Two vs Twelve

"Mu Xuanheng and I are stronger than all of them combined. We can beat them; we don't need a seven-on-seven."

Gu Yuena stated this calmly, as if she were merely speaking a fact.

Even if it were truly a fact, to everyone else, it felt like a naked insult.

Especially to Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng, as they were the only two at the Soul Ancestor level.

"Ha, haha. Two people defeating the other twelve of us?" Ma Xiaotao's voice was slightly manic. "Even if you treat everyone else as trash, there's still me. The gap in our soul power isn't something your hundred-thousand-year soul ring can make up for!"

The other core disciples stood silently behind Ma Xiaotao, their meaning very clear: they absolutely did not accept this statement.

The usually gentle Gongyang Mo also wore a look of dissatisfaction: "Junior sister, you still need to learn to respect your seniors."

Gu Yuena blinked and said coolly, "I am merely stating a fact."

Ling Luochen, who was always cold and rarely spoke, actually stepped forward as well: "Even if you could use an attack like that again, it is absolutely impossible for you to defeat the seven of us."

Since even she had stepped forward, it went without saying for the others; they did not believe they were that weak and wanted an apology.

Gu Yuena did not perceive their intent; in her eyes, they were just weaklings huddling together for the sake of their pride.

Just as she was about to speak, she was interrupted by Mu Xuanheng from the side.

Mu Xuanheng truly did not like showing off his strength, but two against twelve—might it be a bit risky?

"Oh my, everyone, rest assured. The two of us definitely have the power to do this."

Bei Bei and the others widened their eyes. Aren't you here to mediate? Why are you fanning the flames?

He wasn't the only one responsible for fanning the flames.

Xuan Zi found it quite interesting: "Good, I will grant your request. Then it shall be twelve against two: Mu Xuanheng and Gu Yuena on one team, and everyone else on the other."

Wang Yan wanted to step forward to smooth things over, but was stopped by Yan Shaozhe.

He also wanted to see just how strong these two peerless geniuses truly were.

Invincibility at the same rank and slaying those of higher ranks were the hallmarks of a peerless genius. Whether two four-ringed Soul Ancestors had the ability to deal with two Soul Emperors was exactly what he wanted to see.

However, Mu Xuanheng and Gu Yuena were not ordinary peerless geniuses.

Following Xuan Zi's command, everyone activated their martial souls.

Colorful soul rings lit up once more. This time, it was no longer the common seven-on-seven, but twelve against two.

Both sides were convinced that this was a guaranteed victory.

The White Tiger roared: "Junior brother and sister, if you lose, you must apologize to us disciples who have cultivated for several years longer than you."

Gu Yuena took a step forward, standing shoulder to shoulder with Mu Xuanheng.

"Should we use Heng and Yue?"

"Would that be too simple?"

"Then let's not!"

Dealing with them, Mu Xuanheng and Gu Yuena were still confident.

The gale sweeping across the battlefield stirred their robes; they stood in place, needing no movement.

"Damn it, I don't believe they can really defeat Soul Emperors as Soul Ancestors!" Ma Xiaotao immediately used the enhancement effects of her second and third soul skills, and went straight for her fifth soul skill, Phoenix Cloud Piercing Strike.

There was no probing; the opening move was absolute violence.

Gongyang Mo's four soul rings lit up. Aside from his final ten-thousand-year soul skill, he used all four of his other skills to buff Ma Xiaotao. Red, orange, yellow, and green halos shone around her, increasing her combat power by over thirty percent.

In a previous battle, Dai Yueheng would have been the one to receive this attack, but at this moment, Dai Yueheng was on the opposite side and was the user of the next attack.

The first, third, and fifth soul rings—yellow, purple, and black—lit up around the White Tiger, representing his most commonly used enhancement skills: "White Tiger Meteor Shower!"

Two Soul Emperors with the best soul ring configurations, plus the buff from an auxiliary Soul King with nearly the same configuration.

Any other Soul Emperor would not dare to take this head-on.

Such an attack could not be considered their strongest means, but it was absolutely not something a Soul Ancestor could block.

"Get ready to apologize!"

"Eternal Frozen Domain!" Mu Xuanheng unleashed his soul bone skill. Within the extremely cold domain, it was not the territory of flames.

The Phoenix Cloud Piercing Strike was greatly weakened, and Ling Luochen was frozen to the point where she could not use her soul skills.

