Inside a majestic, awe-inspiring temple, a blue-haired figure clad in blue-and-gold divine armor sat upon the throne.
Uh~ Where am I…?
Sitting on the throne, Tang San looked around, slightly dazed by the scene before his eyes.
In the center of the magnificent hall, accompanied by a group of musicians, dozens of stunning dancers in sheer clothes were performing graceful, mesmerizing dances.
Gazing at these enchanting dancers and feeling the vast, overwhelming divine power surging within his body — power so immense it was hard to describe — Tang San couldn't help but feel intoxicated by it.
At that moment, a voice called from outside the temple:
"Reporting to the great Blue Vast God — the criminal Chu Chengzhou has been brought forth!"
The great Blue Vast God? Oh~ that's right. After cultivating bitterly for a hundred years, I've become a god — I am the Blue Vast God!
Tang San was stunned for a second, then quickly realized what was happening.
"The criminal Chu Chengzhou? Bring him before me!"
Waving his hand imperiously, Tang San gave the order.
He remembered — back when he was still weak, this Chu Chengzhou had ruined one of his good plans. As for what exactly that plan was… the great Blue Vast God had long forgotten. But that didn't stop him from declaring him a criminal now that he'd ascended to godhood.
Soon, the temple doors swung open. A towering, imposing divine general strode in, dragging Chu Chengzhou behind him — the word 'Prisoner' painted boldly on the front of his clothes.
As the great Blue Vast God prepared to pass judgment, the musicians immediately stopped playing and the dancers halted mid-movement, ready to withdraw.
Seeing this, Tang San frowned and barked:
"Continue the music — continue the dance!"
After all, this god had cultivated bitterly for a hundred years to reach rank one hundred and become divine — how could he not indulge himself? No music? Impossible!
Immediately, the beautiful music resumed, and the seductive dancers began to dance once more.
"Great Blue Vast God, the criminal Chu Chengzhou has been brought forth!"
The divine general dropped to one knee, his eyes full of reverence as he spoke to Tang San.
"Mmm!"
Tang San nodded, very satisfied with the general's attitude. That utterly devoted look — Tang San had no doubt that even if he commanded him to charge into a sea of blades and fire, the general would obey without hesitation.
Then, Tang San turned his gaze to Chu Chengzhou.
"Insolent Chu Chengzhou! Do you realize you have brought death upon yourself?"
Seeing this so-called criminal daring not to kneel, Tang San's face darkened and he roared angrily.
"Great Blue Vast God, may I ask why I deserve death?"
Chu Chengzhou shot back boldly.
Huh?
Tang San frowned at this.Right… why did Chu Chengzhou deserve death again?
Damn it — how had this great god forgotten everything?
Suddenly, inspiration struck Tang San:
"When you entered my temple — which foot did you step in with first?"
"Um… I think it was my right foot?"
Chu Chengzhou said, a bit uncertain.
"Insolence! Entering my divine temple with your right foot first — that is utmost disrespect! You deserve death!"
Tang San bellowed.
"Great Blue Vast God, I remembered wrong — it was my left foot first!"
"Insolence! Stepping with your left foot first is also grave disrespect to me!"
Chu Chengzhou: "…"
"Guards! Drag this disrespectful criminal away and set a date for his execution!"
A sinister look crossed Tang San's face as he gave the order.
"Yes, great Blue Vast God!"
The divine general accepted the command and moved to drag Chu Chengzhou away.
But at that moment, a massive dark-golden bear suddenly appeared behind Chu Chengzhou. With a flash of dark-golden light, a terrifying claw swipe — as if capable of destroying the world — slashed out.
"Hmph~ Of course you have brought death upon yourself! A mere Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear dares act up before this god—!"
Yet before Tang San could even finish his disdainful words, he felt the vast, majestic power within him instantly vanish, leaving him like an ordinary mortal without even a trace of soul power.
Facing that world-ending claw, Tang San's face turned to utter despair and terror.
In the next second, the destructive claw descended, and the entire world seemed to collapse into ruin — the magnificent temple and the mighty god shattered like an illusion.
"No!"
Back in reality, Tang San jerked upright in bed, his face pale and drenched in cold sweat, still terrified by that devastating dream.
Glancing around at the familiar surroundings, he let out a long breath and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
So it had all just been a dream!
Frowning, Tang San carefully checked his injuries. Before he'd lost consciousness, he clearly remembered nearly being cleaved in two by Chu Chengzhou's Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear summon.
