"Wu Feng, dragging this out will put us at a disadvantage. End this quickly!" Ning Tian said. The Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda in her hand shone brilliantly, and three magnificent beams landed on Wu Feng almost simultaneously.
Three soul skills bolstered her at once!
A forty-percent boost to speed and strength, coupled with resistance to negative effects, forcibly elevated Wu Feng's combat prowess to the level of a three-ring Soul Elder.
"All right!"
Wu Feng answered, and her first and second Soul Rings lit up beneath her feet again.
Scarlet dragon flames surged up with a roar, barely managing to suppress the azure flames spreading over her dragon claw.
Only then did Lin Mo's second Soul Ring light up at its leisure. Compassion appeared in his azure-gold eyes as he spoke as though sighing:
"Second soul skill, Azure-Gold Eternal Flame."
Three ever-burning lamps with azure-gold flames lit up above his, Huo Yuhao's, and Xiao Xiao's heads.
Immediately afterward, Lin Mo flickered and appeared behind the other two.
He raised both hands, resting one on each of their shoulders. In an instant, Huo Yuhao's and Xiao Xiao's presence surged, and even the Soul Power around them grew more condensed.
Xiao Xiao moved first.
She raised her slender hand, and black light flashed above Wu Feng's head!
Boom-!
Three great cauldrons descended from the sky and slammed heavily into the ground with three thunderous crashes, forming a triangle that penned Wu Feng firmly in the center.
At the same time, two Soul Rings lit up beneath Xiao Xiao's feet, and her eyes shone brightly:
"Threelives Soulstabilizing Cauldron!"
"Great vessel of the nation, Cauldron's Tremor!"
As her words fell, the three great cauldrons shuddered, and the ink-black Soul Power covering them began turning black and red. Three black-and-red ripples spread from the cauldrons simultaneously, overlapping precisely where Wu Feng stood.
Even though Wu Feng now possessed the combat prowess of a three-ring Soul Elder and had a control-removal buff on her as well.
The tremors from the Threelives Soulstabilizing Cauldron still came wave after wave, seemingly without end, rattling her brain until dizziness washed over her and even her steps grew unsteady.
Wu Feng gritted her teeth and shifted position, trying to escape the encirclement of the three great cauldrons. But with Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Detection Sharing, Xiao Xiao could see the intent behind every step with perfect clarity.
The three great cauldrons always seemed to know her moves in advance, relentlessly sealing off every path and making it impossible for her to advance even an inch.
Seeing that Xiao Xiao had Wu Feng firmly tied down, Lin Mo suddenly folded the dark-azure wings on his back forward, enveloping Huo Yuhao completely in front of him.
This way, no one except him could see what Huo Yuhao was doing, regardless of their angle.
Within the wings, Huo Yuhao slowly raised his head.
Purple-gold light blazed in his eyes, and that strange radiance instantly spat three-inch tongues of light from his pupils.
Though it vanished in a flash, Lin Mo, who was closest to Huo Yuhao, still sensed a terrifying surge of spiritual fluctuations erupt within the Spiritual Detection.
Even he and Xiao Xiao beside him were affected, their minds reeling for an entire instant.
Lin Mo shook his head.
Fuck.
These Spirit Eyes didn't just have underhanded mechanics. Their stats were high, too.
If Ning Tian had felt as though a needle had stabbed her brain earlier.
Then this time, she felt as though a massive hammer had struck her hard. Her vision went white, her body went limp, and she collapsed onto the ground.
Only then did Xiao Xiao withdraw her cauldrons.
Wu Feng could no longer spare any thought for attacking the enemy. She turned and ran back to Ning Tian, sweeping her into her arms.
"Ning Tian, Ning Tian, what's wrong?"
Seeing blood flowing from Ning Tian's mouth and nose, Wu Feng instantly panicked.
The supervising teacher below hesitated, unsure whether to step in. Since Wu Feng could still fight, he could not simply declare Ning Tian's team the losers.
