Echoes of the Scorching Sun

Bei Bei withstood the Light of the Butterfly Goddess as his second soul ring suddenly ignited. The blue-purple electric snakes coiling around his dragon-transformed right arm shot forth, flickering with dazzling, eye-catching lightning.

Utilizing Thunderous Might while in the state of Thunder Fury, Bei Bei poured out all his soul power, hoping to secure victory in a single strike.

The blue-purple electric snakes shattered the Light of the Butterfly Goddess, with the ferocious dragon claw following closely behind; a pincer attack destined for a lethal blow.

Bai Cai did not dodge or evade. Kirlia locked onto Huo Yuhao, and its second soul ring lit up once more: "Myriad Manifestations of the Forest, Black Tortoise Displacement!"

As a three-ring Soul Elder, the current limit for the Myriad Manifestations of the Forest to replicate soul skills was three.

Before the soul duel even began, Kirlia had already replicated the Light of the Butterfly Goddess; as Xu Sanshi executed his decapitation tactic, Kirlia immediately replicated Black Tortoise Displacement.

Using a Martial Soul Fusion Skill to overcome the strong with the weak—this was the first layer of strategy.

Dismantling a Martial Soul Fusion Skill via a decapitation tactic—this was the second layer of strategy.

Feigning that the decapitation tactic had succeeded, while actually baiting Bei Bei into going all-out to strike Huo Yuhao—this was the fifth layer of strategy.

Surrounding a point to strike reinforcements, flanking from the rear, cutting through and dividing the enemy—when it came to competing in tactical maneuvers, Xu Sanshi and Bei Bei were undoubtedly outclassed.

Bai Cai and Kirlia vanished in an instant, and Huo Yuhao appeared abruptly, his face full of confusion. Exhausted from dealing with the three Soul-Suppressing Cauldrons, Huo Yuhao had no time to ponder why he had appeared there.

The blue-purple electric snakes and the ferocious dragon claw were within arm's reach. Given Huo Yuhao's low Soul Power Level and frail physique, facing an attack soul skill unleashed at full power, a mere graze would cause injury, and a direct hit would mean death. Bei Bei made a split-second decision, gritting his teeth as he forcibly withdrew his soul power.

The lightning lost its luster, the blue-purple electric snakes grew listless, and their formidable momentum vanished by more than ninety percent; the Thunderous Might collapsed in an instant.

Spilled water is hard to retrieve, let alone an attack soul skill unleashed with full force.

The violent soul power surged like plasma, instantly flowing backward through his meridians and permeating his internal organs. It felt as if the hellfire of ancient legends was burning his entire body, scorching him from the inside out.

As intense pain surged and swept through him, Bei Bei's expression remained unchanged. The shoulder and elbow joints of his dragon-transformed left arm creaked, his muscles twisted and contracted, and he forcibly halted the Thunder Dragon Claw.

Even though the referee was closely monitoring both sides of the soul duel, Bei Bei still chose to endure the backlash rather than unleash it upon Huo Yuhao.

Huo Yuhao regained his senses and crossed his arms to block the ferocious dragon claw, his heart feeling particularly bitter.

Not only was his soul power level inferior to his peers, but his Spirit Eye martial soul belonged to the mental attribute; even if classified as a Body Martial Soul, its physical enhancement was negligible.

If only he had inherited the White Tiger Martial Soul from the Duke White Tiger's mansion... Huo Yuhao's thoughts wandered.

The ferocious dragon claw stopped just in time, kicking up a gust of wind. Bei Bei's movements were stiff, his voice hoarse: "Yuhao, I'm sorry."

When an attack soul skill is formed and soul power is temporarily withdrawn, three-tenths of the power dissipates, while seven-tenths backlashes onto the user.

The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon was not a defensive martial soul. Even if the backlash was only seven-tenths, and even if the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon possessed excellent lightning resistance, Bei Bei was still severely injured.

Furthermore, the physical burden of forcibly stopping the Thunder Dragon Claw was not to be underestimated. With the two combined, Bei Bei was no longer capable of fighting.

"Senior Brother Bei Bei, Senior Brother Bei Bei!"

Huo Yuhao ignored the ongoing soul duel and shouted to the referee, "Teacher Referee, save Senior Brother Bei Bei!"

The middle-aged referee had been monitoring both sides, but because Bei Bei had chosen to endure the backlash of his own soul skill to protect Huo Yuhao, the referee had been caught off guard and dared not intervene without authorization.

If the referee made a mistake that led to a dispute from either side, the academy would not only deduct his monthly salary after verification but also delay his promotion.

