195: Ending early

From the moment the Sea-Overturning Flood Dragon activated its domain until Xuan You was submerged in various algae and barnacles, only a few breaths of time passed, and the scales of victory seemed to have tipped toward Lin Jin.

Facing this situation, Xu Yan's emotions remained very stable, sensing that Xuan You's condition had not weakened; he even had the presence of mind to offer a sigh of admiration.

He hadn't expected that the 'Sea-Overturning' (Overturning the Sea) part of the Sea-Overturning Flood Dragon's name, besides meaning 'to overturn,' also carried the implication of 'all rivers running to the sea' (tolerance/inclusiveness).

After finishing his admiration, Xu Yan immediately commanded Xuan You to activate the Black Tortoise Seal.

Similar to the Annihilation Breath used by Zhang Che's Ancient Dragon, the Black Tortoise Seal skill is also a method of compressing and integrating one's domain power into a skill.

As Xuan You mobilized its power, a totem of intertwined tortoise and snake lit up on its body. With the appearance of this tortoise-snake totem, the algae and barnacle prison "confining" Xuan You shattered and peeled away piece by piece, like dried mud shells struck by an impact, revealing Xuan You wrapped inside.

At the same time, the Power of Heaven and Earth around Xuan You became viscous and heavy, and the turbulent ocean, which had been accompanied by various natural disasters, quickly calmed down.

Then, the phantom image of the tortoise and snake glowing on Xuan You's body transformed into a massive Black Tortoise Seal, which slowly descended from the air toward the ocean below.

Although it was only a palm-sized Black Tortoise Seal, it carried an incomparably powerful suppressive force. As it slowly descended, the surrounding ocean rapidly shrank at a terrifying speed, and the land that had been submerged by the sea was revealed again due to this shrinking phenomenon.

When it was about twenty centimeters from the ground, the previously boundless ocean was completely sealed within the palm-sized shadow cast by the Black Tortoise Seal. Along with it was the Sea-Overturning Flood Dragon, immobilized and locked by chains formed from heavy currents.

It took only a few breaths for the Sea-Overturning Flood Dragon to go from having no opening to gaining the upper hand. Similarly, it took only a few breaths for Xuan You to go from being imprisoned by algae and barnacles to activating the Black Tortoise Seal and completely suppressing the Sea-Overturning Flood Dragon.

After several failed attempts to swap the Sea-Overturning Flood Dragon out, and following Lin Jin's declaration of "I lose," the battle space dissipated, and the two reappeared in the arena.

However, the gazes of the other people present had once again changed when looking at the two.

Toward Lin Jin, the general attitude was one of pity. The strength the Sea-Overturning Flood Dragon displayed during its battle with Xuan You was certainly enough to achieve a better ranking within the school team.

Unfortunately, in both consecutive rounds of challenges, he chose the wrong opponent. This resulted in Lin Jin's challenge journey ending prematurely, despite his powerful strength, simply because of his choices.

As for Xu Yan, his grade level and the strength displayed by Zhu Yan in the first round of challenges were already enough to make most people present take notice and feel cautious.

However, there was a hierarchical gap in strength between the top five members of the school team and those ranked below them. Regarding Xu Yan and Lin Heng, these two sophomores, the others merely thought the new juniors had some Innate Talent and that the school team wouldn't lack successors after they graduated, but they didn't regard them as rivals.

However, in this battle between Xu Yan and Lin Jin, the performance of Xuan You after activating the Black Tortoise Seal made them feel a level of strength equal to that of their own main spirit beasts—a power capable of threatening them.

It was from that moment on that Xu Yan was no longer viewed as a promising junior, but rather as someone who could stand alongside them and become a true "absolute core" member of the school team.

After the battle concluded, due to Lin Jin's failure, the right to challenge passed to Xu Yan.

Just as Xu Yan was about to choose his opponent without leaving the field, Kong Ji's voice rang out first: "Xu Yan, the power your Spirit Beast displayed in the previous battle has created a significant gap between it and the other school team members.

Therefore, you will be exempt from challenging and your ranking will directly rise to 06, enjoying the same treatment as the top five members. At the same time, I must apologize for my mistake; due to insufficient consideration, the selected venue cannot withstand a battle between you and the top five members.

Thus, your battles against the top five members will be postponed until the subsequent school team training and internal ranking matches."

Hearing Kong Ji's words, although Xu Yan felt a bit regretful that he couldn't "get revenge" on Zhang Che, he ultimately accepted the proposal, walked out of the captain's field, and headed toward the sixth position under Kong Ji's guidance.

The school team member originally ranked sixth "sensibly" yielded the position when Xu Yan walked off the battleground, moving one spot to the right along with the original members ranked seven through nine.

Xu Yan's second round of challenges ended early due to insufficient venue conditions, leaving only the last challenger, Lin Heng, on the field.

When Kong Ji asked Lin Heng whom he wished to challenge, Lin Heng chose the school team member who had been displaced to rank 7 by Xu Yan.

However, as he made his choice, his eyes glanced toward Xu Yan on the left, his gaze full of fighting spirit, which then turned into regret.

Because of Xu Yan's previous performance, Lin Heng, who was in the same grade as Xu Yan, naturally received extra attention from the crowd. Not only did Xu Yan notice the emotional shift in the other party's eyes, but others did as well.

In response, Zhang Che, who was to Xu Yan's left, joked: "Junior Xu Yan, it seems you were too heavy-handed in your previous battle; you seem to have scared your classmate a bit, causing him to hesitate in challenging you."

Regarding Zhang Che's comment, Xu Yan shook his head and said, "My classmate has never lacked the courage to challenge. Also, you seem to have misunderstood the reason for the emotional change in his eyes."

Xu Yan's words immediately piqued Zhang Che's curiosity, and the surrounding crowd who heard this also directed some attention toward him.

After all, most of them had an interpretation of Lin Heng's emotional change similar to Zhang Che's, so they naturally wanted to hear the different answer provided by Xu Yan.

Zhang Che did not disappoint the expectations of the others nearby and directly asked Xu Yan his confusion: "Oh? I misunderstood? Then, what is your interpretation?"

In response to Zhang Che's inquiry, Xu Yan spoke lightly, "The Head Coach said earlier that this venue cannot withstand a battle between me and the top five members. And that 'top five' doesn't just refer to the ranking."

Although his tone was extremely calm, it immediately stunned everyone who heard it.

In response, the crowd's first reaction was, "No way, right?"