In an instant, all of Xu Sanshi's previous doubts were answered. Why had his opponent so readily agreed to fight in the Soul Combat Zone? And why had she still wagered one thousand Gold Soul Coins despite knowing the enormous gap in their strength?
After connecting all the pieces, Xu Sanshi finally realized that he had been played. Like an old man teasing a child, they had toyed with him in the palm of their hand, while he had foolishly sealed his third soul skill.
Xu Sanshi's face turned livid. He had set the rules himself, so there was no way he could ask to cancel the match.
Di Qiuli did not stand around waiting. A layer of golden scales spread from her right hand. As her first soul ring lit up, the golden scales nearly covered her entire body.
This was her first soul skill—the Golden Dragon Body—which greatly enhanced her physical strength.
Xu Sanshi's expression was grave. Even though he had suffered a hidden loss, his fighting spirit remained high. He drew his right foot back half a step, his powerful muscles seeming ready to burst through his academy uniform as he held the enormous shield before him.
Di Qiuli bent her legs slightly, then kicked off the ground. She shot forward like an arrow. When she reached the shield, her second and third soul rings lit up at the same time, and Di Qiuli's aura surged to its peak.
Xu Sanshi did not stand there dumbly either. He hurriedly unleashed his second soul skill. The originally massive shield instantly split apart into several smaller shields, tightly guarding against Di Qiuli's attack.
As Di Qiuli's right fist smashed into the shield, a powerful blast of air erupted, whipping Xu Sanshi's clothes wildly.
Because Xu Sanshi's second soul skill had divided the Tortoise Shell Shield into several smaller shields, stacking their defensive power layer by layer, it successfully blocked Di Qiuli's attack. However, the first shield that bore the frontal blow was cracked by a single punch.
With his martial soul injured, Xu Sanshi felt as though someone had punched him in the chest. His face turned slightly pale.
From that one attack alone, Xu Sanshi understood that the girl's true Soul Power Level was likely on par with his own. On top of that, her martial soul was extremely strange, and her strength was immense—several levels stronger even than Bei Bei, whom he had fought several times.
With all those factors stacked together, his Darkworld Shield seemed so fragile. Yet Xu Sanshi's lips curled into a faint smile.
He had endured such a massive impact, so Di Qiuli, as the attacker, certainly could not be feeling good either. He only needed to unleash his first soul skill—Darkworld Tremor—when she was sent flying back, stun her, and then use the surrounding Darkworld Shields to trap her. Unable to evade in midair, Di Qiuli would have no choice but to surrender.
"Her Soul Power Level may be high, but her combat experience is still far too immature. Who goes all out with their first attack?"
A cold smirk rose on Xu Sanshi's lips as he looked at Di Qiuli. Yet rather than being blasted backward as he had imagined, Di Qiuli raised her left hand again and, beneath Xu Sanshi's stunned gaze, struck the already cracked shield once more.
This time, it did not survive. Di Qiuli shattered it directly. Before Xu Sanshi's martial soul evolved into the Black Tortoise Shield, his so-called strongest shield was nothing more than slightly harder stone before Di Qiuli's Golden Dragon Martial Soul, empowered by Ultimate Force.
No one had expected a duel between two three-ring Soul Elders to turn into the purest form of primitive combat. On one side was a storm of fists; on the other, an impenetrable defense.
There were no flashy soul skills or dazzling battle techniques as imagined, only the raw thrill of fists striking flesh.
Their Soul Power drained rapidly in battle like flowing water. As Xu Sanshi endured blow after blow and shield after shield shattered, he looked through the gaps at the humanoid Tyrannosaurus before him, whose fists rained down like a storm, and a chill rose in his heart.
Her martial soul of Ultimate Force naturally countered his Darkworld Shield. Their Soul Power Levels were not far apart to begin with, and he had even sealed his third soul skill. Defeat was only a matter of time.
