Xiao's Melody Accompanies Tuo's Dance

Melodious music rang out across the arena.

Xiao Xiao had already withdrawn the Three Lives Soul-Quelling Cauldron. Her Martial Soul had changed into the Nine Phoenix Dancing Flute.

"Her Martial Soul and soul rings have both changed. She actually has Twin Martial Souls!" Ning Tian said in shock.

Though she was the young mistress of the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile School and had seen quite a few top-tier Martial Souls, this was her first time seeing Twin Martial Souls.

The sound of the Nine Phoenix Dancing Flute instantly offset nearly half the power of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda.

Xiao Xiao's first soul skill was called Slow, and its effect was to reduce an opponent's speed.

As she only had one ring, its weakening effect naturally could not compare to the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda's. Yet one ring reducing half the power of three rings was enough to prove that the quality of Xiao Xiao's Nine Phoenix Dancing Flute was likely not much inferior to the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda.

"I'm afraid it isn't just the soul rings and soul skills. This melody..." Listening to the tune Xiao Xiao played, Yan Shaozhe could feel his Soul Power surging.

Xiao Xiao's Nine Phoenix Dancing Flute soul skill did not actually require her to play any particular melody. She could activate it with a simple tune, but driving the soul skill through an unparalleled divine melody would undoubtedly make it even stronger.

At that moment, Xiao Xiao was playing the Awakening of Insects Melody, one of the Meng Chun Six Melodies.

Awakening of Insects reflected the budding and growth of living things in nature under the influence of seasonal changes. When the time of Awakening of Insects arrived, yang energy rose, the weather grew warmer, spring thunder stirred, rain increased, and all things brimmed with life.

This melody could aid cultivation and accelerate the flow of inner power. The Heavenly Sound Sect had once used it to help its disciples train. In battle, its ability to enhance the flow of inner power could also speed up the attacks of those it supported.

In this world, inner power was Soul Power.

Yuwen Tuo's saber strikes visibly became thirty percent faster, while the enhancement his opponents received from the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda weakened by half.

With one side rising and the other falling, the two sides gradually returned to balance.

"With the melody accompanying him, not only has this handsome big brother's saber dance become faster, it has also grown increasingly exquisite. There isn't the slightest flaw between drawing and withdrawing his saber," Nanmen Yun'er remarked.

She and Wu Feng could sense more directly than outsiders just how much stronger Yuwen Tuo had become.

Soul skills and melodies merely enhanced one's attributes.

But using a melody to accompany a dance made Yuwen Tuo's saber dance even more fierce.

"Oh my God, they're such a perfect match!" Quite a few girls present instinctively began shipping them.

Xiao Xiao played while Yuwen Tuo danced. Their seamless coordination made them seem like an old married couple.

Although Xiao Xiao was a little short and looked like a little loli, the adorable height difference between her and Yuwen Tuo seemed quite nice!

A saber dance was indeed not as graceful as a Sword Dance, but it was more domineering and fierce. Every strike targeted a vital point. After Yuwen Tuo swept aside Wu Feng's heavy flaming punch with one saber stroke, he spotted a flaw in Nanmen Yun'er's hand blade.

With a swish, a blade gleam flashed.

The Scarlet Severing Blade condensed around Nanmen Yun'er's arm instantly shattered.

A sharp pain shot through Yun'er's wrist. Looking down, she saw a bloody mark there. Fortunately, it had only broken the skin and had not injured her meridians.

"Yun'er, are you alright?" Wu Feng asked worriedly.

"I'm fine! Thank you for showing mercy, handsome big brother." Nanmen Yun'er knew Yuwen Tuo had held back at the last moment. Otherwise, her wrist would certainly have been severed.

After thanking him, she immediately leaped into the air and voluntarily jumped down from the arena.

Everyone could see from that exchange that she had already lost. If she continued to make trouble, she would only lose her composure.

Yuwen Tuo had defeated her openly and fairly. She accepted her loss wholeheartedly and was grateful for his mercy.

"You really are something, Yuwen Tuo. Your reputation is well deserved. I probably can't beat you today either, but I still want to properly experience your saber dance. Wu Feng of the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile School, please advise!" Flames surged around Wu Feng's body.

