Seven vs. Seven Mixed Match 2

Ma Xiaotao's right fist, wreathed in the scorching flames of her Evil Fire Phoenix, collided head-on with Lin Shuo's fist, which was covered in iridescent dragon scales.

BOOM—!!!

A visible shockwave erupted from the point of impact, sweeping violently in all directions. The floor of the Soul Fighting Platform cracked inch by inch, the fissures spreading across the entire arena like a spiderweb. Xi Xi, standing closest to the two, was forced back repeatedly by the blast, her feet carving two deep furrows into the ground. The ice wall Ling Luochen had just begun to manifest was torn into a cloud of ice shards before it could even take shape.

Ma Xiaotao's expression changed instantly.

She felt as though she hadn't struck a human fist, but a mountain. No, something even more terrifying—an ancient, slumbering beast. The moment her Evil Fire Phoenix soul power touched Lin Shuo's knuckles, it felt as if it had slammed into an insurmountable wall; her violent flames were silently swallowed, decomposed, and annihilated by that layer of iridescent light.

How is this possible?! He is only a level 44 Soul Ancestor, and I am a level 67 Soul Emperor! Doesn't he primarily manipulate elements just like me? How could his physical strength be so much greater than mine?

The thought had barely crossed Ma Xiaotao's mind when a terrifying, explosive force erupted from the point of contact. Her body was sent flying like a pebble, tracing a straight line through the air before slamming into the protective barrier at the edge of the arena. The barrier shuddered violently, ripples spreading across the entire light shield like the surface of a lake struck by a boulder.

The entire arena fell into a deathly silence. Xuan Zi nearly lost his grip on his wine gourd, spilling liquor all over his beard. He had paired Lin Shuo with Dai Yueheng and allowed them to choose only one main team member because he believed Lin Shuo's actual combat power rivaled that of a Soul Emperor, but he hadn't expected it to be this exaggerated.

Xi Xi stopped dead in mid-air. She had intended to launch a flank attack while Ma Xiaotao pinned Lin Shuo down, but her Lightning Leopard martial soul was currently screaming warnings—the instinctive fear one feels when facing a natural predator. She froze in the air, caught in a dilemma.

Chen Zifeng's Soul-Chasing Sword had just been unsheathed, its tip pointed toward Lin Shuo, yet he hesitated to strike. It wasn't that he didn't want to; he didn't dare. Even their captain, Ma Xiaotao, had been sent flying by a single punch. With his and Xi Xi's strength, even with Bei Bei in the rear, they would be no match for Lin Shuo.

Dai Yueheng, standing to the side, reacted quickly. His first, third, and fifth soul rings lit up simultaneously.

He activated his White Tiger Protection Barrier, White Tiger Vajra Transformation, and White Tiger Demon God Transformation all at once, lunging toward Chen Zifeng and Xi Xi.

Strike while the iron is hot.

With four layers of amplification stacked, Dai Yueheng's aura surged to a terrifying level in an instant. He lunged at Chen Zifeng and Xi Xi like a true White Tiger.

But Ma Xiaotao had not yet been defeated.

Her back slammed hard against the protective barrier, blood surging in her chest and her entire right arm numb—yet she gritted her teeth, pushed off the barrier, and launched herself back into the fray. This time, she did not choose to clash head-on with Lin Shuo. That last punch had made one fact painfully clear: she had no chance of winning a contest of strength against him. But combat was never just about strength.

Ma Xiaotao's second and third soul skills lit up simultaneously.

Golden-red flames erupted from her body, wrapping her in a coat of dancing fire. Immediately after, a pair of phoenix wings formed of pure flame unfurled behind her.

Create distance and wear him down with long-range attacks! Ma Xiaotao calculated rapidly in her mind.

She didn't expect to defeat Lin Shuo from a distance; she only needed to stall him long enough for Ling Luochen and the others to take out Dai Yueheng, then surround him with the full strength of the team. Once that happened, no matter how strong Lin Shuo was, he couldn't defend against seven people at once.

"First soul skill, Phoenix Fire Line!"

A thin, scorching ray of fire shot out, tearing through the air toward Lin Shuo's face. Under the dual amplification of Phoenix Wings Soaring and Bathing Fire Phoenix, the temperature of this fire line was high enough to vaporize steel instantly.

Lin Shuo didn't dodge. He raised his right hand, covered in iridescent dragon scales, and opened his fingers, catching the ray of fire directly. The Phoenix Fire Line exploded into a ball of golden-red light in his palm, yet it didn't leave a single scorch mark on the scales. The iridescent light shone through his fingers, silently swallowing the flames. With a casual squeeze, the fire line was extinguished in his palm like a snuffed-out candle.

"Too weak." Lin Shuo's voice was calm, without a ripple.

Ma Xiaotao's pupils constricted, and she shouted sharply, "Ling Luochen! Forget about me, go suppress Dai Yueheng! Xi Xi, Chen Zifeng, take this chance to eliminate Dai Yueheng!"

Ignoring Dai Yueheng's situation, Lin Shuo raised his hand and grasped at the empty air. A silver light flew from the storage ring on his finger, condensing into a long spear made entirely of brilliant silver.

It was the Silver Dragon Spear he had received from Gu Yuena when he awakened his martial soul.

Since obtaining it, he had practiced with it, but he had never used it in actual combat.

"A weapon?" The onlookers looked at Lin Shuo with some confusion. In this era, soul masters rarely used weapons. After all, unless the weapon was perfectly compatible with one's martial soul, it was more likely to be a hindrance.

Ma Xiaotao didn't care about Lin Shuo using a weapon; she opened her mouth and spat out another Phoenix Fire Line.

This time, she didn't aim for Lin Shuo, but fired at the ground beneath his feet, creating a blinding explosion of light. Under the cover of the fire, her fourth soul ring suddenly lit up.

"Fourth soul skill, Phoenix Sky-Roaring Strike!"

The ground three yards away from Lin Shuo exploded, and a thick pillar of golden-red fire erupted from the earth, shooting straight into the sky. It was a column of flame from deep underground, capable of engulfing any unprepared enemy.

But Lin Shuo merely tilted his body slightly, twirled the Silver Dragon Spear in his hand, and tapped the tip against the ground.

A silver ring of light expanded from the spear tip, colliding with the sky-piercing pillar of fire. There was no explosion, no roar. The moment the fire pillar touched the silver ring, it was split apart by an invisible force. The flames diverted to the sides, grazing past Lin Shuo and scorching the ground behind him into a wasteland, yet the three-foot radius where he stood remained completely untouched. He hadn't even moved half a step.

"Is that all?" Lin Shuo raised his eyes, his gaze piercing through the flames to the red figure circling in the sky.

Ma Xiaotao gritted her teeth. She poured all her remaining soul power into her sixth soul ring, holding nothing back.

"Sixth soul skill, Phoenix Meteor Shower!"

Balls of golden-red fire rained down upon Lin Shuo like flaming meteors.