"Little monsters, have you discussed your strategy? The time it takes for an incense stick to burn is up." Zhao Wuji's rough voice rang out once more.
"Teacher Zhao, we've finished discussing it. Let's begin," Lin Qing stepped forward and said.
"Good, then let's begin." With that, Zhao Wuji rose to his feet again. His muscles crackled loudly, and then he somehow produced another incense stick, lit it, and planted it in the ground.
Seeing Zhao Wuji stand up, the group quickly took formation as well. Lin Qing stood at the front, Zhu Zhuqing slightly behind and to his side, Ning Rongrong stood at the rear, with Xiao Wu guarding beside her, while Tang San stood in the middle.
"Martial Souls!" Lin Qing gave the command, and all five instantly activated their Martial Souls.
Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing immediately underwent Martial Soul Possession. Rabbit ears and cat ears respectively emerged from their heads, their figures lengthened slightly, and rabbit and cat tails respectively grew from behind them.
Tang San turned over his right hand, and a blue vine covered in barbs grew from his palm.
Lin Qing used a different pose to summon his Martial Soul. He clenched his left hand into a fist and threw a shock punch to his left. The next moment, the space he struck split open with a crack, and the fissure continued expanding until it was large enough to fit a human head before stopping.
Then, a black blade slowly emerged from the spatial rift. It lay horizontally as it came through, its hilt pointed to the right as it moved sideways.
At last, the black blade floated horizontally before Lin Qing. He reached out with his right hand and gripped its hilt, whereupon the spatial rift instantly vanished as though it had never existed.
Seeing Lin Qing's pose for summoning his Martial Soul, the others immediately felt that their own methods were far too ordinary. Even Zhao Wuji stood there in a daze for a moment as he watched Lin Qing summon it.
Lin Qing had developed this way of summoning his Martial Soul through Infinity Castle. First, he summoned his Martial Soul within Infinity Castle, then opened the door between Infinity Castle and reality in the form of a spatial rift, and finally let the Nichirin Blade come out on its own. It was truly the perfect way to show off.
Finally, Ning Rongrong, standing at the very back of the group, spun in a circle and summoned a seven-tiered pagoda that shone with glazed treasure light.
Only then did the five of their Spirit Rings appear.
Aside from Zhu Zhuqing, Ning Rongrong and Tang San both had the standard two yellow Spirit Rings. Lin Qing and Xiao Wu's Spirit Rings, however, were especially eye-catching. Three rings—yellow, purple, purple—appeared, startling Zhao Wuji once again.
"A thousand-year second ring! Good, good, good! You truly deserve to be called little monsters! I hope you won't disappoint me!" Zhao Wuji stomped his right foot, and the Vigorous Vajra Bear Martial Soul instantly possessed him.
Zhao Wuji's height abruptly shot up by a great deal. Brown fur grew across his body, his bones crackled, and his entire figure was stretched much taller. Then, seven Spirit Rings—two yellow, two purple, and three black—rose in sequence and settled firmly around him. In an instant, the powerful pressure unique to a Soul Sage descended upon all five of them.
"Seven Treasures are renowned, first: Strength!"
"Seven Treasures are renowned, second: Speed!"
Ning Rongrong was the first to act, separately granting Lin Qing and Zhu Zhuqing boosts to strength and speed.
Lin Qing sensed the changes in his own strength, surprise showing on his face. "No wonder the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda is called the continent's number one support Martial Soul. Not only is the amplification tremendous, it also belongs to an independent multiplier category. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda's boost is (the sum of all my own strength) × (1 + the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda's amplification percentage). In other words, Ning Rongrong's current boost can directly raise my strength to 1.3 times its current level!"
Feeling this power, Lin Qing grew excited and took the initiative to attack with the Nichirin Blade in hand. "Water Breathing, First Form: Surface Slash!"
Lin Qing's Nichirin Blade transformed into a Water Breathing blade. Holding it with both hands, he swung a horizontal slash before him. The next moment, a flat slash formed of rushing water flew toward Zhao Wuji.
"Interesting. First Spirit Skill: Immovable Vajra Body!" Seeing Lin Qing's slash approach, Zhao Wuji remained standing in place with his arms folded over his chest. The first Spirit Ring beneath his feet lit up, and golden light burst forth around his body, forming a defense around Zhao Wuji that could even reflect attacks.
However, Zhao Wuji's reflection could not bounce back overly powerful attacks. Although Lin Qing's strike was merely the First Form and was not particularly powerful, it was still beyond what Zhao Wuji's Century Spirit Skill could reflect.
Sure enough, when the slash struck Zhao Wuji's golden shield, it was not reflected but blocked.
Seeing that his first Spirit Skill had failed to reflect Lin Qing's attack, Zhao Wuji was stunned. "Kid, my first Spirit Skill can reflect attacks. For it not to be reflected, the power of that strike must at least reach the level of a high-tier Soul King!"
"I didn't expect you to really be such a monster! You're only a Soul Ancestor, yet you can already deliver an attack at the level of a high-tier Soul King!" Zhao Wuji was still deeply shocked. He had seen plenty of geniuses, but this was the first time he had seen one like this.
"Teacher Zhao, aside from ordinary attacks, that was my weakest strike," Lin Qing said. "Next, Teacher Zhao, I'm going to get a little more serious."
"Water Breathing, Third Form: Flowing Dance!"
"Water Breathing, Fourth Form: Striking Tide!"
Lin Qing first used the Third Form to close in, then unleashed the Fourth Form, which possessed considerable attack power even among Water Breathing forms, to deal damage.
Seeing this attack, Zhao Wuji was no longer as leisurely as before. His entire body sprang into action.
"Second Spirit Skill: Vigorous Vajra Palm!" Zhao Wuji's second Spirit Ring lit up, and his hands suddenly enlarged, transforming into a pair of massive bear paws that slammed toward Lin Qing.
"First Spirit Skill: Blue Silver Entanglement!" Seeing the situation, Tang San immediately unleashed his first Spirit Skill as well. Countless blades of Blue Silver Grass burst from the ground, growing wildly as they wrapped around Zhao Wuji's body and hindered his movements.
"What a nuisance. Break!" Zhao Wuji shook his Soul Power, and all the Blue Silver Grass vines wrapped around him were shattered, turning into fragments that fell to the ground.
At the same time, Lin Qing's attack followed close behind.
Zhao Wuji thrust out both palms, colliding with Lin Qing's Nichirin Blade.
Clang!
The sound of metal striking metal rang out. Lin Qing was sent reeling by the terrifying force, while Zhao Wuji also took two steps back.
"Good kid!" Zhao Wuji quickly steadied himself.
Lin Qing, meanwhile, moved with graceful ease, borrowing Zhao Wuji's force to leap high into the air before adjusting his direction and falling toward Zhao Wuji.
"Water Breathing, Second Form: Water Wheel!"
Lin Qing raised the blade over his head, then twisted his body in midair, continuously flipping forward. Water flowed with his rotations, and in the blink of an eye, Lin Qing transformed into a water wheel that crashed down toward Zhao Wuji.
"First Spirit Skill: Immovable Vajra Body!" Zhao Wuji could only use his first Spirit Skill again, condensing a golden shield before himself to block Lin Qing's attack. He also crossed his arms before his body, using them as a second layer of protection.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The sounds of metal collisions rang out intermittently as the water wheel spun, slicing through Zhao Wuji's defenses like a Water Breathing version of an Eight-Part Light Wheel.
Before you continue