Lan Kai vs. Wu Zhangkong

"Heavens, is this a Battle Armor?!"

Seeing the magnificent armor emerging over Wu Zhangkong's body, Tang Wulin and the others gaped in astonishment.

Although Battle Armor Masters seemed to be everywhere in the original records, compared to the vast population base of the Douluo Federation, the number of Battle Armor Masters was actually quite scarce.

Wu Zhangkong's Battle Armor was exceptionally ornate and matched his temperament perfectly; once he finished donning it, his entire presence surged significantly.

"This is my two-word Battle Armor, 'Sky Ice.' The metals used are all spirit alloys, allowing it to merge with me at will."

"Your goal for the future is to become Battle Armor Masters, and you must possess at least a two-word Battle Armor."

While donning his armor, Wu Zhangkong did not forget to educate the members of Zero Class, then turned his gaze toward Lan Kai, preparing to engage him in battle.

Lan Kai took a deep breath, extended his left hand holding the Orb Ring forward, pressed the switch, and entered the transformation space once more.

"Ultraman senior!"

"Tiga senior!"

"Please lend me your light!"

"Fusion Up!"

"Ultraman Orb Specium Zeperion Form!"

Gu Yue skillfully raised her hand to shield her eyes from the blinding light emitted during Lan Kai's transformation. Wu Zhangkong, however, wanting to observe every move Lan Kai made, not only refrained from shielding his eyes but even utilized his Purple Demon Eye to watch.

As a result, he was naturally stung by the radiance of Lan Kai's transformation, his eyes blinking incessantly.

While the Purple Demon Eye could enhance a soul master's spiritual power and observation, and could even grant abilities similar to "piercing electric eyes" at higher realms, it provided no defense against flash-based attacks.

Had he been facing a certain high-beam Kamen Rider, Wu Zhangkong's eyes would likely have suffered even more severe damage.

Wu Zhangkong hurriedly deactivated the fusion of the armor on his left hand, rubbed his eyes to recover, and then fixed his gaze back on Lan Kai—who had transformed into Ultraman Orb—his expression turning even more solemn.

The next moment, both moved simultaneously, charging toward one another.

Lan Kai raised his hand to unleash the Sperion Ring, sending a flurry of purple rings flying toward Wu Zhangkong, attacking from various angles.

Wu Zhangkong immediately activated his soul skills, and not just one.

First soul skill, Frost Trace.

Fourth soul skill, Frost Ice Whisper.

Fifth soul skill, Frost Whisper Ice Wheel.

Nine massive Frost Sky Swords, each seven meters long, appeared around Wu Zhangkong, forming a giant sword wheel wreathed in white Frost Trace, colliding incessantly with the Sperion Ring thrown by Lan Kai.

However, the effect Wu Zhangkong had hoped for—his three soul skills deflecting Lan Kai's attack—did not occur. Instead, his first soul skill was easily shattered by the Sperion Ring, and even his Frost Whisper Ice Wheel developed numerous cracks, looking as though it might disintegrate completely at any moment.

Lan Kai charged toward Wu Zhangkong again, seemingly intending to use his powerful physical form to confront the Frost Whisper Ice Wheel.

Wu Zhangkong remained expressionless, instantly deactivating his soul skills before re-releasing them; the nine long swords reappeared, slashing at Lan Kai from different angles.

Lan Kai suddenly held his hands level in front of his chest, then extended them to his sides. He leaped into the air, raised his right hand, and a massive ring of light nearly four meters in diameter appeared beside him, which he hurled at Wu Zhangkong's Frost Whisper Ice Wheel.

The Frost Whisper Ice Wheel and the Sperion Ring collided once more. This time, the Frost Whisper Ice Wheel shattered into ice crystals without exception, while the momentum of the Sperion Ring seemed undiminished as it continued to fly toward Wu Zhangkong.

Wu Zhangkong raised his Frost Sky Sword, his first and second soul rings lighting up in succession. The debris from the Frost Whisper Ice Wheel, just shattered by Lan Kai, returned to Wu Zhangkong's side, forming a massive shield with Frost Trace as the frame and Frost Mist as the surface, successfully blocking the Sperion Ring's attack.

Just then, Lan Kai raised his right hand vertically. A purple ring of light appeared before him, and as he leveled his left hand, four lines resembling the outer crosshairs of a scope appeared around the purple ring.

"Speperion Ray!"

Lan Kai crossed his hands in front of him, and a bright purple beam fired toward Wu Zhangkong's position, arriving just as the shield created by Wu Zhangkong's previous two soul skills dissipated.

Wu Zhangkong's expression changed drastically. His third, fourth, fifth, and sixth soul rings lit up almost simultaneously. A massive Frost Whisper Ice Wheel appeared before him, overlapping to collide with Lan Kai's Speperion Ray.

However, his nine Frost Ice Whisper blades shattered one after another, each lasting only a second or two. Yet, this was enough for him to launch the strongest counterattack he could muster: the third soul skill, Sky Frost Slash, amplified by the sixth soul skill, Frost Condensation.

The Sky Frost Slash, boosted by Frost Condensation, collided with the Speperion Ray that had already broken through nine Frost Ice Whisper blades. Wu Zhangkong pushed his soul power output to the limit, coordinating with the amplification of his two-word Battle Armor to hold firm against Lan Kai's beam attack.

Ten seconds later, Lan Kai voluntarily ceased the beam, the light on his chest beginning to flash red accompanied by a warning sound.

Lan Kai, it seems you don't have much soul power left, Wu Zhangkong thought to himself, though his estimation of Lan Kai was now exceptionally high.

Whether it was the initial collision of the small Sperion Ring with his Frost Whisper Ice Wheel, or the later timing used to prepare his finishing beam while Wu Zhangkong was busy defending, Lan Kai's grasp of timing was truly outstanding.

As for close-quarters combat, although it hadn't been demonstrated, Wu Zhangkong understood why Lan Kai avoided it.

Wu Zhangkong's Frost Sky Sword was ice-attributed; even without a domain-type soul skill, engaging him in close combat required enduring the effects of extreme cold.

Rather than fighting under such disadvantageous conditions, it was better to play to the strengths of this form, utilizing a variety of powerful long-range attacks to gain the upper hand and land the critical blow.

Perhaps the only flaw in this form was that it easily revealed when he was running low on energy.

Yet, Wu Zhangkong had a feeling that Lan Kai's true combat power could only be fully unleashed once that red light began to flash.

Moreover, even with the red light flashing, he could still use all sorts of high-powered skills as if they consumed no energy at all.