Among the reserve team, only Huo Yuhao, who also possessed Ultimate Ice, fared slightly better.

Mu Xuanheng was using the Eternal Frozen Domain without layering it with Emperor Cold Heaven Snow Dance Shining Sun, so the temperature remained within Huo Yuhao's tolerance.

The Fire Phoenix and the White Tiger Meteor Shower had already appeared before them. If these heavy strikes from two Soul Emperors were directed at any other Soul Ancestor, they could already choose to surrender.

But Mu Xuanheng was no ordinary Soul Ancestor.

"I'll take your move! Emperor Sword, Ice Extreme Peerless." Compared to the Emperor Palm's "Great Cold No Snow," the piercing power of this sword was even greater.

The cold intent of the sword light extinguished Ma Xiaotao's soul skill and slashed out a wave of freezing air.

The cold air shattered the meteors; one move broke two.

Gu Yuena opened her eyes. The light on the field receded, and darkness encroached.

From the periphery, the entire arena had turned pitch black.

Light and darkness were also within her domain of control.

Gu Yuena, whose soul rings far exceeded the optimal configuration, did not merely gain an extra element of control with each additional ring; rather, each ring enhanced her elemental control and elemental intensity.

Earth, fire, water, wind, light, darkness, ice, lightning, metal, and wood were all within her grasp, with only space and time being slightly weaker in terms of mastery.

The same applied to Chaofeng Yuyuan, though it was slightly weaker, as Chaofeng's advantage did not lie in elemental control.

Ma Xiaotao tried to use her flames to provide illumination, but she was suppressed by the cold aura of Mu Xuanheng.

"This won't do. We have to find a way; with this disadvantage in vision, we'll easily lose to them." It wasn't just Ma Xiaotao; the remaining members didn't want to lose either.

"I have absolutely no idea what to do."

Everyone was anxious, as none of them wanted to lose.

Suddenly, Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Detection shared its connection with everyone: "I can guarantee our vision."

"That's great, so there won't be any problems. Don't you think so, Xiaotao?" Gongyang Mo was very happy; in his view, this rendered Gu Yuena's soul skill effect useless.

Huo Yuhao sensed something amiss; Gu Yuena knew his soul skills, so she wouldn't do something futile. His heart skipped a beat, and he shouted, "Not good! Everyone, hurry and break this prison!"

Hearing the shout, no one reacted immediately. They instinctively assumed that Gu Yuena had simply shrouded them in shadows.

"Three, two, one." Gu Yuena counted down in the shadows. As her voice fell, the people in the shadows were instantly immobilized.

Thunder roared in the sky once more, and ball lightning began to roll across the field again.

Only this time, the power was weaker than before because Mu Xuanheng was not participating.

"Phantom Dragon Demon Body (Chaofeng Dragon Body)."

With his wings spread, his speed increased dramatically.

He dove into the darkness, and the immobilized group could not stop Mu Xuanheng at all.

He could easily deal with Soul Kings using just his dragon claws, while Soul Emperors required the Emperor Palm to end the battle quickly.

Radiant soul power descended from the sky: "The match is over."

Yan Shaozhe wore a troubled expression; the match hadn't ended quickly, but the process had been a pure crushing defeat.

The faces of the twelve were also very grim; they had watched themselves being eliminated.

Spiritual Detection had made them very aware of the state they were in.

"We lost." They were unwilling to accept it, but it was the truth.

Inner Court disciples had lost to Outer Court disciples, and Soul Emperors had lost to a Soul Ancestor.

Mu Xuanheng landed steadily, stopping beside Gu Yuena. "Seniors, I told you to trust us."

Gu Yuena said indifferently: "Yongheng, Yue could have been simpler."

This single sentence made the already uncomfortable main team members feel even worse. They hadn't even forced out their opponents' trump cards. They were such failures.

The atmosphere was quite oppressive, and Wang Yan immediately stepped in to smooth things over.

"It was just a sparring match; it doesn't change the fact that you are all absolute geniuses on this continent."

Xuan Zi set down his wine gourd, having witnessed the entire process; Gu Yuena's elemental control had given him a great shock. "That little brat, his eye for picking a wife is no worse than his talent."

"That's enough, go back and reflect properly. You two shouldn't get arrogant either. Tomorrow morning, right here. We prepare to depart."