Golden soul rings?
En Ci frowned and stood up again.
It wasn't just him—many others involuntarily rose to their feet as if it would allow them to observe the two golden bloodline soul rings more closely.
Hua Lantang, who had already charged toward Tang Wulin, was utterly shocked upon seeing the two golden bloodline soul rings surrounding Tang Wulin's body.
An overwhelming dragon aura hit him, filling his heart with panic.
This was the pressure of a superior being, an innate fear rooted in his bloodline.
As Hua Lantang looked up, he met Tang Wulin's eyes—eyes filled with ferocity, flickering with a hint of purple light. His terror deepened.
Those were eyes of disdain, of unleashed savagery after being provoked.
Instinctively, Hua Lantang's strength waned.
By the time he reached Tang Wulin, his power was less than half of what it had been earlier.
Even when Hua Lantang regained his composure and pushed his strength back to its peak, he could only muster about seventy percent of his full power.
A charge that should have unleashed one hundred and ten percent of his might was reduced to seventy percent by the sudden bloodline suppression.
Tang Wulin's timing had been impeccable—it erupted precisely during Hua Lantang's charging momentum.
If Tang Wulin had unleashed his bloodline power earlier, Hua Lantang might have forced himself to gather his strength and still managed to unleash eighty percent or more of his power.
Tang Wulin's hands had transformed into dragon claws. Both arms were covered in golden scales, and a frenzied surge of blood essence erupted within his body.
Reversing Blood Essence.
Heaven-Shaking Golden Dragon!
His right dragon claw struck out fiercely, colliding with Hua Lantang's dragon claw.
Hua Lantang's face changed drastically.
His entire right hand felt as though it had been instantly shattered, and the bones within his dragon claw throbbed with excruciating pain.
Moreover, upon direct collision, the oppressive force of the bloodline suppression became even more overwhelming, to the point where Hua Lantang feared the very idea of opposing Tang Wulin.
Tang Wulin's left dragon claw quickly followed up, exploiting the opening Hua Lantang had exposed. He could only hastily channel his blood essence to unleash this strike as quickly as possible.
Hua Lantang's expression shifted slightly. He desperately tried to pull his right arm back, twisting his body to block with his left arm.
However, in doing so, he realized—he had lost.
The left Golden Dragon Claw possessed tearing properties. Even though Hua Lantang's left arm was protected by battle armor, an energy shield, thick layers of wolf fur beneath the armor, and dragon scales beneath the fur—all of it was torn apart by Tang Wulin's strike. The claws of condensed blood essence shredded the flesh and bone within Hua Lantang's left arm.
"Ah!"
Hua Lantang finally let out a pained scream.
Ye Zhi's face turned pale. She didn't know what had happened in that brief moment, but she could tell that the tide of the battle had decisively shifted.
Hua Lantang had lost.
And with Hua Lantang's defeat, she, as a support-class soul master, no longer had any chance to fight back.
Tang Wulin delivered a powerful kick, sending Hua Lantang flying. He gasped for air, breathing heavily.
In that instant, the surge of blood essence had nearly left him completely drained.
This was a self-developed ultimate technique he had created to catch up to Xu Yuan.
Unfortunately, concentrating all his blood essence into a single explosive burst only yielded this one attack.
Even then, using it on Hua Lantang had barely secured a victory.
And it had defeated Hua Lantang only because his will to resist had been crushed under the weight of Tang Wulin's Golden Dragon King bloodline suppression.
Xu Yuan was not only stronger than Hua Lantang but also immune to such bloodline suppression. Therefore, this attack posed virtually no threat to Xu Yuan.
Even if Xu Yuan gave him a chance to fully unleash his power and engage in a direct clash, Tang Wulin had no confidence in blocking Xu Yuan's spear.
---
Shrek Academy Viewing Box
Watching Hua Lantang's fate, Xu Yuan sighed inwardly.
What a sorry state.
This was the consequence of being suppressed by a superior bloodline.
Enjoying the benefits of a bloodline enhancement also meant enduring its constraints.
"My Heaven Origin Five Elements Spear has undergone a second awakening, allowing me to condense my own bloodline and transform my blood essence into bloodline power, making bursts easier to execute."
Xu Yuan once again focused his attention on bloodlines.
His own bloodline.
If it wasn't strong enough, but also not the same type of bloodline, would it still be suppressed?
Xu Yuan already knew the answer.
It would definitely be suppressed.
Therefore, if he were to condense a bloodline, he would only do so for a powerful one.
Until he had the confidence to achieve this, Xu Yuan wouldn't attempt it.
Fortunately, he didn't currently lack the explosive power provided by his bloodline.
Xu Yuan's gaze swept across the arena. Countless astonished eyes were fixed on the two golden bloodline soul rings surrounding Tang Wulin.
Clearly, compared to the outcome of the match, most people were more interested in the golden soul rings.
The significance of gold was immense.
Throughout history, every appearance of a golden soul ring had been tied to gods.
"A soul ring purely condensed from blood essence," En Ci said, now visibly excited. At some point, he had appeared above the arena, his spiritual power sweeping down to thoroughly examine Tang Wulin's bloodline soul rings.
"Is your Star Luo Empire really underestimating our Shrek Academy?" Cai Yue'er's angry voice came from the side. By now, she had fused her three-word battle armor, and a cold, silvery moon rose behind her, emitting chilling moonlight.
Even against a Limit Douluo and four-word battle armor master like En Ci, she showed no fear.
It wasn't that she was confident in facing En Ci—it was because she had the backing of Shrek Academy!
En Ci took a deep breath and said to Cai Yue'er, "My apologies—I was concerned about the students' injuries."
He pointed at Hua Lantang's hands. Earlier, he had briefly examined Hua Lantang's injuries and couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath.
Cai Yue'er's brows furrowed. Seeing that En Ci, a Limit Douluo and four-word battle armor master, had already lowered his head, she didn't press further.
Even Limit Douluos had their pride. En Ci had only conceded because he recognized his own fault. Otherwise, no matter how much support Cai Yue'er had from Shrek, she wouldn't have been able to make him bow.
"His blood essence is severely depleted. As compensation for my earlier rash actions, the empire will provide him with a rare heavenly treasure to replenish his blood essence," En Ci said.
Cai Yue'er's soul power gradually calmed down.
Outside, Xu Yuan watched the developments indifferently.
Beside him, the others were ecstatic, praising Elder Cai's domineering display and marveling at the academy's strength.
"Golden soul rings—they're too flashy."
Xu Yuan knew that despite En Ci's apparent concession, he was still deeply interested in Tang Wulin's bloodline soul rings.
Whether or not he would act on it depended on whether the opportunity arose.
"Soul rings tied to blood essence are more deeply connected to soul masters, as they are linked to their blood essence. They are more susceptible to changes in color influenced by the soul master's blood essence."
Thoughts flashed through Xu Yuan's mind.
"The five soul rings of my Heaven Origin Five Elements Spear already show different colors, influenced by the red and green patterns of my spear."
During his martial soul's second awakening, Xu Yuan's blood essence crystallized, and he condensed a fourth type of metal within his body, achieving perfect fusion. This also granted him his fifth soul ring.
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