Chapter 224

The dense, dazzling lightning made him look like a humanoid lightning conglomerate.

The Blazing Fire Academy contestants couldn't help but squint, and the ordinary spectators in the venue found it blinding, instinctively closing their eyes.

"Looks like a bit over the top."

Yu Tianyun sensed something wrong, quickly restrained the lightning power on his body, revealing the brilliant golden dragon scales covering his skin.

His hands and feet had turned into sharp dragon claws and dragon feet; his black hair grew again, turning into golden hair that flowed with the lightning arcs, his hair streaming behind him, dancing in the wind.

The pink hairband that had bound his hair had disappeared at some point.

Yu Tianyun's whole body became a golden humanoid tyrannosaurus, though he did not manifest dragon wings or a tail.

First, in ground combat, dragon wings and tail are not very useful; they are actually a hindrance, impeding his movements and affecting his balance. In his view, for the same body size, only humanoid form is the most agile and best suited for battle.

Second, to avoid embarrassment, manifesting dragon wings and tail would surely burst his clothes, especially the tail—by the time the match ends, he can't possibly walk out bare-bottomed!

Meanwhile, as the lightning light retracted, the yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black—six optimally proportioned soul rings—appeared respectively on his limbs, head, and waist.

The appearance of these six soul rings naturally resulted from his use of the Blue Silver Domain.

Yu Tianyun carefully sensed his state and felt it looked relatively normal now.

Though he felt normal, the audience thought otherwise.

The entire Grand Spirit Arena fell silent in an instant, as if even the air had frozen.

However, this silence lasted less than a breath; immediately, a buzz of discussion erupted all around.

"My Angel God! Could his martial soul be the legendary Sacred Divine Dragon?"

"Idiot, that's clearly the Golden Holy Dragon."

"You're the idiot—Sacred Divine Dragon is the Golden Holy Dragon."

"Really? But I feel this match seems to have some suspense."

"Exactly, a Soul Emperor possessing a Golden Holy Dragon martial soul might truly rival a team made of Soul Ancestors and Soul Elders."

"..."

The ordinary people living in Tiandu City have some experience, though not much. Yu Tianyun's martial soul merely looks somewhat like the Golden Holy Dragon, but is actually completely different.

High-level Soul Masters, aside from Fland and Zhao Wuji who came from unconventional backgrounds, generally undergo systematic training and can discern the difference between Yu Tianyun's martial soul and the Golden Holy Dragon.

The most obvious difference is that the Golden Holy Dragon is light-attributed, while Yu Tianyun's martial soul currently shows only lightning attributes—definitely not the Golden Holy Dragon.

Yu Yuanzhen gazed at his little grandson standing center stage, drawing everyone's attention, feeling both relieved and a hint of doubt.

At the same time, Chen Xin and Ning Fengzhi also frowned slightly; the three exchanged glances, saw each other's doubts, and without prior agreement turned their gazes toward Dugubo.

"Huh? Why are you looking at me? How would I know what trick this kid is up to again?" Dugubo transmitted his thoughts to the three using the method of squeezing sound into a line.

Yet doubt also rose in his heart: "Could this kid have been deceiving me all along? No, no, his soul rings are definitely wrong now—I saw him absorb his fourth soul ring, it certainly isn't purple, and the pressure from yesterday in the herb garden couldn't be faked either."

"This kid surely has the ability to change soul ring colors—truly sneaky. This grandfather‑grandson pair, each more shameless than the last." Dugubo silently looked down on Yu Yuanzhen and Yu Tianyun, then told the three his discovery.

Upon hearing this, the three instantly understood.

At that moment, the expressions of the two other VIP-seat occupants differed greatly. The Snow Night Emperor's eyes shone; he looked as if drool might spill out, utterly lacking the dignity an emperor should have.

Meanwhile, Salas remained very calm—too calm, in fact; a faint killing intent lurked deep in his eyes, and he thought silently: "I suppose I need to write another letter to the Pope; this grandson of Yu Yuanzhen has astonishing talent, perhaps not inferior to the young master."

Salas subconsciously compared Qian Renxue and Yu Tianyun.

According to him, Yu Tianyun is only seventeen, still under eighteen, while his young master broke through to Soul Emperor at twenty. Thus, it seems Yu Tianyun's talent might even surpass that of the young master.

Thinking this, Salis stole a glance without a trace, pretending to be Qian Renxue disguised as Xue Qinghe, and quickly shook his head in his mind: "The young master's martial soul is the Six‑winged Angel, a divine gift from the God Lord; although Yu Tianyun's martial soul is strong, it's probably only on par with the Golden Holy Dragon, certainly not as good as the young master's, so the young master's talent is still higher."

