Wang Nan stood in the air, his Golden Dragon Armor covering his entire body, the Evil Breaking Dragon circling around him, and his Coiling Dragon Staff pointed remotely at the ground.
Netherworld Douluo finally understood why Dark Lightning Douluo had told him to flee the moment he saw him.
Although the person before him only had eight spirit rings, he knew that this person was definitely not someone he could contend with.
He no longer had the courage to face him head-on. With a resolute heart, several spirit rings lit up simultaneously, and his body merged with his Spirit, the Netherworld Sword, preparing to flee once again.
However, for some unknown reason, despite his desperate struggles, his body remained rooted to the spot.
Looking up, a long rod stood vertically above him. The height of that upright rod was unknown, but Netherworld Douluo felt as if it could poke a hole through the sky itself.
Giant dragons encircled the rod's shaft, and the surrounding space shattered and reformed, squeezing everything around toward the center.
More accurately, this was not merely the power of space.
As a Titled Douluo, being able to condense a Spirit core meant Netherworld Douluo could also utilize the power of space, but what held him there was another, far more profound force, superior to spatial power.
It was as if this very world intended to keep him there.
Wang Nan's mind stirred, and the third form of the Unbending Staff Technique was unleashed. The Coiling Dragon Staff crashed down, and the surroundings fell silent for a moment. The next instant, a colossal roar erupted, and a massive crater appeared on the ground, dirt splattering everywhere, only to be quickly swept back in by the influence of the Unbending Staff Technique.
Even the clouds in the sky formed rings centered on this spot.
There were no longer any other Spirit Beasts or animals in the vicinity. The first sound to be heard was the wind, a breeze blowing through the cracks in the ground, producing sounds of varying pitches, like a musical composition.
The Coiling Dragon Staff was withdrawn. Netherworld Douluo, who had been solely focused on escaping, had long since had his fate sealed. His body was embedded in the ground, blood gushing forth, his eyeballs bulging.
The body of a Titled Douluo, capable of sustaining a Spirit core, was naturally not too fragile. However, even if his body remained, having been subjected to Wang Nan's eighth Spirit Ability and the Unbending Staff Technique consecutively, his life force had gradually dissipated from within and could no longer be recovered.
A series of guttural sounds emerged from his throat; it seemed he wanted to say something, but it too was carried away by the wind, inaudible.
By the time Wang Nan landed on the ground, Netherworld Douluo had already ceased to breathe.
Ma Xiaotao landed beside Wang Nan but couldn't help but glance at him twice more.
Even with her Ultimate Fire and combat power capable of rivaling a Titled Douluo, she couldn't be as clean and decisive as Wang Nan. Although Wang Nan's Coiling Dragon Staff Spirit could unleash greater power against Evil Soul Masters, it was also intimately related to Wang Nan's own strength.
From the very beginning of the battle, Wang Nan's presence felt less like a Spirit Douluo and more like a Titled Douluo, like her teachers and the various elders of the Academy.
Wang Nan looked around, not detecting the aura of any other Spirit Masters, and then let out a sigh of relief. His Spirit core rotated between his brows, and the world's elemental energy continuously poured in, replenishing his spirit power.
Gathering the items dropped by the two Evil Soul Masters, Wang Nan turned and met Ma Xiaotao's gaze. "Let's go. The commotion just now attracted a lot of people. This Netherworld Douluo was probably the closest one. If there were any more people, we wouldn't be able to leave."
Ma Xiaotao nodded, and a golden-red light surged, completely erasing the traces left by Dark Lightning Douluo and Netherworld Douluo. Only then did she withdraw her hand and, together with Wang Nan, soar into the distance.
"Your ability is quite useful. It's convenient when you're out and about," Wang Nan suddenly said, the wind whistling past his ears and the scenery rapidly receding.
"You're just making fun of me," Ma Xiaotao glanced at Wang Nan, her speed undiminished. "I can't help you with much, so I can only do things like lighting fires."
Ma Xiaotao's words sounded a bit resentful, yet there was also a hint of coquetry, and upon closer listening, they were full of laughter—truly complex.
"How could I? This is perfect, isn't it? I kill, you set fires."
"Alright, from now on, you kill, and I'll set fires."
Ma Xiaotao couldn't help but chuckle at Wang Nan's words.
Wang Nan wasn't often at the Academy, so perhaps he himself didn't know that among the Disciples of Shrek Academy, his image was always that of a powerful and reliable Senior Brother.
But Ma Xiaotao, who had been close to Wang Nan since childhood, knew that Wang Nan occasionally had a "naughty" side.
Sometimes he would smile like a child when he grasped a new ability; sometimes he wasn't as upright and selfless as others perceived him, and he also had his own "little schemes" in his heart.
But when did it start, that her eyes held such an "imperfect" person?
Perhaps it was because she had always been afraid of her evil fire harming others since childhood, and thus was always alone. So when someone wasn't afraid of her evil fire, and could even help her suppress it, she couldn't help but look at him twice more.
Perhaps it was also during their exchanges, move by move, on the Soul Duel Stage, their unintentional communication. If the combat style of every Spirit Master was a manifestation of their own will, then they had already begun to bare their hearts to each other very early on.
Or perhaps it was in the Sea God Pavilion, when he helped her completely break free from the evil fire. His mental force surged like a tide, dispelling all the pain suppressed in her heart, yet leaving his figure behind.
Having grown up in the Inner Courtyard, watching her Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters find their destined partners on Sea God Lake, she sometimes fantasized about someone coming before her and lifting her bamboo hat. But she didn't know when that person took on a concrete form.
It was a figure—the figure who stood between heaven and earth during the Soul Duel Tournament, like a Dominator, towering over everything; the figure who, just now, remained calm and at ease even when facing a Titled Douluo; the figure who usually had no aura, and occasionally showed a gentle smile…
These figures were now before her eyes, and in her heart.
Yes, when did it start?
Perhaps Wang Nan himself didn't know. Maybe it was when he was acquiring his third spirit ring, and he paid more attention to her because her name had appeared in his memories.
Perhaps it was during their usual sparring, when he gradually realized that the person before him was a living, breathing individual, not just a simple name or a few cold lines of text from his past life's memories.
He knew there was someone who would worry about him when he was away, and he had grown accustomed to having such a person by his side.
Perhaps there was no need to understand. Hearing that she had come to the Sun Moon Empire, his appearance here was already the best proof.