Battle Against the Ferocious God Team, a Fist-to-Flesh Fight

Supervisor Ao moved quickly. In less than half an hour, the match schedule had been arranged. The moment the announcement crystal displayed that the Ji Ni Tai Mei Team would face the Ferocious God Team, the Silver Soul waiting area erupted.

The captains of several teams simultaneously breathed sighs of relief, then cast complicated looks toward the Ji Ni Tai Mei Team's resting area—grateful, sympathetic, and eager to watch the show.

Yu Tianlin made a last-minute adjustment to the lineup in the resting area. He chose himself, Yu Tianxin, Yu Tianheng, Lei Jiu, Ye Lingling, Dugu Yan, and Lei Dong.

Yu Xiaolou, Qing Luo, and Lei Li were assigned to rest. Against desperate all-Soul Ancestor opponents like the Ferocious God Team, Yu Xiaolou and Qing Luo were not strong enough, while Lei Li's defenses would be torn open under concentrated attacks. It was better to bring another controller and healer, use double healing as a safety net, and meet them head-on with two powerful attackers.

Yu Xiaolou and the others sat in the stands, their faces full of unwillingness, but they said nothing.

The lights over the arena were brighter than usual, and the stands were packed with people who had rushed over to buy tickets after hearing that the Ji Ni Tai Mei Team was fighting the Ferocious God Team.

The seven members of the Ferocious God Team walked onto the stage from the other end. They all wore fitted black-and-red uniforms without a single ornament or badge on their chests.

Their leader was Captain Meng Li, a burly bald man with several old knife scars running across his scalp to behind his ears. The moment he stepped onto the stage, the pressure of a level forty-five Soul Ancestor naturally spread outward. The six behind him were all Soul Ancestors as well. Under the lights, all seven pairs of eyes glimmered faintly red, clearly stained with the bloodlust left behind by long years of slaughter.

"Prepare." The referee's command had barely fallen when dazzling light erupted across the stage.

All seven members of the Ferocious God Team possessed the same martial soul: the Bloodthirsty Wolf. Blood-red wolf phantoms appeared behind them all at once, their fur rough as iron bristles, fangs bared, and pupils crimson. Every one of them had two yellow and two purple soul rings—the optimal soul ring configuration.

Meng Li's Soul Power had reached level forty-five, making him the undisputed core of the Ferocious God Team. On the Ji Ni Tai Mei Team's side, Yu Tianheng and Yu Tianxin stood shoulder to shoulder at the very front. The phantoms of two Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragons coiled and crossed above the arena, their lightning reflecting off one another.

Lei Dong's Thunder Spider spread its web along the flank, while Dugu Yan's Jade Phosphorous Serpent coiled around the web's edge, poison mist slowly spilling from its mouth. Lei Jiu's Thunder Drum stood at the center of the formation, and Ye Lingling's Nine Heart Begonia bloomed in her palm, bathing the entire team in a pale blue glow. Yu Tianlin still stood in the middle, doing nothing.

"Begin!"

At the command, Meng Li immediately used his first soul skill, Bloodthirsty Charge, transforming into a bloody blur as he slammed straight toward the Ji Ni Tai Mei Team's front line. The six behind him followed at once. The charging strides of the seven Bloodthirsty Wolves were almost perfectly synchronized, and the entire team was like a heavy hammer soaked in blood, smashing toward the center of their opponents' formation.

Yu Tianxin and Yu Tianheng met them head-on. The two Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragons clashed directly against the seven Bloodthirsty Wolves. Dragon claws and wolf claws collided in midair, lightning and bloody radiance exploded, and the shockwave made the railings around the arena hum.

Meng Li's charge was blocked by the two working together, but the Ferocious God Team's vice-captain slipped around the front line from the flank, his Bloodthirsty Wolf claws aimed directly at Ye Lingling in the rear.

Lei Dong's web spread through the air. The instant its strands wrapped around the wolf claws, arcs of electricity burst forth, numbing the vice-captain's arm for an instant. Dugu Yan's poison mist followed from the side, dark green fog enveloping half his body as toxins seeped in through his skin.

