A faint smile curled Rapunzel's lips.
Her fifth Soul Ring suddenly lit up.
"Fifth Soul Skill—Golden Thread Barrier!"
Her golden hair spread wildly from beneath her feet like living creatures. The strands carpeted the ground at an unbelievable speed, weaving, winding, and tracing intricate golden patterns.
Those patterns were like luminous veins with lives of their own, rapidly spreading across the arena shrouded in red mist. In the blink of an eye, they had woven a massive golden magic circle over twenty meters in diameter beneath the feet of the seven Heaven Dou Royal Academy members.
Golden light rose from the formation like an inverted glass dome, firmly protecting all seven within.
The instant the red mist struck the golden barrier, it gave off a sizzling corrosive hiss, like ice water splashing onto red-hot iron. Yet the golden shield did not budge, like a reef that had stood on the shore for millennia. No matter how fiercely the bloody tide battered it, it could not penetrate even an inch.
"A barrier?"
From deep within the red mist came a soft laugh from the long-haired figure whose gender was impossible to discern. The voice was neither male nor female, carrying an eerie allure.
"A petty trick."
Demon Charm suddenly accelerated through the red mist. The two Moon Blades in his hands, enlarged to twice their original size, spun and drew two bloody arcs as they lunged straight for the golden barrier.
He intended to tear apart this troublesome shell first.
However, just as his Moon Blades were about to strike the barrier—
An icy blue light erupted from within it!
"Fourth Soul Skill—Repelling Ice Ring!"
Snow White's fourth Soul Ring shone blindingly. Centered on her, an icy blue ring over fifteen meters in diameter suddenly spread outward, carrying a chill capable