Su Ming vs. Evil Fire Ma Xiaotao

He pondered rapidly, his brow furrowed: Could this aura of Evil Fire belong to Ma Xiaotao? But that's not right. According to the original timeline, Ma Xiaotao's Evil Fire should only spiral out of control when Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong arrive at Sea God Lake. Why would it erupt here ahead of schedule?

Before the doubt in his heart could be resolved, the figure wreathed in sinister flames had already charged to within a few paces.

It was none other than Ma Xiaotao, her Evil Fire completely out of control, her sanity lost.

At this moment, Ma Xiaotao's eyes were blood-red, and flames churned around her. The violent Evil Fire had devoured her consciousness, leaving her in a state of manic, mindless frenzy.

With nothing but an endless desire for destruction in her eyes, she made no distinction between friend or foe, launching a thunderous assault upon Su Ming. The raging Evil Fire bore down on him with crushing force, the very air twisting and warping from the heat.

Su Ming's expression remained calm and fearless. Facing the incoming, menacing fireball, he planted his feet firmly. Gathering the power of Ultimate Gold into his fist, he didn't dodge in the slightest, throwing a heavy punch that collided head-on with the ball of Evil Fire!

BOOM—!

A deafening roar erupted. The golden fist energy and the crimson Evil Fire clashed instantly, sending ripples of violent energy scattering in all directions. The fireball, capable of severely wounding a Spirit Master, was shattered by Su Ming's single punch, dissipating into sparks in the air.

Yet, the out-of-control Ma Xiaotao did not cease her assault, lunging at him again like a madwoman. Su Ming's eyes narrowed; he immediately raised his hand, channeling the secret technique exclusive to his armor, and decisively unleashed the Zen Seal!

His hands moved rapidly to form the seal, and a golden ring of confinement instantly expanded, creating an absolute, locked-down spatial domain around them. The space was completely sealed, isolated from the outside, impossible to enter or exit, and impervious to brute force. The Zen Seal possessed an inherent power to deter evil spirits and suppress darkness.

Against targets of a sinister or violent nature, it exerted a powerful, forced suppression, inducing fear and rigidity—a perfect counter to the out-of-control Evil Fire within Ma Xiaotao.

Unfortunately, the gap in strength between the two was simply too vast.

Ma Xiaotao was a Level 68 Power Attack System Spirit Emperor; her cultivation far surpassed Su Ming's. Furthermore, her Evil Fire attribute naturally countered Su Ming's Metal attribute. Even though Su Ming possessed the once-in-a-millennium Ultimate Gold martial soul, with pure and thick power, he could not withstand the dual suppression of level and attribute.

The confined space created by the Zen Seal held Ma Xiaotao for only a few seconds before she struggled free.

Ma Xiaotao shrieked, her six spirit rings—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black—all manifesting at once. Their light flared violently as she unleashed her sixth spirit skill with full force.

The immense, surging power of her spirit energy forcibly tore open the seal of the Zen Seal. The violent Evil Fire raged even more fiercely, her assault becoming even more vicious.

Seeing this, Su Ming's expression grew increasingly grave; he dared not be the least bit arrogant anymore.

He knew well that Ma Xiaotao was already one of the academy's top Power Attack Spirit Emperors. With her strength surging after losing control, combined with the attribute suppression of fire over metal and the insurmountable level gap, he was in trouble.

If he did not go all out and fully channel the power of the Snow Mastiff Armor, he risked being severely injured or even facing a life-threatening situation at the hands of the irrational Ma Xiaotao.

Su Ming centered his mind and calmed his breath. Golden light erupted from his entire suit of armor as he channeled the power of Ultimate Gold to its limit. Standing ready, his yellow, purple, purple, and black spirit rings appeared, and he faced the rampaging Ma Xiaotao, preparing for the hard battle ahead.

Crimson Evil Fire surged in the depths of Ma Xiaotao's eyes, her reason long since devoured by the out-of-control Ultimate Fire within her.

