Tian Chen slightly bent his powerful legs, which were covered in golden scales from Martial Soul Possession. With the added force of the thick, bone-spiked crocodile tail behind him, he instantly shot toward Zhang Lei.
Of all types of Soul Masters, power attack system Soul Masters were the most balanced. Not only did they possess formidable strength, their defense and explosive power were equally outstanding, and some even possessed control skills.
As for speed, aside from somewhat cumbersome Martial Souls such as elephants and rhinoceroses, most power attack system Soul Masters had respectable burst speed. With Tian Chen's Golden Crocodile King Martial Soul and Dai Mubai's White Tiger Martial Soul, for example, all they lacked compared to agility attack system Soul Masters was the ability to sustain their speed.
Under the effects of his first Soul Ring, Tian Chen's attack, defense, and strength all increased by one hundred percent, and his imposing presence rose to its peak.
Behind him, a brilliant golden phantom of the Golden Crocodile King let out a deafening roar.
Under the pressure of a top-tier beast Martial Soul, the Martial Soul phantom behind the Gale Demon Wolf Soul Master Zhang Lei seemed to grow considerably fainter.
The suppression of his Martial Soul also caused Zhang Lei's expression to change slightly, and he froze for a moment.
But what greeted him the next instant were Tian Chen's sharp crocodile claws, gleaming with a cold light. As Tian Chen swiped with all his might, his crocodile claws scraped through the air with a piercing whistle that constantly stabbed at Zhang Lei's nerves.
Watching the golden crocodile claws grow larger in his eyes, Zhang Lei, with his wealth of practical combat experience, immediately chose to activate his second Soul Skill-Demon Wolf Flash.
He had a powerful intuition that an agility attack system Soul Master like him absolutely could not take Tian Chen's strike head-on.
He could only choose to use the second Soul Skill he took the greatest pride in-Demon Wolf Flash.
This Soul Skill of his came from a Gale Demon Wolf, the same as his Martial Soul, and that Gale Demon Wolf had possessed over five hundred years of cultivation.
Back when he entered the Soul Hunting Forest, he happened to encounter this Gale Demon Wolf after it had lost a fight against a strange tiger Soul Beast with a pair of wings on its back.
That was how he had picked up this windfall. Of course, the rewards that followed were generous as well. After absorbing that Gale Demon Wolf, which matched him perfectly, he had obtained one of its innate Soul Skills: Demon Wolf Flash.
Under the effects of this Soul Skill, his speed could instantly increase by two hundred percent. As an agility attack system Soul Master whose speed was already outstanding, he looked as though he had vanished from in front of Tian Chen in an instant.
The next moment, he appeared behind Tian Chen. Wolf claws sprang from both hands, and he tore fiercely at Tian Chen's back.
However, his efforts were destined to come to nothing. Tian Chen's back could be considered the part of his body with the strongest defense. The scales there were thicker and heavier than those anywhere else, perfectly matching the characteristics of a crocodile-type Martial Soul.
This could also be considered an innate advantage of high-grade Martial Souls. Taking Tian Chen's Golden Crocodile King as an example, its sharp claws gave him tremendous destructive power, while its thick crocodile tail possessed boundless strength and combined offense and defense. As for the scales covering his entire body, they gave him top-tier defense.
Zhang Lei's wolf claws sent sparks flying across Tian Chen's back, which was densely covered in golden scales. Unfortunately, it was all thunder and little rain.
They did not leave even the slightest mark on Tian Chen's scales. Instead, he felt a powerful backlash through his wolf claws, making his fingertips sting faintly.
Not daring to hesitate, he activated his second Soul Skill again to get away from Tian Chen, because Tian Chen's counterattack was already sweeping toward him in the form of his thick crocodile tail.
Watching his attack miss again, Tian Chen raised his eyebrows.
"Fuck, you're kiting me?"
But there really was not much he could do right now. As long as Zhang Lei still had enough Soul Power to use his second Soul Skill, it would be difficult for Tian Chen to close in on him without using Soul Skills.
As for that instant-cast Soul Bone Skill, he did not intend to use it here. Not only did he not want to expose the fact that he possessed a Soul Bone, he also wanted to truly hone his experience fighting Soul Masters.
Looks like I'll definitely have to get a ranged Soul Skill for my third Soul Ring.
This Soul Fight had given him a profound understanding of his own shortcomings. Without a ranged Soul Skill, his weakness was simply too obvious.
A trace of coldness filled Tian Chen's clear blue, slit-pupiled eyes as he fixed his gaze firmly on Zhang Lei and deactivated his first Soul Skill.
Still in his Martial Soul Possession state, he stamped down hard with both legs and charged at Zhang Lei again.
He now had some understanding of Zhang Lei's abilities. He merely relied on the boost from his second Soul Skill to become a little faster.
As for his attack power, it was downright trash.
By Tian Chen's estimate, even without using his first Soul Skill, Zhang Lei would have difficulty breaking through his defenses. Not to mention that, at a critical moment, he still had an instant-cast thousand-year defensive Soul Skill.
Zhang Lei's situation, meanwhile, was far worse than Tian Chen's. After using his second Soul Skill twice in succession, he had consumed more than half his Soul Power, even with his Soul Power as high as rank twenty-nine.
He knew that if this battle of attrition continued, he would most likely lose the match. He was deeply unwilling to accept that, when he only needed one more win to enter the central Soul Fighting Arena.
Watching Tian Chen rapidly approach, Zhang Lei's expression shifted back and forth. He gritted his teeth and finally decided to risk offending Tian Chen and make one last desperate struggle.
Having made up his mind, he lit up both yellow Soul Rings beside him at once without hesitation.
The next instant, he transformed into a blue-green blur and appeared before Tian Chen.
Spare some recommendation votes, bros?