Imperial Fighting Team vs. Blazing Wolf Team, First Battle

At the referee's command, the match began.

The Blazing Wolf Team captain gave his members a look, and they immediately underwent Martial Soul Possession in unison. Crimson fur seemed to grow straight from their bodies.

In an instant, the Blazing Wolf Team members seemed to transform into werewolves.

Sharp fangs protruded from their mouths, and their ten fingers turned into claws.

Soul rings rose beneath their feet.

Their soul ring configurations were all two yellow and one purple.

A standard configuration.

"Third Soul Skill: Blazing Azure Wolf Cannon!"

Four Blazing Wolf Team members unleashed their third soul skills without any warning.

They had used their killing move right from the start.

Four blazing cannons became four enormous fireballs that rolled forward side by side, flames soaring into the sky as scorching waves swept outward.

Dugu Feng stood at the very front, circulating the Soul Power within his body through his meridians and gathering it in his palms.

The fireballs were about to slam into him.

He struck with his charged palms. The immense force, wrapped in Soul Power, directly shattered the four Blazing Azure Wolf Cannons—which could have seriously injured a Soul Ancestor—as easily as bursting bubbles.

The shattered flames were swept up by his palm wind and formed a wall of fire that was instead pushed back toward the Blazing Wolf Team.

"Second Soul Skill, Flame Wolf Claw!"

A figure passed through the wall of fire and leaped above the Imperial Fighting Team, accompanied by a massive flaming claw mark.

It descended from above.

Its target was Ye Lingling.

The Shi brothers had long been prepared and immediately unleashed their First Soul Skill, Black Tortoise Shield.

Two tortoiseshell shields formed from earthy yellow Soul Power stood before Ye Lingling.

They successfully blocked the sudden attack.

At that moment, a figure from the Imperial Fighting Team shot into the sky. It was Yu Feng, the team's sole agility-attack soul master.

Yu Feng locked onto the Blazing Wolf Team member who had launched the surprise attack and immediately unleashed his First Soul Skill, Wind Blade Assault.

The wind blade sliced across the arena, speeding toward its target at nearly the speed of sound.

Just as the wind blade was about to strike the Blazing Wolf Team member, a pillar of fire shot up from below, directly breaking the wind blade and resolving the danger for him.

At the same time, the two Blazing Wolf Team members who had originally stood at the very back had begun using their Martial Soul Fusion Skill.

I see. Knowing they stood no chance in a head-on battle, they put all their hopes on their Martial Soul Fusion Skill. No wonder they unleashed four third soul skills right from the start.

Dugu Feng watched their movements and pondered inwardly.

If he had not been present, the Imperial Fighting Team might have had no choice but to let the Shi brothers focus on defense first.

But if that happened, the Blazing Wolf Team would seize control of the battlefield.

As long as the remaining five Blazing Wolf Team members stalled for enough time, once the Martial Soul Fusion Skill was successfully completed, they might really have had a chance of defeating the Imperial Fighting Team.

But unfortunately for them, they had encountered Dugu Feng. Their outcome had been decided from the very beginning.

Dugu Feng did not want the first battle to drag on for too long, so he directly used A Thousand Li in a Flash. His figure, which had been standing still, gradually became an afterimage.

Before the Blazing Wolf Team captain could react, the member who had launched the sneak attack had already been slapped off the fighting platform by Dugu Feng.

By the time he reacted, Dugu Feng had appeared in front of him at some unknown moment and delivered a light palm strike.

He only felt a fierce gust of force rush at him. Then his body flew backward out of control before heavily crashing below the stage.

At that point, all five Blazing Wolf Team members had been eliminated.

The speed had been so fast that even Qin Ming, a Soul Emperor, could not catch sight of his figure.

Having already dealt with five Blazing Wolf Team members, Dugu Feng stopped Yu Tianheng, who was preparing to step forward and interrupt the Martial Soul Fusion Skill.

"I want to see just how powerful their greatest killing move is."

The two Blazing Wolf Team members still on the field instantly burned with rage when they saw this.

At that moment, the Martial Soul Fusion Skill was finally complete.

"You will pay for your arrogance!"

"Martial Soul Fusion Skill—Inferno Azure Wolf Howl!"

The Soul Power in their bodies was instantly drained and fused together.

A gigantic fire wolf standing five meters tall was born from their combined Soul Power, wreathed in raging flames.

It pounced straight at Dugu Feng.

Intense heat radiated from the fire wolf's body. Its eyes were blood-red as it fixed its gaze on Dugu Feng.

Facing the fire wolf charging at him, Dugu Feng's chest abruptly expanded as Soul Power flowed through his meridians and gathered in his chest.

The next second, Dugu Feng opened his mouth.

A tremendous sound wave erupted along with a single shout!

"Get lost!"

The fire wolf collided with the sound wave.

In an instant, it crumbled like a breached dam, scattering at the first impact.

This time, Dugu Feng deliberately compressed the sound wave directly in front of him. The sound was low and restrained, but its power was even greater than the sound waves he released in all directions.

The low, contained Deadly Sound Wave was like a massive cannon, instantly smashing the charging fire wolf head-on.

The sound wave that shattered the fire wolf did not stop there.

Instead, it continued with unstoppable force.

It sent the remaining two Blazing Wolf Team members flying off as well.

"Th-this match, the Imperial Fighting Team wins."

The host was so shocked that he could barely speak. He had not expected the battle to end so quickly. Rather than a battle, it had been a one-sided crushing.

Throughout the entire match, Dugu Feng had not released a single soul skill.

In the end, he had crushed the opponent's prized Martial Soul Fusion Skill with nothing but a roar.

After finishing the battle, the Imperial Fighting Team members returned to the lounge.

Qin Ming entered. He first praised the Imperial Fighting Team's performance, but then spoke earnestly.

"Dugu Feng, your strength is already comparable to that of a Soul King, perhaps even far beyond one. I have a feeling that if I fought you, I might not gain any advantage either. You are too strong. Precisely because you are so strong, you should not make a move in the following matches unless absolutely necessary."

"And if Dugu Yan and the others perform too poorly, you should directly choose to surrender."

"What! Teacher Qin Ming, how can that be? Isn't it a good thing for us that Captain Dugu Feng is strong?"

Shi Mo said, somewhat unable to understand.

"This is a team battle, not an individual battle. What you need is coordination between teammates, yet throughout the entire match, Dugu Feng was the only one fighting."

"Are all the rest of you merely decorations? Dugu Feng, perhaps you have grown used to fighting alone because you are stronger, but do not forget that team battles are about teamwork."

"I know that with your strength alone, even if you encountered a team made entirely of Soul Ancestors, you would not necessarily be at a disadvantage."

"But I still want you to avoid making a move whenever possible. Only when the opposing team truly has someone strong enough to warrant your intervention should you step in to deal with them."

"The reason I said that poor performance means surrendering is because I do not want you to constantly rely on Dugu Feng. That way, you will not develop the misconception that even if you lose, Dugu Feng will always guarantee the outcome."

"Even if you win like that, it will not be an honorable victory. Do you want to become people who can only hide behind someone else and steal the fruits of victory, or people who earn those fruits of victory yourselves?"

After hearing Qin Ming's words, Yu Tianheng and the others clenched their fists. At the same time, they understood his good intentions.

After speaking, Qin Ming looked at Dugu Feng. Dugu Feng considered it for a moment and felt that Qin Ming's words made a great deal of sense.

"In the upcoming matches, if there are Soul Ancestors, I will take action. Or if their captain is strong, leave them to me. The rest will be up to you."

"Do you have confidence?"

"Yes!"

Everyone from the Imperial Fighting Team answered in unison.