As the battle continued, everyone in the arena held their breath. Other than the sound of fists crashing, there was nothing else. No one had expected Xu Sanshi, one of the Outer Court's Twin Stars, to be pinned down and beaten senseless by a freshman, without any ability to fight back.
"Four."
"Three."
Xu Sanshi watched helplessly as shield after shield shattered before his eyes, unable to organize an effective counterattack. Just as the rapid barrage of punches was about to break through the last two shields and land on him, Xu Sanshi finally could not bear the pressure in his heart any longer and shouted, "I concede!"
As Xu Sanshi's cry of surrender rang out, Di Qiuli stopped attacking as well. The golden scales faded away, and her jade-like face was already drenched in fragrant sweat. The constant, rapid, powerful punches had consumed a great deal of her physical strength and Soul Power.
"Di Qiuli wins." As the referee announced the result and Di Qiuli left the arena, earth-shaking cheers swept through the spectator stands, which had been silent for so long. Only then did Xu Sanshi recover somewhat from his defeat.
He returned to the lounge with a livid face and met Nanmen Yun'er's smug gaze. "Hmph. If you've got the nerve, fight me fair and square next time."
Nanmen Yun'er turned to Yu Tianhuang and said with an admiring expression, "You were right."
Yu Tianhuang asked, "Right about what?"
Nanmen Yun'er said, "A loser really does refuse to honor the bet."
"Hahaha!" Yu Tianhuang burst into laughter.
Xu Sanshi had not been beaten bloody by Di Qiuli in the Soul Arena, but now he felt a surge of blood rush from his chest to his throat, filling his mouth with a sweet metallic taste.
Xu Sanshi forcefully swallowed the blood back down and angrily tossed over the white porcelain bottle. He refused to keep tangling with this group of sinister, despicable people. If he exchanged even two more words with them, he feared he would have to be carried back to his dormitory today.
Mu Feng caught the porcelain bottle and opened it. A rich water-element aura spread out, and even Yu Tianhuang and Nanmen Yun'er, who knew little about the Profound Water Pill, could sense how extraordinary it was from that fresh aura.
As the victor, the pill naturally belonged to Di Qiuli. Just as Mu Feng was about to return it to her, she spoke after calming her breathing on the bench. "Keep it with you."
Mu Feng asked in "surprise," "You're being that generous?"
Di Qiuli rolled her eyes. "So that certain someone won't refuse me again when I ask for money later."
Mu Feng gave a dry laugh. He was already used to her sarcasm. Still, he had consumed many pills like this already, and their effect on him was now negligible.
With that thought, Mu Feng took another porcelain bottle from his soul tool ring. He tossed the Profound Water Pill in his hand to Yu Tianhuang, then threw the bottle he had just taken out to Nanmen Yun'er.
"Brother Yu, your martial soul happens to be water-attributed, so this Profound Water Pill will be of great help to you," Mu Feng said. "Yun'er, this Bone Tempering Pill can temper your bones while increasing your body's flexibility. Its value may not match the Profound Water Pill's, but it is still an extremely rare pill."
The two who caught the porcelain bottles froze. They had not expected Mu Feng to casually toss two pills worth a fortune to them.
With Ye Xishui and Long Xiaoyao, two Ultimate Douluos, backing him, Mu Feng had reserves of most pills, aside from those with exceptionally harsh refining requirements or extremely high value.
Furthermore, he had already taken these pills while strengthening his body and laying his foundation under Ye Xishui's guidance. Thus, apart from taking one occasionally when he happened to remember, these pills no longer helped him as significantly as they had the first time he consumed them.
At the side, Di Qiuli saw that this detestable fellow had casually taken out two pills to give away, while she had found it harder than reaching the heavens to ask him for sixty Gold Soul Coins. She had nearly been angered to tears.
At once, all of Di Qiuli's exhaustion from the battle vanished. She leaped onto Mu Feng's back. Startled by the sudden attack, Mu Feng staggered and fell to the floor. Di Qiuli lay on top of him and viciously bit his shoulder like a little dog.
For a moment, Mu Feng's miserable screams echoed through the lounge.
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