Fourth Soul Skill, Nine-Headed Space-Rending Formation

Ning Rongrong emerged from the bushes, followed by Ye Lingling, who was as calm as still water.

She wore a short goose-yellow dress, her dark green curls draped over her shoulders. Her features were so delicate that she looked like a porcelain doll.

Ning Rongrong quickly moved to a safe spot behind Bai Yi. Bringing her hands together, she summoned the phantom image of a nine-tiered pagoda in her palms.

Yellow, yellow, and purple—three soul rings lit up beneath her feet in succession.

She spoke in a clear voice:

"Nine Treasures turn forth with glazed light: first, strength; second, speed; third, soul."

Three rays of light shot out from the Nine Treasures Glazed Pagoda and landed precisely on Bai Yi.

Bai Yi's body trembled slightly.

An abundance of nearly violent strength, supremely light speed, and Soul Power as vast as a river surged through his body at the same time.

The boost was even stronger than he had expected.

After two years of Bai Yi's modifications, Ning Rongrong's Nine Treasures Glazed Pagoda had far surpassed an ordinary Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda in single-target enhancement.

With the three effects stacked together, Bai Yi felt as if he could shatter a mountain with a single strike of his staff.

Oscar's eyes widened, his face full of infatuation.

"Who's that girl? I think I've found true love."

Ma Hongjun practically started drooling, staring without blinking as he said:

"Wow, what a beautiful woman. Why have I never seen such a fine specimen before?"

Thinking back to the women he had known before, he suddenly felt they were all far too low-grade.

Dai Mubai was briefly stunned by Ning Rongrong's beauty.

But he quickly noticed the nine-tiered pagoda. His pupils contracted slightly as he said:

"The Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda... the number one support martial soul in the world. But why does her pagoda have nine tiers?"

Zhao Wuji frowned as he looked at Ning Rongrong.

"You're from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?"

His thoughts raced.

If Bai Yi had ties to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, then his rash move today would become quite troublesome.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was one of the Upper Three Sects, and Ning Fengzhi was recognized across the continent as the number one support Soul Master.

If the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect stood behind Bai Yi, continuing to press the matter would only bring trouble upon himself.

Bai Yi glanced at Zhao Wuji and said calmly:

"You should worry about yourself first."

The moment his words fell, the fourth soul ring beneath his feet suddenly lit up.

Black light poured from the soul ring, forming a dim halo that enveloped the Golden Cudgel.

The fourth soul ring beneath Bai Yi's feet suddenly lit up.

Fourth Soul Skill, Nine-Headed Space-Rending Formation.

A ring of dim golden patterns rapidly spread outward from him, intertwining across the ground to form a massive formation spanning dozens of yards.

An ancient image emerged at the center of the formation: a gigantic flood dragon with nine heads. Its body coiled like a true dragon's, while its nine heads faced nine different directions.

The eyes of each head gleamed with dark golden light, as though they were alive, all staring at Zhao Wuji in the center of the formation.

An invisible force rose from the formation, completely sealing off the surrounding space.

Zhao Wuji felt as though countless invisible ropes had wrapped around his body. His limbs became as heavy as if they had been filled with lead.

He lowered his head, his gaze falling upon the formation patterns beneath his feet.

The image of the nine-headed flood dragon emitted an extremely oppressive aura, far surpassing most ten-thousand-year soul beasts he had ever encountered.

That aura even gave him the vague feeling that, before its death, this soul beast had not been far from reaching the threshold of one hundred thousand years.

Fear tinged Zhao Wuji's voice as he asked:

"What kind of soul skill is this?"

Bai Yi merely smiled and did not answer.

His fourth soul skill had come from a seventy-thousand-year Nine-Headed Heaven-Rending Flood Dragon.

To hunt it down, he had used every method at his disposal and tracked it for a full two months.

That creature had not only been exceptionally fierce and powerful, but its innate spatial abilities were also extremely troublesome.

Every time he was about to succeed, it would tear through space and escape.

Fortunately, he had four clones, allowing him to block it from four directions at once.

