Lu Jingming's lips curled into a faint smile as he prepared to greet his opponents.

A sacred brand quietly appeared on the back of his hand, blue lightning gathering rapidly around his Black Abyss Spear.

"That's… a Stigmata! So Haiyuan City really does have Stigmata—but what grade is it?"

Compared to the match with Zhengtian Academy, this time, with many attentive eyes watching, Lu Jingming's left hand Stigmata was quickly noticed.

At last, people realized the source of his sudden command of lightning.

Clearly, Lu Jingming had not only fused with a Stigmata but had awakened its power, gaining special abilities.

Unlike the Mountain-Moving Ape Stigmata, which granted gravity control, Lu Jingming's was obviously lightning control.

Lightning continued to gather, gradually transforming the Black Abyss Spear into a dazzling lance of light.

Truthfully, Lu Jingming did this intentionally—to weaken the spear's overwhelming power of disintegration.

He used lightning to insulate against the Black Abyss Spear's deadly force, which, if unleashed in full, could seriously injure or even kill opponents in the tournament.

That's why he used the Lightning Stigmata's power.

His own strength was already too great and dangerous, so he had to self-limit and seal his power appropriately.

Otherwise, if touching him meant instant death, the match would lose all meaning!

It was the same for Castorice, who always suppressed her own deathly powers, as death-type abilities were inherently dangerous and hard to use in competition.

Even though the tournament rules didn't explicitly ban killing, it was not encouraged. The tournament was about growth and exchange, not a life-and-death battlefield.

Besides, March 7th and the other girls were kind-hearted; if they killed someone in a match, even if they didn't show it, it would bother them inside.

Lu Jingming understood this well—he didn't want unnecessary rifts with the girls over such matters.

So, he would not kill on the field.

At that moment, his arm muscles tensed like a drawn bow, ready to throw.

In a flash, the lightning lance in his hand shot through the air like a meteor, shining brightly as it streaked toward the other side.

The air split with a shrill whistle as the lightning lance flew.

Xu Jiujiu, knowing Lu Jingming's strength, grew serious at this attack.

Her Star Crown flared, dazzling gold illuminating one corner of the arena.

At the same time, her third spirit ring shone brightly as she released her third soul skill—Stellar Radiance!

A blazing golden pillar shot skyward, swirling with dreamy golden mist and starlight, as if the universe's stars had gathered here—mysterious and breathtaking.

The golden mist spread, enveloping all members of the Star Luo team.

Empowered by the Stellar Radiance, the Star Luo members were shrouded in golden mist, their aura surging.

Wang Shiying, cloaked in golden mist, stepped forward as wild winds gathered, forming a sharp wind lance.

Her second soul ring glowed, and the wind lance became a raging vortex, hurtling toward the incoming lightning lance.

"Boom—!"

Lightning and wind collided violently, exploding in midair as a brilliant orb, the shockwave spreading outward.

Lu Jingming raised an eyebrow—though he'd struck casually, Wang Shiying shouldn't have been able to block it alone.

Clearly, Xu Jiujiu's Stellar Radiance was stronger than he expected.

No wonder the Star Crown, once the empire's salvation, possessed such potent augmentation.

Seeing his probing attack blocked, Firefly burst into flames and shot toward Xu Jiujiu like a meteor.

Thoughtful Firefly wanted to help Lu Jingming, lest he go easy on Xu Jiujiu and get nagged by Gu Yue.

But just then, two figures blocked her way—Huang Heyun and Dugu Shangshan, both shrouded in dark and golden mist, transformed into their beast forms and worked together to intercept her.

Firefly's fists blazed like twin suns as she unleashed powerful punches.

"Bang—!"

A wild shockwave blasted out, knocking Huang Heyun and Dugu Shangshan back, carving deep grooves in the ground.

The two exchanged shocked glances—empowered by the Princess's skill, even Soul Emperors would fear them, yet Firefly forced them back with a single punch.

They were relieved for the augmentation—otherwise, a girl under fifteen would have floored them.

But quickly, their eyes grew determined—they absolutely could not let Firefly near the Princess.

"Third soul skill, Dark Power!"

"Second soul skill, Nether Frenzy!"

They roared and released their augmentation skills, growing even more formidable, and charged Firefly again.

On the other side, Chen Xiaojie transformed into lightning and sped toward Robin.

He was nervous—Robin had many fans, and attacking her would earn their ire, but for victory, he had to target the opposing support.

After all, with a super-support like Xu Jiujiu on their own team, he knew how crucial supports were.

So, despite his worries, he went for Robin.

Jinhsi remained calm, her fingers conjuring a long blade—her soul tool crafted by Herta, which would grow stronger with her.

With a flick, the blade transformed into a brilliant arc, slashing at Chen Xiaojie.

Chen Xiaojie was prepared, his fourth soul ring gleaming.

His body split into four identical bolts of lightning, each darting in a different direction—his fourth soul skill, Lightning Clone.

Jinhysi's attack missed, but she stayed calm, flicking her fingers again as her first soul ring glowed—her first soul skill, Floating Light and Chill.

The blade flashed again, aiming at all four targets.

Chen Xiaojie smiled confidently, thinking the blade hit a clone, but in the next instant, blood spurted as he fell, dazed.

"How…?"

He gazed in disbelief at the wound on his chest, blood soaking his clothes. Hadn't it just hit a clone? Why did his real body get cut? He vaguely saw four slashes—what was going on?

The blade returned to Jinhsi's side. She shook her head slightly—her first soul skill compressed time, allowing four simultaneous attacks. She didn't need to distinguish between clones and the real one—she'd simply strike them all.

Xu Jiujiu frowned—her team was at a disadvantage right as the fight began.

Determined not to let her little boyfriend look down on her, she raised her hand gracefully, pointing to the sky.

A golden light shone from her fingertip as her Star Crown flashed again, sending a thin golden beam arcing toward Lu Jingming's team.

Lu Jingming sensed its power but felt no threat, so he let the light fall on him.

The golden light seemed to add only a visual effect, but it was actually her first soul skill—Star Guidance, which locked their position for follow-up attacks.

Xu Jiujiu clearly planned to use it in combination with another move.