The difference in benefits between junior, intermediate, and senior teachers was vast, so the middle-aged referee was naturally cautious.

"Black Tortoise Shock!"

His first soul ring ignited suddenly. Xu Sanshi had no time to spare; he blasted away Wang Dong, who was harassing him, and went straight for Xiao Xiao, whose defensive line was empty.

With the three Soul-Suppressing Cauldrons suppressing Huo Yuhao, Xiao Xiao could not return to defend in time. Wang Dong's soul power was lower, and close-quarters combat was particularly dangerous; the Light of the Butterfly Goddess could not cause effective damage and would only waste soul power.

Among defensive soul masters, Xu Sanshi had a unique mindset. His current four soul skills corresponded to control, support, output, and team initiation, positioning him more like a vanguard warrior or team support.

His first soul skill, Black Tortoise Shock, had an area-of-effect knockback with a brief stun. His second soul skill, Black Tortoise Shield Formation, provided group defense. His third soul skill, Black Tortoise Power, added extra damage to shield strikes. His fourth soul skill, Black Tortoise Displacement, forced displacement.

A front-line meat shield? No, a vanguard initiator!

Bei Bei was a mixed-damage warrior. Unless facing a defensive soul master, once he activated his third soul skill, Thunder Fury, his Thunder Dragon Claw for single-target output and Thunderous Might for group output provided overflowing damage, lacking only survivability.

Xu Sanshi could take hits and dish them out; with strong defense and decent output, and crushing soul power levels, he was more dangerous than Bei Bei.

A robust lion is no match for a starving pack of hyenas, but an angry rhinoceros is enough to make a pack of hyenas shrink back.

If Xu Sanshi defeated Xiao Xiao and joined forces with Huo Yuhao, victory would still be within reach.

After all, to stop Xu Sanshi, Wang Dong had been forced to repeatedly use his second soul skill. The thousand-year soul ring consumed a massive amount of energy, and his soul power was nearly exhausted.

During the freshman assessment five months ago, Wang Dong had fought Wu Feng, taken out Nanmen Yun'er, and used the Light of the Butterfly Goddess twice and Wing Blade four times; his soul power had already bottomed out.

After Bai Cai disappeared, Wang Dong had never slacked off. In five months, his soul power had risen by three levels. However, the Light of the Butterfly Goddess was, after all, a thousand-year soul skill, and its soul power consumption was exceptionally high.

To stop Xu Sanshi, Wang Dong had used the Light of the Butterfly Goddess three times, and his soul power was nearly depleted.

In contrast, relying on his tough physique and thick protective soul power, Xu Sanshi had not only withstood the three Light of the Butterfly Goddess attacks head-on but also retained no less than eighty percent of his peak soul power.

The gap in soul power between a Soul Grand Master and a Soul Ancestor was like an uncrossable chasm. Facing a defensive Soul Ancestor, the continuous bombardment of the Light of the Butterfly Goddess caused negligible damage.

Although Bei Bei was severely injured, he had already forced Bai Cai to use his second soul ring repeatedly, consuming a significant amount of soul power. Lacking soul power, the ten-thousand-year third soul ring could not be unleashed, leaving no further threat.

The only card left in the Bai Cai Team's hand was the Martial Soul Fusion Skill.

With a low-level Soul Elder who had consumed a large amount of soul power and a Soul Grand Master whose soul power was nearly exhausted, even if they unleashed a Martial Soul Fusion Skill, would the attack intensity be enough to defeat Xu Sanshi?

Xu Sanshi remained focused, heading straight for Xiao Xiao, while Kirlia and Bai Cai quickly returned to defend.

However, apart from her ten-thousand-year soul ring, Kirlia lacked offensive soul skills capable of dealing massive damage.

Thunder Fury was a buff-type soul skill, and Thunder Dragon Claw and Thunderous Might were not even as powerful as Light of the Butterfly Goddess.

With only one copy slot remaining for Myriad Manifestations of the Forest, unless she erased Light of the Butterfly Goddess or Black Tortoise Displacement, her damage output would certainly be insufficient.

Nevertheless, at the same cultivation level, Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi were evenly matched. With Xu Sanshi having become a Soul Ancestor while Bei Bei remained a high-level Soul Elder, Bei Bei would undoubtedly lose in a one-on-one duel.

Even if she copied all of Bei Bei's soul skills, what could Bai Cai actually do?

Wang Dong gazed at Bai Cai from across the distance, her eyes sincere. Five months had passed, yet she still remembered the freshman assessment and their perfectly synchronized Martial Soul Fusion Skill as if it were yesterday.