Chapter 517 - Yuanen Yehui and the Tempest

With all seven elements at her fingertips, Gu Yue’s tactical options were limitless. Instinct told Tang Wulin that even with Bluesilver Golden Array, he wouldn’t be able to do much against her.

Another fireball crashed into Yuanen Yehui. Exploded in a burst. Her expression was grave, betraying the whirlwind of calculations flying through her mind. She used Titan Strength and Diamond Titan to take on the elemental storm instead of the more taxing Devil Titan. Screw it! I’ll go all in!

In truth, Yuanen Yehui knew that losing was inevitable. The moment Tang Wulin escaped the light and darkness sword combo attack in one piece had marked the beginning of the end. But she couldn’t give up yet. Not even when Gu Yue’s outburst had been beyond their expectations. She would fight until the very end. If she could outlast Gu Yue’s soul power, then she could force a one-on-one duel with Tang Wulin. With the injuries he had sustained, she had the barest sliver of a chance at turning the tables.

Yuanen Yehui was confident that her soul power capacity was greater than Gu Yue’s. Having twin martial souls and a higher soul power rank was the main reason. She was rank 43. Since cultivation became much harder past rank 40, and Gu Yue had just broken through, she couldn’t be any higher than rank 41. Yuanen Yehui was certain that Gu Yue’s repeated use of the staff was rapidly depleting her soul power.

One after another, balls of elemental energy slammed into Yuanen Yehui. She clenched her jaw and took on dozens of attacks. Yet there seemed to be no stop in sight.

How is her soul power lasting so long? Unbelievable! Yuanen Yehui’s eyes widened more and more the longer she stared at Gu Yue.

Elder Cai was already on the stage, waiting for the moment her intervention was needed. She watched with narrowed eyes, aware of the entirety of the situation. It was true that Gu Yue’s soul power couldn’t outlast Yuanen Yehui’s. But her martial soul controlled the elements and there was a fundamental difference between it and other martial souls. Wielding the elements required both soul power and spiritual power. In fact, spiritual power was more important for this than soul power. Because of this,Gu Yue’s spiritual power was greater than her soul power, and far surpassed Yuanen Yehui’s. Without this basis of strength, Gu Yue would never have been able to wield such great might for so long.

Another fireball crashed into Yuanen Yehui. She staggered but held her ground. I can’t get pushed back any further or I’ll be off the stage! She growled and finally resorted to her fourth soul skill, Devil Titan. It was all or nothing!

With a swirling aura of might, she punched an incoming ice ball into smithereens! She sent blast after blast of air to intercept her opponent’s attacks. But the moment she had done this, her eyes caught Tang Wulin approaching Gu Yue with a smile.

“That’s enough now,” Tang Wulin said, patting Gu Yue on the shoulder.

Gu Yue’s staff dimmed as she stole a glance at him before fixing her gaze on Yuanen Yehui again. Without saying a word, she withdrew her attack.

Yuanen Yehui gasped for breath as the winds settled down around her. Her hands shook and her whole body sagged from taking that assault and sustaining Devil Titan. She locked eyes with Tang Wulin for a moment before jumping off the stage. She knew well enough to admit her loss. There was no chance of victory in a one against two. Tang Wulin was giving her enough face as it was.

The first grade students erupted into cheer.

If anyone thought the first grade’s previous victory over the second grade was due to luck, then today proved them wrong. This was an absolute victory with no room for debate. They had won both of the two-on-two matches. The second one was even between the two class presidents, and in the end, Yuanen Yehui lost.

“Are you okay?” Gu Yue asked Tang Wulin, worried eyes looking him up and down.

Tang Wulin shook his head and flashed a smile. “I’m fine. That attack hurt a bit, but I’m fine.” Thanks to the Golden Dragon King’s power, his recovery speed and resilience were far beyond normal. Although the elemental combo attack made him felt as if he had been burned alive, his internal energies were already settled and his wounds already disappearing. There was just some mild discomfort left.

