Both Sides Wounded

As Dai Yueheng, Chen Zifeng, and Ma Xiaotao clashed, terrifying heat erupted from the center of the battlefield. Seeing this, everyone tacitly steered clear of the most dangerous central area.

As the two sides gradually drew closer, Ling Luochen and Yao Haoxuan, the Control Type Soul Masters, were the first to engage.

Yao Haoxuan let out a roar. His already massive body, which stood over four meters tall under Martial Soul Possession, grew several sizes larger. His muscles bulged, and empowered by his Third Soul Ring, Yao Haoxuan looked more like an Assault Type Soul Master than a support-and-control Soul Master.

Then his First Soul Ring and Second Soul Ring lit up. As two bands of yellow light swept out, Huo Yuhao's side was enveloped in their glow, and their overall auras became noticeably sharper as their momentum surged.

Meanwhile, Beibei, Wang Dong, and Jiang Nannan, who had charged the furthest ahead, felt their minds spin as though they had been struck by heavy hammers.

Xiao Xiao's Three Lives Soul Suppressing Cauldron also moved in. With her First Soul Skill and Second Soul Skill activated, rings of black shockwaves worked in tandem with Yao Haoxuan's attacks, continuously controlling Beibei and the other two.

However, with Ning Tian and Gongyang Mo working together, the abnormal conditions afflicting Beibei's group were soon completely cleared away.

Then a skyful of icy rain fell. Ling Luochen held an ice crystal scepter nearly two meters long, taller than she was when stood upright, while her body was clad in armor formed from ice.

These were Ling Luochen's First Soul Skill and Second Soul Skill. While wielding the Staff of Ice, her control over ice was enhanced, while the Ice Armor protected her against attacks.

That little girl is quite interesting. What a pity—if only she had been born in my world. Electrolux's aged voice sounded in Huo Yuhao's mind.

Specks of icy rain struck Huo Yuhao and the others. Though the damage was not great, it still caused them considerable trouble, especially Xiao Xiao, whose Soul Power and physical strength were relatively low.

Xiao Xiao had already recalled the Three Lives Soul Suppressing Cauldron to protect herself from the direct damage and chilling effects of the icy rain.

Yet this was merely the prelude to Ling Luochen's assault. Her martial soul was pure Ice Element, and what she had been using so far was simply her mastery over ice.

Due to the plan they had made beforehand, Xixi, an Agility Assault Type Soul King, had not charged too far ahead. Instead, she stayed close behind the massive Yao Haoxuan, concealing herself behind his enormous frame.

The distance between the two sides steadily shrank, while the air on the field grew colder and colder. Xu Sanshi knew he could wait no longer. Gritting his teeth, he activated his Fourth Soul Skill—Darkwater Displacement.

Ling Luochen's figure instantly switched places with Xu Sanshi. Yet Ling Luochen did not panic. Her Fifth Soul Ring lit up beneath her feet as the Ring of Ice Radiance was about to erupt.

Under Ling Luochen's earlier control, the Ice Element on the field had already become at least fifty percent denser than usual. If she unleashed her most powerful Fifth Soul Skill, Ring of Ice Radiance, in such an environment, further amplified by her First Soul Skill, Staff of Ice—

At this distance, Huo Yuhao and the others would have absolutely no room to evade. Clearly, Ling Luochen's side had already obtained intelligence on Xu Sanshi's Fourth Soul Skill and made preparations in advance.

However, Ling Luochen's Fifth Soul Skill did not activate as smoothly as she had expected. As Spiritual Erosion activated under Huo Yuhao's control, it did not deal her any fatal damage, but it temporarily stripped away her Spiritual Power.

Still, given the gap in cultivation between Huo Yuhao and Ling Luochen, and with Huo Yuhao holding back without using any other support tools, even stripping away her Spiritual Power for five breaths was extremely difficult.

But that was enough. After all, Ling Luochen's Second Soul Skill came from only a hundred-year Soul Ring. How could it possibly withstand the attacks of Xixi, an Agility Assault Type Soul King, for five breaths while its user was unconscious?

In a flash of lightning, Ling Luochen was carried off the field by Xuan Zi. In the distance, beads of sweat appeared on Gongyang Mo's delicate face.

The moment Ling Luochen had been switched over, he and Ning Tian had been trying their hardest to remove the control effect on her. Yet despite that, their Soul Skills seemed to vanish into the sea without even raising a ripple.

