today, Gu Xuan relying solely on the Eight‑Winged Sword Dragon and the Dark Gold Terror Claw is already enough to match a high‑rank Soul Emperor, and moreover, in his battle with Feng Xiao Tian he did not use the Dark Gold Terror Claw.

Speaking of which, as his strength has increased, the Dark Gold Terror Claw, which originally had only a six‑hundred‑year limit, has now risen to a ten‑thousand‑year level, its power now incomparable to before.

The Royal Battle Team won, but the match was not over; the second bout was between the Seven Treasure Academy and the Heavenly Water Team.

On the competition platform, Du Gu Yan took the stage, because Zuo Yan did not participate in this battle.

Although the Heavenly Water Academy is not weak, having Du Gu Yan, a fifty‑fourth‑rank control‑system battle Soul King, plus another six Soul Masters, means the Heavenly Water Academy basically has no chance to resist.

Even this time, the other members of the Seven Treasure Team did not act; all that was seen was Du Gu Yan, dressed in a jade‑green slit cheongsam, releasing her martial soul without even releasing a soul ring, relying solely on her innate toxin to directly poison the seven members of the Heavenly Water Academy, including Shui Bing'er.

Indeed, this is Du Gu Yan's current strength; after her martial soul evolved into the Ancestor, her poison is no longer merely the Emerald Scale Snake venom, but can become the ultimate toxin derived from the source of all poisons.

Even without using any soul skill, the lethal innate toxin released by her fifty‑fourth‑rank power is enough to make Soul Emperors of sixtieth rank and above tremble with fear, let alone a group of Soul Masters below fiftieth rank.

It can be said that, aside from Gu Xuan and Feng Xiao Tian in the previous match, Du Gu Yan in this bout also provides plenty of highlights.

All the academies have realized one thing: whoever hides their trump card until the last moment and then unleashes it is a true ace—if they don't act, fine; but when they do, it's shocking enough to make even stone split.

Du Gu Yan alone, without using any soul skill, accomplished the stunning feat of taking down seven opponents single‑handedly, rendering her six teammates mere decorations—this undoubtedly caused her popularity to skyrocket instantly.

Of course, her own beauty and attire are enough to attract the gazes of countless lsp.

Gu Xuan silently watched this scene from the spectator area, pride swelling in his heart as he said, 'This is my woman—simply beautiful and cool!'

ps: Typos will be corrected later.

(End of chapter)