"Phew~ Good, the wound's healed."
Pulling aside his clothes, he saw that the gash at his waist had closed up, leaving only a faint pink line. Tang San secretly relaxed.
Though he hadn't fully regained his peak strength yet, and his head still throbbed from overusing his skull soul bone techniques, as long as he avoided intense combat, the wound wouldn't reopen. A little more time, and the flesh would completely regain its full strength.
Getting up, he dressed and opened his door.
"Eh? Tang San, you're awake?"
Hearing the door open, the Heaven Dou Royal Battle Team members looked up from their breakfast in the suite's living area.
"Looks like I'm just in time for breakfast! Teacher Qin Ming, don't worry — I still have the strength for another fight. This afternoon's team battle against the Spirit Hall team, I'll be there."
Tang San said seriously to the team leader, Qin Ming. In Tang San's mind, the Spirit Hall team wasn't all that terrifying. Though he couldn't handle fierce fighting right now, a few soul bone techniques should be enough to handle their three Soul Kings.
At his words, Qin Ming and the others exchanged awkward looks.
"Tang San, you've been unconscious for nearly a whole day. It's already the next morning."
Qin Ming explained with an embarrassed smile.
"It's the next morning? Then yesterday afternoon's team battle—"
Tang San's eyes widened as an ominous feeling crept in.No wonder they were eating steamed buns and soy milk instead of rice.
"Cough, well… victory and defeat are common in battle. You're still young, don't take it too hard. Come, eat something, then we'll go watch the match."
Qin Ming patted Tang San's shoulder reassuringly.
Tang San: "…"
Though Qin Ming didn't say it outright, Tang San could guess the outcome.They were on the same team — he knew full well what Yu Tianheng and the others could do. Without him, their strongest member was a four-ring Soul Ancestor at best. Against the Spirit Hall team, with such a big power gap and a missing member, of course they'd lost — probably miserably.
And that's exactly how it had gone. Without Tang San, the Heaven Dou team's strongest was Yu Tianheng at just four rings. With one member down, they'd stood no chance. They'd been crushed — so easily that even Hu Liena hadn't needed to fight. The other six members had been more than enough. Even their weakest was above level 45.
Of the six who went in, within two minutes only Ye Lingling was still standing — protected by her teammates.
Meanwhile, after breakfast, Liu Erlong gathered the Blue Tyrant team in front of her.Her eyes swept over the seven sharp, spirited young faces. She nodded, satisfied.
"Victory is right in front of us — give it your all!"
"We will win!"
They answered in unison, voices full of strength.
"Let's go!"
With a wave of her hand, Liu Erlong, Flender, and Zhao Wuji led the team up the stairs of Pope Hill toward the arena before the Pope's Palace.
Bathed in bright morning sunlight, the Blue Tyrant team strode confidently up the steps.
At that moment, the seven gilded seats before the Pope's Palace were already occupied by Bibi Dong, Ning Fengzhi, and five Douluo.
In the plaza below, the Spirit Hall Academy team stood waiting, eyes heavy with seriousness as they watched the Blue Tyrant team ascend.
They had all seen yesterday's battle between Chu Chengzhou and Tang San.Forget Chu Chengzhou — even Tang San, who had lost, was someone they could only look up to.
As the Spirit Hall captain, Xie Yue knew full well — they'd only won yesterday because Tang San was injured and unconscious. If he'd been there, with his powerful soul bone techniques, they might not have won despite having the advantage.
Soon, the Blue Tyrant team reached the plaza.
"The finals of the Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournament are about to begin. Both teams, prepare yourselves. The match will start in fifteen minutes!"
The Spirit Hall Cardinal acting as referee announced.
Unlike yesterday, the Heaven Dou Royal Battle Team was now watching from the sidelines.Normally, eliminated teams weren't allowed to watch the final match, but maybe because they'd taken third place — or maybe for convenience — Spirit Hall had given them permission.
"Tang San, who do you think will win?"
Yu Tianheng glanced at the two teams and asked.
"Blue Tyrant, of course. Chu Chengzhou is incredibly strong."
Tang San replied without hesitation.First, because Chu Chengzhou really was powerful — that Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear summon alone wasn't something the Spirit Hall team could handle.Second — well, if Tang San lost to Chu Chengzhou, but Spirit Hall beat him, wouldn't that mean Tang San was worse than the so-called "Golden Generation"?Even though Chu Chengzhou had nearly killed him yesterday, compared to the Spirit Hall, who had killed his mother — that was nothing.
