It seemed that the last time they'd met Huo Yuhao in the Star Dou Great Forest, Huo Yuhao had said something similar when he talked about how Feng Piaoling had looked after him all the way.
A moment later, Xu Sanshi stepped onto the Soul Fighting stage and glanced at Bei Bei, who immediately nodded to him.
Feng Piaoling had already leaped onto the stage. The Soul Saint referee, the same one with a flying Martial Soul, climbed up after him.
The referee seemed to think highly of Feng Piaoling. As he passed by, he sent him a message through Soul Power.
"Young man, you've got plenty of strength and talent, but you're a little too hot-blooded. If you lose, don't take it to heart. I'll put in a good word for you with Yan Shaozhe, the dean of the Martial Soul Department. I'm sure he wouldn't want to see a genius like you leave the academy over a Soul Fighting match that was unfair from the start."
Feng Piaoling pretended not to hear him. He stopped with an expressionless face, standing thirty paces from Xu Sanshi.
Seeing this, the referee took him for the sort who appeared not to compete for anything but was, in truth, extremely proud. He said no more and went to stand between them.
"Fifth-year Xu Sanshi challenges first-year Feng Piaoling. If Xu Sanshi loses, he must pay Feng Piaoling one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins and two Mysterious Water Pills."
This time, the referee still didn't mention what would happen if Feng Piaoling lost: he would have to leave the academy.
Xu Sanshi, born into an aristocratic family, understood that perfectly well. Still, he wouldn't be the one losing out if Feng Piaoling lost.
To keep Feng Piaoling at Shrek Academy, the academy would surely compensate him.
The compensation would be worth no less than two Mysterious Water Pills and one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins.
As Feng Piaoling and Xu Sanshi stood onstage, the audience erupted in lively discussion.
"Dong'er, Lulu, who do you think will win?"
In the fifth row of the stands, the petite and adorable Xiao Xiao held a big bag of popcorn and asked Wang Dong and Zhu Lu with a smile.
Zhu Lu paused. Remembering how Dai Huabin had been blasted into a sorry, scrambling mess yesterday, she felt an inexplicable thrill and answered without thinking.
"Probably Feng Piaoling. But Xu Sanshi's strength shouldn't be underestimated, either. His Mysterious Underworld Turtle is a top-tier defensive Martial Soul, and he ranks among the best in the entire Outer Courtyard."
Wang Dong'er said, "I think Feng Piaoling will win too. He's annoying, but I have to admit he's really strong."
"Hehe, that's what I think too," Xiao Xiao said with a silly grin, licking her lips.
Zhu Lu and Wang Dong'er both rolled their eyes at her. They could tell Xiao Xiao wasn't judging by strength at all. She'd clearly fallen for his looks.
"Begin!" the referee called, quickly retreating.
In the next instant, Feng Piaoling and Xu Sanshi released their Martial Souls.
Feng Piaoling's Spirit Rings were still yellow, purple, and purple. As the First Soul Ring shone steadily, yellow light flashed in his hand, and thirty or forty orange-yellow talismans bearing the character for "explosion" appeared.
"Could it really be a thousand-year Second Soul Ring? And this Soul Skill—its power must come from absorbing a special fire-attribute Soul Beast beyond the usual limit. That would let him release dozens of talismans at once, making the Talisman Martial Soul's Soul Skill seem so powerful. My guess was right."
At the sight of Feng Piaoling's Spirit Rings, Zhou Yi, seated in the front row, brightened visibly. The corners of her mouth lifted as a self-satisfied, wise gleam shone beneath her half-rimmed glasses.
Xu Sanshi saw how quickly Feng Piaoling had released his Soul Skill and remembered how Dai Huabin had nearly been blown to pieces. He didn't dare be careless and immediately released his Mysterious Underworld Turtle Martial Soul.
Two yellow Spirit Rings and one purple Spirit Ring rose from beneath his feet. Xu Sanshi's body swelled dramatically, stretching his uniform taut, while a huge tortoiseshell shield appeared in his right hand.
At the same time, Huo Yuhao released his Spirit Eye Martial Soul.
Tang Ya and Bei Bei exchanged a glance. Without a word, they stepped in front of Huo Yuhao, who had already released his Martial Soul.
With Spirit Detection and Spiritual Sharing assisting him, Xu Sanshi immediately sensed everything around him as if it had been laid out in three dimensions inside his mind.
His tense expression relaxed.
He calmly slid his left foot half a step back and crouched slightly, holding the heavy shield in front of him with his right hand. Black light surged from the tortoiseshell shield, forming a faint dark barrier that enveloped his entire body.
Feng Piaoling activated his Heaven-Reaching Demon Eye and took it all in. In his vision, Xu Sanshi's mental power was being drawn along by a faint wisp of pale golden mental energy.
Following the wisp without drawing attention to himself, Feng Piaoling spotted Bei Bei and Tang Ya protecting Huo Yuhao. Through the gap between them, he could just make out two white Spirit Rings faintly appearing behind them.
"So that's how it is?"
Feng Piaoling rubbed his hands together, then flung them apart. Amid a wash of red light, thirty or forty basketball-sized fireballs shot out. In the blink of an eye, they reached Xu Sanshi and hurtled toward him.
"Damn!" Xu Sanshi's scalp prickled at the sight of so many densely packed fireballs. They were moving so fast that without Huo Yuhao's Spirit Detection Sharing, he would probably have met the same fate as Dai Huabin.
Even if he had a way to counter them, he wouldn't have time to use it. The fireballs were simply too fast and too densely packed—faster than an ordinary person could react.
At that critical moment, Xu Sanshi's First Soul Ring lit up. The black light on his tortoiseshell shield immediately doubled in intensity, and a powerful black halo burst from it.
It was like a giant shield of air thrusting outward, accompanied by a rumbling boom.
This was Xu Sanshi's First Soul Skill, Mysterious Underworld Shock: an area attack that knocked opponents back and could also stun them. If an enemy's cultivation was lower than his, they would be briefly dazed. Even if their cultivation was higher, they would still be knocked back and forced to keep their distance.
In a way, if used well, it was the natural counter to Feng Piaoling's First Soul Skill, Fire Bomb Talisman.
As soon as Feng Piaoling's thirty or forty fireballs drew near, the expanding black barrier knocked them back.
Seeing this, many of the Outer Courtyard teachers in the audience assumed Xu Sanshi had pulled it off on his own. They nodded in approval. Xu Sanshi truly was one of the Outer Courtyard's top geniuses.
When it came to timing, even they might not be able to do better.
After successfully repelling Feng Piaoling's fireballs, Xu Sanshi's confidence soared. He knew Feng Piaoling could produce a large number of Fire Bomb Talismans in an instant.
Before the fireballs could hit the ground, he seized his chance. His Second and Third Spirit Rings lit up in quick succession.
Wrapped in a black barrier rippling like water and a special, viscous Soul Power that moved like waves, he charged toward Feng Piaoling.
The skills from these two Spirit Rings seemed to be on the verge of combining with his First Soul Skill, Mysterious Underworld Shock.
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