Chapter 57: Weaving a Web of Stars

"What must come, will eventually come." Nianyun slowly stood up and walked toward the arena.

Upon seeing this, Yufeng and Shimo sensibly stepped off the field.

"Just you alone?" Hu Wushuang reminded him.

Walking onto the stage, Nianyun smiled at the two of them. "I alone am enough. Please."

Hu Wushuang and Hu Huo exchanged a glance and immediately summoned their martial souls, three spirit rings rising layer by layer.

"What are you waiting for?" Seeing that Nianyun made no move for a long time, Hu Huo asked somewhat anxiously.

"To deal with you two, Yun Nian doesn't even need to summon his martial soul." This time, Dugu Yan deliberately lowered her voice while deliberately avoiding looking at Qin Ming.

Nianyun thought better of it; he was now the facade of the Royal Academy after all, so he should still be polite, and besides, Hu Huo seemed a bit overly suspicious.

"Rank forty-five Attack-type Battle Spirit Ancestor, martial soul 'Aspiration', please advise."

"A Spirit Ancestor!"

When Yun Nian reported his spirit rank, none of the Elemental Academy members failed to be shocked. Judging by Yun Nian's age, reaching the level of a Spirit Ancestor showed truly monstrous talent.

Hearing this from outside the arena, Yu Tianxin forced himself to stand up despite his weakened body. "How is this possible?"

Hu Wushuang and his companion inside the arena were even more dumbfounded. Even though Yun Nian had not truly summoned his martial soul, merely condensing a blade with purple lightning, that pressure was exceptionally fierce.

"Hu Huo, let's go."

Hu Wushuang suppressed the fear in his heart, shouting to relieve some of the pressure on himself.

"First spirit skill, Blazing Flame."

Several fireballs were hurled from Hu Huo's hands.

Nianyun condensed a thunder ball in his left hand, thrust it forward, and grabbed.

"Zzz..."

The purple lightning dispersed, shattering the incoming fireballs one by one.

Whoosh.

A solitary horned fire dragon rapidly charged through the dust of flames, its full-force punch caught by Nianyun with a single hand. However, very soon, amidst astonishment, Hu Wushuang's first spirit ring rose, and the fire dragon in mid-air slowly gathered flames in its mouth.

Ultimate flames spewed from the fire dragon's mouth. Nianyun rotated his left hand, spinning his own body to dodge the flames while simultaneously flinging Hu Wushuang away.

After landing, behind Nianyun, a barrage of fiery meteors fell all over the sky.

Nianyun loosened his right hand, letting the thunder sword drop, as his third spirit ring rose.

Zzz...

Boom—Boom—

As the fiery meteors descended, Hu Wushuang charged straight into them. His second spirit ring rose, fire dragon claws manifested on both hands, and he attacked the figure in the center of the arena.

Flame embers enveloped the entire venue.

Everyone outside the arena held their breath and stared intently at the scene inside.

After a brief silence, a peal of thunder resounded across the arena. The previously tense members of the Royal Academy also successively revealed smiles.

Zzz...

A streak of electrical current flashed past Hu Huo's ear. Before she could turn her head, her body was already paralyzed, and she could only sense someone standing behind her.

The ashes in the center of the arena slowly dissipated. Hu Wushuang's figure stood rigidly in the middle, the dragon claws in his hands still thrust out and frozen in mid-air, completely paralyzed and unable to move.

"You flatter me."

As the words fell, the lightning dispersed, and the two of them slowly regained control over their bodies. Hu Wushuang staggered a few steps before managing to stand steady.

The moment she recovered, Hu Huo anxiously turned her head, but Nianyun had already walked far away.

---

Star Luo Great Forest (Entrance at the border between Heaven Dou and Star Luo)

Although Zhu Zhuying did not quite understand why they were taking a detour, since Nianyun did not explain, she had no intention of asking.

After presenting their identity tokens to the guards, the two smoothly entered the forest.

"Sorry for taking you on a detour, because..."

"It doesn't matter. I know you have a reason. Let's hurry."

"Alright."

That cold and gorgeous face, which only ever smiled at Nianyun, blossomed with incomparable radiance at this moment.

Not far from this location...

"Davis, I heard there was a spirit beast riot in the Star Luo Great Forest earlier. Why don't we switch to a different forest?"

