After breakfast, Zhao Wuji and Yu Xiaogang led the group to the training ground.
"You've had half a month off, so let's see if you've gotten rusty." The Great Strength Vajra Bear opened with his extraordinarily booming voice, chuckling with less than good intentions.
Yu Xiaogang cleared his throat. Once everyone turned to look at him, he said, "Xiang Yang has a new Soul Skill. This time, you'll familiarize yourselves with it in battle, so you can work together in sync in the future."
This was a familiar training exercise, and they had all expected it, so no one objected.
Seeing this, Yu Xiaogang divided them into the following teams for a four-on-four match:
Tang San, Xiang Yang, Zhu Zhuqing, Xiao Wu vs. Dai Mubai, Oscar, Ma Hongjun, Ning Rongrong
Both teams had two support fighters and two attackers.
Once both sides were ready, Zhao Wuji announced, "Begin!"
"Seven Treasures Have Names, First: Strength, Second: Speed!"
Two flashes of colored light appeared on both Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun, while she and Oscar received only the speed boost.
The two kept their eyes fixed on Xiao Wu, ready to look away or close their eyes at any moment. "White Tiger Fierce Light Wave!" "Phoenix Fire Line!"
They launched ranged attacks at the same time to probe their opponents, intending to force them to move, but they were destined to be disappointed.
"Second Soul Skill, Solar Corona Prism Guard!"
A solid-looking, irregular golden shield separated the four of them from the outside.
Seeing his attack about to strike the shield, Dai Mubai found it strange. "That's not right. He only broke through recently. A Soul Skill's power depends on how much Soul Power is put into it. Since the skill is so powerful, it must consume a lot of Soul Power, so why would he use it right at the start?"
Could it be?
A few minutes earlier, the four had been about to discuss their battle plan, but Xiang Yang had first rolled his neck and flexed his fingers, producing a series of cracks and pops. The other three saw the corners of his mouth lift as he smiled and said, "None of you make a move later. Leave it to me this time!"
"Oh?" Tang San was the first to respond. "Looks like we're in for a good show."
"Huh? I was just getting ready to show what I can do. Well, I'll let you have this one." Xiao Wu muttered. Zhu Zhuqing was somewhat surprised. Although she knew Xiang Yang must be confident to say that, wasn't he a support Soul Master?
Only when the two attacks struck the shield did she suddenly feel a portion of her Soul Power vanish into thin air. Right! Zhu Zhuqing remembered Xiang Yang's earlier explanation of his Soul Skill's effects. His shield was charged by the people inside it. Was there really no limit to the number?
Seeing that his flames hadn't caused so much as a ripple, Ma Hongjun looked as though he had expected it all along. "Xiang Yang's Soul Skill really is strong." After all, the second Soul Skill Xiang Yang had found for him had already greatly reduced the harm caused by his Evil Fire. By now, he even had a kind of blind faith in Xiang Yang, so he thought this was perfectly normal.
Dai Mubai's earlier premonition grew stronger. "Fatty, watch out..."
Before he could finish, the slowly rotating dome of light suddenly blazed gold, forcing them to avert their eyes or close them. As one, they thought, This is bad!
"Bang!"
Dai Mubai recovered first and hurriedly looked toward the sound. Zhao Wuji stood firmly in front of them, a little smoke rising from his crossed hands.
He bared his teeth and said, "Well, well, remarkable, remarkable. That was already as powerful as an attack from a Power Attack System Soul Ancestor."
What happened? Teacher Zhao stepping in meant they had lost, but what had just happened?
Oscar and Ning Rongrong had been standing farther back and had seen it. When the golden light shone, a golden sphere had formed outside the shield in an instant and shot toward them with the speed of a thunderbolt, too fast for them to cover their ears.
"That's a Self-Created Soul Skill!" Ning Rongrong exclaimed.
"No way! Uh, if it's Xiang Yang, I suppose it makes sense." "True."
Xiang Yang and the others dropped their defense and joined them. Smiling, he waved a hand and explained, "It was nothing much. I developed that move, 'Sunlight Cannon,' using the energy-shaping principle behind my second Soul Skill. The principle is simple: just control and compress the energy, then fire it. It's about the same as Mubai's second Soul Skill."
Hearing this, Yu Xiaogang caught on. "Interesting. In that case, theoretically, everyone can learn this move."
"Yes, Teacher, but it requires a certain level of mental strength and control, and it also takes a great deal of time." As Tang San spoke, he used Soul Power to weave Soul Power in the shape of Blue Silver Grass in his palm.
After dispersing it, he added, "But reaching the same level of power as that just now would be pretty unlikely."
Besides his exceptional mental strength and control, the main reason Xiang Yang could do it was that Solar Corona Prism Guard itself could absorb attacks, especially energy-based ones.
On top of that, after obtaining his Second Soul Ring, his control over his Sunflower Martial Soul—or rather, his degree of fusion with it—had increased considerably.
If it had been around fifteen percent when he obtained his First Soul Ring, it was now at least twenty-five percent. He had already been able to manipulate Sunlight Energy directly before, and now he could even shape it to attack, defend, or replenish his own Soul Power.
