The referee's words rang out.
Osler of the Imperial Fighting Team was the first to move.
His Martial Soul was the Ghost Leopard.
As an Agility Attack System Soul Master, opening the battle was what he did best.
Yu Feng also rose into the air. On a battlefield like this, with no other flying Soul Master, his Wind Chime Bird Martial Soul held absolute dominion over the sky.
Xiao Wu stayed beside Tang San.
Neither made a move right away.
They had only just joined the Imperial Fighting Team and lacked coordination with its original members.
Rather than rashly joining the fray,
they were better off waiting for a chance to fight someone from Shrek Academy one-on-one.
"Big sister's coming~"
Dugu Yan strode forward with an arrogant gait.
All her Soul Rings circled around her.
Then her purple Soul Ring lit up.
Dugu Yan parted her delicate lips and exhaled.
Purple mist spread from her mouth across the entire arena, making Zhu Zhuqing, who had intended to keep the opposing Ghost Leopard Soul Master occupied, halt and look toward Lu Ning.
Lu Ning shook his left hand, and the jade-white Wine Gourd instantly appeared in his palm.
Appearing alongside it were three Soul Rings enough to make anyone's jaw drop.
Purple, purple, black!
The second purple Soul Ring abruptly lit up.
Lu Ning raised his hand and shook it.
A barrier of light instantly enveloped everyone from Shrek.
"Second Soul Skill, This Place Was Once a Safe Haven!"
The emerald-green barrier kept all of Dugu Yan's poison outside. The moment the purple mist touched it, it dissolved completely, as though it had encountered its natural enemy.
The Imperial Fighting Team stood frozen like wooden chickens.
Yu Feng nearly fell out of the sky.
They were not shocked that Lu Ning could block Dugu Yan's poison.
They were shocked by the Soul Rings floating around him!
Two purple and one black!
They had never even heard of such a Soul Ring configuration, yet now Lu Ning had displayed those very colors before their eyes.
"That's... impossible, isn't it?"
Yu Feng whipped his head around toward Dugu Yan.
Dugu Yan was the Control System Soul Master responsible for directing them. The sight of that Soul Ring configuration also left her mind blank for a moment, and she stood there, forgetting to give orders.
"What kind of monster... is this guy?!"
"No wonder Grandmaster's face always darkened whenever he mentioned his name."
Yu Tianheng stared at those three Soul Rings.
He, too, understood why his uncle took Lu Ning so seriously.
He even suspected
that his uncle had withheld some of the information about Lu Ning for fear of crushing their morale. But now... only after seeing those rings with his own eyes did he understand what a monster was.
"Don't get distracted!"
Yu Tianheng called out.
He looked at everyone.
"Follow Grandmaster's tactics!"
The moment he finished speaking,
the entire Imperial Fighting Team sprang into motion like a precision machine.
The two Defense System Soul Masters, brothers who shared the Black Tortoise Martial Soul, blocked the front, both shouting, "Hah!" Defending head-on was what the brothers Shi Mo and Shi Mo did best.
With them there, breaking through the Imperial Fighting Team's formation would be almost impossible for the Shrek Team.
Xiao Wu and Ghost Leopard likewise pressed down the two flanks.
Yu Feng hovered in the air, preparing to attack Oscar, the Support System Soul Master.
Tang San held his Blue Silver Grass.
He waited for the best opportunity to pull Ma Hongjun close.
"Attack!"
Dugu Yan gave a sharp shout.
Yu Feng dove toward Oscar.
Xiao Wu and Ghost Leopard Soul Master Osler likewise appeared to be heading straight for the Shrek Team's Dai Mubai.
Bang!
Yu Feng fell from the sky.
That emerald-green light had blocked him outright. Not even his Soul Skill could penetrate it in the slightest!
Xiao Wu and Ghost Leopard Soul Master Osler stopped in their tracks.
The sight before them was indeed beyond their expectations.
"That barrier doesn't just dissolve poisonous mist?!"
"It can even keep Soul Masters out?"
"Is this really a thousand-year Soul Skill?"
Dugu Yan spoke through gritted teeth.
If this barrier was that powerful, they had no way to fight the Shrek Team before them!
Their opponents could rush out, hurl Soul Skills at will, then run back inside to eat and recover their Soul Power.
Meanwhile, their side could only passively take a beating.
Although Ye Lingling's Nine Heart Begonia Martial Soul could heal injuries, over time, their Imperial Fighting Team might not be able to outlast Shrek!
Before Dugu Yan could think of a countermeasure,
beneath that emerald-green barrier,
Lu Ning raised his hand again.
His First Soul Ring once again blazed with purple light.
"First Soul Skill, Clouds in the Blue Sky, Water in the Bottle!"
The white-jade Wine Gourd rose into the air.
It instantly grew several times larger.
Its mouth pointed toward the Imperial Fighting Team.
Tang San had seen Lu Ning's First Soul Skill before. The instant Lu Ning raised the gourd, he became sharply alert and hurriedly wound Blue Silver Grass around everyone's waists.
Almost simultaneously,
a terrifying suction erupted from Lu Ning's Wine Gourd.
It pulled at everyone on the Imperial Fighting Team.
"What the hell is this now?!"
Dugu Yan cursed as she stared at the terrifying suction erupting from the gourd's mouth.
Yu Tianheng stood at the very front.
He tried to block Lu Ning's Soul Skill with his own strength.
The brothers Shi Mo and Shi Mo stomped hard on the ground.
They tried to resist the suction with their strength.
But it was no use.
The entire Imperial Fighting Team was dragged along by that suction, drawing closer and closer to the barrier. Fortunately, their formation had not completely fallen apart in the end, and they could just barely maintain their fighting strength.
Lu Ning turned his wrist.
The suction spreading across the arena abruptly changed.
It actually focused on Ye Lingling at the very rear of the formation!
Tang San tightened his grip on the Blue Silver Grass in his hand.
At that moment,
Ma Hongjun moved!
"First Soul Skill, Phoenix Fire Line!"
Flames seared toward the Blue Silver Grass connecting Ye Lingling and Tang San.
Watching the flames Ma Hongjun spewed toward them, Tang San roared in Yu Tianheng's direction, "Boss Yu, help block those flames!"
Yu Tianheng immediately understood.
He unleashed a Soul Skill to block the flames surging from Ma Hongjun.
Tang San's Blue Silver Grass had no fire immunity at this point. If the strands connecting them caught fire, their group would be caught in a complete dilemma.
Either fire would spread through their linked ranks, or Ye Lingling would be sucked away.
Neither outcome was something the Imperial Fighting Team could bear.
"Zhu Zhuqing."
Lu Ning called softly.
He put away the Wine Gourd.
He took the lead and stepped into the barrier.
Zhu Zhuqing followed behind Lu Ning, not understanding what he intended to do.
Lu Ning's speed proved no slower than Zhu Zhuqing's at all.
Azure light bloomed beneath his feet.
Lotuses blossomed with every step.
"Follow the plan!"
"That guy's left the barrier! Shi Mo, Shi Mo, and Sister Yan, go tie him down!"
"Boss Yu! Go take down Dai Mubai!"
Tang San saw this.
Joy stirred in his heart.
He decisively took command of the Imperial Fighting Team.
He directed the others in an ordering tone.
This was his best chance to defeat Lu Ning. He absolutely would not miss it!
Lu Ning merely glanced at Zhu Zhuqing.
"Zhu Zhuqing, go find a chance to send Ye Lingling off the stage."
"Just leave these people to me."
Before you continue