A Match That Shook the Continent
The news spread like wildfire.
The "exchange match" between Star Luo Royal Academy and Tiandou Royal Academy had been sensationalized into a headline:
"Elite Soul Master Competition — Final Preview!"
Within just three days, word of the duel had flooded every city, every tavern, every sect hall. Even as far away as the Papal Palace, whispers circulated about these two nations' royal teams facing off on the battlefield.
Excitement boiled. After all, how often did noble prodigies clash in public tests of strength? Hundreds of thousands swarmed toward the Star Luo Great Fighting Soul Arena, eager to watch brilliance and blood collide.
A Drunk Substitute
Inside Tiandou's camp, morale was… complicated.
Oslo, upon hearing he would be replaced, nearly leapt through the roof in joy. The unlucky fool chosen to fight in his stead? None other than Lu Yuan.
For Oslo, this was divine blessing—a guarantee he could walk away alive.
For everyone else, it was terror in disguise. This would be Lu Yuan's first time fighting in an official Soul Arena match. Nobody knew what he would do once drunk on the stage, whether he'd distinguish friend from foe.
Only Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling were unshaken, standing calmly beside him.
Lu Yuan himself staggered forward, wine jar in hand, lips constantly slick with liquor.
Ye Lingling gently tugged his sleeve. "Lu Yuan Big Brother, maybe… just a little less before the match?"
"Nope." He grinned. "Drinking makes me stronger."
Everyone else gulped.
Sister vs. Sister
In the Star Luo rest area, Zhu Zhuyun rose sharply. Her face paled. "It's him!"
On a sofa nearby, Dai Mubai stretched lazily, closing one eye irritably. "Who?"
"The one who interfered in the Spirit Beast Forest, the drunk with three purple and one black spirit rings. The one who saved Zhu Zhuqing!" Her voice shook slightly at the memory of that suffocating Sword Qi.
Mubai scoffed. "Three purple and one black? Do you even hear yourself? Clearly you were trapped in someone's Illusion technique. Such spirit ring combinations don't exist."
But Zhu Zhuyun's hands clenched white. "We'll see."
Before the Arena
Time ticked. The massive arena—capable of holding hundreds of thousands—was already beyond capacity. People spilled onto every step, every balcony, shouting, chanting, waving flags. The ground trembled beneath the roar.
In Tiandou's lounge, Qin Ming held his face in despair.
Lu Yuan, instead of warming up, had fallen asleep on the couch, hugging his wine jar like a pillow.
"…Five minutes," Qin Ming whispered, voice cracking. Five minutes until the most important fight in years. He contemplated strangling himself instead.
"Yan, Lingling," he urged desperately, "you two wake him."
The two girls exchanged wary glances, kneeling to rouse him.
"Lu Yuan…"
"Big Brother Lu Yuan, it's time to fight," Ye Lingling coaxed gently.
Nothing. He didn't stir.
"Lu Yuan, wake up for a drink!"
This time, the voice was different—cool and cold, dripping with challenge.
From the corner stood Zhu Zhuqing, cloaked in black, her sharp eyes glimmering. Ever since their drunken night, she had refused to share a jar with him again. Yet now, she allowed a faint smile to tug her lips.
Lu Yuan blinked awake, instantly responding to the word that stirred him most: drink.
"Drink? Kitten, you want to drink with me again?" he grinned sleepily, staggering upright.
Zhu Zhuqing's faint smile remained. "Play your match first. Then we'll see."
Qin Ming silently raised his thumb in her direction. Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.
Enter the Drunk
"Tiandou Royal Team versus Star Luo Royal Team—participants enter!"
The announcer's booming call shook the Arena. The crowd erupted in waves as the two noble academies' elites stepped into view.
But… when Lu Yuan appeared, staggering like a willow swaying in the wind, pausing every few steps to swig from his jar, hundreds of thousands collectively froze.
"…That's… their fighter?"
"Isn't he just a kid barely old enough for Advanced Academy?!"
"Wrong arena, surely!"
"…Wait, he's really walking toward the battlefield."
Half the arena's jaws dropped. Many burst into laughter.
"Tiandou is finished!"
"What a disgrace. A wine sack for show?"
Others whispered more shrewdly. "Don't be fooled. If a royal team dares to send him out, he must have some hidden cards…"
Still, the scene looked ridiculous—a drunk child versus the pride of Star Luo.
Even some from Tiandou's side fidgeted nervously, instinctively spacing themselves ten meters away from Lu Yuan. Only Yan and Lingling remained beside him loyally. To the audience, it looked like even his teammates feared him.
The First Clash
The referee raised his hand. "Match, begin!"
Davis, Star Luo's golden-haired prince, sneered as he surged from the ground. His four spirit rings glowed brilliantly, pressure surging as his fist swung toward the swaying drunkard.
"Let me try this supposed genius!"
Lu Yuan blinked blearily.
"Mm?"
Without warning, his right hand lashed upward, catching Davis's fist before it even landed. Fingers locked like an iron vice. In his left, the wine jar tilted effortlessly.
"Tons… tons…"
The audience watched, stunned, as he actually drank mid-grapple.
When he lowered the jar, he gave Davis a flat glance.
"You're weak."
Gasps erupted. Davis flushed purple, humiliation blinding him. But before he could react—
BOOM!
A wave of raw, violent might roared from Lu Yuan's body, hurling Davis across the stage like a broken ragdoll. He smashed into the stone, coughing blood.
For a moment, silence fell across hundreds of thousands.
Then it came—the collective sharp gasp.
Not at Davis's fall.
But at the light beneath Lu Yuan's feet.
The Rings That Defied Heaven
Purple. Purple. Purple. Black.
Four rings glimmered with intoxicating glow, three thousand-year rings—and a ten-thousand-year black.
The Arena erupted, chaos deafening.
"FOUR RINGS?!"
"He's soul sect already?!"
"It's impossible—he was nothing but a two-ring disciple just two years ago!"
Qin Ming staggered as though struck. "H-he… he's… already a Soul Sect?! Three purple and one black? Human history doesn't even allow this!"
Teachers, sect envoys, and titled experts across the stands rose in alarm. Nobles shook, mouths dry. Even elite elders leaned forward with sharp eyes.
Below, Lu Yuan drained another mouthful of liquid courage.
"Mm. Nothing much."
He scratched his head, expression puzzled. "Strange… who told them I was strong lately? I've been hiding it pretty well."
The arena trembled with disbelief.
For the first time in history, Tiandou's "drunk idiot" had revealed himself as something terrifying. A soul sect at twelve, with a configuration that broke every rule.
Star Luo's so-called peak duel had just turned into a scene no one had expected.
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