DD2: Glory of the Unrivaled Angel

"Hiss—"

Ling Bai sucked in a sharp breath, clutching his chest tightly with his hand.

Crap, this sucks!

Dugu Lin hurried forward a few steps to support the swaying Ling Bai. Both shocked and concerned, she asked: "What's wrong? A 10,000-year spirit bone shouldn't make you this thrilled!"

"It's nothing, just a bout of angina."

Ling Bai steadied himself, inexplicably feeling the urge to weep. This wretched spirit bone was worse than not having one at all. The fact that Dugu Lin extracted the Medusa skull spirit bone just proved that all the earlier issues were entirely his fault!

At this moment, he wished he could rush straight into the Star Dou Forest!

Golden Tortoise, open your doors to receive guests!

Seeing that Ling Bai was fine, Dugu Lin set aside her worries and raised the Medusa skull in her hand to admire it carefully.

It was breathtakingly beautiful. Even setting aside its inherent value, the spirit bone itself resembled an exquisite treasure, reflecting dazzling seven-colored rays under the sunlight.

A few minutes later, Dugu Lin reluctantly handed the Medusa spirit bone to Ling Bai. Despite her earlier teasing, she actually knew her limits. Obtaining the 10,000-year Medusa spirit ring was already an unexpected joy. Their relationship wasn't close enough to warrant gifting a spirit bone.

Ling Bai took the spirit bone. Although he wasn't particularly thrilled, the value of this 10,000-year spirit bone was unquestionable.

Among the spirit bones produced by the Snake Queen Medusa, the most valuable was the skull spirit bone because it contained the Medusa clan's most powerful Innate Spirit Skill—Medusa's Gaze!

The potency of Medusa's Gaze needed no explanation. Even a Spirit Douluo like She Chong, after being hit by it, could only fall into a petrified state, unable to resist!

The skull and torso spirit bones were far more valuable than the four limb bones among the six spirit bone positions.

For these two positions, Ling Bai hoped to absorb Great Beast-level spirit bones in the future. So, for now, he would keep the Medusa spirit bone, perhaps auction it off or gift it to a suitable person one day.

"Thanks to your good fortune. Consider the Medusa spirit ring my token of gratitude."

Stowing away the Medusa spirit bone, Ling Bai gave a slight nod to Dugu Lin, then turned and left the Inner Courtyard Examination Hall, heading toward Shrek Academy's Outer Courtyard.

...

Outer Courtyard, Freshman Examination Area, Semi-finals

"Ning Tian! Ning Tian!"

In the contestants' rest area, Wu Feng waved her hand in front of Ning Tian, who had been staring intently at the spectator stands. Exasperated, she said, "Ling Bai went to carry out his Inner Courtyard examination assignment. He definitely won't come to watch our match today!"

Not seeing the figure she had been eagerly awaiting, Ning Tian slowly came back to her senses and said dejectedly, "Whether he watches or not is a minor matter. I'm worried that Bai-ge might encounter trouble."

Wu Feng scoffed, "If Ling Bai is in trouble, others must be in even greater trouble!"

Five years of repeatedly challenging and losing to Ling Bai had left Wu Feng so frustrated her teeth itched, yet she had an almost blind faith in his strength.

"Sister Tian, Sister Feng, it's our turn to go on stage!"

A crisp female voice suddenly rang out. A youthful and lovely girl cupped her hands around her mouth and called out to the two.

Nanmen Yun Er, Martial Spirit: Jasper Bluebird, the third member of Ning Tian's team.

The three of them stepped onto the examination arena and saw their semi-final opponents.

Wu Feng couldn't help but widen her eyes. The world was truly small. Their opponents were none other than the familiar Huo Yuhao and his teammates Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao.

"This match is in the bag!"

Wu Feng lowered her voice but couldn't hide her excitement. "Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao are exceptionally strong, but the Class One teacher must be out of their mind to pair them with that 1-ringed weakling!"

"Mm-hmm, Sister Feng is right!" Nanmen Yun Er nodded vigorously like a little chick pecking at rice.

"Even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit. Don't underestimate your opponents," Ning Tian reminded.

"Mm-hmm, Sister Tian is even more right!" Nanmen Yun Er immediately sided with Ning Tian without a second thought.

On the other side, the extraordinary vision of Huo Yuhao's Spirit Eyes caught Wu Feng's contemptuous gaze as if she had found a soft persimmon. A raging fire immediately ignited in his heart. He resolutely said, "Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, we must win this match!"

"With me here, there won't be any surprises."

"Rest assured, Class Monitor. Leave it to us!"

The boy with short pink-blue hair, extraordinarily exquisite features, and a hint of arrogance between his brows was Wang Dong. The slightly shorter, slender girl with a baby face and dark green long hair was Xiao Xiao.

"Match, begin!"

At the referee's command, the battle between Huo Yuhao's team and Ning Tian's team officially commenced.

"The Seven Treasures have names. The first is: Strength! The second is: Speed!"

An auxiliary-type Spirit Master's responsibility was to boost their teammates. Ning Tian summoned her Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. Her first and second spirit rings lit up simultaneously. The yellow light emitted by the 100-year spirit rings made the seven-colored pagoda shine even more brilliantly. A 40% strength and speed amplification fell upon Wu Feng and Nanmen Yun Er.

Huo Yuhao was not to be outdone. His seemingly 10-year but actually 1,000,000-year Skydream white spirit ring flickered. The Spiritual Detection Sharing formed a spiritual network connecting Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao. The movements of Ning Tian's trio were laid bare before them.

