Crushing Higher-Level Opponents

Heaven Dou Grand Spirit Arena, central main stage.

In the number-one VIP room on the third level of the stands sat a handsome, refined young man. He was Xue Qinghe, the current Crown Prince of the Heavenly Dou Empire.

Every few months, Xue Qinghe would personally visit the Great Soul Arena to watch matches, cultivating an approachable image of enjoying himself alongside the common people.

But this seemingly ordinary two-on-two soul battle gave Xue Qinghe a reason he had no choice but to attend.

It was because of a report from one of his spies: two teenage Soul Ancestors with four ten-thousand-year Soul Rings had appeared at the Heaven Dou Grand Spirit Arena!

The news was so explosive that Xue Qinghe initially thought his subordinate had lost his mind. Only after multiple confirmations did he learn that the intelligence was accurate.

This was truly no small matter.

Either these two possessed Twin Martial Souls with four Soul Rings each, or they were exceptionally gifted geniuses.

Either way, no ruler in their right mind would have any reason not to recruit such once-in-ten-thousand-years prodigies.

Xue Qinghe had come precisely to assess the two in person. He also understood that he was certainly not the only one with his eye on these two geniuses.

However, as the Crown Prince of the Heavenly Dou Empire, he was confident that he could offer the most generous terms and use the Crown Prince's prestigious name to draw them to his side.

Of course, Spirit Hall was the continent's foremost soul master faction. If it also extended an olive branch to those two geniuses, they might very well join Spirit Hall instead.

However...

"Join Spirit Hall? If that is truly the case, then I'll have to find another way to approach you." Xue Qinghe propped his head up with his right hand, a handsome curve lifting at the corner of his lips.

That day, undercurrents surged through the Great Soul Arena. Countless factions, great and small, had come after catching wind of the news. When Ming Lunyu and the other entered the arena, Ming Lunyu's extraordinary spiritual power allowed him to sense countless gazes, some friendly and some malicious.

Looks like my four ten-thousand-year Soul Rings really caused quite a stir.

Ming Lunyu thought this inwardly, but his expression remained calm.

He had indeed been a little high-profile, but so what?

If someone else had two Titled Douluo serving as bodyguards, they might have been even more high-profile than he was.

In Ming Lunyu's view, now that he possessed such formidable power, if he still acted timid and restrained in everything he did, he might as well find some dark corner and rot away.

This was the confidence brought by invincible violence.

"Alright, audience members! Tonight's first two-on-two soul battle begins now, and both teams have entered the arena!"

"On one side, we have the Cold Spirit Combination, formed by the fifty-sixth-level Spirit Vine Soul King Wu Zhishu and the fifty-eighth-level Cold Jade Sword Soul King Hua Chu!"

"On the other side, we have the Phoenix Feather Fan Combination, formed by the forty-fifth-level folding fan Soul Ancestor Confucian Yama King and the forty-fifth-level Fire Phoenix Soul Ancestor Rakshasa Ghost Phoenix!"

"It is worth mentioning that although this is a challenge across ranks, no one should underestimate the two members of the Phoenix Feather Fan Combination!"

"Because they both possess four ten-thousand-year Soul Rings that defy all common sense!"

The moment those words fell, the stands erupted. Discussions, doubts, and cries of shock rang out without end.

"Now, both teams have one minute to release their martial souls!"

Ming Lunyu and Ma Hongjun were the first to activate theirs.

The Jade Bone Golden Fan quietly appeared in Ming Lunyu's hand, and four black Soul Rings pulsed around him.

Ma Hongjun was even more eye-catching.

Gorgeous phoenix wings burst from her body, a golden-red crown settled atop her head, and blazing flames surged all over her body, warping the surrounding air.

Four black Soul Rings rose around her as well.

Wu Zhishu and Hua Chu exchanged a glance, each seeing the gravity in the other's eyes.

Although their opponents' Soul Power Levels were lower than theirs, they held overwhelming advantages in both martial soul quality and Soul Ring quality.

This battle would likely not be easy!

Layers upon layers of blue-green vines curled around Wu Zhishu, while five Soul Rings—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black—rose around him. He was clearly a control-type soul master.

With a flick of his arm, Hua Chu summoned a frost-covered longsword into his hand. His Soul Rings were white, yellow, purple, purple, and black.

"The match begins!"

At the host's loud announcement, both sides moved at once.

On Ming Lunyu's side, he took a step back while Ma Hongjun moved to the front.

"Ha!"

Ma Hongjun let out a sharp cry. Her first and second Soul Rings flashed as she crossed her arms before her chest, then violently threw them apart.

A dazzling suit of flame armor covered her delicate body with clanking metallic sounds. On top of her original wings, a pair of enormous wings condensed from phoenix flames emerged.

At the same time, a visible Cinder Halo spread outward from Ma Hongjun, covering an area one hundred meters around her.

Ma Hongjun charged out like a war chariot. With her wings beating, her attack path became even more elusive and unpredictable.

Wu Zhishu groaned inwardly. His martial soul was a plant type, yet his opponent was a powerful fire-attributed martial soul like the Fire Phoenix. She countered him completely.

"First Soul Skill: Entanglement! Third Soul Skill: Spirit Vine Spear!"

Countless tough vines sprang up along Ma Hongjun's path, attempting to impede her movement.

Three sharp wooden spears also arced beautifully through the air, driven by Soul Power as they attacked.

"Leave it to me!"

Ming Lunyu's third Soul Ring lit up!

"Blazing Wheel Dance!"

Six flaming folding fans shot through the air.

Three of them exploded ahead of time along their flight paths. The elemental force generated by the explosions doubled the speed of the remaining three folding fans, allowing them to catch up to Ma Hongjun in an instant.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The folding fans precisely intercepted the wooden spears.

