The members of the Elephant Armor Team were already struggling with Dugu Yan's purple poison. Their soul power was sluggish, their vision was obscured by the thick fog, and their senses were in chaos.

All they could do was rely on instinct and the tacit understanding honed through years of training to barely move closer together and try to form a defensive formation.

But the storm came too fast and too fiercely.

"Pfft!"

Just as a Soul Master-level team member raised his arm to try to block, snowflakes came one after another, tearing through the stratum corneum of his skin and bringing up a string of tiny blood beads.

Before the blood droplets could fall, they condensed into red ice crystals in mid-air.

Then, a bone-chilling cold seeped in through the wound, instantly numbing half of his body.

"ah--"

The scream had barely left her lips when even more snowflakes swept in.

His shout was frozen in his throat, and his entire being, along with the terrified expression on his face, was encased in a crystal-clear ice sculpture.

Such scenes played out repeatedly in the center of the stadium.

Struggle, resistance, and then deathly silence.

Their pride in their strength and defense proved utterly powerless against the extreme ice and snow.

Before long, the entire arena was transformed into a world of ice crystals.

Six lifelike human-shaped ice sculptures stand in place, each in a different struggling posture.

Of course, at this time, they were frozen, but they didn't actually freeze to death!

For example, Hu Yanli is currently maintaining consciousness under the thick layer of ice.

As the snow and ice melted away, Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er reappeared.

An unprecedented sense of powerlessness overwhelmed his heart.

"Wow--"

Ning Rongrong exclaimed in surprise, circled around an ice sculpture, poked it curiously, and then moved closer to Shui Bing'er.

"Bing'er, Yue'er, your move was absolutely brilliant!"

"The Ice Phoenix Martial Soul is so beautiful."

Tyrone scratched his head, grinned, and revealed a憨厚 (honest and simple) smile.

"Hehe, I've never seen such heavy snow in my entire life."

He walked up to the frozen Huyanli, squatted down, and curiously examined the unwilling expression on the other's face.

"Big oaf, are you convinced now?"

The chief referee landed gracefully, first glancing at the six ice sculptures with a complicated expression, then at the unharmed Glass Team.

Finally, he took a breath and announced loudly.

"The match is over!"

"I hereby declare the winner of this match to be—the Liuli Team!"

The entire stadium fell silent for a moment, then erupted into a thunderous roar of cheers.

Although many people made the wrong bets and lost everything, they witnessed a thrilling showdown.

That's enough!

As the referee announced the news, Shui Bing'er's soul power began to circulate again.

She raised her delicate hand lightly.

Click, click...

The solid ice covering the Elephant Armor Team members began to crack, then turned into countless ice shards that fell down.

Six figures collapsed to the ground, trembling, their faces turning bluish-purple.

Hu Yanli gasped for breath and slammed his fist into the ground.

"Why……"

His eyes were bloodshot as he stared intently at Tyrone.

"Why did we lose so badly!"

Their Elephant Armored Squad, renowned for its defense and offense, had never suffered such a crushing defeat.

This is an absolute disgrace!

On the podium.

The face of Hu Yanzhen, the sect leader of the Elephant Armor Sect, was so gloomy it looked like it could drip water.

"metropolitan……"

A subordinate nearby spoke cautiously.

"You go and tell them now."

Hu Yanzhen's voice was hoarse and suppressed.

"This is just a points-based match, not the final!"

"Have them go for a medicinal bath to recover immediately, and then do a post-match analysis! Drill down every single detail of this game!"

"yes!"

The subordinate acknowledged and immediately turned to relay the order.

On the other side, behind Bibi Dong, Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan also had a somewhat solemn expression on his face.

He turned to the side, as if he wanted to say something to Pope Bibidon.

Bibi Dong simply raised her hand slightly to stop him.

Then, she turned to the man beside her.

"Sect Leader Ning."

"Your team has truly given me a pleasant surprise."

"Soul King, fourth ring of ten thousand years, Martial Soul Fusion Skill..."

Bibi Dong paused for a moment.

"No wonder you dared to declare that you would compete for the championship in this competition."

Ning Liu simply smiled faintly at Bibi Dong's praise.

He stood up from his seat.

"Your Holiness is too kind."

"The upcoming matches are probably not going to be very interesting."

"I won't keep you company."

"Goodbye."

After saying that, he turned around and left the stage with a leisurely air, without waiting for Bibi Dong to speak again.

Chrysanthemum Douluo watched Ning Liu's departing figure, his expression shifting uncertainly.

Arrogant! Utterly arrogant!

However, Bibi Dong was not angry. She simply watched Ning Liu's figure disappear into the passageway, and after a long while, she slowly spoke.

"Moon Pass".

"We can't hesitate any longer. Since the soul bones in the hall aren't suitable to be used now, let's take the three soul bones I personally treasure and let Nana and the others absorb them!"

"yes!"

...

Back in the main room, Ning Liu closed the door, shutting out the noise from outside.

Then, with a thought, the miniature array plate of the Soul Battle Energy Gathering Array appeared in his hand.

At the center of the array plate, a dozen or so crystals were emitting a soft glow.

Ning Liu's fingertips gently brushed over the crystals.

Most of them were yellow soul power crystals, with a few purple ones mixed in.

What truly satisfied him was the existence of the other groups.

That is the essence of martial spirit origin.

Some radiated a heavy, earthy yellow light, others were emerald green and filled with a deadly poisonous aura, and still others were snow-white and icy cold.

Ning Liu couldn't help but smile.

This is just the beginning.

As the competition progresses, more Soul Masters with high-quality Martial Souls will fight on this magic circle.

And at that time, what kind of quality of primordial essence will condense within the magic array?

That was his real goal.

As for the championship?

Those were just spoils of war that I picked up on the spur of the moment.