Charm Backlash? Xiao Wu Was Kicked Off the Arena!

A fierce gust from a leg strike came at him head-on.

However, Gu Ling's expression barely changed.

Back when he had spent six years at Notting Academy, he and Xiao Wu had fought quite often. He knew this rabbit's fighting style far too well.

She liked to fight at close range, relying on her flexible body and legs to attack. Once she wrapped herself around an opponent, she would immediately use all kinds of grappling techniques to throw them out.

So, faced with Xiao Wu's whipping kick sweeping toward him, Gu Ling did not even summon his martial soul right away. He merely leaned his body slightly backward.

Whoosh!

Xiao Wu's toes swept past, nearly brushing against his nose.

After missing with her first strike, Xiao Wu nimbly spun in midair. The moment she landed, her other leg swept toward Gu Ling's waist again.

Seeing this, Gu Ling raised an arm and collided with Xiao Wu's lower leg. A considerable force traveled through the impact, making his brow furrow slightly as he said in some surprise,

"Looks like you haven't made no progress at all these past six months."

Rather than being pleased by those words, Xiao Wu grew even angrier. "Stop putting on airs! I'm definitely going to beat you flat today!"

As soon as she finished speaking, she suddenly stepped forward and pressed directly against Gu Ling. The next instant, both hands fiercely grabbed his shoulders, while one leg swiftly wrapped around him.

At the same time, the first yellow Soul Ring beneath her feet suddenly lit up!

"First Soul Skill, Waist Bow!"

As the soul skill activated, the strength in Xiao Wu's waist surged instantly.

Her body bent rapidly at an angle that an ordinary person could hardly achieve, and both legs exerted force at once. Using the terrifying explosive power generated by Waist Bow, she prepared to fling Gu Ling away completely!

This move was Xiao Wu's most proficient close-range attack. As long as she could complete the exertion of force, even an opponent much heavier than her would struggle to keep their footing.

However, just when Xiao Wu believed she had succeeded—

Crack!

A teeth-grating sound of bones grinding against each other suddenly rang out.

"Bone Dragon, possess me!"

A deep dragon roar suddenly echoed across the spirit arena. A massive, ghastly white phantom of a Bone Dragon abruptly appeared behind Gu Ling. At the same time, pale bone armor rapidly covered both his arms, sharp bone claws extended outward, and a dragon tail formed from ghastly white vertebrae lashed out from behind him!

One yellow and two purple Soul Rings rose in succession beneath his feet!

The moment the spectators saw the Soul Rings beneath Gu Ling's feet, cries of astonishment erupted from the surrounding stands.

"Get off!"

Xiao Wu shouted sharply as Waist Bow suddenly exerted force. But just as she was about to fling Gu Ling into the air, the bone tail behind him heavily stabbed into the spirit arena. Like an incomparably sturdy pillar, it firmly anchored his body in place!

Xiao Wu pulled hard, but Gu Ling did not budge in the slightest.

"What?"

Xiao Wu's expression changed slightly. She exerted force again, but he still did not move!

Gu Ling looked down at her, the corner of his lips lifting as he sneered,

"Did you forget? You used this move plenty of times back at Notting Academy. You've been using the same trick for six years and still think it'll work on me?"

"You!"

Xiao Wu gritted her teeth in fury. But before she could exert force again, Gu Ling's bone tail suddenly swept across. She could only release him at once and lean her body backward.

Whoosh!

The ghastly white bone tail swept past her body.

Xiao Wu used the momentum to perform a backflip and landed several meters away. She stared fixedly at Gu Ling, and the next moment, the second yellow Soul Ring beneath her feet suddenly lit up.

"Second Soul Skill, Charm!"

Xiao Wu's furious expression quickly subsided. A faint pink glow appeared in her eyes as she stared directly at Gu Ling, and a wave of spiritual energy instantly spread outward!

This was precisely the spiritual control-type soul skill she was exceptionally skilled at.

As long as an opponent met her gaze and possessed weaker spiritual power than she did, they would easily be affected by Charm and lose control of their body for a short time.

However, the smile that had just appeared on Xiao Wu's face suddenly froze the instant her second soul skill took effect on Gu Ling.

Because Gu Ling was still standing exactly where he was.

Forget falling under Charm—there was not even the slightest change in his gaze.

"How is that possible?"

Xiao Wu stared at the scene before her with utter disbelief.

The moment that thought flashed through her mind, a spiritual force far more powerful than she had imagined suddenly surged back along the spiritual connection between them!

Boom!

"Ah—"

Xiao Wu felt as though a thunderous explosion had suddenly erupted inside her mind. The spiritual power she had sent out instantly spiraled out of control, and a cry of pain escaped her lips.

Her face immediately turned pale, while the pink glow in her eyes shattered completely. She staggered two steps backward.

Then—

A powerful wave of dizziness swept over her.

"What's going on?"

Xiao Wu's eyes were filled with disbelief. She could not understand why her second soul skill had not only failed to affect Gu Ling, but had instead caused her to suffer backlash!

Gu Ling looked at her, finding it unsurprising. Xiao Wu's Charm was troublesome, but it had an obvious limitation: her opponent's spiritual power could not vastly exceed her own!

Once the difference in spiritual power between both sides became too great, forcibly using spiritual Charm would not only make it difficult to control the opponent, but could also result in backlash from one's own soul skill.

Gu Ling's first Soul Ring had already approached six hundred years! His second Soul Ring was over a thousand years, while his third had directly reached five thousand years. All three Soul Rings had been absorbed beyond his level!

For a soul master, absorbing a Soul Ring was itself a dual trial of the body and spiritual will. After absorbing beyond his level three times in a row, Gu Ling's spiritual power had long since far surpassed that of ordinary soul masters of the same rank.

What was more, his martial soul was the Bone Dragon! Bone Dragons inherently possessed certain undead attributes. They had no flesh, only bones. The characteristics of his martial soul gave him extremely strong resistance against Charm, fear, and certain attacks that targeted the spiritual level.

Seeing this, the corner of Gu Ling's lips rose slightly. Looking at the swaying Xiao Wu, he could not help saying,

"Once your spiritual soul skill encounters an opponent whose spiritual power is much stronger than yours, it's very likely to suffer backlash. I didn't expect you to dare use it directly on me."

Xiao Wu wanted to argue, but Gu Ling in front of her had already split into two. Her head spun wildly, and just as she managed to utter a single word, her body suddenly swayed.

Then, her eyes closed, and she fell stiffly toward the ground!

"Hm?"

The referee beside them was stunned by the sight.

What was going on? Xiao Wu had clearly activated her soul skill just now, yet her opponent was completely unaffected while she herself had fainted?

Confused voices also rose from the stands.

Gu Ling looked at the unconscious Xiao Wu, but had no intention of going over to catch her.

What place was this?

The spirit arena!

Once one stepped onto the spirit arena, one became an opponent.

Besides, this rabbit had rushed up to beat him without even waiting for the referee.

Gu Ling had no intention of showing any tenderness toward a girl. Thus, beneath the somewhat stunned gazes of countless spectators, his figure flashed as he arrived beside the unconscious Xiao Wu.

He glanced at the edge of the spirit arena not far away, then raised his foot, his movements clean and decisive.