Surging Soul Power erupted from the six Soul Rings behind Ma Xiaotao, and the Phoenix's ultimate scorching heat weighed heavily on everyone's hearts.
"Senior Sister, shouldn't we stop Xiaotao?" a cool, white-haired woman beside Zhang Lexuan asked doubtfully.
"No need. That guy was simply too blind. Anyone with eyes could see that the girl already had someone in her heart, yet he insisted on butting in."
Bathed in luminous moonlight, the senior disciple of the inner court seemed as flawless and ethereal as a fairy beneath the moon.
"Besides, we can also see where Xiaotao's limits lie. Chen Fu gave her quite a few good things."
Although Ma Xiaotao had been called over by her to help maintain Order, Zhang Lexuan was more than happy to watch a good show as long as it remained under control.
Besides, she was also rather curious about the good things Chen Fu had given Ma Xiaotao.
"Classmate, how about we let this offense slide?" Lin Han asked cautiously, unsure as he faced the Phoenix woman before him, whose Soul Rings were all fully unleashed.
"If I don't beat you until you're crying for your parents today, I'll take your surname!"
Ma Xiaotao was utterly disgusted by this young Soul Douluo teacher before her, who was clearly thinking of an old cow eating tender grass. Wasn't she obvious enough? Wasn't he proving that all her earlier efforts had been for nothing?
Dodging the phoenix flames rushing at his face, Lin Han thought that Xiaotao actually sounded rather nice.
He was less than ten years older than Ma Xiaotao. After graduating from the inner court, he had remained at the academy as a teacher. He had joined this Sea God Festival only to fulfill a dream from his days of obsessing over cultivation and ignoring worldly matters. By chance, he encountered the proud and icy Ma Xiaotao, beautiful as an immortal amid flames, and tried confessing to her. He had not expected such a fierce reaction.
"Classmate, if you don't stop now, I won't go easy on you anymore!"
Breaking out of the flames that filled the sky, Lin Han was somewhat disheveled beneath his beastified dragon-shaped armor. Several burns marked his body. He had truly underestimated the power of the Phoenix flames.
Six Soul Rings—yellow, purple, purple, purple, black, and red—were arranged symmetrically behind Ma Xiaotao. Dyed by her vast crimson Soul Power, they outlined a massive Six-winged Halo that merged with the Phoenix spreading its wings from within her. Amid crimson heat, it was reborn into a Phoenix phantom resembling a Six-winged Seraph.
As the enormous crimson wings of the Phoenix phantom gently swept forward, the starry sky shimmered with multicolored auspicious light beneath the intense heat.
"Roar!"
Accompanied by a deep, resonant dragon's roar, an Ice Blue Giant Dragon raised towering waves from the endless, brilliant sea of fire. Red and blue churned across the sky, creating dreamlike colors.
Amid flames and monstrous waves, tremendous crashes and rumbling explosions resounded as the entire inner court became shrouded in high-temperature mist falling from above.
The Golden Giant Tree towering between heaven and earth gave off a faint glow, and the decline in Sea God Lake's water level visibly slowed.
"Neither her Soul Power nor her Soul Skills are inferior to a Soul Douluo's. That's truly astonishing."
With a wave of her hand, Zhang Lexuan dispersed the mist within a hundred meters. Watching the intermittent rumbles and explosions in the sky, she could not help but sigh.
"But it seems she's about to fall into a disadvantage."
A Soul Douluo was ultimately superior to a Soul Emperor in combining Soul Power, Soul Skills, and Soul Power quality. Furthermore, a Soul Douluo had a deeper development of their Martial Soul.
After several more clashes, runes flashed around the Ice Blue Giant Dragon. It forcefully suppressed the sea of fire and, before its Soul Power water shield evaporated, tore apart one wing of the Six-winged Colored Phoenix with a claw. It twisted aside to dodge the incoming flaming feather blades, then swung its body and smashed its dragon tail viciously into the Six-winged Colored Phoenix.
Bang!
The Soul Power around her suddenly surged, blasting away Lin Han as he tried to press closer. The Six-winged Colored Phoenix's Soul Power body visibly became unstable.
The Soul Emperor and Soul Douluo had evened out the advantage in Soul Power, but the gap in physical body brought by the Martial Soul Avatar now seemed like an uncrossable chasm.
Other than a slight advantage in speed and Soul Power, Ma Xiaotao was at a complete disadvantage in every other aspect.
"Oh? Is she about to take my surname?"
The senior disciple of the inner court found the best spot to watch the show and pulled her junior sister aside to quietly observe.
"It seems Sister Xiaotao might lose if she keeps fighting," the white-haired junior sister beside Zhang Lexuan said worriedly. She still did not want to see Sister Xiaotao lose.
"Don't worry. Someone probably won't want Ma Xiaotao taking another person's surname. She definitely still has her big trump card hidden away." Zhang Lexuan understood Ma Xiaotao somewhat. That girl would not do anything she was not confident about. If she had done it, then she had at least estimated the outcome to be a draw.
