Four Rings Against Six? Lin Yuan vs. Ma Xiaotao

By the end of it, Lin Yuan had nearly been unable to keep a straight face himself.

A mere Soul Ancestor like him, standing before a Titled Douluo—no, a Super Douluo.

He had actually claimed that he had held something back. The moment those words came out, quite a few people in the stands burst out laughing.

"HAHAHA..."

It felt as though they had somehow arrived at a stand-up comedy show.

As for Xuanzi, his expression was terrifyingly dark.

He knew himself that this excuse was rather untenable, but Lin Yuan actually dared to say it openly. He had simply courted death!

Ma Xiaotao's expression was not much better, but she still took a deep breath and said in a low voice.

"No matter what, you killed someone. That is an undeniable fact!"

"So you know that killing deserves guilt. Then when it came to Chen An, when it came to my brother Lin Xi, did you ever show even the slightest bit of pity?"

Lin Yuan spoke with a self-mocking expression.

For a moment, Ma Xiaotao was left speechless.

Her face flushed red with anger, and all she could force out was one sentence.

"What twisted logic. As expected, you people from the Sun Moon Empire are good with words. I only hope you will not surrender too quickly."

Faced with Ma Xiaotao's threat, laden with killing intent, Lin Yuan merely raised an eyebrow and said nothing.

Very soon, as the Heavenly Fiend Douluo announced the start of the match.

Ma Xiaotao flashed forward. While still in midair, her phoenix wings rapidly spread open. With one beat behind her, she shot toward Lin Yuan like a fiery meteor.

At the same time, she opened her mouth and spat out a streak of phoenix fire, immediately suppressing him from afar.

At this moment, the phoenix flames had taken on a faint purple tint.

Though a light rain was drizzling today, the scorching temperature and explosive force were unmistakable.

Clearly, Ma Xiaotao had not held back in the slightest. From the very first move, she had intended to take Lin Yuan's life.

As for Lin Yuan, he did not continue wasting words. There was no use speaking further to someone who had already been brainwashed by Shrek.

As his third soul ring flashed.

"Third Soul Skill: Ren-Gui Yin-Yang Water Escape!"

Ren Water surged mightily, and a wave nearly seven or eight meters high rose into the sky. Water and fire collided.

Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle!

Although it barely blocked the attack, it did not restrain Ma Xiaotao. After all, there was still a difference of more than ten soul power ranks between them.

When Ma Xiaotao saw that Lin Yuan had actually blocked her soul skill, a flicker of astonishment flashed through her eyes.

Her fourth purple soul ring suddenly lit up. Ma Xiaotao's red robes fluttered, the fire wings behind her spread wide, and dark-red evil fire churned around her body.

She poured the violent phoenix flames into the ground. The earth beneath her feet rapidly burned red and blackened, while surging fiery power accumulated underground.

After a brief charge, a thunderous explosion erupted. A scarlet pillar of fire dozens of meters tall burst through the earth and soared into the heavens. Flames swept in all directions with shockwaves, while the phantom of a phoenix flickered within the blaze and a clear phoenix cry rang through the surroundings.

Splashes of evil fire scorched everything they touched. Once they landed on an opponent, they would corrode their meridians, slow their movements, and disrupt the circulation of their soul skills.

Ma Xiaotao hovered in the air, her hair whipping wildly in the heat waves as flickering firelight reflected in her eyes.

Phoenix Howling Heaven Strike—the strongest explosive attack of Ma Xiaotao's arsenal.

Lin Yuan was not afraid. The water tornado had not fully dissipated, and under his control, the black Gui Water's frigid yin energy swiftly transformed into a cage that shot straight toward Ma Xiaotao.

At first, disdain flashed through Ma Xiaotao's eyes. She had thought that her terrifying phoenix flames would turn all that water into vapor, but something that left her dazed happened instead.

When her phoenix flames came into contact with the black Gui Water, they did not burn it away. Instead, they were gradually extinguished.

But how was that possible? The gap in their soul power was clearly so enormous.

