Chapter 853: Black Ring - Cloud and Rainbow Without Form...

"What a disgrace!"

Xiao Haohao's face turned green when he saw Xiao Yanyao sitting on the ground crying violently.

No, you lost, so what are you crying about?

The Xiao family couldn't afford to lose, but they also wouldn't just sit on the ground and cry.

"When Xiao Yanyao comes back, let him go and lock himself up in solitary confinement!" Xiao Hao sneered.

He gazed at the proud girl standing on the stage, his eyes sparkling with admiration.

The stronger Li Qingran's abilities were, the more he admired him.

The harder a woman is to conquer, the better she is. Those who fawn over him every day and can't wait to stick to him are just chickens and dogs. No matter how talented or beautiful they are, he won't even bother to give them a second glance.

Only Li Qingran remained unmoved in the face of his pursuit, and possessed such formidable strength and talent.

Only a woman like this is worthy of his status as the eldest son of the Xiao family.

Li Qingran easily defeated Xiao Yanyao, and he wasn't in a hurry at all. He figured that the incompetent Xiahou family would join forces with him, and the game was just beginning.

Xiao Hao, however, was unaware of this.

Every move of the Xiahou family was being watched by Pope Bixi, who was wrapped up like a mummy in a corner of the audience.

"The referee has changed..." Bixixi stared at the Xiahou family's Dou Sheng on the arena, her eyes icy.

The entire academy competition was entrusted to Feng Wuyu at her secret instruction.

Because Feng Wuyu's background is not related to any family in Douhun City, nor to Douhun Hall, making him the most convincing referee is the most suitable choice.

The fact that Feng Wuyu is not here now only indicates that Feng Wuyu is under house arrest.

As for who placed him under house arrest...

You can tell by looking at which family the current referees belong to.

"What audacity!" Bixi sneered. "These families are getting more and more outrageous. The Soul Academy is the foundation of Soul City and even the Soul Hall. It is the most sacred and inviolable place!"

"They actually resort to such despicable tactics even within the Fighting Soul Academy—replacing referees and harassing students. This shows just how arrogant and domineering these families are outside the academy..."

At this moment, she had already felt a hint of murderous intent, but she was still holding back, wanting to see if any other families were involved.

And, to what extent will these people do [illegible]?

It also determined whether one of them would die or the other would die.

…

According to the competition rules, the reigning champion has one hour of rest time after each round of defending their title.

Meanwhile, support-type Soul Masters will help Li Qingran recover, and the other arena champions follow the same procedure.

However, no support-type Soul Masters came to help Li Qingran.

Even their rest time was taken away.

After announcing Li Qingran's victory, the Dou Sheng from the Xiahou family immediately followed up: "The second match on Arena 1 will begin in five minutes. Defenders and attackers, please prepare!"

The students watching from the sidelines were all stunned.

"Wait a minute, isn't the break supposed to be an hour?"

"Uh...did the goddess Qingran defeat Xiao Yanyao too quickly? So the referee felt she didn't need to rest?"

"Is that so? Aren't the competition rules applicable to all arenas?"

The crowd was buzzing with discussion, but the Dou Sheng from the Xiahou family kept a cold face and pretended not to hear.

Li Qingran glanced indifferently at the Dou Sheng, not paying any attention to the act of deliberately breaking the rules.

It doesn't matter, she didn't consume much energy anyway.

It would be better to completely break ties with the enemy, so that the trainees can see the ugly faces of these families.

"Arena Number One, Match Two, Challenger: Level 43 Dou Zong, Xiahou Ji!"

Chen Huai'an, who was watching Canglan Mirror eat melon seeds, almost burst out laughing.

This name...

It might be sent out soon.

The audience erupted the moment the referee announced the challenger's information.

"Wait, why is it another Dou Zong? And it's against our Goddess Qingran's arena again?!"

"It's a conspiracy! There must be a conspiracy! How could it be such a coincidence that all of them are the strongest to challenge the arena!"

"You don't know why, do you? Look who Xiahou Yuan is holding in his arms?"

Everyone looked at the seats occupied by the Xiahou family and instantly understood.

Su Luyao was sitting in Xiahou Yuan's lap, staring at Li Qingran on the stage with a gloomy expression, while Xiahou Yuan had a lecherous look on his face, his hands groping all over Su Luyao's body.

It's obvious that Su Luyao was unhappy with her loss yesterday, so she sought help from Xiahou Yuan, who had been pursuing her for a long time.

Thus, the referee changed from the most impartial Vice Dean Feng Wuyu to the Battle Saint of the Xiahou family.

It's understandable. Dean Feng has no family background. If a powerful family like the Xiahou family really wanted to make things difficult for him or replace him, he would be powerless to do anything about it.

"Such an important competition has been ruined by these families!"

"Exactly. Since there's no fairness to speak of, why should we participate? And why make us participate at all? Why not just let these families fight amongst themselves?"

Li Qingran also had no family background, and most of the students in the Douhun Academy had similar backgrounds.

Seeing Li Qingran being treated unfairly and targeted by the family members, they couldn't help but put themselves in her shoes.

Xiahou Ji was a polite-looking young man with a friendly smile on his face.

As he stepped onto the stage, he revealed four boundary rings, one yellow and one purple.

Furthermore, the final boundary ring was purple with black undertones, clearly indicating its extraordinary nature.

"Junior Sister Qingran, I dare not disobey my family's orders, so I admit it."

He's a year ahead of Li Qingran, so calling him "junior sister" isn't a problem.

Seeing that Xiahou Ji was very polite, Li Qingran also cupped his hands in a gesture of respect.

However, just as she cupped her hands in greeting, before even the referee had announced the start of the match.

The first ring of Xiahou Ji's foot lit up.

"First combat skill, Soul Refining Lock!" He curled a sinister smile at the corner of his mouth and made a grasping motion with one hand.

A mirror reflecting the scorching inferno appeared beneath Li Qingran's feet.

With a 'whoosh', more than a dozen iron chains wreathed in flames flew out from the mirror, like ferocious fire pythons about to bind her.

During this sudden attack, Li Qingran was still in a state of surrender, and hadn't even had time to reveal his boundary ring.

Normal trainees lack combat experience, and in this situation, they simply cannot react and are bound by Xiahou Ji's first fighting technique, after which they face Xiahou Ji's fierce attacks.

"Holy crap! A sneak attack!"

"How could a Battle Master from the prestigious Xiahou family be so shameless?!"

The spectators cursed loudly, all believing that Li Qingran was doomed and would inevitably be unable to withstand Xiahou Ji's first fighting skill.

Even Bi Xixi was worried for Li Qingran.

And that is indeed the case.

When Li Qingran looked up, the chains had already enveloped her, sealing off all possible space to hide.

It seems...she has no way to escape?

Suddenly, a black boundary ring lit up at her feet.

At the same time, a terrifying sword pressure spread out, and the arena shattered inch by inch with Li Qingran at its center.

Xiahou Ji's expression changed drastically, and he immediately retreated, narrowly avoiding the sword's pressure.

When he looked up again, Li Qingran was no longer in the chains; only dissipating clouds remained.

But Li Qingran was nowhere to be seen on the stage.

Where is she...?

A chill rose from my back, rushing straight to the top of my head.

A clear, cool female voice rang in my ears: "Third combat skill, Cloud and Rainbow Formless!"

…

…