This was because, under the effects of Spiritual Erosion, both of their Soul Skills were struggling against Ling Luochen's own Spiritual Power, which Huo Yuhao had affected.

Under such circumstances, if their Soul Skills successfully "removed" the effects of Spiritual Erosion, Ling Luochen's Spiritual Power would inevitably be severely overdrawn. To accomplish that, the strength of their Soul Skills would have to vastly surpass Ling Luochen's Spiritual Power.

And if they could not remove the effects of Spiritual Erosion, then there was nothing more to say. With even Ling Luochen's conscious mind unable to resist on its own, how could their Soul Skills possibly take effect?

"How can this junior's ability be so bizarre? I thought a Soul Skill that forcibly takes effect like this would only appear on a ten-thousand-year Soul Ring. But my Soul Ring is ten-thousand-year too. By rights, I should be able to contend with it."

The others nearby gritted their teeth, unable to answer. They were doing their utmost to deal with Xu Sanshi in front of them, but Xu Sanshi, alone deep within enemy lines, would likely be unable to hold out much longer no matter what he did.

"Junior Xu Sanshi, your mission is complete!" Yao Haoxuan shouted in his booming voice.

Hearing that, Xu Sanshi immediately activated Darkwater Displacement again and switched positions with Yao Haoxuan.

With Ling Luochen taken out, the icy rain and chill on the field began to dissipate. Huo Yuhao and the others had also drawn extremely close to Beibei's group.

The instant he entered the enemy formation, Yao Haoxuan's Second Soul Ring flashed wildly. Ring after ring of yellow soundwaves burst out amid the crowd, deafening everyone and making them dizzy.

Even Gongyang Mo and Ning Tian, despite gritting their teeth and trying to remove the negative effects from everyone, could not completely do so in such a short time.

Beibei, Jiang Nannan, and Wang Dong fought through their dizziness and attacked Yao Haoxuan, hoping to interrupt his Second Soul Skill. But how could that be so easy?

A concealed killing intent swept past the crowd and struck toward Gongyang Mo. Wang Dong, whose head was already pounding under the influence of the soundwaves, was directly rescued off the field by Xuan Zi.

Xixi had made her move. As she passed Yao Haoxuan and the other three, she casually took out Wang Dong, the weakest among them.

Seeing this, Gongyang Mo gave a bitter smile. "Junior Ning Tian, give up. Use your final enhancement Soul Skill to reinforce Xiaotao. From here on, we can only rely on her."

Gongyang Mo stopped supporting the people in front of him. The wings of the Rainbow Dragon spread behind his back as four streams of red, orange, yellow, and green light flowed forth—strength of red, Soul Power of orange, speed of yellow, and attributes of green—shooting toward Ma Xiaotao.

At the same time, Xixi's claws sliced through the air before her, ultimately cutting down several of Gongyang Mo's rainbow-colored feathers. Ning Tian, meanwhile, had barely managed to cast a speed enhancement on Ma Xiaotao before Xixi carried her away as well.

After the two were rescued by Xuan Zi, they could only watch the battle on the field helplessly.

With Gongyang Mo and Ning Tian defeated, Beibei and Jiang Nannan's resistance gradually crumbled as well. Although Jiang Nannan still had Invincible Golden Body, activating it now would only buy them a little time.

It would also cause Beibei to be eliminated even faster. It was better to keep fighting with all they had and weaken the enemy as much as possible.

Huo Yuhao's gaze swept over Beibei and Jiang Nannan before settling on the battlefield where Ma Xiaotao was fighting Dai Yueheng and Chen Zifeng.

Although scorching flames shrouded the area and blocked ordinary vision, they had no effect whatsoever on Huo Yuhao's Eye of Truth and Spiritual Detection.

Dai Yueheng and Chen Zifeng were in a truly miserable state. The white fur of Dai Yueheng's Evil Eye White Tiger had been burned nearly bare. Chen Zifeng was in even worse shape. After his Soul Chasing Sword was broken by another Phoenix Cloud Piercing Strike from Ma Xiaotao, Xuan Zi had already pulled him off the field.

Seeing this, Huo Yuhao activated his Second Soul Skill—Spiritual Erosion—once more. However, he was not planning to forcibly control Ma Xiaotao as he had Ling Luochen.

Ma Xiaotao was currently filled with evil energy. Even if he cut off her conscious will, the evil energy within her body would continue to control her and make her fight.

