Dai Youheng threaded his way through the intricate, ever-changing maze, deliberately searching for Xu Sanshi.
But instead of finding Xu Sanshi, he rounded a corner and stumbled upon a fierce battle.
The one being besieged was the nimble, stunningly beautiful Jiang Nannan. Dai Youheng also had some recollection of the two attacking her.
After activating martial soul possession, one of them had a jet-black fox tail swaying behind her. Pinkish-purple, bewitching light flickered in her eyes, and she moved like a phantom, her speed astonishing.
She was Mu Shengsheng, whose martial soul was the shadow demon fox. This martial soul could be considered a dark mutation of Hu Liena's heavenly fox martial soul. Not only did it retain powerful mental charm abilities, but its speed rivaled that of the Hell Spirit Cat, and its overall quality was even a cut above.
The other girl was stranger still. Her martial soul was a pitch-black sunflower that seemed to have grown out of the netherworld, yet at the center of its flower head was a ghostly face, constantly contorting and letting out silent shrieks!
She was Gui Jiankui, who possessed the ghost sunflower martial soul. It could almost be called a bizarre fusion of the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum of Spirit Hall's Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo's phantom martial soul from years past. As for the origins of its inheritance... Dai Youheng felt that thinking too deeply about it might shatter his entire worldview.
Mu Shengsheng and Gui Jiankui were both peak rank-thirty-nine Soul Elders. Although Jiang Nannan was already a rank-forty-one Soul Ancestor, she could gain no advantage against their coordinated assault. In fact, she was faintly on the defensive, relying entirely on her extraordinary flexibility techniques and speed to hold them off.
Such situations were common in a free-for-all. Lower-ranked Soul Masters often joined forces first to eliminate the highest-ranked threat.
Gui Jiankui's ghost sunflower martial soul was a top-tier control-type martial soul, especially when it came to her third soul skill-Void-Sky Ghost Sunflower Capture!
This skill could bypass the vast majority of defensive soul skills and forcibly stun its target for five seconds! Even Jiang Nannan's fourth soul skill, Invincible Golden Body, could not block it. Against opponents of the same level, it was practically a game-breaking control skill.
Precisely because Jiang Nannan constantly had to divide her attention to guard against this lethal control skill, which could strike at any moment, she fought as though her hands and feet were bound and fell onto the back foot.
If I can't find Xu Sanshi, finding Jiang Nannan will do just as well. Dai Youheng immediately changed his plan. As long as Jiang Nannan was here, a bootlicker like Xu Sanshi would surely follow her scent right over!
Having made up his mind, he immediately put on a seemingly concerned expression and shouted, "Senior Jiang, I'll help you!"
At the same time, he instantly activated martial soul possession, the shadows of the evil shadow demon tiger swirling around him.
Locked in her bitter struggle, Jiang Nannan heard his voice and relaxed a little when she saw Dai Youheng. Her impression of him was actually quite good. After all, he had often given her medicinal herbs beneficial to her mother last year, and he had never pestered her the way Xu Sanshi did, provoking her disgust.
More importantly, Dai Youheng had left her with no psychological scars.
"Junior Youheng, be careful! That ghost sunflower martial soul's control skill is very powerful. Whatever you do, don't let it hit you!" Jiang Nannan hurriedly warned, a trace of genuine concern in her voice.
"Don't worry!" Dai Youheng answered, shooting straight at Gui Jiankui like lightning! He unleashed Evil Shadow Soul-Rending Claw, its rending dark energy easily shredding several ghost sunflower vines that tried to block his path.
Gui Jiankui sensed that the portion of soul power Dai Youheng had released was roughly at rank thirty-two. Assuming that was his full strength, she immediately sneered in disdain. "A mere rank thirty-two, and you dare interfere? Since you've come knocking on death's door, I'll deal with you first! Third soul skill, Void-Sky Ghost Sunflower Capture!"
