399 You Watch Me Explode!

The clash between the two spell techniques instantly laid waste to the forest below them in a radius of several hundred meters.

In the end, the boundless expanse of snow engulfed the golden sword projection and congealed Xuanyuan Cheng's yin-yang projection before swallowing up Xuanyuan Cheng's body.

An Lin's heart trembled in awe as he witnessed this final clash from his hiding spot. The extreme frost spell technique Liu Qianhuan had unleashed could rival the spell technique unleashed by Bai Ling as part of her human service during the Trial of Extreme Frost. An Lin didn't know whether he could break through the spell technique back when he was at Spirit Nurturing Stage, even if he were to use the Origin Energy of the Netherworld!

Xuanyuan Cheng's Defeat Judgement Seal was triggered and golden light enveloped his whole body.

Liu Qianhuan retracted her domain and looked at Xuanyuan Cheng with a slightly apologetic expression. "Sorry."

Xuanyuan Cheng shook his head with a smile. "That's not like you. You beat me fair and square, what do you have to apologize for?"

Liu Qianhuan faltered slightly before a slight smile appeared on her face and she looked on as Xuanyuan Cheng dissipated into specks of golden light.

All the students were in an uproar on the White Jade Plaza. This was the first earth-shattering battle they had witnessed during this edition of the free-for-all battle.

"Liu Qianhuan is so beautiful, I've fallen in love with her!"

"This is the first time I've seen her Soul Formation domain, I didn't expect it to be this powerful."

"Classmate Liu Qianhuan finally won some glory for us fifth-years, I'm so happy."

"The thought of not being able to see Liu Qianhuan after she graduates is like a knife raking across my heart!"

"The thought of not being able to see Senior An Lin after just two more years pains me to the extent that I can't breathe…"

"Oi, aren't you thinking too far ahead!"

"Which bastard said Liu Qianhuan would be defeated by Xuanyuan Cheng, stand up and fight me right now!"

"Please mind your words, fellow student. If you issue a challenge like that, you're going to face about ten thousand people all at once."

…

Just as everyone was discussing among themselves, Xu Xiaolan was already approaching Liu Qianhuan.

She then paused in her footsteps with a conflicted expression.

Although it was quite a commonplace practice to challenge someone right after their fight in the free-for-all battle, Xu Xiaolan couldn't bear to do this to Liu Qianhuan as they were good friends after all.

Liu Qianhuan had just endured a grueling battle, and her whole body was riddled with injuries. On top of that, the vital energy within her sea of vital energy had almost been completely depleted, and she was looking decidedly worse for wear.

She turned her gaze upon Xu Xiaolan and issued a challenge with a sword in hand. "Classmate Xu Xiaolan, it's your turn now, please enlighten me!"

Xu Xiaolan hesitated for a moment before shaking her head with a firm expression. "Liu Qianhuan, I don't want to take advantage of this situation. You take a rest first, and we'll fight a fair battle once you've recovered!"

Liu Qianhuan: "…"

What was with this stubborn personality? Why would she wait for her opponent to recover instead of swooping in and landing the killing blow?

Her head began to throb as she looked at Xu Xiaolan, who was looking back at her with determination in her eyes.

What the hell was she supposed to do? She had already unleashed her full strength for everyone to see so it would be easy for everyone to tell if she threw her battle against Xu Xiaolan! If she were to do that, Xu Xiaolan would definitely think she was being looked down on and request for her to fight at full strength; the situation would completely spiral out of control then…

But if she didn't throw the match, there would be no guarantee that Xu Xiaolan would be able to defeat her…

Right at this moment, a figure suddenly leaped into the air and appeared not far from Liu Qianhuan.

An Lin made a sudden appearance, and the boundless power emanating from his body gave him a sense of invincibility.

All the students on the White Jade Plaza immediately stirred at the sight of their idol and some students were even shrieking in elation.

Golden light burst forth from An Lin's right hand as he manipulated lightning with his left.

"I'm the most powerful being between heaven and earth, my opponent is none other than this whole world itself!"

Lightning merged into his golden fist projection as he roared.

Darkness of Origin, fuse!

Lightning Amplification Technique!

His golden fist projection was imbued with the boundless power of the earth, while the black lightning he wielded was imbued with the unmatched power of death and destruction. The combination between the two amplified one another, and the whole space around them began to tremble under their combined power.

