Phoenix Wings Burning Heaven Fury · Dragon Gale Hiding Edge Softness

Below the stage, in the spectator area.

Dai Yueheng looked at the silver-haired youth standing beside Yan Shaozhe, unable to hide his curiosity. He couldn't help but lean over and whisper to Wu Ming, who was still waving excitedly, "Sister Ming, what exactly is the background of this junior?"

Wu Ming kept her eyes locked on the arena, lowering her voice as she replied, "Yueheng, let me tell you, this little junior is incredible! I heard he's a personal disciple of one of the Sea God Pavilion elders! His martial soul quality is exceptionally high! And..." A look of reminiscence appeared on her face, "He's incredibly comfortable to hold, just like a heater. I feel like my soul power flows much smoother whenever I'm near him!"

Hold? I must have misheard...

Dai Yueheng was shaken by her words. A personal disciple of a Sea God Pavilion elder? That background was truly formidable.

He asked nonchalantly, "So, is he and Ma Xiaotao... very close?"

Wu Ming chuckled, blinking mischievously. "Close? They even live..." She suddenly realized she had almost let something slip and quickly coughed twice to cover it up. "Ahem, ahem! Nothing, nothing! Watch the match, watch the match!"

Dai Yueheng: "???"

His confusion deepened. Looking at the pair who seemed so "well-matched," he felt an inexplicable sense of irritation.

"You're the one who's a crybaby!" Ma Xiaotao retorted indignantly.

"This is a friendly sparring match, so stop when it's enough." Yan Shaozhe acted as the referee for the two, announcing in a loud voice, "Both sides, prepare—state your names and ranks!"

"Ma Xiaotao, level 64 assault-type battle soul emperor, please advise!"

"Long Jinyu, level 45 assault-type battle soul ancestor, please advise!"

"Begin!"

"Third soul skill—Phoenix Wings Soaring!"

Ma Xiaotao took the initiative, her fiery red wings spreading wide as she shot into the sky, carried by a scorching current. She seized the aerial advantage, her six perfectly matched soul rings pulsing around her, radiating immense pressure.

Long Jinyu didn't show any weakness. His magnificent nine-colored Nine-Colored Dragon Wings unfurled with a "swish," and he rose effortlessly to her altitude, forming a standoff in the air.

Ma Xiaotao raised an eyebrow. "Kid, not even lighting up your soul rings? Are you being that arrogant?"

Long Jinyu waved his hands with a smile. "Senior sister, you saw my 'special effects' in the office earlier, didn't you? I was just afraid of scaring you again. Please, ladies first~"

He intended to use Ma Xiaotao as a sparring partner, taking this opportunity to properly adapt to the power of this body and test the might of his Self-Created Soul Skill, all while helping her regulate her Evil Fire. It was killing several birds with one stone.

"Oh? Quite the gentleman, aren't you?" Ma Xiaotao's phoenix eyes narrowed. "Then take this! First soul skill—Phoenix Fire Line! Second soul skill—Bathing Fire Phoenix!"

A scorching line of fire roared out, accompanied by the amplified Phoenix Flame, covering a massive area.

Long Jinyu's figure flickered, leaving several afterimages in the air as he dodged every attack with ease, his speed astonishingly fast.

"Senior sister, you have to be serious if you want to deal with me. Show me your real skills~" Long Jinyu's voice came from another direction, filled with amusement.

Ma Xiaotao failed to touch even a corner of his clothes after several consecutive attacks, and she felt a secret shock: This kid's speed is actually this monstrous? Faster than Xixi! Gritting her teeth, she decided to stop holding back.

"Sixth soul skill—Phoenix Meteor Shower!"

In an instant, fireballs rained down like meteors, covering the entire sky above the soul fighting arena. There was nowhere to hide!

Looks like Sister Xiaotao is getting serious. Long Jinyu's gaze sharpened. The attack range covers the whole arena; I can't dodge this. Perfect time to test that move!

With a thought, the airflow around him accelerated sharply. His Nine-Colored Dragon Wings gave a violent beat, and a gale that appeared gentle but contained immense power instantly took form:

"Domain: Carefree Dragon Gale!"

The wind was formless, yet it seemed to possess a spirit, precisely brushing past every falling fire meteor.

Under the influence of this ingenious gale, the seemingly violent meteors were deflected as if pushed by an invisible hand. Their trajectories shifted, and they were all "sent" toward the energy barrier at the edge of the arena, where they sparked ripples before being extinguished and vanishing.

He retracted his power in time, controlling the gale to bypass Ma Xiaotao so she wouldn't be blown away along with them.

Ma Xiaotao: "!!!"

Floating in mid-air, she watched her strongest area-of-effect soul skill being neutralized so nonchalantly, shocked beyond measure. "You... you little brat! Just how many secrets are you hiding?! You can even control wind elements?! And you're this good at it?! You broke my sixth soul skill just by using wind?!"

