Under the pressure of Tang Wutong's aura, Han Yu, the first representative from the Tianjia Sect to fight, instinctively released his martial soul.
Soul power surged across his body, and pitch-black hexagonal armor plates rapidly shot out from him, then condensed in front of him into a shield formed by countless hexagonal plates. The shield was also hexagonal in shape, perfectly regular, and carried a heavy, imposing aura.
As a defense-type battle soul master, Han Yu had a different emphasis in abilities compared to an assault-type battle soul master like Tang Wutong, but they shared one common point: both were extremely proficient in strength.
Holding the Heavenly Armor Shield in front of him, Han Yu instantly gave off the unshakable feeling of a mountain. Two yellow, two purple, one black, five soul rings circled him, pulsing up and down. It was clearly the optimal soul ring configuration.
This was one of the advantages of coming from a sect. Whenever a sect member needed soul rings, the elders would basically spare no effort to help them obtain rings with suitable attributes and optimal years.
In contrast, soul master academies or soul engineer academies found it very difficult to achieve this. The resources between teachers and students were unequal, and academy teachers simply couldn't handle it all. It was unrealistic to exhaustively provide every student with high-quality, optimal-configuration soul rings.
Among all the academies across the continent, perhaps only Shrek Academy possessed such capability.
However, even in Shrek Academy, not every student could obtain the optimal soul ring configuration. The academy teachers had no obligation to do so. More often, it depended on the students themselves and the families behind them.
In the arena, Han Yu had just released his martial soul and hadn't even caught his breath when Tang Wutong on the opposite side moved.
Tang Wutong did not unleash his maximum speed. Instead, he advanced towards Han Yu in small steps. With every step he took, a burst of intense light burst onto the metal floor. Barely visible was a layer of hard white membrane of light spread across the floor.
This was a protective soul guidance device installed by the Sun Moon Empire's officials to preserve the integrity of the arena and to withstand even more violent impacts.
Without this light membrane to block it, Tang Wutong, wielding the Clear Sky Hammer, would undoubtedly leave deep footprints embedded in the ground with every step.
One special characteristic of tool martial souls was that their owners were unaffected by their own martial soul's weight, but everything else experienced its original weight.
With Tang Wutong's Soul Emperor-level cultivation, combined with the amplification from six soul rings each at least fifty thousand years old, the weight of the Clear Sky Hammer in her hands was not far from ten thousand jin.
As Tang Wutong charged forward, her body suddenly half-turned. Using her left foot as the pivot, she swung the Clear Sky Hammer with both hands in a full circle through the air, carrying a terrifying gust of evil wind straight toward Han Yu.
The hammerhead was cylindrical, engraved with ancient patterns, but what was even more terrifying was the thick, condensed aura contained within it.
Facing Tang Wutong directly, Han Yu felt it even more vividly. He actually had the sensation of being pulled by this thick aura, unable to dodge.
With a low shout, he unhesitatingly lit his fifth soul ring.
The deep black soul ring suddenly expanded outward, as if merging into the shield in Han Yu's hands. An ink-black, eerie aura overflowed from the Heavenly Armor Shield, mixed with intense soul power fluctuations, instantly transforming into a thick, semi-transparent black wall.
Han Yu's soul skill was somewhat similar to Xu Sanshi's second soul skill, Mysterious Underworld Shield Formation, but this ten-thousand-year-level soul skill was undoubtedly far more powerful than Xu Sanshi's Mysterious Underworld Shield Formation.
Under the gaze of the entire audience, the massive Clear Sky Hammer head smashed heavily into the black wall. Without the slightest pause, Han Yu's fully activated fifth soul skill, Heavenly Armor Shield Formation, shattered with a boom, dissolving into countless fragments of light that scattered through the air.
What was shattered was not only Han Yu's fifth soul skill but also his martial soul. The destruction of his martial soul instantly turned his face deathly pale.
Although Tang Wutong's Clear Sky Hammer did not strike his body directly, the terrifying shockwave from the impact still sent his body flying dozens of meters. A mouthful of blood sprayed from his mouth, and he completely lost consciousness.
No flashy moves, only a simplification to the extreme, one hammer. And with merely this one hammer, the victor was decided.
After a brief silence, cheers erupted and resounded throughout the arena. Although most of the audience were from the Sun Moon Empire, that did not stop them from admiring the strong. On the Douluo Continent, strength determined everything. As long as your strength was sufficient, you could earn respect. Moreover, Tang Wutong possessed such astonishing soul ring configurations, truly opening their eyes.
