Crash!
Mu Rong felt as though a battering ram had slammed into him. His bones nearly shattered, and a groan of unbearable pain escaped his lips.
The immense force sent him skidding seven or eight meters backward. His boots carved two deep furrows into the ground before he barely managed to steady himself.
Both arms were completely numb. He had lost all feeling in them, and waves of searing pain followed, as though his bones were about to be torn apart.
The fight had ended in an instant. The difference in strength was obvious.
"Damn it!"
Behind him, Suo Ling's eyes widened. She hurried forward, her face full of fury, while a pale-gold Spirit Seed Light blazed around her.
"Martial Soul, Flame Dragon!"
Her figure surged forward. Her right hand ignited in flames, and she rushed straight at Zhang Lanfeng without hesitation.
But before she could take another step, a figure suddenly appeared in front of her like a ghost.
It was the man with the strange mask and long nose: Zhang Lanfeng.
Zhang Lanfeng glanced at her coldly. Even the anger in her eyes didn't faze him. He merely raised his right hand with a casual air.
"Know your limits."
Thud!
Zhang Lanfeng kicked Suo Ling in the stomach.
Blood sprayed from Suo Ling's mouth. Her face twisted with pain, and she doubled over, clutching her stomach. Then, like a kite with its string cut, she was sent flying at a speed faster than a cheetah, crashing into the forest.
As luck would have it, she flew straight toward the place where Mu Erlong had just been thrown.
"Ugh!"
Mu Erlong had only just pushed herself halfway upright when she saw a dark figure rush toward her.
She barely had time to let out a short cry before Suo Ling, who was flying through the air, slammed into her. Both of them rolled into a heap, and the collision nearly knocked them out again. They lay motionless, dazed.
Zhang Lanfeng had no interest in Suo Ling. He merely rubbed his eyes, then stood off to one side with an air of leisure, watching Liu Erlong and Mu Rong fight. He had no intention of getting involved.
In his eyes, with Mu Erlong's strength, dealing with a nobody who hadn't even awakened a martial soul should be effortless.
"Huh? You actually managed to block my attack?"
Mu Erlong stared at Mu Rong. She hadn't expected that he could take a hit from her like some kind of monster. He'd only been sent flying, without suffering any serious injuries, which left her a little surprised.
But in the next moment, the fury in her eyes flared.
"You've got some nerve! Even so, you're nothing special! Today, I'll teach you a lesson on behalf of your parents, you little brat!"
"Roar!"
A high dragon's roar erupted from Mu Erlong's throat.
In a flash, four yellow soul rings rose beneath her feet.
Her terrifying soul power surged like a collapsing mountain or a roaring sea, sweeping toward Mu Rong.
Crimson flames burst from every pore in her body, enveloping her completely.
As the blazing fire raged, her body began to change. Dense red scales spread over her skin, her right hand transformed into a fiery dragon claw, and behind her, a pair of wings made of flames unfurled.
Martial Soul, Fire Dragon!
A level forty-four assault-type Soul Sect!
That was Mu Erlong's strength at that moment!
Facing her terrifying aura, Mu Rong felt like a tiny boat caught in a raging storm, liable to capsize at any moment.
There was no way out.
At this point, retreat was no longer an option.
"Bang!"
A sharp whistle rose from Mu Rong's feet, accompanied by a flicker of light.
A dark soul ring, wrapped in a streak of purple light, rose from beneath him.
A giant Ice Phoenix, ten meters long, circled in the air behind him. A cold, imposing aura spread out, and a massive phantom of a frost-covered dragon appeared to loom above it!
Martial Soul, Ice Phoenix!
The two opposing forces of ice and fire clashed fiercely in the narrow street. One burned like the height of summer; the other was bitterly cold as the depths of winter.
"Hah! A mere first-ring Soul Master dares to act tough in front of me?"
Mu Erlong saw the lone soul ring beneath Mu Rong's feet and let out a contemptuous scoff.
"Second Soul Skill, Fire Dragon Breath!"
She opened her mouth fiercely, and a thick column of crimson flames roared out like a raging dragon. It tore through the air, bringing with it terrifying heat, and surged toward Mu Rong.
Wherever the flames passed, the stone-paved ground melted in an instant, turning into crimson lava.
How powerful!
Mu Rong's heart tightened. He could feel that if the blast struck him head-on, he would be reduced to ashes in the blink of an eye.
"First Soul Skill, Frozen Dark Domain!"
Daring not to hesitate, he activated the light of his first Spirit Seed.
The Ice Phoenix opened its beak, and a chilling, dark-blue aura that seemed to freeze one's soul burst out at once, rapidly enveloping a fifty-meter area.
The temperature in the street plummeted.
Moisture in the air condensed into countless tiny ice crystals, while a slippery layer of frost spread across the ground.
Within the Frozen Dark Domain, the terrifying flames were weakened by thirty percent, and their forward momentum slowed.
Taking advantage of the opening, Mu Rong burst into motion. He moved like a ghost through the frost, dodging the fiery blast's direct path by a hair's breadth.
Whoosh!
The fiery blast finally slammed into the wall behind him, leaving a deep, half-meter-wide blackened hole.
"Damn you, little brat!"
Mu Erlong was enraged. With a furious roar, she rushed directly into the icy domain.
Within the domain, the cold was bone-deep. Yet the chill and numbing poison didn't seem to affect her at all.
Her soul power was simply too strong. A layer of crimson soul power enveloped her entire body, and the cold and poison couldn't harm her in the slightest.
"Get out here!"
Mu Erlong roared in the darkness, her dragon claws slashing through the air. A scorching wave of flames tore through the poisonous darkness and shattered the surrounding trees.
Mu Rong calmly assessed the situation from within the dark domain.
A direct clash meant certain death.
His only option was to use the frost to obscure her vision and exploit the Ice Phoenix's special properties to circle around and find her weakness!
He controlled the Ice Phoenix as it silently glided through the darkness, moving like the most patient hunter, waiting for the right moment.
Suddenly—
Mu Erlong's figure paused, revealing a tiny gap.
There!
Mu Rong's eyes flashed.
He hadn't used his soul skill. Instead, he'd controlled the Ice Phoenix to strike with the most precise physical attack!
Whoosh!
Its enormous tail, like a coiled whip, cracked through the air with a sharp whistle. It shot toward Mu Erlong's lower back from an impossibly tricky angle.
"Die!"
Mu Erlong's battle experience was exceptionally rich. In the instant the tail swept in, she sensed the danger to her back.
She didn't panic. With a backward swipe of her claw, crimson flames ignited across it, striking the incoming snake tail with perfect precision.
Sizzle!
Ice and fire clashed once again.
The ice-blue scales on the Ice Phoenix's tail instantly blackened, and the smell of roasted flesh spread through the air.
The Ice Phoenix let out a pained cry.
Before you continue