Team Soul Battle

"Welcome, everyone, to the Heaven Dou Great Spirit Arena! I am your host, Guang Bo!"

"Bringing us a spectacular spirit fight today are the Imperial Dou Team and the Jade Maiden Fighting Team!"

"Let us give a round of enthusiastic applause to welcome both sides to the stage!"

Standing on a suspended platform above the arena, Guang Bo announced in a resonant voice.

Di Lintian gripped his Dragon Scale Sword, walking calmly at the very front of the Imperial Dou Team, with Na'er looking equally composed by his side.

In contrast, the Jade Maiden Fighting Team opposite them appeared visibly nervous, watching the Imperial Dou Team with vigilance.

"Now, both sides have one minute to initiate their spirit body possession. The match will begin promptly after one minute!"

Seeing that all members of both teams were standing on the arena floor, Guang Bo announced loudly.

The minute passed in a flash, and with the exception of Di Lintian, everyone had completed their spirit body possession.

"What's wrong with the Imperial Dou captain? Why hasn't he activated his spirit?"

Someone in the spectator stands asked, puzzled.

"Hey, Imperial Dou captain, activate your spirit! I bet my life savings on Imperial Dou winning!"

A middle-aged man shouted irritably.

Because this was the first spirit fight for both Imperial Dou and Jade Maiden, the betting odds were 1:1. This middle-aged man had received inside information that the Imperial Dou Team was from the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, so he had wagered his entire net worth.

Di Lintian heard the man's shouting and cast a cold, sidelong glance at him. At that moment, the man felt as if he had been targeted by a vicious dragon.

"Spirit fight, begin!"

As the referee's voice fell, the captain of the Jade Maiden Fighting Team gripped an ice blade in her hand and transformed into a pale blue streak of light, charging toward Di Lintian.

Among the seven members of the Imperial Dou Team, three were power-attack types, so their tactics were relatively straightforward: one-on-one combat.

As the battle commenced, the Jade Maiden captain took the initiative to engage Di Lintian, while Na'er rushed toward another spirit ancestor from the Jade Maiden Fighting Team.

Dugu Yan, Oslo, and Yu Feng also moved to pin down one member of the Jade Maiden Fighting Team each.

Without the Shi brothers present, Ye Lingling was left unprotected, leaving her defense entirely to Yu Tianheng.

The Jade Maiden captain was named Song Yue, and her spirit was an ice blade.

Song Yue raised her ice blade high and slashed down toward Di Lintian's head.

The wind arrived before the blade.

Even before the ice blade fell, the biting cold air wrapped around it had already reached him.

Di Lintian stepped back half a pace and blocked horizontally with his Dragon Scale Sword.

"Clang—!"

The tip of the blade struck the sword, and the immense force traveled through the Dragon Scale Sword into Di Lintian's palm, leaving the webbing between his thumb and index finger slightly numb.

He thrust the Dragon Scale Sword upward violently, and Song Yue took advantage of the momentum to retreat gracefully.

Di Lintian used his spirit power to soothe his slightly numb arm, then tightened his grip on the Dragon Scale Sword and lunged forward, thrusting the blade toward Song Yue's abdomen.

"First spirit skill, Cold!"

Song Yue's first yellow spirit ring flickered, imbuing her ice blade with an aura that instantly overflowed with frigid energy.

The ice-encrusted blade swept horizontally against the incoming thrust of the Dragon Scale Sword.

Di Lintian quickly retracted his sword to prevent the cold energy from traveling along the blade and eroding his own body.

The moment the Dragon Scale Sword was pulled back, a scorching heat radiated from it, and raging flames began to burn.

On the other side, Na'er's opponent was named Li Mengyuan, whose spirit was a sub-dragon species, the Dragon Lion.

Under normal circumstances, the thin dragon blood in her body could grant Li Mengyuan a massive boost in combat power, but now, facing Na'er, that same dragon blood became her most fatal weakness.

Before Na'er's terrifying dragon might, Li Mengyuan could not even exert half of her original strength; Na'er was able to suppress her completely just by using simple elemental control.

