Water Mirror Seal

"Had they really struck a private deal?"

Wu Changkong thought to himself.

Although Meng Xinghe and Gu Yuena learning Secret Voice Transmission at just nine years old made their talent seem almost monstrous, seeing their abilities in other areas suddenly made it all feel perfectly reasonable.

For instance, when someone displayed exceptional talent in multiple areas, people would not be surprised when he showed the same level of talent in yet another field. They would simply take it for granted.

Upon reflection, there was not much to say about Gu Yuena's methods in the previous battle. She had merely used the power of the Elemental Heart to amplify the explosive force of the two opposing elements, ice and fire. High values, high damage—simple and brutal.

But Wu Changkong could not quite make sense of the ability Meng Xinghe had used.

The effects of the Ring Fusion talent could only apply to Soul Rings and Soul Skills. Therefore, Meng Xinghe must have used one of his three Soul Skills at the time. Yet the golden "python" he unleashed gave Wu Changkong the distinct impression of a Combat Secret Technique.

Combat Secret Techniques, also known as Self-Created Soul Skills, were powerful abilities that could be performed without Soul Rings or Soul Bones.

Unlike Soul Rings and Soul Bones, whose power was limited by their age, these abilities could grow stronger alongside the Soul Master who wielded them.

Thus, any Combat Secret Technique was immensely valuable. Those with no learning threshold, or a very low one, were priceless treasures.

The Qiangu Clan's Unyielding Staff Technique was a priceless Combat Secret Technique. Meanwhile, the Nine Red Dragon Forms of his former teacher, Red Dragon Douluo Zhuo Shi, placed extremely high demands on a practitioner's Bloodline Power and were unsuitable for all Soul Masters. Even so, it was still an exceptionally precious Combat Secret Technique.

Looking at Meng Xinghe, Wu Changkong felt that move from earlier was somewhat like half a Soul Skill and half a secret technique. Or rather, it was a Combat Secret Technique he had created based on his own Soul Skill.

At that thought, he suddenly felt ashamed.

At only nine years old, Meng Xinghe already possessed a Combat Secret Technique uniquely his own. How was a Soul Douluo in his thirties supposed to feel about that?

It was simply too embarrassing!

Wu Changkong sighed inwardly.

He was now a Soul Douluo and would break through to Titled Douluo after a few more years of cultivation. It was time for him to find his own path as well.

As he watched Meng Xinghe and Gu Yuena, Wu Changkong seemed to see the future of the Spirit Pagoda.

The Qiangu Clan had occupied the position of Spirit Pagoda Master for thousands of years, thereby establishing its absolute authority over the Spirit Pagoda.

Still, there was nothing to be done about that. The Qiangu Clan had lived up to expectations, producing a Limit Douluo in every generation. For a long stretch of history, the Spirit Pagoda's reputation as home to Limit Douluo had been upheld by the Qiangu Clan.

In this generation, the Qiangu Clan even had three Limit Douluo still alive. Its current heir was also extraordinarily gifted and possessed the potential to reach the Limit Douluo realm.

If not for Meng Xinghe and Gu Yuena, the position of the Spirit Pagoda's next master would undoubtedly have fallen to the Qiangu Clan's heir.

But there were no ifs in reality. With monstrous geniuses like Meng Xinghe and Gu Yuena in the Spirit Pagoda, the next Pagoda Master could only be one of them.

Wu Changkong did not comment much on their battle. In truth, there was not much to comment on.

Meng Xinghe possessed a Soul Skill that completely countered Gu Yuena, directly stripping their match of any value as practical combat training.

If Gu Yuena had been a Beast Martial Soul battle Soul Master, Wu Changkong would have pointed out why she had not engaged in close combat. But Gu Yuena was an elemental Soul Master. He could hardly ask a ranged mage to fight a Noumenon Martial Soul battle Soul Master at close quarters, could he?

