Chapter 398: Azure Fire Burns the Turtle

Screech!

As the Princess's voice fell, the Azure Phoenix beneath her feet suddenly let out a long cry toward the sky. The sound waves swept across like a hurricane, and then, azure flames were seen erupting from the bird's beak, rolling down to cover the area where Zhongnan was located.

Those azure flames were extremely peculiar, as if they contained wind within them. With wind and fire layered together, they became violent at an astonishing speed the moment they appeared, and as the flames touched the ground, the continuous sea of forest began to be burned away incessantly.

The temperature throughout the mountains climbed step by step.

And Zhongnan was instantly situated within a sea of azure fire.

His expression also became extremely solemn at this moment, because he could feel the domineering and fierce nature of those azure flames. Clearly, this was a secret technique the Princess had prepared specifically to restrain him. The flames burned; if someone were fast, they could still seize the opportunity to dodge, but he specialized in defense and could only endure it head-on. Yet, such head-on endurance required an extremely tenacious will.

However...

A tenacious will was not something he lacked.

Zhongnan clasped his hands together and slowly closed his eyes. The next instant, a grayish-white resonance power halo suddenly expanded from beneath his feet. Wherever the halo passed, all matter was rapidly transformed into a grayish-white color; trees and withered leaves were all petrified.

With Zhongnan as the center, the area within several hundred meters seemed to have entirely formed into a rock zone.

Boom, boom!

At this time, azure fire descended from the sky like azure meteors, smashing toward where Zhongnan stood.

Zhongnan stood motionless in place, his lips moving slightly, as if a low voice were being transmitted.

"Immovable Xuanwu."

The grayish-white halo radiating from his body grew increasingly bright, and then the petrified matter around him began to shatter at this moment; countless grayish-white rock powders rose up and began to converge.

After a mere dozen breaths, everyone saw a grayish-white giant turtle, roughly several dozen meters high, condense and take shape outside Zhongnan's body.

The giant turtle lay silently, its turtle eyes drooping, its shell mottled, looking weathered and ancient.

The azure fire descended from the sky and smashed heavily onto the turtle's body. The earth shook instantly, and the azure fire surrounded the grayish-white giant turtle, emitting a terrifying high temperature that caused even the ground to begin to crack and wither.

Yet the grayish-white giant turtle lay prone in the sea of fire, unmoving, allowing that domineering flame to continuously roast and erode it.

In the stands, many students watched this scene with shock. At this time, the vast sea of forest had already been ignited, directly turning into a sea of azure fire, and in the center of that fire, a grayish-white giant turtle lay motionless. This scene truly possessed no small amount of impact.

Li Luo was also one of those who were shocked.

"Is this the strength of the Heavenly Dipper General stage?" His expression was solemn. Whether it was the sea of fire covering the sky from the Princess's casual gestures or Zhongnan's grayish-white giant turtle, the power displayed here was truly beyond his reach at this moment.

This was far from the level that he, as a Resonance Master, could touch.

However, he did not belittle himself. Although the Heavenly Dipper General stage was still a bit far off, he had confidence in himself; in three years, he would at least be a Heavenly General.

Because if he couldn't reach the Heavenly Dipper General stage in three years, he would basically be finished.

"Captain, can that Zhongnan withstand it?" Bai Mengmeng asked in a low voice. Her gaze was fixed tightly on the sea of fire below. Even from such a long distance, that high temperature was still spreading over, making one feel extremely uncomfortable.

In her words, there was actually a bit of sympathy for Zhongnan. This was not because she had defected, but because the scene before her eyes really had a bit of impact.

The sea of fire surged, and the giant turtle lay prone.

And to be able to withstand such intense fire roasting, that Zhongnan was quite admirable, whether in terms of strength or will.

This was an opponent worthy of respect.

Li Luo stared at the sea of fire for a moment and said, "If this were a life-or-death battle, I couldn't say who would win in the end, but this is a competition with a time limit. The Princess's azure fire is indeed domineering, but Zhongnan's defense is not just a hollow reputation... The Princess using the sea of fire to check Zhongnan's defense is actually more of an attempt to destroy his will. Once Zhongnan's will shows signs of cowardice, his perfect defense will develop flaws, and the Princess will be able to take advantage of the situation to win."

"But..."

He paused and said slowly, "Do you think the will of Zhongnan, who has gone through numerous battles and never suffered a single defeat, can be easily destroyed?"

Bai Mengmeng shook her pretty head with a solemn expression.

At the same time, on the tiered stands, all eyes were watching the sea of fire below. The original noise gradually disappeared at this moment. Many gazes were fixed on the grayish-white giant turtle in the sea of fire. At this time, even the students of the Astral Sage College could not help but feel a bit of admiration for the person named Zhongnan.

Situated in a sea of fire, standing tall and motionless—just this will and spirit alone proved that the strongest defense of the Blue Abyss Sage College was well-deserved.

"The Blue Abyss Sage College has produced a proud talent." Even Vice Principal Suxin spoke at this moment, turning her head to say this to Vice Principal Qiujizi of the Blue Abyss Sage College, giving Zhongnan a very high evaluation.

Vice Principal Qiujizi smiled and said, "In terms of intelligence, this child is far inferior to Zhao Huiyin, but his future achievements are what many of our college's Purple Glow Tutors are most optimistic about."

Vice Principal Suxin nodded slightly, agreeing with this.

And under the silent gaze of the stands, time passed rapidly.

The azure sea of fire continued to burn intensely, and under the roasting of the azure fire, the gray turtle shell on the grayish-white giant turtle began to peel off gradually. As the turtle shell fell, it turned into grayish-white powder and vanished into nothingness within the azure fire.

More and more cracks spread across the giant turtle.

Outside gazes could see through the cracks, vaguely making out Zhongnan standing quietly inside, as motionless as a stone statue.

However, although the azure fire was fierce, some of the top experts present could already see that this vigor was only on the surface; the energy of the azure fire was also not much left. It could not keep burning at this intensity forever.

The outcome of this battle had actually been destined from the very beginning.

Time flowed on.

The giant turtle became increasingly damaged until, at a certain moment, it finally reached its limit and then suddenly collapsed, turning into grayish-white powder.

And Zhongnan's figure was exposed to the spreading azure fire.

Many students breathed a sigh of relief, while at the same time feeling a pity for Zhongnan.

But there was no frustration in Zhongnan's expression. His face remained steady and calm. He looked at the incoming azure fire and finally took the first step of this battle at this moment.

He stepped into the azure fire with one foot.

And then, countless gazes saw in astonishment that as his foot landed, the raging azure sea of fire suddenly extinguished toward all directions at an astonishing speed, with the spot where Zhongnan stepped as the source.

In just a few breaths.

The azure sea of fire vanished completely, leaving behind scorched ashes all over the ground.

And Zhongnan stood in the ashes, looking up at the Princess in mid-air, and said in a steady voice, "I concede."

The Princess smiled helplessly. Her phoenix eyes swept over the bronze tripod on the high platform, where that stick of incense had already burned out at this moment.

The result of the battle was clear.

Dong!

The sound of bells and drums echoed throughout the arena.

The first battle of the ticket tournament.

A draw.