74: Chapter 74 The Goddess of the Moon Palace Returns

This was a sword strike that pushed speed and penetration to their limits!

The jing hong sword ignored the spatial distance, instantly striking towards Elia's heart! This sword strike was extremely fast and extremely dangerous!

As the sword light was about to hit her, at this critical moment, a ray of moonlight descended, and time itself seemed to be frozen.

Subsequently, a surge of divine moonlight power, infinitely more vast and majestic than before, erupted from her body, soaring straight into the sky!

Above the arena, it was as if an invisible bright moon had truly descended, casting down endless clear radiance.

Behind her head, an incredibly clear crescent moon phantom, exuding an ancient and desolate aura, suddenly condensed into form! The pure moonlight, like substantial ribbons of light, continuously cascaded down, enveloping her body.

These moonlight ribbons rapidly intertwined, wrapped, and condensed, covering and extending across her body... Finally, they transformed into a magnificent and majestic ice battle armor! The armor's lines were smooth and graceful, yet possessed an indestructible quality, making her appear like a war goddess who had stepped out of the Moon Palace!

The nearly shattered ice crystal longsword in her hand was also instantly repaired under the infusion of endless moonlight, becoming even more slender. The blade was transparent like crystal, as if moonlight liquid flowed within, and the hilt extended into a guard resembling ice phoenix wings.

Guanghan Goddess Form, returns!

Chen Yao felt the terrifying pressure washing over her, and her expression became more solemn than ever before.

This was Elia's trump card, the armed form of her S-rank talent, Moonlight Condensing Ice!

"Again!"

Elia looked indifferently at Chen Yao, casually swinging the brand new Ice Crystal Divine Sword in her hand.

"Crackling—!"

A crescent-shaped frost sword qi flew from the sword. Wherever it passed, even the air was frozen with white ice traces, carrying an aura of destruction, pressing towards Chen Yao!

Chen Yao gritted her teeth, controlling the jing hong sword and the surrounding re-stabilized flying sword cluster, transforming into a cyan blade storm, directly meeting the frost sword qi!

"Boom!!!"

A more intense explosion sounded! The frost sword qi and the blade storm furiously eroded each other!

However, this time, it was the frost sword qi that gained the upper hand! The extremely cold divine moonlight power was incredibly overbearing, continuously freezing and shattering the energy and physical structure of the flying swords.

The surfaces of a large number of flying swords were covered with thick layers of ice, their spiritual light dimming. Several swords of slightly inferior quality were even directly frozen and cracked, shattering into ice shards!

Chen Yao let out a muffled groan, her mental power recoiling, and a trace of blood spilled from the corner of her mouth. A hint of horror flashed in her eyes; Elia's strength had increased too much in her Guanghan Goddess Form!

Elia, not one to let an advantage slip, moved her figure as if she had merged into the moonlight, instantly appearing before Chen Yao. The Ice Crystal Divine Sword, carrying a chill that froze time and space, slashed down from above!

Chen Yao could only rely on the jing hong sword to desperately hold on, fighting and retreating. Their battle once again entered a white-hot stage, but the offensive and defensive positions had already reversed!

Sword light and moonlight furiously collided, each clash erupting with astonishing energy impacts. The arena was already unrecognizable, covered with sword marks and ice craters.

In her Guanghan Goddess Form, Elia's swordplay was still agile, but it now possessed an added divine dominance and the ruthlessness of absolute zero. Each sword strike made Chen Yao feel as if she were fighting against an entire world of ice and snow.

Chen Yao's flying sword cluster, under the domain of absolute zero, greatly diminished in power and slowed in movement, no longer able to pose an effective threat. She could only rely on the jing hong sword to engage Elia in the most dangerous close-quarters combat.

"I can't go on like this!" Chen Yao knew she had reached her limit. A look of determination flashed in her eyes as she poured all her remaining strength, along with her unyielding fighting spirit, into the jing hong sword!