Lin Yuan was not surprised in the slightest.

Nine Nether Gui Water froze everything. It froze the flow of soul power and specifically countered fire-type soul skills.

"Die!"

As Ma Xiaotao's terrifying evil fire surged and erupted.

The Gui Water prison restraining her was ultimately shattered.

It could freeze her, but Ma Xiaotao's evil fire had now been tainted with darkness and brutality. Coupled with the difference in soul power.

Ma Xiaotao still managed to break through the Gui Water cage with Phoenix Howling Heaven Strike.

But her expression was exceptionally ugly, because the Gui Water prison had ultimately swallowed the full power of her fourth soul skill, her most terrifying burst attack. She could also feel that the circulation of soul power within her body seemed to have been affected.

She had never imagined that a Soul Ancestor could be so difficult to deal with.

Logically speaking, even a soul master with an ultimate attribute should not have been able to suppress her so thoroughly.

Though she had an arrogant temperament, once she realized how troublesome Lin Yuan was, she no longer underestimated him in the slightest.

Her black sixth soul ring shone brilliantly. Ma Xiaotao beat her fiery wings and soared into the air, phoenix cries echoing across the sky. Burning fire meteors poured down from high above, scarlet evil flames raining upon the ground and exploding into vast sheets of fire. Scorching blasts engulfed a huge area, and blazing light was everywhere.

"What kind of joke is this?"

As Ma Xiaotao's sixth soul skill, this overwhelmingly powerful attack was even more terrifying.

Jing Hongchen immediately grew somewhat nervous and was even prepared to step in at any moment.

Lin Yuan had given him many surprises, but his opponent was Ma Xiaotao after all.

Xuanzi, meanwhile, stared fixedly at Jing Hongchen. He absolutely would not allow Jing Hongchen, like himself, to interfere with this battle at will.

Lin Yuan's eyes turned serious as his fourth soul ring flashed.

"Fourth Soul Skill: Wu-Ji Yin-Yang Earth Escape!"

The thick, dark-yellow Wu Earth instantly transformed into four impregnable barriers.

Even as Ma Xiaotao's Phoenix Meteor Shower came crashing down with overwhelming force, the barriers blocked every attack.

Yet what truly made everyone worry was that Ma Xiaotao herself had transformed into another meteor and was charging straight at him.

She had nearly reached Lin Yuan already, and those terrifying phoenix flames seemed capable of burning everything to ashes.

That was right. Ma Xiaotao had just used her fourth soul skill again.

The heavy barriers had already become somewhat precarious after enduring one Phoenix Meteor Shower.

Now, they seemed on the verge of collapse?

"Little bastard, you will pay the price!"

Ma Xiaotao deliberately lowered her voice as she snarled. As the violet-black phoenix flames gradually burned the barriers away completely.

Jing Hongchen rose to his feet, only to be locked onto by Xuanzi.

The scene everyone saw—or rather, expected—of Lin Yuan being swallowed by the flames did not occur.

The heavy barriers instantly seemed to turn into a swamp. They swallowed Ma Xiaotao whole and clung to her like maggots on bone.

As Ma Xiaotao was briefly restrained, Lin Yuan easily pulled away.

The terrifying explosion of phoenix flames never came.

This was precisely Ji Earth's effect: it could devour soul power attacks that landed on the ground.

It could also briefly restrain Ma Xiaotao's movements.

For Lin Yuan, that was enough to create distance.

Although Ma Xiaotao had already broken free, Lin Yuan's third soul ring flashed once more.

The surging Ren Water waves fused with Nine Nether Gui Water, transforming into a black dragon that seemed to have returned from the abyss.

The moment Ma Xiaotao escaped her restraints, she was blasted back. Feeling the suppression of Ren Water and the freezing effects of Gui Water on her body.

She spoke in a tone laced with disbelief.

"These are two different powers. How is that possible?"

"You did not think my soul skill effects could only be released separately, did you? I was merely demonstrating their capabilities."