Pretty Good for Practicing Soul Skills (Part 1)

After the polite pre-battle dialogue, Duan Fan and Zhang Nanfeng released their Martial Souls simultaneously.

Duan Fan's Fantasy Pen appeared in his hand, gripped firmly, while a yellow and a purple Soul Ring rose slowly from beneath his feet.

Upon seeing the purple Soul Ring on Duan Fan, Zhang Nanfeng's gaze tightened, disbelief flashing across his face, though this did not hinder him from releasing his own Martial Soul.

Zhang Nanfeng opened his right hand, and black, thorny vines immediately spread out, circling his body as three Soul Rings—yellow, yellow, and purple—appeared in succession, emitting a soul power pressure nearing that of a Soul Ancestor.

Once both had released their Martial Souls, they unleashed their Soul Skills almost at the same time.

The yellow Soul Ring on Duan Fan lit up, activating his First Soul Skill, Life from the Brush.

He gripped the Fantasy Pen and swung it forcefully, black lines flowing from the tip.

Duan Fan did not need to carefully outline anything; the black lines spread like ink, instantly forming the silhouette of a Dream-Weaving Spider.

He then added a few casual strokes, and the Dream-Weaving Spider was fully drawn; unlike the silver-lined sketches of the past, this one was in the style of an ink wash painting.

The moment the Dream-Weaving Spider was completed, it seemed to be imbued with life, coming alive and landing heavily on the ground.

While previous Dream-Weaving Spiders were only the size of a table, this one was the size of a water buffalo, appearing far more fierce and ferocious.

From the moment Duan Fan began to draw until the Dream-Weaving Spider landed, less than three seconds had passed, a speed that left Zhang Nanfeng momentarily stunned.

Even Fang Qingshan, watching from the edge of the Soul Fighting Platform, wore an expression of astonishment, despite having seen Duan Fan use his First Soul Skill just minutes prior.

The boost the thousand-year Soul Ring provides to Xiao Fan is truly immense, Fang Qingshan couldn't help but marvel inwardly.

Looking back at Zhang Nanfeng, as Duan Fan used his First Soul Skill, the first Soul Ring on his body lit up almost simultaneously.

The black Ghost Vine in his hand spread toward Duan Fan at an incredible speed, branching and growing as it advanced.

By the time the Ghost Vines neared Duan Fan, they had multiplied from a single vine into over a dozen, all rustling as they continued to spread rapidly toward him.

After drawing the first Dream-Weaving Spider, Duan Fan did not stop his Fantasy Pen.

The yellow Soul Ring on his body continued to flicker as he drew five more Dream-Weaving Spiders in succession.

Including the first, a total of six Dream-Weaving Spiders, each the size of a water buffalo, let out low hisses as they shielded Duan Fan.

While Duan Fan was drawing the sixth, the previously drawn spiders were not idle; instead of attacking Zhang Nanfeng, they used their weaving ability on the spot, rapidly crafting a Giant Spider each.

The Giant Spiders were a size larger than the Dream-Weaving Spiders and appeared even more formidable.

Naturally, the time it took for the Dream-Weaving Spiders to weave a Giant Spider was longer than the time it took for Duan Fan to draw them.

During this process, Duan Fan displayed precise control, ensuring the weaving ability was successfully executed.

Each Dream-Weaving Spider was protected by another while it wove; once the former finished, it would step forward to protect the latter, their movements flowing like water.

When the Ghost Vines released by Zhang Nanfeng reached the vicinity of Duan Fan, there were already nine spiders in front of him.

Among them were six Dream-Weaving Spiders and three Giant Spiders, with the number of Giant Spiders still increasing.

Under Duan Fan's command, these spiders stepped forward to block the Ghost Vines, their sharp spider spears capable of severing them.

Even when Ghost Vines coiled around them, they used their even sharper mouthparts to easily tear the vines apart and break free.

In no time, the ground was covered in a layer of severed Ghost Vines.

Though this sounds slow, the entire sequence took less than two minutes.

Seeing that his First Soul Skill had failed to break through, Zhang Nanfeng immediately utilized his Second Soul Skill, his second Soul Ring flashing abruptly.

"Parasitism!"

Zhang Nanfeng whispered internally, a sharp glint in his eyes and a subtle curve to his lips, as if everything were under his control.

The next second, countless Ghost Vines sprouted rapidly from the bodies of all the spiders that had stepped forward to engage, binding them tightly and restricting their movements.

Only the two Dream-Weaving Spiders in the back, which were still weaving Giant Spiders, were spared; they finished their task just then, and the four spiders stood in a row, continuing to help Duan Fan block the onslaught of Ghost Vines.

The spiders bound by the Ghost Vines struggled desperately, snapping the vines one by one.

All Dream-Weaving Spiders were creations of Duan Fan, and the Giant Spiders were products of their weaving; they shared one common trait: they ignored pain.

No matter how tightly the Ghost Vines coiled, it did not affect their frantic struggling in the slightest.

Even the poisonous thorns on the Ghost Vines, which pierced the spiders' bodies to inject toxins, had no impact on their actions.

Seeing this, the composed expression Zhang Nanfeng had worn vanished, replaced by a look of gravity as he accelerated the pace of his attack.

The Ghost Vines continued to spread toward Duan Fan; even though they were blocked by the final four spiders, Zhang Nanfeng seized the opportunity to leave Ghost Vine seeds on them as well.

His Second Soul Skill, Parasitism, was activated once more.

These four spiders were also instantly bound, unable to break free in the short term.

Zhang Nanfeng immediately seized the chance, controlling the Ghost Vines to strike at Duan Fan.

After drawing the six Dream-Weaving Spiders, the purple thousand-year Soul Ring on Duan Fan's body lit up, and he began to paint rapidly with his large brush.

Zhang Nanfeng knew clearly that he could not allow Duan Fan to release a thousand-year Soul Skill, or the tide of battle would shift drastically.

The Ghost Vines drew closer and closer to Duan Fan, and a hint of excitement appeared on Zhang Nanfeng's face, as if he could already see victory.

Just then, one of the Giant Spiders previously bound by the Ghost Vines broke free, turned around, and leaped backward, once again shielding Duan Fan and blocking the advance of the Ghost Vines.

The Ghost Vine could certainly bypass the Giant Spider, but doing so would significantly slow its advance.

By managing to delay the Ghost Vine's offensive momentum, Duan Fan had already achieved his goal.

Soon, another Giant Spider and a Dream-Weaving Spider broke free from their restraints one after the other.

Having regained their mobility, they did not immediately return to Duan Fan's side to protect him, but instead charged straight toward Zhang Nanfeng.

By this time, some Ghost Vines had already bypassed the Giant Spider and reached Duan Fan's front.

However, the excitement that had previously been on Zhang Nanfeng's face vanished, and upon seeing the spiders attacking him, he felt a sudden sense of dread.

It seems Duan Fan's Second Soul Skill is complete.

Zhang Nanfeng cried out in his heart that things were going poorly.

Sure enough, the next second, a giant fox over five meters in length landed steadily, forcefully stomping the Ghost Vine that was about to touch Duan Fan's body under its foot and crushing it into fragments.