Right when Tang Wulin and Gu Yue hopped off the stage, Yue Zhengyu ran over in high spirits. “Wulin! What was that flashy skill you used?” He had tested the power of his and Yuanen Yehui’s combo attack countless times and was confident that not even a five-ringed Soul King would come out unscathed. Yet Tang Wulin had took it on alone, and barely wounded at that. The only explanation was that he used a soul skill.

Tang Wulin cracked a small smile. “You really want to know?”

Yue Zhengyu nodded.

“Stay back a grade and I’ll tell you,” said Tang Wulin.

Yue Zhengyu stumbled. “Stay back a grade?”

Wait. If I stay back a grade as a second grade student, wouldn’t I be joining the first grade class?

“Hey! We’re not even allowed to repeat grades! We just get expelled if our scores are too low!” Yue Zhengyu grumbled. But Tang Wulin and Gu Yue hadn’t heard a word of what he said. The cheers had drowned out his voice.

The participants for the competition against the third grade was settled. For the one-on-ones, Yuanen Yehui, Wu Siduo, and Ye Xinglan would participate. Tang Wulin and Gu Yue would tag team for the two-on-two match. And for the team battle, the captain was Tang Wulin, vice captain Yuanen Yehui, and general members Gu Yue, Xie Xie, Yue Zhengyu, Xu Xiaoyan, and Xu Lizhi. The competition was set to happen five weeks later.

Despite all her training after the first defeat, Yuanen Yehui suffered a second today. As a result, she was more motivated than ever. The weight of defeat was heavy on her shoulders. She couldn’t let there be a third.

Aside from her loss, Yuanen Yehui still could not comprehend how Xie Xie had become so strong. She was familiar with Duan Hunxiao and Ye Xingmo’s strengths and knew they shouldn’t have lost so miserably. But Xie Xie and Xu Xiaoyan had controlled the tempo of battle throughout. Xie Xie’s growth was remarkable. Be it speed or lethality, he was incomparable with his old self. The blazing might of his attacks when he went all out even gave her goosebumps. How is he so strong already? How are all of them growing so quickly?

If Xie Xie could read Yuanen Yehui’s mind, his answer would be conviction! He had the conviction to surpass her and win her heart.

Meanwhile, Gu Yue sent worried glanced at Tang Wulin throughout their walk back to their dormitory. When they reached their rooms, she finally asked, “Are you really okay?”

“Really. I swear I’m fine. Just look at how thick my skin is!” Tang Wulin said, poking his arm. “Right. Anyway, we’ve got a day off tomorrow. Are you going to the Spirit Pagoda?”

“Yeah. I don’t have anything else planned but that,” Gu Yue said, a small nod.

Tang Wulin smiled wryly, scratching the back of his head. “You sure know how to keep a secret! I never thought you would already be this strong! I’m not even a match for you anymore. If you keep at it, the gap is just going to get larger from now on.”

Gu Yue smirked. “Anxious?”

“I’m worried about how many teeth I’ll have left if I ever have to fight you!”

Gu Yue was caught off guard, astonishment painting her face. There was a flicker of gloom that if Tang Wulin hadn’t been paying attention, he would have missed.

“What’s up?” he asked, his playful tone hardening.

Gu Yue shook her head. “It’s nothing. Do you have any plans tomorrow?”

“Hmm. I think I might go visit Heaven Dou City. I’ve saved up a lot of alloys these past few months, so it’s a good chance to sell them, buy some more raw materials and get some pointers from my uncle-master.”

“I’ll go with you,” Gu Yue blurted out.

“Huh? Oh, uh, sure! Yeah! Let’s go!” Tang Wulin said, his look of surprise transforming into a huge grin. He hadn’t had a chance to go out with her since the start of the academic year. They had been too busy with their own cultivation paths.

Satisfied, Gu Yue said goodbye and returned to her room.

When Tang Wulin entered his room, the reality of the situation finally hit him. He was nervous and full of anticipation for his outing with Gu Yue. Since he had received his mecha license from Wu Zhangkong, the two of them could fly straight to Heaven Dou City. He could be the dashing young man showing her the skies.