Chapter 164: Peak Showdown (Part Two)

"Xue'er!"

After blocking one of Qian Renxue's sword strikes, Xiao Yu said calmly, "Your Angelic Sacred Sword is formed by your fifth spirit ability, whereas my Pluto Sword is an innate trait of my martial soul. Spirit abilities require spirit power consumption, but sword techniques do not. Although I need to use spirit power to resist the intrusion of your domain, compared to you, it is merely a drop in the bucket. If we continue to fight, the one who loses will definitely be you!"

Qian Renxue let out a cold snort. She had to admit that Xiao Yu made sense. Activating her right-arm spirit bone, the spirit power within her body surged frantically. In an instant, boundless golden light erupted from her, making her truly resemble an angel god descending to the mortal realm.

Under the influence of the spirit bone, the sacred sword in Qian Renxue's hand instantly expanded dozens of times, slashing downward with an unmatched, overwhelming momentum.

"Fifth spirit ability, Pluto's Annihilation!"

Facing Qian Renxue's fierce, rapid, and domineeringly forceful sword strike, the fifth spirit ring beneath Xiao Yu's feet lit up. Majestic spirit power poured into the Pluto Sword in his hand as he swung it upward from below, meeting the Angelic Sacred Sword head-on.

"Boom, boom, boom—"

The two attacks collided fiercely, instantly triggering heaven-shaking explosions. Vast energy fluctuations spread out like a tidal wave, causing the entire heavens and earth to shake violently.

Amidst the shocked gazes of countless people, the two sword projections formed by spirit power burst apart simultaneously, transforming into countless points of light that vanished into thin air.

"Third spirit ability, Swift Wind Piercing Shadow!"

The exact moment the collision ended, Xiao Yu's third spirit ring flashed brightly, and his figure darted out like a streak of flowing light.

This was the greatest gap between Xiao Yu and Qian Renxue. Lacking practical combat experience, Qian Renxue needed a brief pause after using a spirit ability before she could employ a new one, whereas Xiao Yu could seamlessly integrate all his spirit abilities, achieving a flawless transition.

Boom!

Xiao Yu's third spirit ability not only possessed the effect of amplifying attack power, but it also increased his speed by 50%. Even before the spirit power fluctuations from the collision of their fifth spirit abilities had faded, he had already rushed in front of Qian Renxue.

"Pfft!"

With a single sword slash, Qian Renxue felt as though she had been struck by a heavy blow. She was sent flying backward on the spot, opening her mouth to spew a mouthful of fresh blood.

"I didn't expect your mastery of spirit abilities to have reached such a pure and masterful realm. In this aspect, I truly cannot compare to you!"

Qian Renxue wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth. Instead of being angered by Xiao Yu's heavy blow just now, she nodded at him with considerable approval.

Xiao Yu gently nodded and said, "Xue'er, don't blame me for speaking harshly, but your application of spirit abilities is an absolute mess. Certain matters have overly dispersed your energy, and I suggest you extricate yourself as soon as possible for your own good!"

"Undercover in the Heaven Dou Empire has indeed wasted Xiaoxue's talent!"

Hidden in the shadows and watching the battle, Qian Daoliu slowly nodded, expressing his agreement with Xiao Yu's view, while casting a displeased glance at Bibi Dong, who was seated in the primary seat.

If not for Bibi Dong, how could Qian Renxue have left her homeland to execute some infiltration plan? Over the past decade or more, the number of times he, an old man, had seen his granddaughter could be counted on one hand.

Qian Renxue was not someone who could not listen to advice. In her heart, she also knew that the cumbersome government affairs of the Heaven Dou Empire had severely affected the progress of her cultivation. She nodded at Xiao Yu and said, "Thank you for the reminder; I will consider it carefully!"

"However, I haven't lost yet!"

Changing the subject, Qian Renxue put away the Angelic Sacred Sword in her hand. Maintaining her fifth spirit ability for so long indeed consumed a massive amount of her spirit power, and judging by the situation, she was simply no match for Xiao Yu in swordsmanship.

"Sixth spirit ability: Angelic Roar!"

The last spirit ring on Qian Renxue's body lit up. Since physical attacks were not working, she would try mental attacks instead.

Accompanied by the glowing spirit ring, Qian Renxue suddenly drew a breath and let out a roar. An extremely sharp and resonant howl burst from her mouth, while her eyes suddenly widened, and fierce golden light flames spewed forth.

The Angelic Roar was an area-of-effect spirit ability. Through a special transformation method of angelic spirit power, it instantly converted half of her spirit power into a mental shock, launching a psychic assault on enemies within the spirit power's coverage area.

Qian Renxue possessed a head spirit bone with an age as high as 99,999 years. Aside from granting her disguise abilities, it also greatly enhanced the strength of her mental power. Furthermore, she had the bonus of the Angelic Domain. Even high-level Spirit Saints with cultivation levels as formidable as Flender and Liu Erlong would face a soul-shattering, head-exploding fate if confronted with this mental attack.

However, Xiao Yu's mental power was likewise far superior to that of Flender, Liu Erlong, and the others. In an instant, the hundred-thousand-year Pluto Dragon head spirit bone skill, Gaze of Death, was activated. Terrifying mental coercion descended in an instant, condensing and compressing before being released in a straight line toward Qian Renxue.

The two terrifying mental attacks collided, creating yet another earth-shaking fluctuation.

The Gaze of Death was a hundred-thousand-year spirit bone skill. Qian Renxue's greatest reliance for her Angelic Roar was that head spirit bone, but 99,999 years was ultimately not a full hundred thousand years, and that single year of difference was a chasm of heaven and earth.

After a brief stalemate, the Gaze of Death overpowered the Angelic Roar, striking Qian Renxue squarely.

Qian Renxue felt her mind instantly turn completely blank. Although it was a collision between mental powers, because both fighters executed their moves based on top-tier spirit bones, the destructive power was simply too astonishing, still causing Qian Renxue to be sent flying backward out of control.

Huh?

Seeing that Qian Renxue, who had yet to break free from the mental restraint, was about to plummet to the ground, quite a few people couldn't help but cover their eyes. After all, for such a delicate and stunning beauty to crash heavily onto the ground was a scene that completely destroyed the aesthetic.

Only Tang Hao, hiding in the shadows, wore a look of excitement. Watching Qian Renxue fly backward, he seemed to see the scene of Qianxunji—who had once driven him to a desperate plight—being blasted away by his hammer. He couldn't help but pray in his heart that Qian Renxue would fall as miserably as possible and sustain severe injuries.

Yet, that wretched scene of Qian Renxue never let Tang Hao witness it. A flash of black light later, Xiao Yu had already appeared directly beneath Qian Renxue's falling trajectory. Extending both hands, he caught her steadily and securely.

"Let go of me!"

Realizing that she was being held in a princess carry by Xiao Yu in full view of the public, Qian Renxue's pretty face flushed red. Her little heart beat wildly, and she couldn't help letting out a soft, bashful reprimand.

Quite gentlemanly, Xiao Yu set Qian Renxue down, turned his head, and said to the referee, "Referee, can the outcome of the match be announced now?"

The referee, who had been dumbfounded for a while, snapped back to reality at Xiao Yu's reminder. Although he was a member of the Spirit Hall, in broad daylight he could not bring himself to speak blatant nonsense with his eyes open. Reluctantly, he announced, "The second match of the Grand Finals promotion tournament, Nine Stars Academy versus Spirit Hall Academy, Nine Stars Academy wins!"