Then again, if Meng Xinghe did not have that Soul Skill, Gu Yuena could still become a close-combat mage who fought fist to fist. She only needed to attach elemental power to her fists.

High damage from the left fist, even higher damage from the right fist—that was the charm of a close-combat mage.

"Both students performed exceptionally well. Gu Yuena, do not be discouraged by your loss either. Losing narrowly to Ring Fusion combined with a Combat Secret Technique is still an honorable defeat."

"Mm." Gu Yuena nodded. "Thank you, Teacher Wu."

So that was a Combat Secret Technique. I had thought it was a Soul Skill.

Speaking of such things, she had lived for so long, yet she had spent almost all her time asleep in the Lake of Life. She did not possess a single Combat Secret Technique.

Although she made the elements seem dazzling in her hands, those were actually only the most basic applications of elemental power. Every elemental Soul Master could do them; only the degree of control differed. They did not count as Combat Secret Techniques at all.

Even Di Tian had a set of self-created sword techniques, while she, his master, had nothing. It was truly too humiliating for a dragon.

Creating her own secret technique had to be put on the agenda as soon as possible, but Gu Yuena did not know where to begin.

Should I ask Xinghe for advice?

Xinghe had created so many things for the Holy Spirit Cult. He was an absolute authority in this regard.

Moreover, Xinghe's Sky Power itself contained multiple elements. Any ideas, inspiration, and insights he could offer would surely suit her well.

Gu Yuena walked up to Meng Xinghe and used Secret Voice Transmission to activate encrypted communication mode.

At the same time, Class One's practical combat training continued.

Under Wu Changkong's arrangements, Xu Xiaoyan fought Wei Xiaofeng, Tang Wulin fought Zhang Yangzi, and Xie Xie faced Wang Jinxi...

Wei Xiaofeng did not feel particularly confident about fighting Xu Xiaoyan.

No matter how arrogant he was, he understood the value of reaching the third stage of the Ladder Tournament.

When Xu Xiaoyan revealed two purple Millennium Soul Rings during the match, Wei Xiaofeng knew he was completely out of his league.

Just as Wei Xiaofeng had expected, once the match began, Xu Xiaoyan sealed him inside water as smooth as a mirror. He failed to break the seal even after ten seconds and was directly declared the loser by the competition system.

After that battle, everyone felt that compared to Meng Xinghe, Xu Xiaoyan seemed more like a control-type Soul Master. With one move, she had sealed Wei Xiaofeng, a fellow Soul Grandmaster, until the match ended.

Facing everyone's gaze, Xu Xiaoyan smiled sweetly, looking utterly harmless.

That was her Second Soul Skill, Star Signs: Pisces.

Pisces, one of the Twelve Zodiac Houses, possessed an exclusive ability—Water Mirror Seal.

It transformed water into a mirror and sealed the target within it. It was instant, locked on automatically, and could not be broken. Those incapable of breaking the seal would be sealed forever; even those capable of breaking it would be sealed for at least one second. It was absolute.

Wei Xiaofeng was among those incapable of breaking the seal. Had Xu Xiaoyan not released him herself, he would have remained sealed within the water mirror forever.

Xu Xiaoyan had reached the third stage of the Ladder Tournament precisely by relying on this Soul Skill.

The Ladder Tournament rules stated that if a Soul Master was controlled by a powerful control-type Soul Skill for more than ten seconds—such as sealing, petrification, or freezing, all Soul Skills that completely deprived a Soul Master of the ability to act—the controlled Soul Master would automatically lose the match.

The individual matches in the real world followed this rule as well.

Among the opponents Xu Xiaoyan encountered in the Ladder Tournament, not a single one whose Soul Power Level was within five levels of hers could break free from the water mirror within ten seconds. Of those more than five levels above her, only opponents with powerful Martial Souls could break the seal within ten seconds—and then they were taken out in a single move by the waiting Starwheel Soul Spirit.