Enhanced by Wood Spirit, the Thorny Vines doubled in thickness, each strand as wide as a child's arm. Inch-long thorns jutted outward, gleaming with menace.

Ray withdrew his golden dragon claw. Its consumption was simply too great to sustain.

With his Silverfalls Vine largely sealed, the single golden strand was his final lifeline.

It slammed into the ground in a flash of golden light, rebounding with explosive force and launching Ray into the air, narrowly avoiding the Thorny Vines.

"Still trying to run?" Matilda laughed softly, confidence shining in her eyes. In her view, escaping in midair was impossible.

Then the green light enveloped Ray.

His descent slowed abruptly.

In the next instant, an icicle rose beneath his foot.

Though far smaller than Ursula's constructs, it was more than enough.

Ray stepped on it and kicked off hard, shooting downward toward Ursula.

At the same time, seven fireballs ignited around him, descending like meteors.

Lily showed no signs of stopping. Fireballs flew one after another, her assault relentless. With her soul power already in the twenties, the pressure she exerted left Ursula no room to breathe.

The golden dragon claw reappeared.

Ray had no intention of dodging anymore. Ice wall or icicle, it didn't matter. He would smash through everything and bring Ursula down first.

The three-ringed Ursula was the core threat.

Ursula's brows knit tightly.

She had never expected three ten-year-olds to push her this far.

Their team had researched Ray thoroughly, prepared countermeasures, and designed tactics to neutralize him. Yet Raziel Phoenix had somehow single-handedly pinned down Margery—and even held the advantage.

And Lily…

She was the biggest surprise of all.

In just a short span, she had displayed three different elements. Even without understanding her exact soul skills, the synergy alone was enough to swing the battle back into balance.

Ray's golden dragon claw was already dangerous enough. Now he was charging straight at her with fireballs in tow.

If she didn't reveal her trump card, she would lose.

Her purple soul ring flared.

In an instant, Ursula's aura transformed. The icy mist clinging to her body condensed into an icy-blue skin, waves of absolute cold radiating outward.

Ice Spirit!

First, Matilda's Wood Spirit had nearly crippled Ray. Now, Ursula revealed her thousand-year Ice Spirit—her third soul skill.

Like Wood Spirit, it was an elemental amplification skill, but the gulf between hundred-year and thousand-year was immeasurable.

A massive ice wall surged up before her the moment the skill activated.

The fireballs slammed into it and were extinguished effortlessly.

Ray crashed into the wall head-on.

His golden dragon claw punched deep into the ice, cracks spiderwebbing across its surface—but it didn't shatter this time.

Shards of ice formed behind Ursula, each one longer than a meter, colder and sharper than anything she had summoned before.

Humiliation burned in her chest.

To be forced to use her third soul skill against a ten-year-old… this was unacceptable.

She slammed her palm against the ice wall.

Ray's body shook violently. Alarm flared in his eyes as he hastily circulated his soul power to defend himself.

The next instant, the ice wall exploded.

Ray was blasted backward like a broken kite.

Only now did he truly understand how terrifying a powerful three-ringed soul master could be.

Freezing air tore into his body. His blood slowed, numbed by the cold, while explosive force ravaged his veins. Without his abnormal physique, he would have lost consciousness on the spot.

Ice shards streaked toward him as icicles rained down upon Lily.

"Ray!" Raziel Phoenix cried out in shock.

Lily's cry was different—sharp, furious.

An eerie light flashed through her eyes.

In a silver blur, she vanished.

The icicles pierced nothing but empty air.

Ursula froze.

She still lacked real battlefield experience, and in that brief pause, her secondary control slipped.

The icicles flew on unguided, smashing into the arena's barrier with such force that it rippled violently.

Lily's fury erupted like a struck flint.

Both of her soul rings ignited at once. She clasped her hands together before her chest, and a fireball roared into existence between her palms. At the same time, ribbons of green light coiled around it, spiraling tighter and tighter as her hands traced smooth, circular motions.

Wind fed the fire.

The flames howled, swelling into a whirling column of blazing heat.

At first, the firestorm was barely a meter tall. But to elemental soul masters, its presence was unmistakable. Ursula and Matilda could feel it clearly—the surrounding wind and fire elements were being drawn in, obeying an unseen call.

The tornado grew.

Two meters. Then more.

It continued expanding without Lily visibly injecting additional soul power.

Matilda's smile vanished. Her eyes widened in disbelief as she cried out, "She… she's comprehended the element's heart!"

The words struck like thunder.

The element's heart was a concept only elemental-type soul masters truly understood. To wield real power, one had to grasp not just the element itself, but its essence.

The heart of an element allowed a soul master to draw strength not only from within, but from the surrounding world. Wind, fire, ice—everything in the atmosphere could be summoned and shaped.

It was the dividing line between the strong and the truly terrifying.

Yet it was also dangerous.

Calling upon power beyond one's control could lead to self-destruction. That was why spiritual power was vital; without sufficient control, an element could devour its wielder.

Ursula's Ice Spirit and Matilda's Wood Spirit greatly enhanced their elemental control, but even so, they were still far from touching the element's heart.

Lily's firestorm told a different story.

She wasn't feeding it with soul power.

She was drawing on the world itself.

How old is she?

How can she have already grasped the element's heart… and more than one at that?

"This is bad!" Ursula snapped back to her senses. "We have to act—now!"

They both knew how terrifying an unleashed elemental heart could be. If Lily lost control, the backlash wouldn't just end the match—it could injure everyone on the stage.

Normally, elemental soul masters severed their connection before reaching that limit.

But Lily was only ten.

They couldn't gamble on her restraint.

Ursula thrust out her right hand. Matilda reached with her left.

Their fingers locked.

In that instant, the world seemed to pause.

An azure figure shimmered into existence behind Ursula, while an emerald silhouette descended behind Matilda, wrapping around them like guardian spirits.

Their auras exploded.

A shockwave of power rippled outward, forcing the air itself to retreat.

Across the stadium, spectators leapt to their feet in alarm.

Box seven. Box one. Every VIP section.

Alfred. Giselle. Conrad. Oswin.

Without exception, every expert stood frozen, disbelief etched onto their faces.

No one had expected much from this three-versus-three match. Yet it had spiraled into something no one could have imagined.

From the very start, Alfred had recognized the Sealand team's strength—two three-ringed soul masters, superior combat experience, and two elemental-types.

Ray's tactics had been sound. Raziel Phoenix restraining Margery was crucial. If the assault-type soul master had been free, the sisters could have fought at full strength without worry.

But what truly left Alfred speechless was Ray's boldness.

He had deliberately held Lily back, conserving her strength, only calling her in when he himself was suppressed.

They had underestimated Ursula.

But Lily's comprehension of the element's heart… that surpassed even Alfred's expectations.

Giselle nearly blurted out an order to take Lily away on the spot.

An elemental soul master who understood the element's heart was already a rare genius.

One who commanded multiple elements?

That was monstrous.

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