She intended to end this quickly and opened with her strongest control soul skill! At the center of the eerie ghost sunflower's flower head, the contorted ghostly face suddenly opened its mouth wide. An invisible mental shock wave that could make the soul tremble instantly shot toward Dai Youheng!
"Heh, your attributes are pretty similar to mine! Second soul skill, Evil Shadow Soul-Rending Claw!" he growled. Rather than defend or dodge, he thrust his tiger claws forward, their power condensed from evil and rending force! He actually met offense with offense, using evil soul power brimming with destructive properties to clash head-on with that invisible wave of mental control!
Szzzt-!
The evil-attributed soul power collided with the mental wave, producing an eerie sound. For a brief moment, they actually reached a stalemate!
Void-Sky Ghost Sunflower Capture could indeed bypass defenses, but Dai Youheng was not defending now. He was meeting offense with offense.
A flicker of astonishment crossed Gui Jiankui's eyes. She had never expected him to block her third soul skill!
In that instant of deadlock, a sharp gleam flashed in Dai Youheng's eyes!
"First soul skill, Demon Tiger Body!"
His Yellow Soul Ring shone, and the shadow patterns covering his body abruptly lit up. His strength, speed, defense, and other attributes instantly surged by fifty percent, and the power of the deadlocked Evil Shadow Soul-Rending Claw soared!
"Break!"
With a low roar, he violently raked his dark tiger claws forward! He forcibly tore apart and shredded that invisible wave of mental control!
Gui Jiankui suffered the backlash of her soul skill. She let out a muffled groan, her mind momentarily dazed.
Meanwhile, Dai Youheng had already closed in like a phantom! The entire sequence was lightning-fast, without the slightest hesitation to spare a delicate beauty!
Roar! The phantom of the evil shadow demon tiger bellowed as Dai Youheng drove an immensely heavy straight punch squarely into Gui Jiankui's soft lower abdomen!
"Aaagh!" Gui Jiankui cried out in pain. Her body doubled over involuntarily as she flew backward.
But Dai Youheng's left hand shot out like lightning and seized her ankle! Her skin did feel smooth, but his movements never paused. Exerting his arm, he swung her up, then viciously smashed her into the ground!
Bang!
A dull crash rang out, and even the ground trembled slightly.
Before Gui Jiankui could react, Dai Youheng followed through with a kick, striking her precisely in the small of her back!
"Pfft-" Gui Jiankui spat out a mouthful of sour fluid. Like a kite with its string cut, she crashed straight through a moving stone wall beside them and became deeply embedded in it. She lost consciousness completely, no longer able to fight.
The entire battle, from start to finish, had taken only a few breaths!
Ruthless, decisive, efficient! There was no dragging through mud and water, and certainly not the slightest mercy just because his opponent was a woman!
The next moment, an announcement rang throughout the arena. "Gui Jiankui has been eliminated by Dai Youheng."
Outside, atop the raised platform, Yan Shaozhe, Qian Duoduo, and the others had been watching the situation inside. Seeing Dai Youheng's clean, efficient, and even somewhat brutal fighting style, a trace of surprise flashed in all their eyes.
Qian Duoduo could not help smacking his lips. "This kid... he really fights dirty! But that combat awareness and grasp of timing-is he really a second-year student?"
Admiration also showed in Yan Shaozhe's eyes. "The evil shadow demon tiger martial soul certainly is tyrannical. And he's clever. Knowing how powerful the ghost sunflower martial soul's control skill is, he gave her no chance to unleash its full potential. He simply used a stronger
offensive soul skill to forcibly break through the control, then showed no mercy once he closed in. He's a promising talent. Still, the evil shadow demon tiger martial soul has evil as its primary attribute and darkness as its secondary attribute. We'll have to keep a close eye on him from now on. We mustn't let him fall into becoming an Evil Soul Master."
Dai Youheng shook his hand as though he had merely swatted away a fly. He looked at Mu Shengsheng, who had momentarily stopped fighting in shock, and the somewhat stunned Jiang Nannan beside her, then said calmly, "Senior Jiang, I haven't let you down!"
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