Meanwhile, the vines wrapping toward her were burned to ash by the flames released from Ma Hongjun's body.

At that moment, Hua Chu, the Cold Jade Sword soul master, arrived!

First came three icy sword energies, forcing Ma Hongjun to stop and defend herself. Then Hua Chu rushed in, Cold Jade Sword in hand, like a ghost.

"Heavenly Ice, Slash!"

He used his fifth Soul Skill without hesitation from the very start!

Ma Hongjun's pupils contracted. She no longer held back, instantly unleashing her third and fourth Soul Skills.

"Eternal Flame! Phoenix Blessing!"

Ma Hongjun's recovery rate doubled. Combined with the shield from Phoenix Blessing and the defensive boost from the Overlord Flame Heavy Armor, she forcibly withstood the terrifyingly powerful icy sword strike.

"That hurt a little..." Fine wounds had been cut across Ma Hongjun's arm, but they rapidly healed under the restorative power of phoenix flames.

On the other side, Hua Chu had just unleashed his ultimate move. His old force had faded before new force could arise, and after Ma Hongjun's shield exploded, the resulting shockwave caught him off guard and sent him flying.

"Vine Wall!"

Wu Zhishu released a wall of vines to catch Hua Chu.

Whoosh!

A roaring, spiraling waterspout suddenly burst from the vine wall. Hua Chu was unable to evade it and was instantly hard-controlled for a full second, flung toward Ma Hongjun.

Ma Hongjun's lips curled upward. She had already assumed the stance for an uppercut, as though she had known in advance that Hua Chu would be controlled by the waterspout.

"Ha!"

Her delicate fist, wrapped in blazing flames, smashed forward ferociously!

The poor Cold Jade Sword Soul King was blasted high into the air like a ball.

To avoid killing him, Ma Hongjun had deliberately struck his abdomen rather than his head.

Wu Zhishu's expression tightened. Just as he was about to use a Soul Skill to support Hua Chu, he was disrupted by the successive water blades Ming Lunyu fanned out. Left with no choice, he first created a vine wall to defend himself.

In the battle that followed, the two members of the Cold Spirit Combination became noticeably more cautious. They kept themselves within a distance where they could support each other and carefully launched probing attacks.

But while they wanted to play at range, Ma Hongjun had no intention of doing so.

With all her Soul Skills activated, she launched a fierce pursuit.

With the defense and recovery provided by her own Soul Skills, along with the continuous support of Ming Lunyu's first and second Soul Skills, her Soul Power seemed inexhaustible.

Thus, a very peculiar scene appeared in the arena: two Soul Kings were being chased around the entire field by a Soul Ancestor, while another Soul Ancestor simply stood at the side and watched. (OMO)

But was Ming Lunyu really just watching?

Of course not. Though he did not step forward for close combat, he continuously unleashed all manner of Soul Skills.

The arena was already covered in earth spikes, wooden barriers, and black marks left by explosions.

Although the two Soul Kings had high Soul Power, even they struggled to adapt to such high-frequency bombardment of Soul Skills. Especially that damned waterspout, which would suddenly erupt from beneath their feet and directly hard-control them for at least half a second.

That was when Ma Hongjun would rush over and give them a couple of punches.

Rather than a match, it was more like a cat toying with mice.

Of course, Ming Lunyu and Ma Hongjun were not intentionally toying with them. It was simply because they lacked a method capable of instantly defeating two Soul Kings.

The two members of the Cold Spirit Combination might have looked miserable, but they had indeed never lost their ability to fight. They even occasionally still had the energy to seek opportunities to counterattack.

However, thanks to the footwork Ming Lunyu had honed over many years, neither of them could so much as touch the corner of his clothes. Ma Hongjun, meanwhile, simply charged forward and met them head-on.

The match soon reached the ten-minute mark.

Very suddenly, both Ming Lunyu and Ma Hongjun stopped attacking.

Ma Hongjun drove Hua Chu's sword edge away with a punch, then leaped backward and widened the distance between herself and the two of them.

Wu Zhishu and Hua Chu were finally able to catch their breath briefly.

But they did not dare relax in the slightest.

"Be careful."

Hua Chu gave Wu Zhishu a look, warning him to be wary of their opponents' abnormal behavior.

"Maybe they've run out of Soul Power," Wu Zhishu said quietly.

Hua Chu's eyes flickered.

Their opponents were only two Soul Ancestors. He also did not believe that after ten minutes of intense combat, they could have much Soul Power remaining.

Especially that folding fan soul master! He had used his fourth Soul Skill at least eight times already!

"Get ready to attack!"

The two made up their minds, preparing to seize the opportunity and launch an offensive.

"Though you are geniuses with four ten-thousand-year Soul Rings, being able to fight Soul Kings to this extent is enough to be proud of, isn't it? But you are still too young!"

Hua Chu stepped forward with a cold expression, his fifth Soul Ring flashing.

"Heavenly Ice, Slash!"

An enormous icy sword more than ten meters long condensed inch by inch!

At the instant the giant sword's tip was about to finish forming, Ma Hongjun snapped her fingers.

"Explode!"

"!"

The two realized something was wrong and were horrified, but it was already too late!

BOOM!!!

Violent firelight instantly erupted from their bodies, raising a small mushroom cloud where they stood.

The effect of Ma Hongjun's second Soul Skill! The Cinder Halo inflicted a burning status on enemy units every minute, and once ten layers accumulated, it would explode.

A layer of fire shields covered the two of them, while green mist swept toward them as well.

When the flames dispersed, Wu Zhishu and Hua Chu's clothes were in tatters, their faces blackened with soot as they struggled on their knees.

"The Phoenix Feather Fan Combination wins this match!"

The stands erupted with thunderous cheers and roaring applause!