Salas's faith is unwavering; although he is somewhat greedy for wealth and fearful of death, he is absolutely loyal to the Angel God and the Spirit Hall.

Qian Renxue looked at Yu Tianyun on the stage; outwardly calm as water, but inside her heart surged like turbulent waves: "This bastard finally shows himself—this time, see where you can hide!"

At that moment, the highly cultivated commentator reacted swiftly, shouting excitedly: "Good heavens! Blue Tyrant Academy actually has a second six‑ring Soul Emperor! And his martial soul is actually a golden giant dragon—could it have evolved from the Blue Electric Tyrannosaur, the legendary Sacred Divine Dragon? This is truly unbelievable! I'm afraid the championship of this tournament will surely belong to Blue Tyrant Academy!"

"No wonder Blue Tyrant Academy sent only one person—a six‑ring Soul Emperor, a martial soul surpassing the Blue Electric Tyrannosaur, showing absolute confidence in sweeping Blazing Fire Academy!"

Feeling the hype wasn't enough, the commentator's excited voice rose a few more notches: "According to rumors, this male student of Blue Tyrant Academy is the grandson of the Blue Electric Tyrannosaur Sect's sect master—Yu Tianyun. He earlier said in the resting area that Blue Tyrant Academy's future matches will all be fought by him alone. Evidently, he isn't targeting Blazing Fire Academy alone; he thinks all participating academies are trash!"

Upon these words, the audience stands erupted in indignation.

"Trash?" Huo Wu, who had been dazed, was instantly jolted awake by the commentator's hype.

After reacting, she gritted her silver teeth: "Trash? Don't think being a Soul Emperor lets you do as you please! Even if your martial soul surpasses the Blue Electric Tyrannosaur, we seven can beat you black and blue!"

Huo Wu is an extremely proud girl; even though Yu Tianyun looks immensely strong, she absolutely won't admit defeat before the fight—on the contrary, her fighting spirit rose ever higher.

Upon hearing the commentator's words, Yu Tianyun was slightly startled, but soon relaxed.

The stereotype of the Blue Electric Tyrannosaur Sect's people is already arrogant and overconfident; as the sect master's grandson, and now displaying such outstanding talent, a bit of arrogance seems normal—if he were humble, it would raise suspicion and make people overthink.

"In that case…" he curled the corner of his mouth, looked down on the seven Blazing Fire Academy members, and said indifferently: "Sorry, a Soul Emperor really can do as he pleases." Though he appeared golden‑glittering, the feeling he gave was sinister and stern, like a great villain from a pulp novel, making Huo Wu and others grit their teeth in hatred.

"Referee, can the match start?" Huo Wu couldn't help urging; she was itching to step on Yu Tianyun.

"Oh oh, the match starts!" The referee came to his senses, hurriedly announced, then quickly retreated to the edge of the stage.

"Boom—" At the moment the referee announced the start of the match, flames surged suddenly in the Blazing Fire team's formation. Fiery red light filled half the stage with scorching heat waves.

The seven Blazing Fire Academy members almost simultaneously rose with flames; each person's soul rings shone with dazzling light.

On the two support‑type Soul Masters, tiny fire sparks flickered; countless tiny red light points in the air gathered toward those sparks on their bodies. As the red points were absorbed, the sparks rapidly grew, swirling above the heads of the seven.

Yu Tianyun narrowed his eyes slightly, yet remained unmoved, as if he hadn't heard the match start at all. He had his hands behind his back, resembling a senior advising a junior.

He knew those two support‑type Soul Masters were drawing fire elements from the air, and he could do the same—indeed, he could control all fire elements in this area for his own use. But he didn't, because he didn't want to reveal too much of his ability.

"Damn it!" Huo Wu angrily glanced at Yu Tianyun, then hurriedly told her teammates: "Follow the original plan, buy me time!"

Although Yu Tianyun's martial soul exceeded everyone's expectations—not the Blue Electric Tyrannosaur but an unknown dragon martial soul stronger than it—the Blazing Fire team did not prepare to change their original battle plan.

Upon hearing Huo Wu's words, Huo Wushuang and that fire‑leopard Soul Master charged straight at Yu Tianyun. A resounding dragon roar burst from Huo Wushuang's mouth; the flames rising all over his body formed an illusory dragon shadow behind him. Martial soul embodiment made his whole body swell a size, and a layer of dark‑red scorching dragon scales grew on his skin.

