The twelve-year-old boy before him had far less Soul Power than he did, yet his combat instincts and timing were astonishingly precise and seasoned. Every time he struck, he hit the instant the opponent's old strength had faded and before his new strength had gathered.
And the two of them worked together with uncanny understanding. Wang Dong's interference came at just the right moment, Huo Yuhao's predictions were dead-on, and Mu Chen's attacks always came from the most lethal angles.
This wasn't three students working together. It was a finely tuned fighting machine.
The incense had burned halfway down.
Song Teng took a deep breath. Flames coursed over his dragon scales, and the temperature climbed again. He stopped treating the three people before him as students and began to regard them as genuine opponents.
"Be careful." His voice was grave. Then he became a streak of fire and charged straight at Huo Yuhao.
He'd figured it out: the boy with the Spirit Eye Martial Soul was the core of this machine. Take him down, and the whole thing would grind to a halt.
Huo Yuhao's pupils reflected the streak of fire drawing closer. He didn't retreat.
Because he knew someone would come.
"First Soul Skill, Ocean's Fury."
Mu Chen's eyes turned red in an instant. All his attributes increased by fifty percent, Soul Power surged madly through his meridians, and his long blue hair whipped about as his aura soared.
He stepped forward. The ground cracked beneath his foot, and he shot across Song Teng's path like an arrow loosed from its string.
His Trident swept across. The Soul Power gathered along its blade became a crescent-shaped blue slash that cut through the air and the flames, striking precisely where Song Teng was about to pass.
Song Teng had no choice but to stop.
If he didn't, his neck would hit the blade first—and only then would his fist land on Huo Yuhao.
Boom!
The blue slash collided with the flaming dragon claw. The shock wave hurled Huo Yuhao to the ground, but he wasn't hurt. Mu Chen's strike had intercepted all the damage.
Mu Chen himself didn't fare much better. The direct hit from a Soul Emperor left his entire right arm numb, and he nearly dropped his Trident. But he gritted his teeth, steadied himself, and pressed forward instead of retreating.
"Wang Dong!" he barked.
Wang Dong was already behind Song Teng.
The wings of her Light Goddess Butterfly spread fully as she unleashed her second Soul Skill once more. Light Butterflies poured down like a torrential rain.
This time, the Light Butterflies weren't there to distract him. They clung to Song Teng's flames, light and fire weaving together with a piercing hiss.
Song Teng's movements faltered.
Mu Chen's fourth Soul Ring lit up.
"Sea Dragon Soul."
Blue-gold light erupted from the Trident. A massive shadow of a deep-sea dragon roared out of its shaft. Its dragon cry shook the entire field, and leaves rustled down from the trees along the edge of the grounds.
The Soul Skill of a twelve-thousand-year Deep Sea Flood Dragon Soul Ring was one Mu Chen rarely used.
Because it was his strongest trump card for now.
The dragon shadow collided with the flames, and the entire field trembled.
Steam billowed into a vast white mist, swallowing all three figures. The watching students could no longer see a thing. They could only hear the thunderous booms from within the mist, the clash of weapons, and Song Teng's earth-shaking dragon cry.
Inside the white mist,
Song Teng's Blazing Fire Dragon faced off against the phantom of the deep-sea dragon. The two forces tore at each other violently within the cramped space.
His dragon claw held off the Trident's blade. Fire and seawater waged a miniature war in the space of a few inches.
And behind Mu Chen, Wang Dong had somehow placed her hand on his shoulder.
The Soul Power of the two began to merge at that very moment.
They knew the sensation well. Whenever they fused their powers to cultivate in their dorm room at night, their two utterly different kinds of Soul Power flowed through each other's meridians like two streams winding together.
But now, under the pressure of battle, the fusion grew more intense, more turbulent.
That door.
Mu Chen could feel it—the door deep within their Martial Soul Fusion. It was right there, heavy and ancient, with a heart-stirring light shining through its cracks. If only he pushed it open—
"Stop!"
Zhou Yi's voice pierced through the white mist.
The incense had burned out.
The white mist slowly cleared.
At the center of the field, Song Teng had already withdrawn his Blazing Fire Dragon true form. His uniform bore several small tears, and he was breathing slightly hard.
Across from him, Mu Chen knelt on one knee, bracing himself on his Trident as he gasped for breath.
Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao stood on either side of him. They, too, were drenched in sweat, but not one of the three pairs of eyes showed the slightest hint of surrender.
The field was so quiet, you could hear a pin drop.
Then Song Teng smiled.
It was the smile of a true powerhouse faced with promising youngsters: part admiration, part relief, and part barely perceptible gratitude that he'd given it his all. Otherwise, he might really have lost.
"Teacher Zhou." He turned to look at Zhou Yi, his voice filled with undisguised praise. "These three students of yours are extraordinary."
Zhou Yi pushed up her glasses. For once, she didn't give him her usual icy look. Her gaze lingered on Mu Chen for a moment, then swept over Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao before returning to Song Teng. "What makes you say that?"
"This kid." Song Teng pointed at Mu Chen. "His judgment of timing, his control of the battlefield's rhythm, the way he coordinates and links up with his teammates—he wouldn't be out of place in the Inner Academy. And..."
He paused, his expression turning serious. "In that final instant, I sensed a stronger power building. It never took shape, but the pressure it gave off was no weaker than that of a few Martial Soul Fusion Skills I've seen."
Martial Soul Fusion Skill.
Those five words sent a commotion through the crowd.
Mu Chen stood up, recalled his Trident into his body, and cupped his fists toward Song Teng. "Teacher Song, you went easy on us."
Song Teng waved him off. "Don't give me that. I gave it everything I had. I didn't go easy on you. If you'd made that last move, Sea Dragon Soul, any stronger, these old bones of mine might not have held out."
As he spoke, he reached out and patted Mu Chen on the shoulder, lowering his voice. "Train hard. I'll be waiting for you in the Inner Academy."
With that, he nodded to Zhou Yi and turned to leave. His steps were light, and he showed no sign of someone who'd just lost. Of course, strictly speaking, he hadn't lost. But for a Soul Emperor to be forced by three students with far less Soul Power to use his sixth Soul Skill was, in a sense, a defeat.
Zhou Yi walked over to the three of them.
"Nicely done." Her tone was as flat as if she were commenting on the weather. "But don't get cocky. Teacher Song may be a Soul Emperor, but he specializes in offense rather than control. If you'd faced a control-type Soul Emperor, your teamwork wouldn't have gone so smoothly."
Mu Chen nodded. "Understood."
"Also," Zhou Yi said, her gaze settling on the wound at the base of Mu Chen's right thumb. Blood was still seeping from the cut. "Go to the infirmary and get it treated."
Her words came out a little awkwardly, but Mu Chen understood. She was worried about him.
"Thank you, Teacher Zhou," he said.
Zhou Yi gave a quiet hum, then turned toward the other groups to arrange the next sparring match.
Wang Dong dropped onto the ground and lay on her back, panting heavily.
She'd withdrawn her butterfly wings into her body. Her short pink-and-blue hair was damp with sweat and stuck to her forehead, making her look disheveled yet somehow irresistibly cute.