Moreover, with the support of that evil energy, Ma Xiaotao's combat strength might become even more terrifying after losing conscious control. After all, she was still holding back right now. At the very least, she had yet to use her strongest Sixth Soul Skill, Phoenix Meteor Shower.

Therefore, Huo Yuhao mainly employed Spiritual Suggestion this time. Through Spiritual Suggestion, he gradually made Ma Xiaotao overlook his existence while causing a certain degree of Deflection in her five senses.

A tiny error could lead to a thousand-mile deviation. Unless one fought entirely on instinct, any flaw in perception during battle would greatly affect a person's judgment and combat ability.

Another burst of flames shot into the sky. At that moment, everyone on Dai Yueheng's side except Huo Yuhao watched the slender figure emerge from the golden-red flames with grave expressions.

The woman's long hair, once tied in a ponytail, had fallen loose. Her hair flew about, concealing most of her face. The golden-red firelight did not illuminate her cold and beautiful features; instead, the shadows only made them seem more profound and mysterious.

Her dark-red hair and eyes appeared especially cold beneath the light of the flames behind her and the sun hanging high in the sky.

As the flames dispersed, the battlefield where Ma Xiaotao had fought Dai Yueheng and Chen Zifeng finally came into view. Dai Yueheng and Chen Zifeng were nowhere to be seen.

The ground was charred black from the flames, with vast cracks spreading across it. This Battle Soul Arena had been specially prepared by Shrek Academy for the Main Team and Reserve Team to test themselves in, so its durability was obvious.

If they had not known that Xuan Zi was overseeing the battle nearby, everyone might have thought Ma Xiaotao had burned the two of them to ashes.

"Damn, what's wrong with Sister Xiaotao?" Xu Sanshi's face twitched. Having once been fairly familiar with Ma Xiaotao, he sensed that something was seriously off.

Even Yao Haoxuan, usually cheerful and carefree, looked grim. Xixi did not dare approach rashly either. All of them understood the gap between their own strength and that of Dai Yueheng and Chen Zifeng.

Ma Xiaotao's current combat strength had far exceeded their expectations. They had originally thought that Dai Yueheng and Chen Zifeng could at least hold off Ma Xiaotao's assault, allowing everyone to take down this big boss together. But now their main damage dealer, Dai Yueheng, was already down.

"Let's do it!" Yao Haoxuan gritted his teeth. Xu Sanshi advanced alongside him, while Xixi followed closely behind, using Yao Haoxuan's cover to approach Ma Xiaotao in the air.

But Ma Xiaotao clearly had no intention of giving them another chance.

Her dark-red eyes swept across the four people present: Yao Haoxuan, Xu Sanshi, Xixi, and Xiao Xiao. Then the enormous Phoenix Wings behind her flapped.

Her Second Soul Skill, Phoenix Reborn from Fire, and Third Soul Skill, Phoenix Wing Soaring, activated once again.

Intense golden-red Phoenix Flames erupted once more, while the pair of Phoenix Wings on Ma Xiaotao's back grew even larger and spread wide behind her.

Enhanced by the two Soul Skills, the boosts Gongyang Mo and Ning Tian had given Ma Xiaotao just before leaving the field were also nearing their end.

Ma Xiaotao activated three Soul Skills in succession. Her Fourth Soul Ring, Fifth Soul Ring, and Sixth Soul Ring flashed simultaneously as clusters of golden-red fireballs condensed in the air, then fell like flaming meteors.

Ma Xiaotao herself transformed into a massive flaming phoenix, becoming the brightest meteor of all as she crashed fiercely toward the crowd.

The people facing Ma Xiaotao felt despair. This was no spar—it was a crushing defeat!

Even if Xu Sanshi used Darkwater Displacement, he could not save anyone. The moment he switched places, he would enter the rain of fire filling the sky and be taken down immediately. And Ma Xiaotao, charging into the crowd, would inflict even more terrifying damage.

Outside the field, Xuan Zi sighed softly. In the end, he had failed to make a decision at once, wanting to see how everyone performed. Now, he acted repeatedly, rescuing Yao Haoxuan, Xu Sanshi, Xixi, and Xiao Xiao.

However, due to the effects of Phoenix Meteor Shower, all of them had sustained rather serious injuries.

As the flames faded, only Ma Xiaotao and the Huo Yuhao she had "overlooked," who had moved far away early on, remained on the field. After battle after battle, her Soul Power was nearly exhausted as well.

Xuan Zi's gaze settled on Huo Yuhao. Would a miracle happen?