Her fifth deep black spirit ring suddenly erupted with scorching flames. Without a moment's hesitation, she shrieked, "Fifth Spirit Skill: Phoenix Cloud-Piercing Strike!"

A small, condensed fire phoenix took shape, its entire body burning with the Ultimate Fire capable of melting gold and scorching stone. As it spread its wings, it carried a destructive impact, transforming into a streak of crimson light that whistled through the air.

It shot straight toward Su Ming. The air warped violently under the high temperature, and the surrounding grass and trees were instantly scorched yellow and curled.

Facing this powerful single-target fire attack, Su Ming's gaze remained steady and fearless. With a thought, his Snow Mastiff Armor martial soul erupted. His first yellow spirit ring and fourth purple spirit ring lit up simultaneously, and thick, domineering Metal-type energy swept across his body.

"First Spirit Skill: Golden Mastiff Defense!"

Pale golden mastiff patterns instantly crawled across his entire body, as if he had donned an indestructible suit of metal armor.

Each pattern shimmered with a cold, metallic luster. His physical defense, strength, and physique were all significantly enhanced. An invisible defensive barrier enveloped him, negating the vast majority of the fire's impact, no matter how the flames churned.

His figure remained as steady as Mount Tai, not retreating a single inch, truly achieving the feat of resisting a close-range strike without his armor breaking.

Immediately following this, Su Ming channeled his spirit skill again, the violent Metal-type power flooding into his limbs: "Fourth Spirit Skill: Golden Mastiff Berserk Body!"

Rich golden light completely enveloped him, his frame seemingly expanding as all his attributes received a violent boost. His strength, defense, and physique doubled, and he radiated a fearless, berserker aura.

His muscles tightened, every inch of his skin concealing the power to shatter mountains and split rocks. The Snow Mastiff Armor was, after all, the heavy-duty armor among the five light-shadow armors that dominated through sheer power. In terms of pure physical strength, it was far beyond the others. With the dual enhancement, Su Ming was like a mobile white tank.

His fighting style was already brutal and direct. Now, relying on the two powerful enhancements, he swung his right hand violently. The Universe Belt at his waist spun rapidly, and the thick, sharp Thunder-Shock Axe, white and gold in color, instantly appeared in his hand.

He gripped the axe handle tightly and stomped his foot, the ground shaking violently. He charged head-on toward Ma Xiaotao, pushing through the scorching fire.

Ma Xiaotao, her reason completely compromised by the Evil Fire, had lost all tactical judgment. Seeing this "white tank" charging at her, she didn't spread her phoenix wings to use her aerial advantage for long-range attrition. Instead, she lowered her altitude, intending to engage Su Ming in close-quarters combat using the power of her Evil Fire.

Cold light flashed in Su Ming's eyes—he had been waiting for her to get close! He put his strength into his arms and swung the Thunder-Shock Axe with all his might. The domineering Metal-type power, wrapped in the sharpness of the axe blade, slashed directly at the fire phoenix.

The scorching Evil Fire, faced with absolute Metal-type sharpness and immense force, was shattered and dispersed like soft butter!

Ma Xiaotao hastily spat out a Phoenix Fire Line to defend, but it was easily cleaved apart by the axe's edge. The fire energy exploded toward the forests on either side, instantly igniting a large area of trees into a raging inferno.

Su Ming did not let up. He discarded the axe and used his fists, golden light surging around him as he landed two heavy punches, each carrying the force of ten thousand jun, mercilessly onto Ma Xiaotao.

Even with the fire defense of her Phoenix martial soul, Ma Xiaotao was shaken by the force of these ultimate heavy blows, causing the out-of-control Evil Fire within her to churn in chaos. Even though her reason was clouded, she finally sensed a fatal crisis, a warning sign flashing in her heart.

She dared not linger in the fight any longer. Flames surged around her as she immediately tried to spread the phoenix wings formed by her spirit skill, intending to ascend and gain distance, planning to use her aerial advantage to suppress Su Ming, who could not fly.