"Zhuyun, it's fine. I heard from my uncle and the others that the main beast tide occurred in Heaven Dou and the central area, so it won't have much impact on our side here."

As he spoke, the man planted a kiss on the woman's blushing lips.

...

The two walked northeast all the way along.

With Nianyun providing protection, Zhu Zhuying felt not a shred of fear toward the thousand-year-level spirit beasts.

Faced with those unsuitable spirit beasts, following Nianyun's suggestion, Zhu Zhuying did not deal fatal blows.

"Drip, drip."

A drop of tear-like rain fell, and Nianyun reached out to catch it. "Zhuying, over there."

Observing the situation from a tree branch, Zhu Zhuying nodded in confirmation and darted toward the direction Nianyun pointed.

"Rustle."

Moving a hundred meters closer along that direction, movement came from the bushes, and Zhu Zhuying quickly approached by leaping across tree branches.

"Nianyun, that is..."

"Zhuying, watch out!"

Just as Zhu Zhuying turned her head to report the news to Nianyun, a beast claw slashed down from behind her.

Bang.

Zhu Zhuying was swatted down, while the tree branch she had just occupied was now taken over by a cat-faced, tiger-typed spirit beast.

"It's an eight-thousand-year-old Tiger-Demon Cat."

Zhu Zhuying paused slightly. "What should we do next?"

"A thousand-year spirit beast, isn't this just right? Take it down."

"Mn."

Just as the Tiger-Demon Cat lunged forward, Zhu Zhuying leaped up as well.

Swish—Swish—

Bang—Bang—

After blocking one of Nianyun's miniature heavenly stars, the Tiger-Demon Cat knew it was no match and turned to bolt inward.

"Trying to run? Go."

Nianyun raised both hands, and countless falling rocks smashed toward the Tiger-Demon Cat, but they were all dodged one by one. Zhu Zhuying pursued closely behind.

...

"Second spirit skill, Nether Hundred Claws."

"Ha, getting it took no effort at all, it ran right into us. Zhuyun, I'll guard you while you absorb it properly."

"Mn."

The seductive woman raised her pretty eyebrows and sat down beside the spirit beast.

"Rustle."

"Zhuyun, be careful." Hearing the commotion, the man immediately protected the woman behind him and summoned his martial soul, the Evil-Eyed White Tiger.

After a long while...

The bushes fell silent. Just as the two of them relaxed, a voice rang out from a nearby tree branch.

"Sister, Davis?"

The two looked up. "Zhu Zhuying!"

When they recognized each other, Nianyun ran out from the woods. "Huff, huff, Zhuying, did you catch it?"

"Swish."

Rushing out of the bushes, Nianyun stared blankly at Zhu Zhuying and the others, who were likewise gazing back.

"Who are you? Where is Dai Mubai?" Davis's tone was entirely devoid of courtesy, turning instead into an interrogation.

"Zhuying, who is this blockhead?" Nianyun straightened his posture, intending to confront them head-on.

"Step."

Zhu Zhuying jumped to Nianyun's side. "The First Prince of the Star Luo Empire, Davis. He's also Dai Mubai's older brother. And that other one is my sister, Zhu Zhuying."

"Zhuying, who is she?" At this moment, Zhu Zhuying stood up, and seeing the somewhat intimate relationship between Nianyun and the other two, she began to interrogate them.

Startled by Zhu Zhuying's stern shout, Zhu Zhuying instinctively took a step back, her eyes starting to dart away.

"Nianyun, a student of Shrek Academy. Any problem?" Nianyun stepped forward, shielding Zhu Zhuying behind him.

"Nianyun, hmph. You probably don't know the identity of the person standing next to you. Replacing Dai Mubai—I advise you to weigh your own weight first." Davis's tone turned somewhat fierce.

"I didn't know before, but now I do. So what?"

"Ha, so what? Ask Zhu Zhuying what the consequence of replacing Dai Mubai is."

Nianyun immediately cut off Zhu Zhuying, who was about to speak, his gaze turning sharp. "Consequences? Even if you mobilize the entire nation's strength to hunt me down, I wouldn't fear it. But right now, that Tiger-Demon Cat was first encountered and injured by us. It belongs to us!"