This was the second time! The last time at Sea God Lake, it was Ultimate Ice, and now it had turned into wind? Was he planning to go head-to-head with her using fire next time?

Just how many attributes does this guy have?!

Long Jinyu felt secretly smug: Heh, this "wind beats fire" trick was inspired by watching "Shen Bing Xiao Jiang" when I was a kid, back when Nan Gong Wentian and the others dealt with the fire elephant. I didn't expect it to actually work! Not bad, not bad!

He looked at the still-stunned Ma Xiaotao and blinked intentionally. "Senior sister, attribute suppression is just basic operation~ Your fire isn't 'condensed' enough; it's easy to scatter with the wind."

Ma Xiaotao was so irritated by his critique that her teeth itched. "Fine! Take another one! Fifth soul skill—Phoenix Cloud-Piercing Strike!"

She highly compressed her Phoenix Flame, forming a crimson beam of light with immense penetrating power, shooting straight at Long Jinyu's chest!

"Well come!"

Long Jinyu didn't dodge or evade. He pressed his hands out into the void, and a yellow light flashed around him:

"Domain: Myriad Ravines Dragon Evasion!"

Several thick, solid earth walls rose instantly, circling in front of him like layers of mountains.

The Phoenix Cloud-Piercing Strike slammed into the earth walls with a dull, thunderous boom. The rock walls vibrated violently, but they held firm against the fierce strike, showing only a few cracks on the surface.

Ma Xiaotao was completely dumbfounded.

How is this even fightable? Top-tier speed, and top-tier defense too? This is even tougher than Xiao Xu's tortoise shell! He hasn't even... used the Ultimate Ice that counters me the most... I'm almost out of options.

A deep sense of powerlessness welled up in her heart. She, who was known as the number one genius of the Inner Court, was as helpless as a toy before Long Jinyu.

What panicked her even more was whether Long Jinyu would look down on her after discovering she was this "weak." Would he find her previous display of seniority as a senior sister ridiculous?

He seemed like the type to admire strength; what if he distanced himself because of this... and became more interested in a stronger senior sister...

No! I absolutely cannot admit defeat!

Driven by intense pride and a trace of inexplicable panic, Ma Xiaotao let out a sharp cry:

"Fourth Soul Skill—Phoenix Roaring Sky Strike!"

She merged with the phantom of the phoenix, transforming into a burning meteor that charged toward Long Jinyu with an unstoppable momentum! This was her final act of defiance.

Seeing this, Long Jinyu panicked inwardly. I overdid it. I was so focused on testing my skills and crushing her the whole time that I didn't consider Senior Sister Xiaotao's feelings. Her pride is so strong; I hope I didn't actually crush her spirit. That would be hard to make up for later...

He immediately decided to throw the match and began to act.

Just as Ma Xiaotao was about to collide with him, the cold air around Long Jinyu surged, and he finally unleashed his attribute-countering Ultimate Ice:

"Domain: Eternal Dragon Frost!"

"Bang!"

The frigid frost and the Phoenix Blazing Flame collided with a roar! A sky full of white mist and energy ripples erupted.

Under the cover of the energy explosion, he skillfully channeled a trace of gentle energy from his Ultimate Ice and Ultimate Life into Ma Xiaotao's body, helping her calm her restless martial soul.

At the same time, he feigned exhaustion, let out a muffled groan, and was "awkwardly" knocked out of the arena boundaries by the massive impact. He intentionally rolled on the ground a few times before stopping, clutching his chest and coughing: "Cough, cough, cough... Senior sister is truly formidable. This Phoenix Roaring Sky Strike really packs a punch! I have lost."

Ma Xiaotao stood frozen in place, looking at the "weakened" Long Jinyu outside the arena, then feeling the comfort and tranquility within her martial soul, she instantly understood everything.

He was clearly ridiculously strong, yet he used this method to protect her pride and... the dignity of a senior sister.

A warm current mixed with heartache and complex emotions welled up in her heart. She immediately flew down, knelt beside Long Jinyu to help him up, her tone full of feigned annoyance and concern: "Little brat... are you alright? Why are you so foolish?"

Yan Shaozhe watched from the side, seeing everything clearly, stroking his beard with a silent smile.

Dai Yueheng watched the natural, intimate way Ma Xiaotao treated Long Jinyu, and felt inexplicably more irritable.

Just then, Wu Ming could no longer contain her excitement and rushed over, her fiery red eyes fixed on Long Jinyu: "Little junior brother! That was a beautiful fight! Come, come, let me have a spar with you too!"

Long Jinyu looked at the eager Golden Crow Saintess before him and sighed inwardly: My lady, could you please not do this...

He had just finished acting out one match, and now here came another?

Just as Wu Ming finished speaking, a low voice cut in:

"Sister Ming, let me have this match first."