While Zhang Lexuan chatted with the other junior brothers and sisters, Ma Xiaotao and Lin Han exchanged dozens more rounds in the air. Even though Ma Xiaotao tried her best to avoid close combat, Lin Han would rather endure burns from the Phoenix flames than allow her to avoid fighting him head-on for even a round. Then her combination Soul Skill, [Six-winged Colored Phoenix], would suffer heavy damage, and even her Soul Power recovery was beginning to fall behind.
"[Crimson Phoenix], activate. Enter combat mode."
When Ma Xiaotao had first received it, she had gone to Xuan Zi to test it. In battles below the Titled Douluo level, [Crimson Phoenix] could keep up with the pace and offer considerable assistance. It was far beyond the inferior products on the market.
[Crimson Phoenix activated. Entering combat assistance mode. **Connected]
The [Crimson Phoenix] folded by her ear immediately unfolded and appeared before Ma Xiaotao's eyes.
[Nirvana program updated. Update complete. Authorization successful.]
Amid Ma Xiaotao's confusion, the deactivated [Nirvana] automatically activated and began guiding the Soul Power throughout her body and within her six Soul Rings.
"Cry!"
A deafening phoenix cry suddenly rang within everyone's hearts, making their scalps tingle.
"A Soul Beast! No—it's Ma Xiaotao?!"
Zhang Lexuan suppressed the rampaging Soul Power and protected the other inner court disciples to prevent chaos.
The Six-winged Colored Phoenix, spreading its wings once more, dodged the Ice Blue Giant Dragon's ambush from a tricky angle. With the elegance of an antelope hanging its horns, it sliced away a chunk of the blue dragon's flesh with a feather blade while evading. Then it dove close, flipped through the air, and split open the dragon's head. Its phoenix claws stomped forward fiercely, locking onto the giant dragon from below as flames around its body erupted with Soul Power conversion efficiency beyond imagination, forming a fireball like a blazing sun.
"Roar!"
The Ice Blue Giant Dragon struggled desperately amid the flames, but every act of resistance was blocked by the Six-winged Colored Phoenix's feather blades and phoenix claws. Even its phoenix beak tore into the giant dragon's Soul Power body as they thrashed.
Every attempt at resistance from the Ice Blue Giant Dragon was easily avoided by the Six-winged Colored Phoenix, which left wounds upon the dragon as it maneuvered. Its feet remained tightly hooked around the dragon's spine, rendering all its struggles futile.
The Ice Blue Giant Dragon, once seemingly agile, now resembled a stiff wooden puppet before the Six-winged Colored Phoenix. Every movement was anticipated, blocked, and struck at its weak point.
"I'm not dreaming, am I, Senior Sister...?"
The reversal had occurred in a single exchange. The Martial Soul dragon, which had relied on its physical advantage, had suddenly become food that the Soul Power Phoenix could casually tear apart and devour.
"..."
Zhang Lexuan caught Lin Han, whose Martial Soul Avatar had been forced out and who had fallen unconscious. Feeling the gaze directed at her, her heart tightened. Though it was clearly a construct of Soul Power, it made her feel as though she were facing an ancient Fierce Beast.
And the unconscious, severely injured Lin Han in her hands was merely a crude imitator within the Food Chain of that apex predator. Before an absolute difference in strength, food was always food, even if it might be somewhat stronger.
The Six-winged Colored Phoenix dispersed the flames around its body and slowly descended through the night sky. Its Soul Power began to dissipate and condense, eventually gathering into a human figure before it landed.
Looking at Ma Xiaotao, who emerged from the flames with an indifferent, unruffled expression, Zhang Lexuan felt a burst of pressure. She could not help but think to herself: Mu En was right. I should join that project too.
Beneath Ma Xiaotao's cold expression was a completely bewildered heart. Throughout the battle, she had merely followed [Crimson Phoenix]'s instructions and poured out Soul Power. Then, somehow, she had seen through everything about her opponent as easily as if she were fighting a child, seized an opportunity, and pinned him down completely.
[Crimson Phoenix] was powerful, but it should not have been this powerful, right? Ma Xiaotao had expected that using [Crimson Phoenix] to assist her control of the Six-winged Colored Phoenix would allow her to reach the agility of a Martial Soul Avatar. Then, with her attribute and Soul Power advantages, she could defeat that level eighty-one Soul Douluo. But surely one opening should not have been enough to pin him down so utterly?
[**Connection disconnected] [Crimson Phoenix Nirvana New Combination Control System installed.]
Dismissing the blue Soul Power control interface and stabilizing the city's network conditions again, a certain male researcher finally let out a sigh of relief.
"I still think Ma Xiaotao sounds better."
Thanks to the good brothers for voting (ω｀)
Before you continue