And Tang Wutong's stunning appearance also won the admiration of many.
"Personal elimination match, first round, Clear Sky Sect wins."
The referee came to the center between the two and announced the result of the match. His gaze toward Tang Wutong was somewhat complicated.
No wonder Tang Wutong was so arrogant; now it seemed she truly had the capital for such arrogance.
This also allowed him to recognize, to some extent, the gap between their Sun Moon Empire and the three original empires of the Douluo Continent at the soul master level.
Six ten-thousand-year soul rings? Could she be a twin martial soul?
On the high platform, Xu Tianran, seated in the main position, smiled as he asked the black-clothed middle-aged man beside him, "Six ten-thousand-year soul rings—what do you think, State Preceptor?"
The State Preceptor, dressed in a golden-trimmed robe, spoke with certainty in a deep voice, "Although the Clear Sky Hammer is powerful, it is ultimately a tool for martial souls with limited amplification to the body. No matter how great her talent, it would be impossible for her first soul ring to be a ten-thousand-year level. There is only one possibility: she has twin martial souls."
Xu Tianran nodded deeply in agreement, the smile on his face undiminished.
"The foundations of the three original Douluo Continent empires cannot be underestimated. Hidden ancient sects like the Clear Sky Sect are numerous. I hope they do not become obstacles for us."
Those who deduced that Tang Wutong had twin martial souls were not limited to that middle-aged State Preceptor. On the Shrek Academy side, including many of the participating teams present, reached the same conclusion.
"Tianhuang, do you think she looks a lot like Wang Dong?" Ning Tian looked meaningfully at Xu Zihuang.
Before Xu Zihuang could reply, Dai Huabin, Xie Huanyue, Wu Feng, Xiao Xiao, and others, who had seen Wang Dong use the Clear Sky Hammer during the core disciple selection competition, suddenly realized it.
Tang Wutong's eye and hair colors were far too distinctive, combined with the Clear Sky Hammer martial soul attached to six ten-thousand-year soul rings.
How could there be such a coincidence in the world?
As long as they subconsciously accepted the change in Wang Dong's gender, they found that the former Wang Dong and the current Tang Wutong were indeed extremely similar in appearance.
"Wang Dong?" Hearing this name, Wang Qiu'er couldn't help but frown. She had seen Xu Zihuang's memories and naturally knew of his existence.
Ye Guyi felt the same way.
Zhang Lexuan seemed to think of something and cast a meaningful glance toward Wang Qiu'er.
"Wang Qiu'er, do you really not know her?"
"I don't know her." Wang Qiu'er, brows tightly furrowed, firmly shook her head.
Everyone's gaze toward Wang Qiu'er became somewhat strange, but no one pressed further. With Wang Qiu'er's personality, she should disdain to lie, and the confusion in her eyes did not seem feigned.
What exactly was going on? Could there really be two unrelated people in the world who looked exactly alike?
At the same time, another wave of cheers erupted from the audience.
In the personal elimination match between Clear Sky Sect and Tianjia Sect, the second round had also concluded.
The second fighter from Tianjia Sect was none other than their strongest member, Han Jian, the captain of the Tianjia Battle Team. However, his strength was only slightly greater than Han Yu's, and he was utterly unable to withstand the might of Tang Wutong's Clear Sky Hammer.
Once again, one hammer sent him flying. Compared to Han Yu, though, he did not immediately lose consciousness.
Han Jian struggled to his feet with an ugly expression and said to the referee on the competition stage, "For today's match, our Tianjia Sect concedes entirely."
At these words, the audience was somewhat surprised but could also understand. The gap in strength between the two sides was too vast. Tang Wutong hadn't even used a soul skill to crush the two strongest members of the Tianjia Sect battle team, and in such an absolute, overwhelming manner.
Continuing would only lead to the same outcome.
The referee reacted, nodded, and announced loudly, "Tianjia Sect concedes. This match, Clear Sky Sect wins."
It was likewise a complete victory, but Tang Wutong's fighting style was more spectacular and enjoyable to watch than Meng Hongchen's, which could be felt from the cheers of the audience present.
And this was even with Meng Hongchen having the home-field advantage.
Tang Wutong withdrew her martial soul and returned to the Clear Sky Sect rest area with an indifferent expression. As she passed the Shrek Academy rest area, her gaze swept across Xu Zihuang and Wang Qiu'er. In her pair of pink-blue eyes, no trace of emotion could be seen.
No surprise, no lingering gaze. It was a lofty, superior scrutiny.
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