True to its name, Liu Erlong's first Soul Skill suited her temperament perfectly.
The moment Tyrannosaurus Possession took hold, she shot forward like a cannonball, her right hand brimming with the lightning of the mutated Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon. An ordinary person struck by it would certainly have been fried crisp outside and tender inside.
Of course, Lin Qian was no ordinary person. "First Soul Skill, Ice Emperor's Protection!"
Mystic ice armor covered his entire body. Without even needing to attack, he blocked the strike in an instant.
"Hmm?"
Seeing how easily he blocked it, Liu Erlong raised a delicate brow.
After Yu Wenmu's defeat, she had gone to the Great Soul Arena to inquire about their battle. She knew Lin Qian's Martial Soul possessed a top-tier and rare ice attribute, with such powerful defenses that several of Yu Wenmu's Soul Skills had failed to break through.
Presumably, this was the move?
Only later, after Lin Qian had been chosen as the Moonlight Pavilion's graduate representative, performed onstage, and risen to fame, did she learn that he came from the northern frontier, a land she had scarcely ever heard of.
The Far North truly was a place that produced talent!
With that first impression firmly planted, she assumed everyone from the Far North was this strong.
Still, for a resident of the Heaven Dou Empire's capital, and a high-ranking Soul Saint at that, losing to a Soul Ancestor from the mountains-as everyone considered his homeland-was simply absurd.
To date, apart from Lin Qian, no talent from the Far North had appeared in Heaven Dou, or even on the entire Douluo Continent. Thus, Liu Erlong considered defeat a tremendous humiliation.
Her second Soul Skill activated-
"Dragon Arm!"
The lightning on her right hand grew fiercer, even carrying flames. Its imposing force surged dozens of times over, and an illusory dragon claw reached toward her opponent.
Lin Qian still did not move. He simply added another layer of armor and easily blocked it.
"Third Soul Skill, Furious Thunder!"
"Fourth Soul Skill, Bloodthirsty Lie Yan!"
"Fifth Soul Skill, Sky-Piercing Flame!"
Liu Erlong unleashed three Soul Skills in succession. She refused to believe he would remain unscathed. Surely she could at least break through his defenses?
Lin Qian really showed no reaction. However many Soul Skills she unleashed, he put on that many layers of armor, making it all about give-and-take.
Just as with Yu Wenmu, once his opponent finished attacking, he mocked her. "That's it?"
"..." Veins bulged on Liu Erlong's forehead. "Brat, you've made me angry!"
Just as she was about to use her sixth Soul Skill, Blazing Dragon Rush, Lin Qian fanned the flames again. "Your sixth Soul Skill is too weak. Go straight to your Martial Soul Avatar!"
"???"
He was even going to pick which Soul Skill she used?
At that moment, Liu Erlong became the leader of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, exclaiming how marvelous it all was!
Do you think Martial Soul Avatars are cabbages? Buy one whenever you want, activate one whenever you please!
Which raised the question: what was a Martial Soul Avatar?
Every Soul Master obtained a seventh Soul Ring once their Soul Power broke through rank seventy, and its name was the same for everyone, whether human or deity.
After reaching this rank, their Martial Soul would truly merge with them, undergoing a qualitative transformation. Not only would their strength skyrocket, but the power of their existing Soul Skills would at least double, growing further as their strength increased.
Leaving everything else aside, of Lin Qian's two Martial Souls, one had two rings and the other six. Neither had even reached seven!
Put that way, he sounded rather pitiful...
"Hey, you asked for this. Once I use it, I won't hold back!"
Liu Erlong issued her final warning.
Lin Qian answered with action instead of words-he curled a finger at her.
"Refusing a toast only to drink a forfeit! Martial Soul Avatar!"
Liu Erlong flew into a rage. Her avatar activated, and a Red Fire Dragon soared into the sky.
Apart from that time with Bibi Dong, this was Lin Qian's first time seeing a Martial Soul Avatar, and a top-tier one at that-a mutated Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon.
Bibi Dong had not gotten serious and had withdrawn hers shortly afterward. Liu Erlong was different. Not only was she serious, but she apparently had been angered into using her full strength, making this perfect for observation.
"Brat, have you really thought this through?"
