"Hehehe."
Ning Rongrong approached with a silly grin. Unlike Meng Yiran, she could fight at close range.
Who knew how tough that Golden Light Divine Incantation would be? With it protecting her and the Tianshan Plum-Plucking Hand giving her both offense and defense, she'd be unstoppable.
Last time, she'd only lost to Dai Mubai because he was strong and tough. But now she was facing a soft, squishy rabbit whose level wasn't much different from hers. How could she not be tempted?
"Be a good little bunny. I'll only hit you once, just once."
Seeing Ning Rongrong like this, Ruan Feng shuddered and quickly backed away, leaving her to do as she pleased.
"Am I really that scary?"
Ning Rongrong couldn't understand it. But then she thought, never mind. She'd just have some fun with the little bunny.
As for Ruan Feng, he could stay back and guard their most fragile long-range attacker.
Watching the scene onstage, Chen An was a little puzzled.
"Why is she so playful? Sigh, I'll have to step up the training for Meng when we get back. Her ability to counterattack after an opponent gets close is still a little weak."
Recently, Meng Yiran had been focused on Hidden Weapons and puppets, and had indeed neglected training in that area.
Then the host could be heard shouting.
"Phantom Star Academy has taken complete control of the match! No matter how many times I see it, I'm still amazed.
"A support Soul Master fighting at close range! This is the first time a pure support Soul Master from Seven Treasures Glazed has ever fought in close combat!"
As far as the spectacle went, Ning Rongrong and Xiao Wu put on a better fight than Zhu Zhuqing and the others. It also looked more intense.
Setting aside the Soul Skills that filled the sky with dazzling effects and the careful back-and-forth positioning, the two of them were putting on a much more thrilling fight, too.
"Charm!"
Xiao Wu tried to use her second Soul Skill, only to be met with Ning Rongrong's laughter.
"Your Charm Skill doesn't work on me. Why not try something else?"
Xiao Wu pouted. "Mmm..."
She was furious. It felt like she was being singled out. Waist Bow was useless, and whenever she tried to send Ning Rongrong flying so she could unleash her Explosive Kill Eight-Stage Throw, a palm strike interrupted her every single time.
Just like that turtle, Ruan Feng, Ning Rongrong kept interrupting her Soul Skill.
"I'm done playing. If I keep this up, Master will scold me."
Ning Rongrong put away her silly grin and returned to her usual faint smile. Then she continued.
"Junior, give me a hand."
She stepped back a little and buffed her teammates again before rejoining the fight.
Now that it was two against one, Ruan Feng focused entirely on defense, helping to block attacks. That let Ning Rongrong fight even more aggressively.
After a few exchanges, Xiao Wu couldn't hold on any longer. She managed to withstand another palm strike, but then staggered.
"Kun Mountain Lean."
Ruan Feng knew this top-tier yet basic move. He put all his strength into the charge, sending Xiao Wu tumbling off the stage.
"Xiao Wu!!!"
Tang San noticed what was happening to Xiao Wu and immediately grew agitated. But that meant he was distracted in the middle of a fight.
"You're really going to get distracted while fighting us?"
How could Zhu Zhuqing pass up an opening like that? She instantly closed in, unleashing Shadow Mystery Ghost Slash and Nine Yin Bone Claw together.
Tang San actually managed to block with his External Soul Bone on instinct.
But Zhu Zhuqing wasn't about to stop. She sent out a Shadow Clone, then combined Ghost Slash and Bone Claw to land a flurry of attacks from behind.
"Is this the end?" the host exclaimed. "The Soft-Bone Charm Rabbit and Thousand-Hand Asura have both been eliminated. Shrek has only three people left in the ring!"
He was doing his best to save Shrek's face.
Only Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun were left who could fight. Given the individual burst power of the Phantom Star members, the match was already theirs to lose.
"Yiran, hurry up and finish him off."
Zhu Zhuqing called out, then turned to help Luo Xiaoshi.
Luo Xiaoshi was currently forbidden from using the full power of the Great Sage Scripture, so he could only keep his opponent tied up.