Their opponent reacted swiftly, immediately retreating to open the distance. All seven members of the Ferocious God Team withdrew at once, their formation remaining perfectly orderly. Meng Li lowered his head to glance at the wound on his arm, torn open by a lightning dragon claw, then licked the blood from the corner of his mouth. The red glow in his eyes only intensified.

"Fourth soul skill, Bloodthirst." Seven beams of blood-red light erupted at once. In their Bloodthirsty state, their muscles swelled by a full size, their wolf claws became longer and sharper, and both their speed and strength surged. All seven pairs of eyes turned scarlet, their pupils shrinking to pinpoints. Their breathing grew rough and rapid, white foam spilling from the corners of their mouths. The Ferocious God Team pounced again, completely unlike before, as fast as seven streaks of bloody lightning.

Yu Tianxin and Yu Tianheng were simultaneously entangled by Meng Li, the vice-captain, and the others. The two Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragons scattered lightning in every direction under the siege of four Bloodthirsty Wolves.

Lei Dong's web was forcibly torn apart by a Bloodthirsty Wolf Soul Ancestor. Though the Thunder Spider Silk was tough, it could not withstand repeated tearing from opponents whose strength had doubled in their Bloodthirsty state. Before long, a huge hole had been ripped into the web. That Soul Ancestor rushed through the gap and lunged straight at Ye Lingling.

Dugu Yan stepped in front of Ye Lingling, and her Jade Phosphorous Serpent spewed poison mist at full force. Dark green fog formed a translucent wall of poison before her. The Soul Ancestor crashed straight into it, toxins invading through his airways and skin at once. He gave a muffled groan, but the Bloodthirsty state greatly suppressed his sense of pain. He endured the poison and continued forward, forcing Dugu Yan back with a claw strike until her back slammed into the arena railing.

The petals of Ye Lingling's Nine Heart Begonia spun rapidly, and healing immediately descended upon Dugu Yan. Her wounds visibly closed beneath the petals' glow.

Then Yu Tianlin moved. He stepped across and stood before Ye Lingling, raising a hand to precisely catch the Soul Ancestor's descending wolf claw. The wolf claw, whose strength had doubled in the Bloodthirsty state, was firmly gripped in one hand and frozen in midair, unable to advance or retreat.

Yu Tianlin turned his head and told Ye Lingling and Dugu Yan to fall back. Then he swung his other fist into the Soul Ancestor's chest. Level thirty-nine Soul Power, combined with the physical strength enhanced by the Azure Dragon martial soul, sent his opponent flying back seven steps with a single punch.

The Bloodthirsty state was gradually fading. Their muscles began to shrink, their speed slowed, and their breathing grew even rougher. Those were the first signs of Bloodthirst's backlash.

Yu Tianxin and Yu Tianheng exerted themselves at the same time. The two Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragons launched their counterattack the instant Bloodthirst faded. Yu Tianxin struck Meng Li's shoulder with one palm, dislocating his right arm, and the Ferocious God Team's formation completely collapsed.

The remaining members fell onto the stage one after another. Meng Li was the last to go down. His Bloodthirsty state faded the latest, but the backlash he suffered was also the most severe. Blood seeped from his seven orifices as he knelt on one knee, both arms trembling uncontrollably.

The victor had been decided. The referee raised his arm high, his voice echoing over the silent arena. "The entire Ferocious God Team has lost its ability to fight. The Ji Ni Tai Mei Team wins!"

The stands were deathly silent at first, then erupted in cheers like a crashing sea.

At the highest point of the stands, Pufferfish Douluo's gaze pierced through the dust that had yet to settle over the arena and landed on the figure wearing the Withered Wood Mask. He muttered to himself, "From beginning to end, he never released his martial soul or revealed his soul rings. Yet when he blocked that full-force strike from a Soul Ancestor in the Bloodthirsty state, the strength he displayed was at least at the Soul Ancestor level. His physical strength also far surpasses that of soul masters at the same level. That healing girl's Nine Heart Begonia is a supreme healing martial soul."

The corners of his lips lifted slightly. "This is getting more and more interesting. If they can be used by Spirit Hall, they will be a tremendous boon to the young lord's plans. If not, then the threat they pose is no weaker than that of an ordinary Title Douluo."