Though hot-tempered, Liu Erlong was no brainless shrew who would ignite at the slightest spark.
"Dean Liu, surely you haven't really fallen for me and can't bear to strike?"
Seeing her conflicted expression, Lin Qian's mischievous streak grew stronger, and he teased her mockingly.
"..."
Failing to notice the change in how he addressed her, and having been taken advantage of again, Liu Erlong grew even angrier. Her Crimson Dragon True Body roared and attacked him.
Angry as she was, she still had to give the necessary warning. "Once the avatar activates, even I can't control it. Brat, you'd better pray for good fortune!"
She was not entirely heartless, which made Lin Qian secretly decide not to put her through too much afterward.
His fake fourth Soul Ring shone. "Fourth Soul Skill, Ice Explosion!"
The power of this move could be called invincible, whether before or after its disguise.
Unlike Huo Yuhao in the original story, his Ice Explosion Soul Bone had been bestowed by the Ice Empress, not some mere seventy-thousand-year-old Ice Jade Scorpion. Its power was worlds apart.
Liu Erlong had inquired about that battle, so she was extremely cautious of this Soul Skill. Without waiting for it to activate fully, she charged over with her Martial Soul Avatar, intending to stop it.
But how could the Ice Empress let her have her way? Although Lin Qian had yet to obtain his seventh Soul Ring, leaving her true body temporarily unable to descend, there was no getting around the fact that Lin Qian had cheats!
An immortal cultivation method plus Tian Meng's help already allowed the Soul Spirits to descend individually. In other words, as long as he wished, he did not need a seventh Soul Ring at all. Tian Meng, the Snow Empress, the Ice Empress, or even Ice Bear King Xiaobai-any one of them could control his body.
The Ice Empress sent a request.
A message appeared on the panel in his Sea of Consciousness.
After all, she was his future woman. Happy to let her have some fun, Lin Qian readily agreed, retreating into his Sea of Consciousness to play cards with Tian Meng and the others.
Buzz!
When the Ice Empress took over his body and opened his eyes again, a layer of ice covered both pupils, and the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion Martial Soul shone.
The surroundings froze rapidly, as though they had entered a vast natural freezer, sending chills throughout their bodies. Even Liu Erlong, with her Martial Soul Avatar active, suffered badly from the cold.
"Achoo! What's going on? Li Si seems like a completely different person..."
When "Lin Qian" spoke again, even his voice had become somewhat soft and feminine. "Ice. Explosion!"
Crash!
Vast swathes of ice crystals rose from the ground. Enormous ice mountains rose on every side, like a kingdom of ice and snow that would not melt for ten thousand years.
"So cold!"
With the descent of one of the Three Great Heavenly Kings of the Far North, Liu Erlong could no longer hold herself together. She hugged her body, shivering uncontrollably.
Crackle, crackle...
Ice crystals wound upward, freezing her with the speed of wind and thunder until she could not move so much as a finger.
It's over...
Yu Wenmu's experience was about to repeat itself with her. Seeing "Lin Qian" part his lips and softly utter the word "break," Liu Erlong closed her eyes as well, quietly awaiting death's arrival.
"Bing'er, go easy on her!"
In his Sea of Consciousness, the real Lin Qian put down his cards and called out a reminder.
After all, Liu Erlong counted as one of the fish in his pond. If she were broken, there would be no fun left to have.
Thus, the Ice Empress changed the explosion to a shattering, breaking only her opponent's Martial Soul Avatar. Muttering that it was no fun, she handed control of the body back to Lin Qian.
Tossing down his cards, Lin Qian returned his spiritual consciousness to its place and darted forward-not to strike her, but to catch the falling Liu Erlong in a bridal carry.
A flying dragon in the heavens, Liu Erlong had been frozen midway through using her Martial Soul Avatar, unable to break free no matter what. Now that Ice Explosion was gone, and with her Soul Skill and Martial Soul lost, she naturally fell.
As before, Lin Qian was rather inclined to cherish fragrant flowers and precious jade. At least in person, he still had to maintain a gentleman's demeanor~
As they descended, he deliberately turned in slow circles, staring fixedly at the woman in his arms, close enough to hear her breathing.
Even more remarkably, the female tyrannosaur in his arms did not get angry!