Overwhelming power burst forth, giving Liu Qianhuan and Xu Xiaolan a sense of asphyxiation.

An Lin's eyes were bright with a maniacal gleam. He had already stowed his Heavenly Ice Silk Garment away into his storage ring and relinquished all defensive measures for this exact moment.

He turned to look at Liu Qianhuan before pummeling his fist viciously into the ground.

"Nuclear Lightning Fist!"

The golden fist projection descended toward the ground as the black lightning blossomed like a lotus flower. The golden fist projection then began to contract before it exploded!

Boom!

An earsplitting boom erupted and everything was obliterated by a vast expanse of scorching heat and flashing lightning.

The ground below began to tremor violently as the devastating destructive force hurled huge clumps of rocks and soil into the air before manifesting itself as a giant mushroom cloud.

An Lin was engulfed by the fearsome mushroom cloud, but a relieved smile lingered on his face.

There was a rule in the free-for-all battle which stated that a challenge was only considered official when one side made a self-introduction. Battles which took place without prior introductions from either party were considered to be unofficial, and the outcome wouldn't contribute to anyone's Combat Capability score and Achievement score.

No one among An Lin, Liu Qianhuan, and Xu Xiaolan had made a self-introduction, and An Lin's attack was technically aimed into the ground instead of any particular person, so none of the kills he racked up here would contribute to his scores!

Xu Xiaolan had defeated the Half-Step Soul Formation Stage Zuo Qiubing as well as the powerful Su Qianyun, so her Combat Capability score would definitely be comparable to Liu Qianhuan's. From an achievement score perspective, Xu Xiaolan's score would definitely be higher Liu Qianhuan's as Liu Qianhuan had only been engaged in two battles up to this point.

Hence, if Liu Qianhuan was eliminated, barring any unforeseen circumstances, Xu Xiaolan was pretty much guaranteed the top spot on the Immortal Rankings Board.

The earth-shattering explosion engulfed An Lin, along with Liu Qianhuan, who had her lips pursed in displeasure, and even Xu Xiaolan, who was standing a bit further away with a dumbstruck expression…

Xu Xiaolan's expression was mirrored by all the students looking up at the crystal screen on the White Jade Plaza as the whole plaza descended into a deathly silence.

A long while later, a student finally broke the silence. "What is Senior An Lin doing? My IQ can't keep up…"

"Such a devastating technique is always exciting to watch, even though it hurts the user just as much as their opponent…"

"So Senior An Lin basically self-detonated and took Liu Qianhuan as well as Xu Xiaolan with him?"

"Xu Xiaolan was a bit further away, so she'll probably survive, but Liu Qianhuan is pretty much a goner…"

"It gets weirder the more I think about it. An Lin and Liu Qianhuan followed Xu Xiaolan around like a duo of thieves for a few hours, then An Lin pops out and unleashes a powerful technique to eliminate both himself and Liu Qianhuan, what in the actual f*ck are they doing?!"

The entire plaza fell silent yet again.

"Perhaps God An's intentions really are too mysterious for us mere mortals to understand…" a student murmured.

Everyone else around him nodded in agreement. They were completely dumbstruck. There were clearly so many better ways to approach the situation, why would he self-detonate? What was the purpose behind all of senior student An Lin's prior actions? This was like watching a mystery and suspense film!

Vice-Principal Yu Hua and Earth Immortal Cang Qing both looked at each other from above the enchantment. They found the other person to be just as confused as themselves and so they turned their gazes back onto the scene where the explosion had taken place.

The dust slowly settled to reveal that Liu Qianhuan's Defeat Judgement Seal had already been triggered, and she soon dissipated into specks of golden light.

An Lin opened his eyes and was struck by sharp pain throbbing all throughout his body

He saw the massive crater before him and the dust and debris flying in the air, but he didn't see the golden light that would take him back to the White Jade Plaza.

Demonic Star Flame, Great Holy Flame, Setting Moon Flame, and Heavenly Void Flame— all four Divine Flames had enveloped his body in a protective cocoon.

An Lin: "…"

The Divine Flames automatically protected their host during this time of peril and prevented his Defeat Judgement Seal from being triggered!