If not for that, how could they have been fighting so "hard"? They would've ended the match long ago.
"You lecherous fatty, my senior sister gave the order. I'm done dragging this out with you."
Meng Yiran smiled, then called out.
"Senior Sister Rongrong, I could use some help over here."
There was no getting around it. Martial arts were killing techniques, and hers were the killing techniques of killing techniques.
When using only Hidden Weapons, she couldn't guarantee her opponent would come out unscathed. She had half a mind to uproot the problem for good, but couldn't do that here. This was an official match, and she was representing Phantom Star as one of its students.
"Sure~"
Ning Rongrong smiled. With Meng Yiran keeping Ma Hongjun tied up, he had neither the time nor the ability to deal with her.
Even when she went straight for him, there was nothing he could do.
"Hey, don't hit my face! Don't hit my face! I was wrong, I was wrong!"
Under Ning Rongrong's relentless slaps, Ma Hongjun kept yelping. She slapped him while shouting, "That's for running your mouth! That's for insulting us!"
And so, a pig's head was born.
After a dozen or so slaps, Ning Rongrong knocked him flying.
Even with Meng Yiran helping her, she was having a great time—and getting her revenge.
"Oh! The situation has changed once again. Another Shrek student has been eliminated.
"Is there still a miracle in store? Could a miracle happen? Oh, looks like not. There'll be no miracle!"
The host kept commentating. His words had the audience on tenterhooks, and some gamblers thought a miracle really might happen.
After all, the odds on the outside were one to a hundred. They'd bet their entire fortunes, thinking that betting against the odds was the way to buy a mansion by the sea.
Now they were about to take a flying leap through the air. Could they not hope for a miracle?
But reality slapped them hard across the face.
As soon as Ma Hongjun was sent flying, Dai Mubai was knocked off the stage as well. Their hopes were completely shattered.
Before Dai Mubai was sent flying, he was still saying, "Zhuqing, you really—"
Naturally, Zhu Zhuqing looked at him with disgust. "Hmph, you? Disgusting! And don't call me so affectionately. Are we close?"
After saying that, she slapped him and gave Luo Xiaoshi a look. That was how the two of them ended up being sent flying together.
Now only Oscar remained on Shrek's side of the stage, standing alone like a helpless, pitiful lamb, at a loss for what to do.
"Are you going down on your own, or do we have to send you down?"
Now it was Ning Rongrong's turn to say it. Oscar was simply too weak—too weak to deserve having Zhu Zhuqing or Luo Xiaoshi say those words to him.
As for Meng Yiran, she thought it would be disrespectful for her to say that, so she left it to Ning Rongrong, her fellow Demon Pill senior sister.
"I'm going down. I'm going down right now."
Oscar snapped out of it without the slightest hesitation.
The students of Phantom Star Academy were terrifying. They'd beaten his brothers in a five-on-five match without losing a single member.
And just remembering how Ning Rongrong had slapped him earlier made him wince. Those damn memories were still attacking him.
"Hmph, what a coward."
No one from Phantom Star said that. They still had to bow and thank their fans; to them, this was just an ordinary match.
"Xiaogang, don't you think you've gone too far?"
Flender glanced at his good friend, feeling that he was being overly extreme.
For a while, the Shrek preparation area fell silent again. Flender busied himself bringing everyone back, while Gangzi kept watching. Of course, even if he'd wanted to help, there wasn't anything he could do.
"Master, we won! What about your promise?"
Back in their own preparation area, the youngsters were asking Chen An for their reward.
Chen An had said earlier that if they won, he'd take them out to eat. That was why they were making a fuss now.
"Haha, everyone gets some! All of you!"
They'd just won. So what if they celebrated? Was there a problem with spending a little money? That was a joke, right?
"We get some too?" asked the other students, who weren't personal disciples, tentatively.
"Of course. When I said everyone, I meant all fourteen of you who went out there."
Then cheers rang out one after another.
"Yay~ Thanks, Dean~"
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