He had then used his Fiery Eyes to repeatedly track the residual spatial fluctuations it left behind, finally cornering it within a canyon.

Even so, it still took him three days and three nights. Only by relying on the toughness of his Indestructible Diamond Body had he slowly worn that beast to death.

Bai Yi gripped the Golden Cudgel with both hands, the dark golden light coiling around it growing ever brighter.

The nine wyrm heads within the formation opened their eyes at the same time.

Bai Yi swung his staff.

A golden staff shadow shot from its tip, striking Zhao Wuji squarely in the chest.

Zhao Wuji let out a muffled grunt and slid half a step backward.

Bai Yi's arms moved so fast that only afterimages remained.

Within the span of two breaths, he unleashed all nine golden staff shadows. Each carried the force to tear through space as they smashed toward Zhao Wuji from every direction.

Zhao Wuji gritted his teeth, pushing his Martial Soul Avatar to its limit as he crossed his arms before his chest.

The first staff shadow struck his arms, making the golden light shudder violently.

The second slashed across his shoulder, splitting a crack in the phantom of the golden giant bear.

The third hit his abdomen, doubling Zhao Wuji over.

The fourth struck his knee, forcing him to one knee.

The fifth, sixth, and seventh.

Each was heavier than the last. When they struck Zhao Wuji, rings of shockwaves exploded outward, uprooting the surrounding grass and trees.

The eighth staff shadow landed on his left arm, shattering the giant bear phantom completely.

Zhao Wuji's left arm hung limp at his side. The bone had clearly been fractured.

The ninth staff shadow descended at last, twice as thick as the other eight. Wrapped in silvery-white spatial cracks, it slammed viciously into the center of Zhao Wuji's chest.

Zhao Wuji flew backward like a kite with its string cut, crashing through three large trees before slamming heavily to the ground.

He lay on his back at the bottom of the crater, vomiting a mouthful of blood. Part of his chest had caved in, and his limbs had completely ceased to obey him.

Just then, two shockwaves rebounding off Zhao Wuji mixed with the lingering force of the golden staff shadows and swept precisely toward two spots at the edge of the field.

Oscar had no time to react at all.

The shockwave slammed fiercely into his chest, sending him flying. His back struck the trunk of a large tree.

He spat out blood and slid down the trunk, his face turning deathly pale in an instant.

Ma Hongjun was no better off.

The aftershock swept his body into the air. He flipped twice before crashing into another tree.

He struggled a few times to get up, but a sharp pain tore through his chest, and he coughed up another mouthful of blood.

The two lay sprawled beneath separate trees, one on the left and one on the right, in remarkably similar postures.

Dai Mubai looked at Oscar, then at Ma Hongjun, his Adam's apple bobbing.

He swiftly replayed in his mind whether he had said anything he should not have.

Only after confirming that he had kept his mouth shut from start to finish did he quietly breathe a sigh of relief.

He whispered to Tang San beside him, "Good thing I didn't say anything stupid. That guy really holds a grudge."

Tang San remained silent.

Bai Yi stood with his staff lowered as his four soul rings slowly faded away.

He swept his gaze over the Shrek students at the edge of the field, letting it linger briefly on both Oscar and Ma Hongjun.

Then he turned to the Crimson-Eyed Scale-Armored Beast bound by the Demon-Binding Rope and said to Ning Rongrong, "Go prepare to absorb the soul ring."

Ning Rongrong had been waiting for those words.

She hurried over to the soul beast's corpse, her steps as light as those of a fluttering butterfly.

When she passed Zhao Wuji, she deliberately stopped. With her hands on her hips, she looked down at the bedraggled Soul Sage in the crater and said in a crisp, slightly spoiled voice, "Hmph, serves you right for blocking this young lady's path, you stinking bear."

Zhao Wuji lay at the bottom of the crater, the corner of his mouth twitching, but he could not utter a single word.

Zhao Wuji lay in the crater questioning his life choices.

Oscar and Ma Hongjun leaned against their trees, each clutching his chest and groaning softly.

Dai Mubai silently shifted two steps farther away, just in case he got caught in the aftershock too.