Chapter 544: Shocking the Audience

Ye Xinglan’s intensity left everyone in the audience stunned. She didn’t have a full set of battle armor, yet she still put Mo Jue on the defensive. She showed them all that even a soul master could stand up to a battle armor master. 

The Holy Spirit Douluo carried Ye Xinglan back to her teammates. “I didn’t wake her. She didn’t suffer any permanent injuries, but she pushed herself too far. She needs rest. She won’t be able to participate in the other matches. ” 

Gu Yue and Xu Xiaoyan took Ye Xinglan from Yali’s arms. The douluo’s words were stern, but when they looked at her, they could only see warmth in her face. 

Yali smiled at them. “She’s quite amazing, isn’t she?”

None of the students said anything. Their eyes blazed with determination. In their hearts, Ye Xinglan hadn’t lost. She only had four soul rings and still she pushed a five-ringed battle armor master to the brink of defeat! It was clear that Mo Jue was in no condition to take part in the following matches. Ye Xinglan was the true winner of this battle. 

Yuanen Yehui walked over to Gu Yue and Xu Xiaoyan, took Ye Xinglan from their arms, and carried her to a quiet place where she could rest.

As he watched Yuanen Yehui depart, Tang Wulin glanced at Gu Yue. She nodded at him in return.

“We have to win the team battle,” Tang Wulin said. He and the others hadn’t hoped to win this competition against the third grade, but the scene of Ye Xinglan charging through a tempest of feathers, the way she penetrated Mo Jue’s armor and drew blood, all of it ignited something deep within them. They finally found their resolve. So what if they’re one-word battle armor masters? Who said we can’t beat them? We’ll do it. We will win. 

All the first grade students in the stands were quiet. They had lost the match, so none were cheering, but Ye Xinglan’s tenacity had moved them so much that it got their blood boiling. 

In the front row, Luo Guixing, Xu Yucheng, Yang Nianxia, and Zheng Yiran sat in stunned silence. They used to believe that one day they would catch up to Tang Wulin’s team. That if they worked hard and put in the effort, they would be able to match them. Now they understood that the gap between them would never close. It only grew larger. Ye Xinglan’s strength was something they couldn’t even hope to overcome. The disparity between them was becoming insurmountable!

Luo Guixing clenched his fists, his fingernails cutting into his palms and drawing blood. 

Xu Yucheng, on the other hand, was trembling. From beginning to end, his gaze never left Ye Xinglan. 

“She’s a goddess,” he suddenly said. “From today onward, I will worship her.” 

The others raised a brow at him, but he ignored them. His lips were pressed tight together. His eyes were shining. They held no despair, only a thirst for battle. Ye Xinglan’s battle helped him to finally understand what his own path was. Who cares if I’m frail? That my spirit souls are low level? If I don’t have the heart to take risks, how could I possibly hope to stand at the peak of the world? 

Talent was one thing, but courage was something else entirely. Only those with the courage to risk their lives could stand at the summit! 

Zheng Yiran sat there with a grim expression on her face. She had always held Tang Wulin’s team in contempt, believing that their success, their victories, were all dumb luck. Now, however, she realized just how large the gap between them had grown. 

Unlike the others, Yang Nianxia wasn’t looking at Ye Xinglan. He was looking at Tang Wulin. In the final moments of the battle, right before she fainted, he noticed that Ye Xinglan was looking at Tang Wulin. Upon noticing that, he felt something new burn within his heart, a deep, stifling emotion. He envied Ye Xinglan, but not for her strength. He envied how much her teammates trusted her, and the trust she had in them.

“Kids these days! Feng Wuyu muttered to himself up on the elders’ viewing platform. “They’re crazy, they’re all goddamn crazy!” 

For once, Zhuo Shi didn’t argue with him. “You’re absolutely right! This new generation really is the strongest of the century. Jeez. That girl’s even wilder than you were! And she didn’t lose herself in her madness either. She continued to act with a tactic in mind. Every single move of hers led up to that one final attack! Her skill with the sword is amazing too! If I’m not mistaken, when she used that Sword God’s Star soul skill of hers, she reached the realm of becoming-one-with-the-sword and combined it with the Tang Sect’s Ghost Shadow Perplexing Step. She used this to close the distance between her and her opponent. By doing so, she was also able to deal far more damage than expected to a ranged-type one-word battle armor master. That’s gotta be it! At the very last moment, she didn’t just surprise her opponent. She surprised us all. She’s crazy, and clever! I’m looking forward to her growth. She may even join the next generation of the Shrek Seven Monsters.” 

Elder Cai stood from her seat, a smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth. In a sense, all of the outer court students could be considered her disciples, so she felt pride whenever any of them received such praise. However, she was a bit worried about the third grade.

She walked over to the edge of the platform and swept her gaze across the audience. “Combatants for the two-on-two match, come forward!” 

The representatives of the third grade took the stage. They were a boy and a girl that closely resembled each other. They seemed to be siblings, twins even. Opposite to them, Tang Wulin and Gu Yue climbed the stairs of the stage with large strides. Both pairs were suppressing their emotions, like a volcano on the verge of eruption. Once all four arrived, both sides introduced themselves.

“Li Mengyang of the third grade!”

“Li Mengtian of the third grade!” 

“Tang Wulin of first grade!”

“Gu Yue of the first grade!” 

Murmurs began to spread among the audience. “It’s Li Mengtian and Li Mengyang! I heard they’re assault-types with amazing teamwork and a soul fusion skill! Apparently they’re the core of the third grade’s team. Their strength earned them a nickname. They’re the Invincible Twin Suns!”

“The other side is sending out first grade students again. They actually sent out two first graders for the two-on-two! Wasn’t the girl from the previous match a first grader too? The first graders are really strong this time!”

“Oh, you haven’t heard? That Tang Wulin guy, he’s the class president of the first grade. He only has three rings, but he’s a fifth-rank blacksmith already! And everyone in the first grade seems to accept him as their leader! Then there’s Gu Yue. She’s one of the vice presidents, but I’ve never heard of them working well as a duo.” 

“I heard the first and second grades had a showdown last year and the first grade won!” 

“No way! The second grade has Yuanen Yehui! She’s an absolute monster! I don’t think anyone in the third grade is a match for her except the battle armor masters. How the hell could the first grade have won against her?” 

“It’s totally possible! Didn’t you see how powerful Ye Xinglan was, or are you just blind? Our underclassmen this year are scary. If we don’t work hard, they’ll surpass us in the blink of an eye.” 

“Just shut up and watch. The battle’s about to start. We’ll find out just how strong they are soon enough.”

As the audience’s chatter died down, Elder Cai stepped forward and looked between the combatants. Her gaze lingered on Tang Wulin and Gu Yue for a moment, then she looked forward. 

“Begin.” 

As soon as the word left her lips, the Li siblings leaped into action. With a sweep of their arms, they summoned their battle armor from their storage rings, and in an instant they were equipped. They wore five pieces of armor total, gauntlets, pauldrons, and faulds, all a deep crimson with flame patterns running along their surfaces. It was as if they had erupted in flames.