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Gu Yue stared at Xu Yuan and slowly shook her head.
She was well aware of her own limitations.
Not only had she not yet reached her peak state, but much of her spiritual power talent had been sealed away by her pre-transformation self and had not yet been fully unlocked.
In this state, with her spiritual power a full level behind Xu Yuan's and her soul power more than ten levels lower, she had no confidence in securing a victory.
Even with her mastery over elemental control as the Silver Dragon King, she still lacked certainty.
Xu Yuan's spiritual power was overwhelmingly strong, and he too specialized in elemental control. Moreover, his Forbidden Seven Techniques possessed potent sealing effects, which were effectively a death sentence for her.
There was no possibility of turning the tide against him.
Thus, she simply gave up on challenging Xu Yuan.
With Gu Yue declining, Tang Wulin didn't push himself to issue a challenge either.
However, the third person among the trio—Fang Yuan—stepped forward and proposed a challenge.
"Though I know it's foolish of me, I want to experience firsthand just how vast the gap between us truly is."
Xu Yuan looked at this classmate named Fang Yuan with considerable surprise.
For this courage alone, it was worth wielding his spear.
Xu Yuan picked up his spear once more, holding it across his right side.
"Come."
Fang Yuan took a deep breath and slowly advanced until he stood fifty meters away from Xu Yuan.
He released his martial soul.
Above his head, a pitch-black stele covered in dense, dark purple runes hovered.
At his feet, three purple soul rings lined up in sequence.
Three purple soul rings.
Another prodigy seemingly out of nowhere!
The other students cursed inwardly, their faith in the authority of this year's Youth Genius Rankings wavering.
Meanwhile, those who had already been eliminated—Zheng Yiran, Yang Nianxia, Xu Yucheng, and Luo Guixing—watched alongside Wu Changkong and Shen Yi in the evaluation room, their hearts heavy.
There are always greater talents beyond what you see.
This continent was truly filled with hidden dragons and crouching tigers.
"First soul skill: Gravity Space!"
Facing Xu Yuan, who rapidly closed in with the Tianyuan Five Elements Spear, Fang Yuan's first soul ring flickered.
Xu Yuan felt an immense gravitational force descend upon him.
It wasn't just a sensation of crushing pressure from above—it was a true gravitational pull that weighed down his entire body.
"Does this Fang Yuan's martial soul also possess gravity-based attributes?"
If this Gravity Space could be further developed and reach the ten-thousand-year level, it had the potential to become the core of a domain-type ability!
Blood essence surged.
Despite the powerful gravity hindering his advance, Xu Yuan remained composed. His blood essence erupted, allowing him to forcibly endure the multiple times stronger gravity and thrust the Tianyuan Spear forward.
"Suppress!"
Fang Yuan fixed his gaze on Xu Yuan's Tianyuan Five Elements Spear and let out a loud shout.
The black stele above his head instantly descended, blocking Xu Yuan's path.
Ping!
The spear collided with the stele, producing a sharp ringing sound.
Retracting the Tianyuan Five Elements Spear, Xu Yuan looked at the stele in astonishment.
Though it wasn't completely unscathed, the stele hadn't shattered outright. Instead, it bore a deep indentation that nearly pierced through it.
Keep in mind that Xu Yuan's Tianyuan Five Elements Spear had integrated the Dark Golden Terror Claw, possessing astonishing piercing power.
Xu Yuan gathered his spear momentum.
Suddenly, his expression shifted slightly.
His spear momentum couldn't be activated.
He looked at Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan's lips curled into a faint smirk.
"Second soul skill: Spatial Suppression!"
Unlike Luo Guixing's Spatial Lock, which used spatial energy to form chains that restrained enemies, Fang Yuan's Spatial Suppression utilized the Suppressing Spirit Stele to completely suppress the surrounding space.
Once the space was suppressed, the ability to manipulate the forces of heaven and earth was restricted.
This included Xu Yuan's spear momentum.
It also blocked abilities like spatial teleportation. As long as one couldn't break through the limits of Fang Yuan's Suppressing Spirit Stele, they couldn't escape this restriction.
Xu Yuan tested it mentally. He found that he could still forcibly gather his spear momentum, but there was no need.
The second soul ring flickered.
Second soul skill: Spear Demon Overlord Body!
Blood essence swirled around the Tianyuan Five Elements Spear, forming an aura of rising flames that enveloped Xu Yuan's body.
Suddenly, Xu Yuan surged forward, leaving behind a crimson trail of residual blood qi.
He thrust the Tianyuan Five Elements Spear again, channeling his blood essence into the spear tip, forming a spiraling spear aura.
Fang Yuan's third soul ring lit up.
"Third soul skill: Heaven and Earth Divine Stele!"
The indentation on the Suppressing Spirit Stele rapidly healed, and the dark purple runes glowed brightly.
When the previous two soul skills were activated, the range of Gravity Space and Spatial Suppression overlapped.
Now, within this space, dark purple patterns emerged, resonating with the Suppressing Spirit Stele.
Xu Yuan thrust his spear into the Suppressing Spirit Stele, feeling as though he were striking the entire space itself.
"Are his first three soul skills combined into a single system, fusing the entire space with the stele to achieve such formidable defense?" Xu Yuan was genuinely surprised.
However, since his earlier strike hadn't left any visible damage on the stele, he wasn't frustrated. Instead, he immediately followed up with another strike, smashing the spear against the stele.
Though the initial strike hadn't visibly damaged the stele, its sheer force had already caused Fang Yuan to stagger backward. The follow-up strike sent Fang Yuan's footing into disarray.
Xu Yuan's gaze flickered.
Observing Fang Yuan's footwork, he tentatively concluded something.
Fang Yuan wasn't from the Tang Sect.
Good, good.
A pure and righteous child.
Though he inwardly praised Fang Yuan, Xu Yuan showed no mercy in his actions.
His blood essence surged once more as he charged forward, thrusting the Tianyuan Five Elements Spear.
Thrust, smash, thrust.
The fluidity of his spear techniques left Fang Yuan struggling to keep up.
Both parties were affected by the recoil of their clashes, yet Xu Yuan moved as if unaffected, his spear techniques flowing naturally without a hint of aftereffect.
Break!
The intent of "Breaking Void" condensed into this spear strike, and the Suppressing Spirit Stele cracked.
Fang Yuan's expression changed.
He had been too confident.
Even if the space and the stele were fused, this level of defense was indeed formidable—but Xu Yuan possessed the intent of "Breaking Void."
Space?
What he broke was space itself.
The spear shattered the Suppressing Spirit Stele and pierced Fang Yuan's chest.
"I acknowledge you," Xu Yuan softly said before Fang Yuan dissolved.
Turning back, there were no more battle-ready gazes to meet. Xu Yuan sat cross-legged, closing his eyes to meditate.
His spiritual power spread outward, and he began to sense the changes in the surrounding space.
In hindsight, he shouldn't have eliminated Fang Yuan so soon. If he had kept him around, leveraging his three soul skills, Xu Yuan could have better explored the spatial dynamics of this semi-illusory world.
"Gu Yue, make your move. At the very least, we should secure the position of vice-class monitor, right?" Tang Wulin said to Gu Yue.
If they couldn't even secure the vice-class monitor position, Tang Wulin felt he would be letting Wu Changkong down.
Among those who had displayed their strength, aside from Wu Siduo, Tang Wulin didn't believe anyone else was more qualified.
As for the class monitor position, everyone had already reached a consensus.
Wu Siduo would undoubtedly claim one of the vice-class monitor spots, even though she had been eliminated early.
Now, the remaining class officer position became the focal point of everyone's competition.
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