The continent's most beautiful Martial Spirit, the Bright Goddess Butterfly, manifested. One yellow and one purple spirit ring appeared, both surpassing the limits. A pair of dazzling blue-gold wings unfolded as Wang Dong soared into the air and charged straight toward Ning Tian.

In team battles, taking out the core first was an eternal, unchanging principle!

"How dare you!"

Anyone daring to attack Ning Tian was deemed a mortal enemy by Wu Feng. Her scarlet eyes flashed brilliantly. A layer of red radiance rippled over her voluptuous figure. Fine, diamond-shaped dragon scales extended from her neck downwards, covering both arms and hands.

Boom—

The sharp claws of the Red Dragon and the wings of the Bright Goddess Butterfly clashed fiercely. The confrontation between these two powerful assault-type Spirit Masters seemed to make time stand still at the center of the arena for a moment, followed by waves of force violently exploding and sweeping outward.

Nanmen Yun Er made the same choice as Wang Dong, targeting the opposing team's tactical core, Huo Yuhao. The Jasper Bluebird gave her a pair of jade-green wings, but due to the difference in Martial Spirit quality, she couldn't fly freely like Wang Dong. She could only glide and accelerate. Fortunately, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda provided her with a massive speed boost, allowing her to perform at an agility-type Spirit Master's level beyond her spirit power rank.

However, Xiao Xiao, matched against her, had already predicted her movement through Spiritual Detection Sharing. With a mischievous smile on her cute, baby-faced features, three pitch-black, ancient-looking cauldrons arranged in a triangle formation perfectly blocked Nanmen Yun Er's path!

Bang!

A dull impact echoed throughout the examination area. The Three Lives Soul Sealing Cauldron emitted powerful shockwaves. The dizzying effect forced Nanmen Yun'er to retreat quickly. With Xiao Xiao and the Three Lives Soul Sealing Cauldron in the way, she posed no threat to Huo Yuhao.

Nanmen Yun Er's attempt to take out the core failed. Wu Feng looked at Wang Dong, who was relying on his aerial advantage to engage her. Realizing she had to defeat him to break the stalemate, she decisively activated her two yellow spirit rings!

A layer of scorching crimson flames condensed on her body surface. This was the Red Dragon's first spirit skill, Dragonfire. Henceforth, each of her attacks would carry the intense heat of Dragonfire!

Wu Feng's transformation was far from over. Her second spirit skill, Dragonfury, erupted. The Dragonfire enveloping her body suddenly turned dark red. The Red Dragon's scales became noticeably thicker and heavier. Her hands twisted and enlarged, resembling true dragon claws.

"Yun Er, forget about Xiao Xiao! Help Xiao Feng!"

Ning Tian called out loudly. Upon hearing this, Nanmen Yun'er immediately abandoned her attempt to break through the Three Lives Soul Sealing Cauldron. Her last 100-year spirit ring lit up; jade-green light condensed into a crescent-shaped blade, drawing a beautiful arc through the air as it slashed toward Wang Dong.

Jasper Bluebird's Second Spirit Skill: Jasper Slash!

It had a homing effect, leaving Wang Dong with nowhere to dodge!

Faced with pincer attacks from the two girls, Wang Dong remained unflustered. Circles of golden patterns on the wings of the Bright Goddess Butterfly burst forth with intense brilliance like miniature suns.

The left wing twisted to face Nanmen Yun Er behind him, while the right wing met Wu Feng's frontal attack. All the golden light patterns on his butterfly wings shone brilliantly!

1,000-year Second Spirit Skill: Light of the Butterfly Goddess!

As Wang Dong unleashed the Light of the Butterfly Goddess, Ning Tian began to chant her spirit incantation: "The Seven Treasures have names. The third is..."

A sudden, intense pain in her mind caused Ning Tian's body to tremble. Her blood and energy surged within as blood seeped from her mouth and nose.

One of Skydream's Four Great Spirit Skills—Spiritual Shock!

Huo Yuhao had always kept his Spiritual Shock and Spiritual Interference hidden since entering the academy, and now they proved tremendously effective. Caught completely off guard by Spiritual Shock, Ning Tian's mind went blank. Not only was her third spirit skill interrupted, but even the strength and speed amplifications she had previously applied to Wu Feng and Nanmen Yun'er vanished without a trace.

The situation on the stage changed dramatically. Wu Feng and Nanmen Yun Er, who had calculated their defense based on their enhanced abilities, suddenly found their strength greatly diminished. The Light of the Butterfly Goddess sent them stumbling backward. Xiao Xiao seized the opportunity to deliver the finishing blow, using one cauldron each to knock them both out of bounds.

By the time Ning Tian regained her senses, only she remained on the stage. How could an auxiliary-type Spirit Master with no combat ability possibly stand against an unscathed three-person team? The outcome was already decided!

"I... lost?"

Three parts doubt, five parts confusion, and two parts disbelief flashed in Ning Tian's eyes.

Impossible. The Young Miss of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan couldn't possibly lose to others!

The next second, something even more despair-inducing happened to Ning Tian. She met a pair of extremely familiar golden eyes. Ling Bai had arrived in the spectator stands at some point!

"Bai-ge..."

Ling Bai didn't say anything, yet she felt as if her ears were ringing deafeningly. It felt like a slap in the face, leaving only a buzzing sound in her ears.

Wu Feng quickly scrambled to her feet and followed Ning Tian's gaze to find Ling Bai. The color drained from her face at an alarming rate. Then she saw Ning Tian jump down from the examination stage and run away with her head lowered...