Facing the combined assault of Zhu Lu and Nanmen Yun'er, Feng Piaoling remained unfazed. Red light flickered in his eyes as he leaned backward, dodging Hell Stab. Then he performed a backflip, narrowly avoiding Jade Blade, before catching Zhu Lu by the left wrist with his left hand and pinching the edge of Nanmen Yun'er's right arm blade with his right.
Both girls' hearts jolted. Before they could react, a powerful force surged through their hands, and their bodies were yanked toward him against their will.
Feng Piaoling spun them around once, then flung them away, one in each hand.
By then, Wu Feng had already brought out the dragon claw on her left arm. Wreathed in dark-red flames, it swept toward Feng Piaoling.
Before she even reached him, a wave of scorching air rushed into his face.
The corner of Feng Piaoling's mouth curled up. The Green Lotus Sword Art, which had reached its fourth level within him, began to circulate. He raised his right hand, a plume of azure flame rising from his palm, and met Wu Feng's dragon claw.
Boom...
Their palms collided. Azure flames and dark-red fire entwined, unleashing an exceptionally sharp sonic boom.
Ripples of azure and crimson shimmered through the air. Wherever they passed, gales raged. Zhu Lu and Nanmen Yun'er, who Feng Piaoling had just flung away and who hadn't yet regained their footing, as well as Ning Tian, who was supporting all three of them with everything she had, staggered. Caught off guard, they were nearly blown off their feet.
The entire arena erupted in gasps.
Their attacks clashed only briefly before the force of their respective rebounds sent them flying apart.
They simply traveled different distances. Feng Piaoling wasn't foolish enough to puff himself up like the Golden Wheel Monk in The Return of the Condor Heroes.
To dissipate the force of the recoil, he retreated three steps. Wu Feng, however, flew back more than twenty meters before finally managing to steady herself.
"So... so strong..." Wu Feng marveled inwardly. When she had crossed palms with Feng Piaoling, her dragon claw had met his right palm, which was covered in Soul Power.
She should have had a huge advantage. After all, with support from their young mistress, Ning Tian, and with two of her own enhancement skills activated, her strength had already surpassed that of an ordinary Power Attack System Soul Elder.
Yet despite not even using his Martial Soul, her opponent had sent her flying. And in the instant their palms met, it had felt as though hundreds or thousands of tiny blades were slicing into her dragon claw.
The pain was unbearable. She lifted her hand and saw that the incredibly hard dragon claw, still wreathed in flames, had been scored with countless tiny cuts. Blood trickled from her palm, making her suck in a sharp breath.
Before Wu Feng could attack again, Feng Piaoling had already charged at her.
Zhu Lu and Nanmen Yun'er tried to pursue him, only to discover in horror that Feng Piaoling was even faster than they were with the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda's enhancement.
In the blink of an eye, Feng Piaoling appeared like a ghost, just a meter in front of Wu Feng.
"Th-this is bad..." Wu Feng's expression changed drastically. Gritting her teeth, she swung her left dragon claw despite the pain, while punching toward Feng Piaoling with her right hand.
But her punch struck empty air. A sharp pain flared in her abdomen. She looked down and, though she couldn't see his toes, saw Feng Piaoling's elbow, covered in Soul Power. His fist had already landed squarely in her stomach.
Wu Feng let out a retch and violently spat up a mouthful of sour fluid.
A scene worthy of a world-famous painting was born.
Wu Feng looked like Vegeta when Sun Wukong first came to Earth and struck him in the stomach. Clutching her abdomen with both hands, eyes bloodshot, she staggered backward, glaring at Feng Piaoling with pain and indignation.
In the end, she couldn't hold on like Vegeta. With a thud, she collapsed to the ground and twitched a few times, unable to get back up.
The Dragon Fire around her gradually died out, and her Red Dragon Martial Soul withdrew into her body on its own.
Seeing Wu Feng defeated, Zhu Lu and Nanmen Yun'er exchanged a glance. Neither showed any intention of giving up the fight.
The Second Soul Ring on both of them lit up at once. Zhu Lu's figure flashed, and the instant Feng Piaoling knocked Wu Feng down, she darted toward him at an even greater speed than before. Her body spun rapidly, her arms blurring as she launched an unending flurry of attacks.
This was the Second Soul Skill of the Nether Civet Martial Soul: Hell Hundred Claws. It allowed her to strike the same spot on an enemy a hundred times in an extremely short period.
Feng Piaoling naturally wasn't going to let her complete the full series of attacks. Nor was he fast enough to dodge every strike of Hell Hundred Claws enhanced by the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda.
Red light flashed in his eyes. After dodging seven or eight claw strikes in succession, Feng Piaoling discerned the pattern of Hell Hundred Claws. He seized Zhu Lu's left hand with his left hand and her right with his right.
He crossed his hands and lifted them. Zhu Lu felt pain shoot through both arms, as though a pair of iron pincers had clamped down on her. Then a powerful force swept over her. Her Soul Skill was forcibly interrupted, and she was pulled in front of Feng Piaoling, their faces closing until they were barely inches apart.
Zhu Lu's pupils trembled slightly. Now that they were close, Feng Piaoling saw that she had a pair of exceptionally beautiful eyes, clear and pure, with long lashes that curled gently upward. Paired with her mismatched blue and golden eyes, they seemed almost able to speak.
As their faces drew close, lips nearly touching, Zhu Lu's breathing grew hurried.
At the last possible moment, Feng Piaoling decided against taking advantage of her. He leaned backward and tossed her over his head.
In return, Feng Piaoling caught a glimpse of that richly mysterious Mariana Trench.
It was pale and full, with a strangely milky scent.
Just like that, Feng Piaoling casually sent Zhu Lu flying off the arena.
It all happened in the blink of an eye, and right then, Nanmen Yun'er's attack followed close behind..
While Zhu Lu attacked Feng Piaoling with Hell Hundred Claws, Nanmen Yun'er had already brought her hands together above her head. Emerald light gathered above her, forming a crescent-shaped blade of light.
The Jade Blue Bird's Second Soul Skill, Jade Slash, was activated.
Feng Piaoling had only just tossed Zhu Lu out of the arena when the crescent-shaped blade of light shot through the air, hurtling toward him.
Feng Piaoling's senses were exceptionally sharp. He turned his right hand into a blade, azure flames wrapping around his fleshy palm. Under the precise tracking of the Heaven-Reaching Demon Eye, the crescent blade's trajectory was laid bare.
The instant the blade drew near, Feng Piaoling struck with a hand chop, slicing into its cross-section.
Crack!
A metallic snap that set one's teeth on edge rang through the air. The crescent blade broke apart on the spot. To the onlookers, it looked as though the blade had flown straight into Feng Piaoling's hand, asking to be cut in two.
At the sight, Mu Jin, the referee, was stunned. Wu Feng, lying on the ground and unable to rise, was stunned. Ning Tian, who was giving Nanmen Yun'er her full support, was stunned. Zhu Lu was stunned too, her eyes holding not only shock but also a hint of something complicated.
Nanmen Yun'er's gaze was just as complicated, filled with shock and disbelief.
As the one who had launched the Soul Skill, no one understood better than she did just how powerful Jade Slash was.
It was one thing for Feng Piaoling to forcibly interrupt and counter Zhu Lu's Hell Hundred Claws.
But her Jade Slash came with a locking effect. It was impossible to dodge.
And yet someone had broken it with his bare hand.
Could an eleven-year-old boy her age really do something like that?
Before you continue