Yan took a deep breath and stopped wasting words. Crimson Soul Power burst from his body!
"Flame Lord, possess me!"
With a low growl, Yan's body suddenly grew taller. His muscles swelled, and his skin turned red as a branding iron fresh from the fire.
His short, flame-red hair stood on end, blazing fiercely. His eyes also turned crimson, and a savage, scorching aura swept outward, instantly withering the plants around him.
Two yellow Soul Rings and one purple Soul Ring rose from beneath his feet, slowly pulsing as they released powerful waves of Soul Power! The imposing aura of a Quasi-Soul Ancestor at level forty was on full display!
As a member of the Golden Generation, whom Spirit Hall had spared no effort to cultivate, Yan's strength was beyond question.
His Flame Lord was a top-tier Beast Martial Soul of the fire and earth elements, with ferocious attack power and astonishing defense. Fighting opponents above his level was routine for him.
In his eyes, dealing with two Soul Grandmasters at level thirty should be a piece of cake, even if their Martial Souls were unusual.
Shui Bing'er's expression didn't change, but her ice-blue eyes grew even deeper. She stepped forward lightly, and a biting chill gathered around her.
"Ice Phoenix, possess me."
A clear phoenix cry seemed to ring out from the heavens. Behind her, the phantom of an elegant Ice Phoenix, its feathers carved from ice crystals, spread its wings. Boundless cold radiated from her, and a thick layer of frost quickly formed across the ground, matching the heat rolling off Yan.
Two yellow Soul Rings rose around her, both a hundred years old. Her Soul Ring Configuration was inferior to Yan's, but the pure, ultimate chill emanating from her made his expression tighten.
"What a powerful ice-type Soul Beast. Is that an Ice Phoenix?" Xie Yue cried, finally showing shock in his eyes.
At last, he understood why Yan's top-tier flames had been frozen so easily!
Hu Liena's charming smile had also stiffened. She looked at Shui Bing'er with grave caution.
Finally, everyone's attention turned to Ning Xiaochun. What kind of Martial Soul did this boy have—the smallest of them all, with what seemed to be the weakest Soul Power?
Ning Xiaochun calmly extended his right hand, palm up.
"Nine Killings Nether Pagoda."
His low, clear chant rang out. Unlike his usual timid-but-handsome tone, Ning Xiaochun's voice now carried a strange rhythm and an air of authority.
A dark, unfathomably deep glazed pagoda with nine tiers slowly materialized above his palm.
Purple, gray, and dark red glimmers flowed across its surface, as if it had gathered all the misfortune and decay in the world within it. An unnerving aura of weakening and curses radiated from the pagoda.
"A nine-tiered pagoda? Is that...the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda? No! The colors and aura are completely opposite! And it has nine tiers?!"
Hu Liena cried out again, her charming face filled with disbelief.
She recognized the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's signature Martial Soul, of course. But the pagoda before her was sinister and bizarre, utterly unlike the auspicious Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda. And yet its form was so similar—and it had nine tiers!
"Is it a Mutated Martial Soul, or..." Xie Yue's eyes flashed as he stared at the Nine-Story Ghost Pagoda.
Since when had the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect gained such a bizarre Martial Soul? And nine tiers? Could it be...
Ning Xiaochun paid no heed to their shock. Holding the Nine Killings Glazed Pagoda aloft, he fixed his gaze on Yan, a cold smile curving his lips—one far too mature for his age.
The battle began!
"First: Soft!"
Ning Xiaochun barked the command, and the first tier of the Nine Killings Glazed Pagoda blazed with ghostly light!
An unremarkable stream of gray light shot forth. It ignored the flames and Soul Power shielding Yan's body and plunged straight into him!
Yan had been preparing to strike first and take out Ning Xiaochun, the strange support, but suddenly felt his body grow heavy!
An odd weakness spread through his limbs, as if a thousand-pound burden had settled on his shoulders. His surging strength was forcibly weakened by more than thirty percent!
Even throwing a punch or kicking felt sluggish and heavy!
"What the hell was that?!" Yan roared, shocked and furious. That bizarre weakening again—and this time it was even more obvious! What kind of Soul Skill was this? How could it seem to ignore the difference in levels?
He let out a furious roar, and the flames around him surged. He tried to force his way through the weakening effect and charge straight at Ning Xiaochun.
But Shui Bing'er moved.
"First Soul Skill: Ice Seal!"
Almost the instant Ning Xiaochun's Soft Muscle Evil took effect, Shui Bing'er's attack arrived!
An ice-blue ring, denser and colder than before, shot toward Yan, striking before he could react!
This time, she pushed the power of Ultimate Ice to its limit. As the ring passed, the air groaned under the strain of freezing.
Though Yan's strength had been weakened, his battle instincts remained. His First Soul Ring lit up. "Hell Magma Rush!"
A torrent of crimson magma surged forth again, attempting to block the Ice Seal.
But the result was exactly the same as before! Hell Magma Rush, weakened by thirty percent, held against the Ice Seal's Ultimate Ice for barely half a second before freezing into another twisted ice sculpture!
The Ice Seal ring continued onward, undiminished!
Yan's face darkened. He stamped hard, and his Second Soul Ring shone brightly. "Granite Rock!" At the same time, he darted backward.
Crack! The Ice Seal ring swept past, coating Yan's body in thick frost once more and slowing his movements further. Granite Rock protected him, but the bone-deep cold and the slowing effect made him miserable.
"Second Soul Skill: Ice Ring Armor!"
Shui Bing'er pressed her advantage, curling her jade-white hand. Countless streams of icy blue chill instantly gathered on the ground into several enormous frozen hands, which seized at Yan from every direction!
Yan roared again and again. At last, his Third Soul Ring shone with dazzling purple light. He stopped holding back, ready to unleash his strongest offensive Soul Skill and break through Shui Bing'er's control!
"Third Soul Skill, Flame—"
But just as his Soul Power surged and his third purple Soul Ring blazed at its brightest, on the verge of unleashing a terrifying wave of fire...
Ning Xiaochun, who had been quietly holding the Nine Killings Glazed Pagoda, moved.
He slowly raised his left hand.
Nine-colored light burst from his left palm! Another pagoda rose, spinning rapidly!
This pagoda was crystal clear, with nine tiers. Brilliant red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple, gold, and white light shimmered across it, and it radiated a vast, sacred, auspicious aura that seemed to amplify everything!
It formed the ultimate contrast with the Nine Killings Glazed Pagoda in his right hand!
"That's the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda—no, why does it have nine tiers? The Nine Treasures Glazed Pagoda?!"
This time, even Xie Yue couldn't keep his composure. He cried out, his voice trembling slightly. The Nine Treasures Glazed Pagoda!
And it had appeared in this child's hands? Wait...that bizarre nine-tiered pagoda in his right hand...
"Twin Martial Souls!!!"
Hu Liena and Xie Yue—and even Yan, struggling against the Ice Grip as he prepared to release his Third Soul Skill—all had the same thunderous thought explode in their minds!
This black-haired boy, who looked no older than six or seven, actually possessed Twin Martial Souls!
And one of them was the legendary Nine Treasures Glazed Pagoda, while the other was an unheard-of, bizarre, and powerful nine-tiered ghost pagoda! How was that possible?!
Before you continue