The champion wouldn't be him anyway — given the choice, he'd rather see Blue Tyrant win.
Fifteen minutes passed quickly. At the referee's signal, both teams stepped into the arena.
Fourteen people locked eyes — no one said a word, but their colliding auras made the air crackle with tension.
"The match is about to begin. Teams, release your martial spirits."
The Cardinal announced as they squared off.
In the next instant, a surge of soul power erupted from the seven members of the Spirit Hall team.
Standing at the very front, Hu Liena and the other two each released their martial spirits, with five spirit rings shining around them in the optimal configuration: two yellow, two purple, and one black.
Behind the three of them, the remaining four Spirit Hall team members also revealed their martial spirits, each with the two-yellow, two-purple setup, and all of them had soul power levels above 45.
Among the four in the back row, a male student standing at the very rear stepped back swiftly, summoning a brilliant golden scepter martial spirit into his hand — clearly a four-ring support-type Soul Ancestor.
While the Spirit Hall team unleashed their martial spirits, the Blue Tyrant team simultaneously began their own spirit possession and summoned their spirit tools.
The seven stood in formation: Xiao Wu at the lead, with Zhu Zhuqing, Ma Hongjun, and Tai Long behind her, and in the very back row were the support-type spirit masters — Chu Chengzhou, Ning Rongrong, and Oscar — forming a one-three-three formation overall.
Out of all seven, there was one Soul King with five rings, and six Soul Elders with four rings. But the most eye-catching wasn't Xiao Wu at the front — it was actually Chu Chengzhou, standing in the very back row as a supposed support-type spirit master.
After all, Chu Chengzhou's duel against Tang San in the individual elimination round yesterday had been astonishing, far beyond the expected level for any Spirit Master Tournament participant.
"Begin!"
As soon as both sides finished releasing their spirits, the referee declared the start of the final championship battle and quickly retreated, giving the arena to the teams.
At that moment, Chu Chengzhou's four spirit rings flashed in quick succession. As his immense soul power surged, his summoned spirits appeared one by one: Qing the Sky-Blue Tree, Bai the Light Lion, Hong the Fire Phoenix, and Xiong Da the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear.
"Nine Treasures turn into Glazed Glass, First: Strength, Second: Speed, Third: Soul, Fourth: Attack!"
Ning Rongrong's Nine-Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda shone brilliantly. Multiple streams of colorful light shot out, merging into Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing, Ma Hongjun, and Tai Long.
In an instant, Xiao Wu's strength, speed, and soul power attributes, Zhu Zhuqing's speed and attack, Ma Hongjun's soul power and attack, and Tai Long's strength attribute all skyrocketed by 50%.
It wasn't that Ning Rongrong didn't want to max out all the buffs — it was simply that not every buff was needed by every teammate. Plus, fully stacking all buffs would drain too much soul power for her as a four-ring Soul Ancestor.
Especially for Xiao Wu, who was a five-ring Soul King — she could boost Xiao Wu without any reduction in effect, but buffing someone stronger than herself consumed soul power rapidly.
Blue Tyrant's actions were swift, but the Spirit Hall team's weren't far behind.
Hu Liena shot a glance at Chu Chengzhou across the field. A faint red light flared up around her, and her five spirit rings pulsed in sequence — first the black fifth ring, then the fourth, third, second, and first. With each pulse, the red glow grew more intense.
At the same time, Xie Yue at her side moved too — gripping his blood-red Moon Blade, he stepped forward and crashed shoulder-to-shoulder with Hu Liena.
Meanwhile, two golden beams of light shot out from behind, merging into Xie Yue and Hu Liena. It was the support-type Soul Ancestor of the Spirit Hall team, buffing them with enhancement techniques.
In that instant, as Xie Yue collided with Hu Liena, a red light screen materialized, instantly wrapping the two of them together.
In the next second, a dense red glow spread out, covering more than half the arena.
"A martial spirit fusion technique?!"
All the Blue Tyrant team members — except for Chu Chengzhou, who already knew — widened their eyes in shock.
Examples of martial spirit fusion techniques on the continent were rare. In fact, in the entire spirit master world, most spirit masters never got to see one in their lifetime.
Yet in this tournament, they had already witnessed two: the Tianshui Team's Snow Dance and the Star Luo Royal Academy's Hell White Tiger.