Nanmen Yun'er leaving the arena did not frighten her. Instead, her aura became even more imposing.

Ning Tian no longer needed to support two people at once and poured all her Soul Power into Wu Feng. At that moment, Wu Feng was no weaker than a Soul Elder. Though her chances of defeating Yuwen Tuo were slim, there was no reason for her to admit defeat without fighting.

"The saber dance is called the Wildfire Spreads the Plains Saber Dance. Please advise!" Yuwen Tuo also showed his opponent sufficient respect by announcing the name of his saber dance.

This saber dance was the saber technique movement of the Wildfire Spreads the Plains Stance from the Blazing Flame Crazy Saber Art.

"Good! Flames whirl around you—worthy of the name Wildfire Spreads the Plains. First soul skill, Dragon Fire!" Powerful dragon flames gathered in Wu Feng's palm. She turned her palm into a claw and lunged at Yuwen Tuo with a dragon claw strike.

As fellow Fire Attribute soul masters, she could clearly sense the strength and purity of Yuwen Tuo's flames. When her own flames met his, they seemed as though they would be purified. How could she dare engage Yuwen Tuo in a prolonged battle?

Unfortunately, the reason a saber dance was called a dance rather than merely a saber technique was because it combined saber techniques with footwork.

The Wildfire Spreads the Plains Saber Dance used left and right bow stances and running jump steps. Its rhythm was passionate, its footwork light, while its steps and saber flourishes were fierce and filled with killing intent.

Yuwen Tuo nimbly dodged Wu Feng's dragon claw. He swung his saber flat and struck her waist, forcing her back at once.

With another running jump, he slashed his great saber diagonally. A blade gleam came flying at an angle, frightening Wu Feng into immediately leaning backward and bending her body into an arch before barely evading the strike.

But when that blade gleam swept across the wall of the Soul Duel Arena, the entire wall instantly collapsed.

Yuwen Tuo withdrew his saber before striking again, bracing the blade beneath the waist and back of Wu Feng's arched body. With a light sweep of his left foot against Wu Feng's right, Wu Feng lost her balance and fell backward, landing directly atop the saber.

Yuwen Tuo then shook his saber hard, sending Wu Feng flying back half the length of the arena. She landed right beside Ning Tian.

"My head is spinning!" Wu Feng had been thrown into a daze and felt utterly dizzy.

Ning Tian sighed. "Sigh, this is simply an old man playing with a child. It seems we've lost this match."

How could she fail to see that Yuwen Tuo had practically been playing with Wu Feng? If he had wanted to, he had at least three chances to take Wu Feng's life. The first was when he could have slashed sideways across her waist but struck her with the flat instead. The second was when he leaped and slashed diagonally, but deliberately shifted the angle. The last was when he braced her with the saber. If Yuwen Tuo had turned his saber upright instead of holding it flat, Wu Feng would have fallen into two pieces.

Ning Tian voluntarily withdrew the support of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda and said to Yuwen Tuo, "Thank you for showing mercy to Sister Feng. We concede this match."

Yuwen Tuo nodded and withdrew his Martial Soul. "You let me win."

"I didn't let you win. If I can't beat you, I can't beat you. Classmate Yuwen Tuo, you're truly formidable. Your saber techniques are fierce, and your footwork is exquisite. I, Wu Feng, admire you." Wu Feng's attitude toward Yuwen Tuo was completely different from her attitude toward Huo Yuhao in the original story.

Not only did she not look down on him at all, she genuinely admired him from the bottom of her heart.

That was only natural. First, during this match, Yuwen Tuo had not harmed Ning Tian, the person most important to her, in the slightest. He had also shown them mercy several times, and Ning Tian had conceded voluntarily. Wu Feng was proud, but she was not incapable of recognizing kindness.

Second, in the original story, she had believed Huo Yuhao had won by riding on Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao's coattails, which was why she looked down on him. But Yuwen Tuo had defeated her single-handedly with one saber, leaving her unable to fight back. What did she have to be unconvinced about?