At his current level of efficiency, saying he could fight all day would be no exaggeration.
Seeing Tang San's demonstration, Xiao Wu joined in. "Hmph, I can do it too." She also used both hands to form a disk of pink energy, but it dispersed in less than three seconds.
"Hehe." She was a little embarrassed, but Ning Rongrong was astonished and couldn't help applauding. "Xiao Wu, you're amazing!"
When it came to controlling Soul Power, Control System Soul Masters were generally the best, followed by Power Attack, Agility Attack, and support types. As for creating one's own Soul Skill, that was generally something only experts at the Soul Saint level or above could do.
Xiang Yang and Tang San were one thing, but she hadn't expected Xiao Wu to be able to do it too, even if she obviously didn't look very practiced yet.
"Really? Hehe." She scratched her head.
Ning Rongrong went on to ask, "Yeah! How did you do it?"
"That? Xiang Yang will explain it later."
"I see. Then I'll be waiting to see it." Ning Rongrong was looking forward to it. What support player didn't want to carry? She was no exception.
"Xiang Yang's Soul Skill was indeed impressive just now, but none of the others got to show what they can do. Next, all of you will fight Teacher Zhao Wuji together. This time, you must bring out all your strength."
Yu Xiaogang spoke after pondering for a moment.
"Yes." "All right." "No problem."
Everyone answered and immediately began discussing tactics.
One incense stick later.
"Teacher Zhao, we're ready. Come on."
"All right, little ones, watch yourselves!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Zhao Wuji moved. Seven Soul Rings—two yellow, two purple, and three black—wreathed his body as he charged at them, unstoppable as a savage bear from ancient times.
"Seven Treasures Have Names! First..."
Strength and speed increased by thirty percent.
"Sunlight Seed!"
Soul Power and stamina recovery speed increased by thirty percent, while Soul Power and overall physical attributes increased by fifteen percent.
The three boosting Soul Skills nearly doubled everyone's combat strength.
"White Tiger Fierce Light Wave!" Dai Mubai spat a wave of light from his mouth.
"Second Soul Skill, Phoenix Cry Break!"
Ma Hongjun's second Soul Skill came from a Dawn Golden Rooster. This Soul Beast crowed at the darkest moment before dawn and could dispel sinister Qi.
The fleshy crest on its head was gilded gold and contained pure yang Qi. It slept by day and emerged at night, flying away quickly after crowing, which made it extremely difficult to catch. Flender had taken him to lie in wait for a week before they caught a suitable one at night.
Its effect alone wasn't particularly strong; it could only emit sound waves to stun people. The closer the target, the stronger the effect. Within ten meters, it could stun someone a whole major rank above him for one second. Beyond ten meters, its power dropped off sharply, depending largely on the difference in strength between the two sides.
But to Ma Hongjun, who had suffered deeply from Evil Fire, it was like sweet rain after a long drought. The Dawn Golden Rooster's pure yang Qi was opposed to Evil Fire and would not be absorbed by it. Instead, under his control, it suppressed the Evil Fire. Whenever the Evil Fire showed signs of rioting, he only had to activate it to shake the accumulated Evil Fire apart. Although this treated the symptoms rather than the root cause, he had finally seen hope. If he continued down this path, at least he wouldn't die from his body exploding when the Evil Fire rioted.
"Scree!"
"Hmph, that won't do much to me."
Zhao Wuji slapped the light wave apart and took the sound wave head-on without feeling a thing.
Just then, a dark shadow flashed past. "Hell Stab!" a voice called from behind him.
"Clang, clang, clang, clang."
"Decent speed, but there's no strength behind it," Zhao Wuji commented, just as he was about to turn.
"Bang!"
Suddenly, a cloud of black mist obscured his vision.
"This is..." Zhao Wuji thought of something. "First Soul Skill, Immovable Bright King Body!"
An explosion of golden light dispersed the black mist. Once the light returned, he found himself facing Xiao Wu's crimson eyes.
"Red-Eyed Moonshadow!"
He inwardly cried out that things were bad, but it was too late to dodge. A faint sting followed, and a crescent moon appeared in his eyes, blocking his vision once more. Fortunately, there was a forty-level gap between them, and the moon disappeared after one second.
But what appeared before him was a White Tiger over a meter tall and more than three meters long, with golden wings and dark markings. Although it didn't look large, it was extremely solid, as though a real Soul Beast were fighting him.
Martial Soul Fusion Skill—Hell White Tiger!
"Roar!" With a majestic roar, the Hell White Tiger, covered in a golden shield, sprang at Zhao Wuji.
"Good!"
They clashed fiercely. At a disadvantage in size, Zhao Wuji couldn't help taking two steps back. He let out an excited shout, and his two purple Soul Rings lit up one after the other.
"Third Soul Ring, Gravity Enhancement."
It could make an opponent's body heavier, restricting movement.
"Fourth Soul Ring, Position Tracking."
The Thousand-Year Soul Ring encircled the Hell White Tiger directly, allowing him to close the distance instantly within a hundred meters.
"Second Soul Skill, Great Strength Vajra Palm!"