More impressively, the Blue Tyrant team was the only one to have faced a team using a fusion technique in battle and actually beaten them.
Still, they never imagined that in this final championship match, they'd run into yet another fusion technique.
Was their team just doomed to clash with teams wielding fusion techniques? Against others, their opponents would hide their trump cards — but against them, they showed everything without reservation.
Should they call this bad luck, or say their opponents respected them enough to know that without showing their trump cards, they'd lose for sure?
The red light pulsed — Hu Liena and Xie Yue's figures vanished, replaced by a figure wielding twin blood-colored blades, long red hair swirling wildly, and a mask obscuring any hint of gender.
In the next moment, the merged figure silently moved.
Two enlarged Moon Blades, now twice their normal size, gleamed like rainbows at the tips of its outstretched arms. As the crimson light intensified, the combined figure vanished into the thick red mist, which now enveloped nearly the entire Blue Tyrant team.
After all, this red mist covered more than half the arena — and both teams' formations weren't exactly hugging the edges.
Though the Spirit Hall team didn't have a pure control-type spirit master aside from Hu Liena, their control power was overwhelming — all thanks to this martial spirit fusion technique: Enchantment (妖魅).
This fusion's greatest trait was control. Within the Enchantment field, all opponents' senses were reduced by 50%, their soul power suppressed by 50%, and every action delayed by 50%.
And the mist itself, mixed with malice and hallucination, meant that only Xie Yue and Hu Liena could see within it.
Martial spirit fusion techniques inherently boost a spirit master's strength by at least one rank — often even two. Paired with the oppressive effects, this Enchantment was undoubtedly Spirit Hall's final hope for a comeback.
Head-to-head, the Enchantment might not match Chu Chengzhou's Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear. It could even be swatted away in one hit. But the Spirit Hall team didn't need to beat the bear to win.
Enchantment's strength rivaled that of a level-70 Soul Sage. Though no match for the bear alone, in this vision-blocking mist, its best bet was to bypass the bear and target Chu Chengzhou, the summoner.
This strategy had been devised after they witnessed the bear's full power in the individual matches the day before.
Inside the red mist, the Blue Tyrant team felt their bodies grow heavy, their senses dull, and even the simple act of raising a hand felt as though an invisible barrier blocked them.
Yet none of them panicked. As the mist spread, Xiao Wu and the other three instantly closed ranks around Chu Chengzhou — both to protect their support and to stay near their strongest member. No matter how the battle changed, staying close to their powerhouse was their safest bet.
As for Ning Rongrong and Oscar, they were the calmest of all.
Ning Rongrong had already given out her buffs — now she just had to wait for the battle's outcome. Oscar busied himself making Golden Wing Flying Sausages.
In such a short battle, stamina and soul power recovery sausages weren't needed — Xiao Qing's healing spirit skill was stronger than his restorative sausage, and Xiao Bai's purification skill made detox sausages redundant. Given the presence of female teammates, his passion-boosting sausages were a definite no-go — nobody wanted to die of embarrassment. So he focused on creating flying sausages to grant the team aerial mobility.
As for safety? With the Big Boss here, who could even scratch the Blue Tyrant's support in this Spirit Master Tournament?
Indeed, that was the reality. In the very next second, as the red mist covered most of the arena, seven streams of green light erupted from Xiao Qing, forming protective green shields around the team.
'Don't panic, Oscar. Pass out the flying sausages — everyone, get airborne and clear the mist first.'
Golden light flickered in Chu Chengzhou's eyes as he sent a calm voice transmission to his teammates.
For others, the mist made them blind — but not him.
After consuming the See-Through Autumn Water Dew, he had mastered a variant of the Monkey King's Fiery Golden Eyes, able to pierce illusions and see through barriers. A little red mist wasn't about to stop him.
Even without those eyes, the mist couldn't fully blind him — while Enchantment suppressed senses, it didn't erase them. With his powerful spiritual sense, he could still sense the general positions of friend and foe on the field.
And aside from Chu Chengzhou himself, the one least affected by the mist was, unsurprisingly, Xiao Qing.
As a plant-based summon, Xiao Qing didn't even have eyes, so visual interference didn't apply. Of course, its sensory abilities still took a 50% hit — but with everyone grouped around it, it could still provide healing and protective barriers with no problem at all.
T/N: For up to 30 chapters ahead on most of my translations, become a p@tron at p@treon.com/LordHipposApostle