The Battle Against Ma Xiaotao

On Dai Yueheng's side, Ling Luochen's Ice Staff and Yao Haoxuan's Heaven-Shaking Drum held the line. Zhou Sichen's Summoned Beasts roared as they charged into the barrage, while Xu Sanshi raised his Xuanming Turtle Shell Shield and guarded the rear ranks.

Amid the chaos, Xi Xi moved.

Guided by Spiritual Detection and Gong Yangmo's speed boost, she became a streak of dark blue lightning almost too fast to track. She ignored Cao Jinxuan and Zhou Sichen on the flank and followed Ma Xiaotao's plan: circle around the front line and go straight for Gu Mingyuan.

With Huo Yuhao guiding her, Xi Xi slipped past Zhou Sichen's two Summoned Beasts and silently approached from Gu Mingyuan's blind spot. She had no intention of facing him head-on. She meant to use her speed to harry him and tie down the most dangerous Soul Elder on the field.

Her fingers curled into claws, crackling with electricity.

But just as her hand came within half a foot of Gu Mingyuan's neck, the Soul Ring beneath Cao Jinxuan's feet flashed.

Time Lock!

Against a level-fifty-six Soul King, the Soul Skill could never hold Xi Xi for two seconds. It slowed her for less than half a heartbeat.

For Gu Mingyuan, that was enough.

As though he had known exactly where she would appear, Gu Mingyuan turned the instant she faltered. His right fist drove straight into the lightning, a low rush of compressed air trailing behind it.

Xi Xi's pupils contracted.

Unable to dodge, she barely managed to cross her arms in front of her.

A dull impact rang out.

Xi Xi flew backward as if struck by a hammer. She flipped several times in midair before barely landing on her feet, then slid back another ten meters, nearly crossing the boundary.

Both arms tingled from the blow. Realizing she had nearly been knocked out in a single exchange, Xi Xi looked up at Gu Mingyuan, who stood exactly where he had been. For the first time, her composure shattered.

"Is he really a Soul Elder?"

Elsewhere, Huo Yuhao saw the entire exchange through Spiritual Detection, and his heart sank.

The moment Xi Xi was knocked out, Ling Luochen's first and second Soul Rings lit up in succession. A crystal Ice Staff appeared in her hand, and glistening ice armor covered her body.

She raised the staff, sending a vast ice-blue current of snow and bitter wind sweeping outward.

Ma Xiaotao immediately stepped back half a pace. "Huo Yuhao, suppress her with Ultimate Ice!"

Huo Yuhao swiftly channeled his Soul Power and activated his second Soul Skill, Simulation.

The massive phantom of an Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion replaced his figure. Though the Ice Empress was still asleep and his martial soul's source remained unstable, the suppression exerted by Ultimate Ice was real.

Ling Luochen's expression changed sharply.

The ice she had released slipped from her control in the face of Ultimate Ice. Her protective armor turned against her, fusing with the ice on the ground. Before she could resist, her own power froze her into an ice statue.

Xuan Zi flashed over and immediately carried her off the battlefield.

With Ling Luochen, their main controller, gone, a gap opened in Dai Yueheng's line.

Gong Yangmo focused every one of his seven-colored enhancement halos on Ma Xiaotao.

Ma Xiaotao seized the opening and drove Dai Yueheng back with a punch. Then her black sixth Soul Ring blazed beneath her feet.

Phoenix Meteor Shower!

A level-sixty-seven Soul Emperor unleashing her full power with the Inner Court's top support specialist behind her had far surpassed anything the outer court students could withstand. And with Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Detection pinpointing every target, almost none of the dark red meteors raining from the sky missed.

Cao Jinxuan had already spent much of his strength using Time Soul Skills in the earlier melee, and Zhou Sichen's Summoned Beasts became sitting targets for the first barrage. Neither could resist. Xuan Zi rescued them first.

Chen Zifeng and Yao Haoxuan barely blocked the meteors head-on, but as their strength gave out, Wang Dong and He Caitou struck them from both sides. With their escape cut off, Xuan Zi pulled them from the field as well.

When the devastating barrage ended, Dai Yueheng's formation had been torn apart. Only Dai Yueheng, Xu Sanshi, and Gu Mingyuan remained.

Dai Yueheng had activated White Tiger Triple Boost. Xu Sanshi braced himself behind his Xuanming Turtle Shell Shield. Both were breathing hard.

Only Gu Mingyuan still stood where he had been.

Several phoenix meteors had struck him squarely. Flames burst against him, and his jade-like skin shuddered under the impacts. Yet the golden lines across his body glowed brighter with every strike. He had clearly used Jade-Shaking Force to store the force of the blows, and it had reached a dangerous level.

Gu Mingyuan brushed sparks from his clothes and glanced at Dai Yueheng. "I'll hold Ma Xiaotao. You two take out the others as fast as you can, then come back and help me."

Dai Yueheng was about to object. If even he could not handle Ma Xiaotao, wasn't a Soul Elder throwing his life away?

But Gu Mingyuan had already headed straight for Ma Xiaotao in midair. Dai Yueheng cursed under his breath and hurried toward Huo Yuhao and the others. With Xuan Zi there, Gu Mingyuan probably wouldn't be in danger.

Ma Xiaotao had not expected an outer court Soul Elder to challenge her alone. Annoyance flashed in her eyes. She raised a hand and fired a Phoenix Fire Line, ready to teach the reckless boy a lesson.

A golden-red column of fire roared out and swallowed Gu Mingyuan.

Yet Gu Mingyuan did not even break stride. He pushed through the searing flames. The edges of his clothes blackened and curled, but the exposed jade-like skin and golden markings remained untouched.

Thanks to Strictest Father of the Elements and the Ultimate Defense of his Golden Jade Body, the Phoenix Fire Line felt little worse than ordinary coals.

Ma Xiaotao's gaze finally sharpened. "So you really are a tough one."

She beat her wings and activated Phoenix Reborn in Flames, diving toward him with her right fist wrapped in explosive golden-red fire.

Gu Mingyuan did not dodge. Jade-Shaking Force surged within him, while Golden Jade Strength Transformation instantly converted a small portion of his defense into strength. He met her fist with his own.

Bang!

A muffled blast rang out, and both of them retreated a step.

Ma Xiaotao hovered in midair and glanced down at her slightly numb right fist. For the first time, open astonishment crossed her face. She had not used her full strength, but that punch should have sent even a high-level Soul Ancestor flying.

Gu Mingyuan did not press his advantage. He stood still, frowning faintly.

With the elemental damage greatly reduced, his senses had become clearer. He could detect two utterly different forces tangled within Ma Xiaotao's phoenix flames.

One was pure, blazing fire. The other carried something sinister.

He looked at his left hand, and understanding dawned.

"Dai Yueheng!" Gu Mingyuan suddenly turned and shouted.

"Use White Tiger Meteor Shower! Hit me with it too!"