At this moment, Na'er was manipulating ice elements to form massive, towering walls, trapping Li Mengyuan within them.

The seven elements Na'er controlled did not include ice, but she could treat ice elements as a derivative application of water elements.

The ice walls Na'er condensed were not thick; it was less like she was trying to trap Li Mengyuan and more like she was playing with her.

Every time Li Mengyuan launched a long-range attack, Na'er would use spatial power to send it right back at her, completely unchanged.

Li Mengyuan was truly driven to a breakdown by Na'er's torment; she had already sat down quietly inside the ice house Na'er had prepared for her, no longer struggling.

Dugu Yan used the potent poison gas of her Jade Phosphorus Snake to surround two members of the Jade Maiden Fighting Team, slowly eroding their defenses.

Yu Tianheng was also facing a member of the Jade Maiden Fighting Team head-on. He had originally thought he would be coasting through the entire match, and had even planned how to tell Teacher Mystic Water to move him back to the front lines.

He hadn't expected someone to actually try to sneak attack Ye Lingling, but fortunately, Yu Tianheng had remained vigilant, preventing the sneak attack from succeeding.

Oslo and Yu Feng joined forces, taking turns to fight the last remaining Jade Maiden member.

The situation was already quite clear; unless they had hidden trump cards like a spirit fusion skill, they might as well prepare to leave the stage.

Because aside from the battle between Di Lintian and Song Yue, the Imperial Dou Team held an absolute advantage on every other front.

Di Lintian gripped his Dragon Scale Sword once more and slashed down at Song Yue. Song Yue shifted her weight and stepped aside, her figure fluttering as she dodged Di Lintian's offensive.

"You are better suited for using a blade."

Song Yue did not stop her movements, her ice blade thrusting straight at Di Lintian.

"I think you are better suited for using a sword."

Di Lintian held his sword vertically to parry.

"Is that so? I think so too."

Song Yue deflected the Dragon Scale Sword with her ice blade and continued to thrust inward.

Di Lintian tapped his toes against the ground, his figure drifting backward in a graceful retreat.

"Third Soul Skill, Sharp Pierce!"

A cold glint flashed across the tip of the ice blade, which instantly elongated, chasing after the retreating Di Lintian.

Di Lintian stepped into the Roaming Dragon Steps, mimicking Song Yue's movements from just a moment ago; he shifted his feet and pivoted, dodging her third soul skill by turning his body to the side.

"Well, well, you're even stealing my footwork!"

Song Yue's second soul ring flickered, and she lunged forward instantly, arriving right in front of Di Lintian.

Her blade work was continuous and relentless; thrusting, parrying, tapping, and twisting—every move was lethal, forming an airtight offensive.

Di Lintian's expression tightened; Song Yue was finally getting serious.

"Second Soul Skill, Demon Dragon Bodyguard!"

Three soul rings—purple, purple, and black, all exceeding the standard configuration—flashed by, and Di Lintian was forced to activate his second soul skill to defend himself.

The phantom of the Dark Demon Dragon King emerged, shielding Di Lintian within.

Song Yue's tide-like, continuous onslaught struck the Demon Dragon Bodyguard, but not only did it fail to cause Di Lintian any harm, it actually allowed him to learn quite a bit about how to wield a sword.

After Song Yue's offensive subsided, Di Lintian attempted to imitate her. First came the thrust, the Dragon Scale Sword slowly stabbing forward; then the parry, the sword flicking upward; next was the tap, the sword striking sharply forward; and finally the twist, as Di Lintian turned his wrist to rotate the blade to the side.

Di Lintian slowly completed the exact combo that Song Yue had just used against him.

"Not bad, you're improving quite quickly."

Song Yue smiled and shouted to the referee, "Referee, we forfeit! We can't beat you, so we're done!"

"I concede!"

Di Lintian looked at Song Yue, who was beaming with a sunny smile, and returned a sincere smile of his own.

"Why did you forfeit?"

"Rigged! This is rigged! Give me back my hard-earned money!"

The audience stands erupted in dissatisfaction, but they were quickly suppressed by the soul masters responsible for security at the Great Soul Fighting Arena.