Meanwhile, the twin fire‑crane Soul Masters simultaneously flew out, each manifesting a pair of splendid wings behind them. Though they didn't soar high, they moved forward in a strange arc, gliding as they approached.

Next, dazzling fire sparks rained from the sky, merging into the four bodies. With each spark absorbed, the four people's firelight grew a notch hotter.

Without a doubt, this is a team with excellent coordination and rich combat experience. As soon as the match began, they already used their numerical advantage to establish a situation favorable to them across the board.

Obviously, they were not blinded by anger, unlike Feng Xiaotian, who is easily controlled by emotions.

After the two Fire Star Soul Masters gave the four an amplification, they immediately lit their own Third Soul Ring, and solid fireballs continuously poured into Huo Wu's body.

Meanwhile, Huo Wu's four Soul Rings all lit up at once; she raised both hands, and an orange-red fireball slowly condensed above her head. Every second, that orange-red fireball grew a bit larger, and the flame's color kept changing, first from orange-red to azure blue, then from azure blue to blazing white.

The scorching aura previously vanished completely the moment the firelight turned blazing white; it seemed no longer to be fire.

Yu Tianyun instantly understood their intention, having the four battle soul masters come up to entangle him, buying time for the three behind to charge their ultimate move.

"Then I'll play with you!" Yu Tianyun sneered inwardly, his dragon-scaled cheek looking somewhat ferocious.

Although the Fire Leopard Soul Master is an assault type, his burst speed surpasses even that of Fire Wushuang and the two Fire Crane Soul Masters. Now, striking first despite moving later, he rushed ahead to reach Yu Tianyun's front.

The Blue Electric Tyrannosaur Soul Master is invincible in close combat, and Yu Tianyun's martial soul is obviously stronger than the Blue Electric Tyrannosaur, with his soul power exceeding sixty ranks; the Fire Leopard Soul Master stops approaching once he comes within ten meters of him.

Instead, he unhesitatingly lit his own Third Soul Ring, and seven azure-blue fireballs instantly condensed before him, then flew straight toward Yu Tianyun.

At the same time, the other three also released their own Third Soul Skill.

Seeing Yu Tianyun still arrogantly standing still, they were certain this strike would succeed.

Two crane cries suddenly rang out, and two huge crane shadows burst forth, flapping their wings as they flew away quickly.

Fire Wushuang's claws extended between his hands, his body expanded another layer, and scorching gold-red light burst from each dragon scale, his whole body engulfed in blazing flames.

Only he intended to engage Yu Tianyun in close combat! This was not overestimating himself; he truly had the confidence.

According to Yu Tianyun's knowledge, Fire Wushuang's soul skill is similar to Dai Mubai's, with the first four soul skills mostly being amplification-type.

Watching Fire Wushuang, whose whole body was ablaze after unleashing his Third Soul Skill, Yu Tianyun felt that this kid must have received guidance from an expert behind him.

Ordinary people find it hard to resist the impulse to add an attack soul skill; many assault-type battle soul masters, to quickly gain strong attack power, directly attach soul rings that possess attack soul skills.

Only great clans or teachers with foresight will give their juniors or disciples soul rings that possess amplification soul skills.

At this moment, the four's attacks had sealed off all directions Yu Tianyun could dodge.

"Should I act a little panicked?" Yu Tianyun muttered to himself; facing the four's simultaneous attack, he felt he shouldn't appear too calm.

Thanks to his powerful mental strength, his control over his body's fine details is extremely high.

Soon, the color drained from his face instantly; then his eyes widened slightly, his mouth opened a little, and he made a somewhat panicked expression.

However, just doing that wasn't enough; he felt he also needed to appear a bit more flustered.

His gaze pierced through the four's attacks, looking toward Huo Wu behind them.

Huo Wu obviously also saw Yu Tianyun's panicked expression; a look of delight appeared on her pretty face, but then a hint of worry followed.

"Oh no, I should have told big brother not to slap his face." People all yearn for good things, and Huo Wu is no exception.

Although she was angry at Yu Tianyun's behavior on the surface, she couldn't bear to really see such a handsome person get beaten up.

Thinking this, the fireball she was holding aloft became a bit unsteady, but she hadn't become infatuated to the extent of Shui Yue'er. She quickly snapped out of it, cleared her mind, and said, "This is a match; everything is his own fault. If blame is to be assigned, it's only because he was too arrogant."

Yu Tianyun took in Huo Wu's expression, but couldn't figure out what was going on.

But he didn't have time to think further; the four's attacks had already descended. (End of chapter)