Practical Combat Training

Yu Hairou and Shen Liuyu pressed forward from the front. Yu Hairou's Coral Barracuda martial soul transformed into a fishbone-shaped spear in her hand, water-blue soul power gathering at its tip as she thrust it toward Yang Wudi's chest.

Shen Liuyu was even more direct. The massive phantom of the Enamel Fortune Crocodile emerged behind her, and she wrapped herself in a surge of water, charging head-on like a human battering ram.

Yang Wudi swept his spear horizontally, its tip trailing black flames in a semicircle as it knocked both of their attacks aside.

Yu Hairou was forced back several steps, while Shen Liuyu was sent reeling backward. Fortunately, she reacted quickly, rolling backward once before regaining her footing.

"Not enough force," Yang Wudi remarked, though his gaze never left Bing Yekong at the center of the arena.

From the start of the battle until now, Bing Yekong had remained where he stood. He was waiting for the right moment.

He knew Yang Wudi's strength well. He could gain nothing from a direct clash and had to rely on the openings created by his teammates to land a decisive blow.

Shui Yue'er finally found her chance. She slipped in through Yang Wudi's blind spot. After merging with her Jade Dolphin martial soul, she moved as swiftly as a fish, silently circling behind Yang Wudi through the icy mist before chopping at the back of his neck with her hand.

Without even turning around, Yang Wudi flicked the Soul-Breaking Spear backward, its shaft precisely deflecting her attack. Yet in the instant his attention shifted to the rear, Gu Qingbo darted in from the other side like an arrow, a short blade formed from sailfish bones in her hand stabbing straight toward his waist.

The two attacks arrived almost at the same time.

Yang Wudi twisted slightly, spinning the Soul-Breaking Spear in his hand and blocking attacks from both front and rear. Just as he was about to knock the two of them away, he suddenly felt a chill rise from the ground beneath his feet.

Bing Yekong moved.

This was the exact moment he had been waiting for, when Yang Wudi was restrained by the two agility-type attackers. With the Heavenly Frost Sword in hand, five Soul Rings—yellow, purple, purple, black, black—rose from beneath his feet. Frosty light surged across the fifth, inky-black Soul Ring. It was the fifth soul skill he had just obtained.

"Fifth Soul Skill, Frost Sky Sword Domain!"

The instant the Heavenly Frost Sword pierced the ground, an icy-blue pillar of light sank from the blade into the sparring platform. Then, centered on the point where Bing Yekong's sword had fallen, a realm of extreme cold rapidly expanded.

The icy mist condensed into solid form, and dozens of blades forged from Ultimate Ice erupted from the ground, stabbing toward Yang Wudi from every direction.

Those ice blades had not emerged at random. They sealed off every direction in which Yang Wudi could evade. Shui Bing'er's icy mist layered with Bing Yekong's sword domain, turning the space around Yang Wudi into an ice prison.

A flicker of surprise flashed through Yang Wudi's eyes, quickly turning to excitement. He let out a roar, and the black flames on the Soul-Breaking Spear surged wildly as one horizontal sweep shattered every ice blade stabbing at him from the front.

But that slowed him by half a beat. Shui Yue'er and Gu Qingbo seized the chance to dart past his sides, leaving two shallow cuts on the hem of his clothes.

"Good!" Yang Wudi laughed heartily. "You little ones work well together!"

But he gave Bing Yekong no chance to continue his assault. He spun the Soul-Breaking Spear in his hand, gathering a streak of black light at its tip before fiercely driving it into the ground.

A powerful shockwave exploded outward from him, shattering every ice blade within several yards and even blasting a gap into Bing Yekong's Frost Sky Sword Domain.

Bing Yekong was forced back several steps, his blood and qi churning in his chest. He shook his somewhat numb right arm, gaining a new understanding of Yang Wudi's ferocity.

This guy really was just like the legends said. When he fought, he completely disregarded the consequences. Even with his cultivation suppressed, that berserk style of attack was still difficult to withstand.

"Yekong!" Shui Bing'er's voice came from the side. She had already flown above the sparring platform, the wings of her Ice Phoenix spread wide as her fourth Soul Ring shone at its peak. "Prepare to fuse!"

Bing Yekong instantly understood what she meant. He charged forward with his sword raised, frosty light blazing from the Heavenly Frost Sword as the power of the Ice Dragon King martial soul quietly surged within him.

Shui Yue'er and Gu Qingbo immediately changed tactics. Rather than continue engaging him head-on, they retreated to the far ends of Yang Wudi's flanks and continued harassing him, creating room for the two of them to launch a combined attack. Yu Hairou and Shen Liuyu gritted their teeth and stepped forward, using their bodies to block Yang Wudi from Bing Yekong.

"Liuyu, help me hold him off!"

Shen Liuyu roared as she activated the Enamel Fortune Crocodile martial soul with all her strength, raising a barrier of rushing water before her. At the same time, Yu Hairou unleashed her third soul skill. A Coral Barrier rose from the ground, and the two layers of defense stacked together, forcibly withstanding one of Yang Wudi's sweeping strikes.

The instant the barriers shattered, Bing Yekong was already within three steps of Yang Wudi.

He leaped into the air as Shui Bing'er descended from above. The instant their hands clasped in midair, their Ultimate Ice soul power fused wildly like a flood bursting through a broken dam. An icy-blue pillar of light shot into the sky, dragon roars and phoenix cries intertwining across the training ground as a pressure far surpassing that of a Soul King poured forth.

Within the pillar of light, an ice dragon and an Ice Phoenix spiraled through the air. The two phantoms gradually drew closer as they revolved, merging at last into a dazzling icy-blue radiance.

Immortal Lord Returns.

The blue-haired Immortal Lord appeared on the sparring platform, a dragon and phoenix circling around him. His long hair and robes fluttered wildly in the frigid air. As he stood there, the air within dozens of yards nearly froze solid, and even Yang Wudi felt the biting pressure rushing toward him.

"Ultimate Ice Dragon Phoenix!"

The Immortal Lord raised a hand and pointed. The ice dragon and Ice Phoenix flew forth at the same time, the two spirit beasts formed from Ultimate Ice spiraling together in midair as they carried an energy storm capable of freezing everything and crashed head-on toward Yang Wudi.

Yang Wudi's pupils suddenly constricted. He did not choose to take it head-on. Although he might not have been seriously injured even if he did, the intensity of this strike made him feel a genuine threat.

He held the Soul-Breaking Spear horizontally before him and retreated several yards in rapid succession. Black flames burned madly at the spear's tip, forming a thick defensive barrier.

The instant the dragon and phoenix struck the barrier, the entire sparring platform shook violently. Icy-blue energy exploded outward, cracking the bluestone ground inch by inch before freezing it over. The shockwave even hurled Yu Hairou and Shen Liuyu, who were at the perimeter, into the air.

Crack.

A fissure opened in the barrier, followed by a second, then a third, until it finally shattered with a thunderous crash. The remaining power of the dragon and phoenix slammed into Yang Wudi's chest, forcing him back four or five steps.

His heels had already reached the edge of the sparring platform.

Yang Wudi steadied himself, lowered his head to glance at the thin layer of ice coating the robes over his chest, then looked up at the blue-haired Immortal Lord at the center of the platform, who was slowly separating into two figures. Suddenly, he burst into hearty laughter.

"Hahaha! Good! Very good!"