Chapter 209

Ling Luochen moved.

At the same moment her Ice Staff lit up, she did not advance, condense ice spikes, or raise an ice wall—she simply pressed the tip of her staff down an inch. An icy-blue halo spread outward from her, skimming across the Arena's surface. It carried no offensive force, no destructive power; it merely froze all the moisture in the air into extremely fine particles of icy mist. After spreading across half the Arena, those particles began to rise, churn, and expand. Within a few breaths, they had completely enveloped the area where Shrek had originally stood. The rolling mist rose from the ground, changing from thin to dense, from vague shadows into an entirely opaque white curtain. Its boundaries continued expanding outward until they nearly reached the centerline of the Arena.

There was no movement from the Sun Moon Royal Soul Tool Academy formation. Ma Rulong stood third in the column, his gaze resting on the edge of the mist. His vision was completely blocked by the white fog; he could not see through it or determine what was happening inside. He gave no order to advance, nor did he order a retreat. He raised his right hand in a gesture—maintain formation and observe in place. He did not know what was happening within the fog, but any advance that could disrupt their formation was forbidden. What they needed was stable firepower, not to actively engage the enemy.

Lin Xi's light shield remained deployed before him. Mi Jia had already set up his cannon barrel, its muzzle aimed at the edge of the fog. The others had also entered their respective ready states, the charging lights of their Soul Tools flickering at their sides. Yet not one of them crossed that boundary of mist.

They waited. They