"Jing Hong — Piercing Sun!"

She unleashed her strongest strike yet! Man and sword moved as one, sword light merging, and the jing hong sword burst forth with unprecedented dazzling cyan light, as if it had truly transformed into a world-shaking long rainbow capable of piercing the sun, carrying an unstoppable, all-or-nothing momentum, stabbing towards Elia's heart!

This was a sword strike that condensed all her essence, qi, and spirit!

Facing this self-sacrificing strike, Elia's silver eyes remained as calm as an ancient well. She gripped the Ice Crystal Divine Sword with both hands, raised it above her head, and the crescent moon phantom behind her head shone brightly, as endless divine moonlight power surged madly into the sword body.

"Guanghan... Judgment."

She softly uttered four words, then, she slashed down with her sword.

A thin, ice-blue line, as if freezing light itself, detached from the blade, silently meeting the Piercing Sun Long Rainbow.

Time seemed to slow down at this moment.

Under the gaze of countless eyes, the ice-blue thin line and the cyan Piercing Sun Long Rainbow collided silently.

The anticipated earth-shattering explosion did not occur.

The ice-blue thin line effortlessly cut into the core of the cyan long rainbow, like a hot knife through butter!

"Crack—!!!"

A crisp, heart-breaking snap clearly reached everyone's ears.

The cyan long rainbow, which had condensed all of Chen Yao's power, broke in half!

And at this moment, a clear crack on the jing hong sword's blade spread from the tip to the guard, and then, under Chen Yao's gaze, it suddenly broke into two pieces!

However, Elia's attack was not over. As she unleashed that sword strike, her left hand had already extended, fingers spread, and she made a grasping motion in the air towards Chen Yao, whose figure had paused.

"Moonlight... Immobilization."

Words became law! The endlessly cascading moonlight ribbons seemed to gain life, instantly wrapping around Chen Yao, firmly binding her limbs, torso, and neck, enclosing her in a 'light cocoon' that emitted a cool, clear glow.

The light cocoon contained a powerful restraining force, not only sealing her movements but also completely freezing the energy flow within her body.

Chen Yao stood frozen in mid-air, unable to move, only her eyes still holding remnants of shock, unwillingness, and a hint of relief.

Elia's figure appeared before her as if teleporting, the tip of the Ice Crystal Divine Sword, exuding chilling cold, gently touched the moonlight light cocoon covering Chen Yao's brow.

The extreme cold penetrated the light cocoon, making Chen Yao's brow feel an icy chill to the bone.

The victor had been decided.

The referee took a deep breath and, with a voice infused with spiritual power, loudly announced:

"Elia wins! The final winner of this qualification battle is — Li Yuan's team!"

The silence was broken, and a tsunami-like roar of cheers, applause, and exclamations instantly swept through the entire Azure Firmament Arena!

They won! The first-year freshman team had defeated all strong opponents and won the precious qualification to represent the academy in the Ten Thousand Races Visit Season!

Elia dispelled her Guanghan Goddess Form. The crescent moon phantom behind her head and the ice battle armor on her body dissipated into specks of moonlight. Then, she released the restraint on Chen Yao.

At this moment, General Zhao Lie rose from the VIP seats, his resonant voice overpowering the clamor of the entire venue: "I announce that the North Star Central Military Academy's combat team quota for this 'Ten Thousand Races Visit Season' belongs to — Li Yuan's team! May you uphold the glory of the academy and, during the Visit Season, raise the prestige of our human race!"

One by one, qualification medals, engraved with star and sword emblems, representing supreme honor and responsibility, were personally and solemnly pinned onto the chests of Li Yuan, Elia, Laya, Sai Wei, and Yimoku by General Zhao Lie.

Ulysses, in the VIP seats, finished the last drop of his drink, watching the spirited young men and women below, a meaningful smile playing on his lips.

"The journey has just begun..."