Lin Mo withdrew his Martial Soul and walked toward the two.
Sensing his approach, Wu Feng instantly went on guard.
She held the unconscious Ning Tian tightly in her right arm and raised her left dragon claw before herself, forcing out a commanding air as she shouted, "What else do you want? We surren-mmph!"
Lin Mo crouched down and, not bothering to listen to her yammering, clamped a hand over her mouth.
Then he raised his free right hand and lightly touched a fingertip to Wu Feng's scale-covered left arm.
In an instant, those fearsome dragon scales receded like the tide. Her dragon claw rapidly shrank and changed shape, becoming a human girl's hand once more.
Lin Mo curled his fingertip.
The azure-gold flames that had clung to Wu Feng like maggots burrowing into bone, burning her with unbearable agony, obediently flowed off her hand like water and gathered entirely at Lin Mo's fingertip.
After doing all this, Lin Mo reached out again and lightly snapped his fingers in front of Ning Tian.
With a soft puff, an ever-burning lamp ignited above Ning Tian's head.
Warm light spilled down, instantly stopping the bleeding from Ning Tian's seven orifices. Color also returned little by little to her paper-white face.
Wu Feng stared blankly at Lin Mo before her, her throat feeling as though something had blocked it. "You..."
"All right, she's fine now." Lin Mo stood up again, casually pulled out a packet of tissues, and tossed it into Wu Feng's lap. Without looking back, he said, "Referee, you can announce it now."
After waving to the supervising teacher, Lin Mo walked off the competition platform.
Prompted by Lin Mo, the supervising teacher, who had still been hesitating, hurriedly announced their victory in the match.
Naturally, Lin Mo had not suddenly been overcome with kindness.
If the Soul Fire remained inside Wu Feng, it would burn her soul without pause. And how rare were high-level purification soul skills? Shrek Academy certainly had them, but getting someone here would take at least a minute or two.
A minute or two was enough for the Soul Fire to burn the hands of Wu Feng's soul body clean away.
Having part of one's soul burned away was damage to one's very origin. In milder cases, it meant memory loss and damage to the Sea of Spirit; in severe cases, some senses would fail, and consciousness would become muddled.
Otherwise, he would not have bothered meddling.
As for helping Ning Tian, that had merely been convenient.
On the competition platform, Wu Feng stared dazedly at the retreating figures of Lin Mo and his two companions, her expression complicated. Unconsciously, she gripped the packet of tissues he had casually tossed her tighter and tighter.
In a corner of the raised spectator stand, an old reclining chair sat quietly beneath the shade of a tree.
Mu En was still half-reclining in it, his eyelids lowered. He looked utterly languid, like an ordinary old man dozing in the afternoon.
Yet he had taken in everything that had just happened on the competition platform without missing a single detail.
"This boy..." Mu En began slowly, a barely perceptible trace of amusement in his voice. "He knows how far to go when he strikes, and saves others without holding past grievances against them. Ruthless methods, but a soft heart. He knows exactly when to press and when to yield."
He paused, then sighed softly.
"Mystic Bird, Mystic Bird, mysteries upon mysteries. In the end, even this old man cannot see through him completely..."
With that, he turned to Zhang Lexuan, who stood attending him.
Mu En's gaze settled on her, a hint of teasing entering his voice. "Lexuan, haven't you and Lin Mo been meeting at the outer court library every day for these past three months and more?"
"What do you think of this boy?"
At his words, Zhang Lexuan's breathing faltered almost imperceptibly.
Her face remained as cool and composed as ever, but the tips of her ears hidden beneath her black hair grew faintly hot.
"This disciple thinks he is..."
Zhang Lexuan paused, seemingly weighing her words, or perhaps calming the heartbeat that had inexplicably lost its rhythm.
At last, she softly uttered two words:
"Absolutely wonderful."
(P.S. Heavenly Mandate's Auspicious Omen, Mystic Bird Lin Mo is here~)