After Yu Tianheng released a blast of "Dragon's Wrath" through the sole of the severed leg strapped outside Yu Tianxin's left leg, the arcs of Dragon Transformation lightning covering his body began to thin. Another ring of blood burst from his right calf, dripping down his trouser leg.
His right leg was completely ruined.
But on the battlefield, the attacks would never stop.
Yu Tianxin took over. Feeling the fresh warmth of his younger cousin's blood against his left leg, he suddenly lit up his first and second Soul Rings:
"Thunderfall" and "Thunder Roar" were unleashed in succession.
With a crashing boom, they struck Xu Zi two and a half meters away.
Even lightning immunity had its limits. After being struck and subjected to electrical treatment for so long, Xu Zi could feel the skin on his body going numb.
But he did not get up. Instead, he took advantage of his prone position to roll and spin on the spot, then set the Purple Sun behind him in motion and hurled it out.
It looked just like shot put in the real world.
Whoom!
The Purple Sun hurtled over, piercing straight through "Thunderous Might" and "Thunder Roar" before crashing into a Thunder Dragon Claw from Yu Tianheng.
Deep purple light and flame nearly swallowed the Blue Lightning Twin Stars.
Throwing his Sun Martial Soul like a discus or shot put-Xu Zi had certainly found all sorts of ways to play with this Martial Soul.
With that strike landing, Xu Zi was not about to stand there foolishly, waiting for the light, flames, and lightning to disperse.
He sprang forward, both elbows held level at either side of his waist, his entire body streaking beneath the night sky in a trail of amethyst rainbow light.
This was the move that had instantly defeated Jin Yu.
If the Blue Lightning Twin Stars took a hit like that, they would very likely be left paralyzed on the spot.
But when he charged into that mass of lightning and flame, he found no one inside.
"Damn, not having an agility-attack Soul Skill cost me." Xu Zi instinctively looked up.
He saw that the Twin Stars had used "Blue Lightning Flying Dragon Rush" simultaneously, actually allowing them to rise briefly into the air.
And at the moment Xu Zi looked up...
Yu Tianheng swung Yu Tianxin around and hurled him down hard, flinging his older cousin at Xu Zi below like a human projectile.
At that moment, Yu Tianxin's only usable palm, his right, erupted with the blue light of raging lightning...
Boom!
Another "Dragon's Wrath." Xu Zi had only just managed to retreat half a step before he was struck in the chest again.
At the same time, the other Twin Star landed right after him. Empowered by "Thunder's Wrath," he swept his only good leg low, striking the backs of Xu Zi's knees.
Caught in a pincer attack, Xu Zi was finally knocked over by brute force, his back slamming into the plaza floor.
The next second, the Blue Lightning Twin Stars worked together, one grabbing his legs and the other clamping onto his shoulders. They prepared to lift Xu Zi off the ground together and throw him out of the Soul Fighting Plaza.
Falling outside the Soul Fighting Plaza meant defeat. Those were the rules of team Soul Fighting matches.
Knowing how to use the rules was a kind of strength, too.
The string of sudden reversals on the field left the spectators watching with their hearts pounding.
It felt like riding a roller coaster. As the two sides repeatedly switched between offense and defense, the spectators' spirits rose and fell along with them.
Fortunately, as Xu Zi fell onto his back, he instinctively grabbed Yu Tianxin's right arm, pulling him into a stoop.
At this moment, that instinctive movement became the key to his counterattack.
His purple-gold claw tips dug into the blue-purple scales on the arm. Xu Zi yanked Yu Tianxin closer, ignoring Yu Tianheng's Thunder Dragon Claw striking at his face.
The inverted triangle formed by Xu Zi's eyes and the space between his brows suddenly creased into a dragon's brow. At such close range, a blast of "Will of Destruction" struck Yu Tianxin squarely in the face.
At that instant, Yu Tianxin happened to be in the period of weakness following "Dragon's Wrath." Taking the full brunt of that mental attack head-on, his eyes rolled back on the spot, and he staggered backward.
At that very moment, Yu Tianheng's "Thunder Dragon Claw" struck Xu Zi's right temple, sending him spinning more than half a turn on the ground.
But Xu Zi's Martial Soul was not only the Purple Brilliant Heaven Destroying Dragon. There was also...
The Purple Sun had just been deflected by the Blue Lightning Twin Stars. Now, it happened to be falling toward the ground, returning within the Soul Master's range of control.
Blazing light and flame shone into his face. The Purple Sun struck Yu Tianheng at once, knocking him onto his back and sending his whole body through a great head-over-heels tumble.
Xu Zi pulled hard on Yu Tianxin's right arm and rose from the ground.
Pivoting half a turn on his feet, he used the unconscious Yu Tianxin as a weapon, swinging him in a broad circle before hurling him out with force, returning Yu Tianheng's favor with a "human projectile" of his own.
With a crack and thud, the cousins collided, their scaled skin giving a muffled impact.
Half his body charred black by the Purple Sun, Yu Tianheng had just been waving both claws to try to get up when he was struck again, skidding several meters before stopping.
Copious blood and shattered scales sprayed into the air from the collision.
Xu Zi rubbed his right eye and shook his head, easing the dizziness from his right temple.
Now, no lightning flickered in the direction where the Blue Lightning Twin Stars had fallen.
Only now did Xu Zi have the leisure to stand still and look down at his chest.
There, several amethyst dragon scales had begun showing signs of cracking after taking two blasts of "Dragon's Wrath."
"Striking the same spot-the principle of dripping water wearing through stone?"
Xu Zi smiled. "Interesting."
"A Dragon Transformation technique... Dragon's Wrath?"
Although his cultivation was only level 37, the strength of his physique after Martial Soul Possession was enough to rival a level 50 Defense System Soul Ancestor.
Yet now, a total of four blasts of "Dragon's Wrath" had actually broken through his defenses.
He could not help clicking his tongue in admiration. "What a fine secret technique. Tsk, I'm a little tempted."
The secret technique "Dragon Transformation" brought together the accumulated knowledge and painstaking efforts of dozens of generations of the Blue Lightning Yu family.
Not only could it systematically transform the entire body into a dragon's, it also possessed "Dragon's Wrath," a move comparable to the "Great Sumeru Hammer."
How could a dragon Soul Master see it without being tempted?
"Hrr~" Raising his bright purple slit pupils, Xu Zi thought to himself: Looks like the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect has another reason to be exterminated...
Xu Zi surveyed the broken scales littering the ground, blue and purple fragments alike.
It would be no exaggeration to say that a battle between dragons had just taken place here.
Five or six meters ahead to his right, the "Hengxin Combination" had already separated, the two slumped on the ground in an overlapping heap.
The half-body Dragon Transformations of both Yu Tianheng and Yu Tianxin had been forcibly beaten away.
With their stamina and Soul Power both exhausted, they could not even stand.
At that moment, both their faces were white as paper, their breathing short.
Without Dragon Transformation suppressing them, the wounds on their bodies split into hideous gashes, staining each other's academy uniforms crimson.
Yu Tianxin in particular was bleeding from five orifices, looking utterly wretched.
The Blue Lightning Twin Stars' run on the battlefield had come to an end.
Yet neither looked dejected. Instead, their expressions revealed a kind of exhilaration... release.
Having fought to this point and knocked down their powerful opponent several times-
They had thoroughly preserved the prestige of the Blue Lightning Twin Stars and the reputations of Heaven Dou and the Thunder Team.
"Win back our dignity." That was the sole conviction behind their stubborn resistance despite their injuries. After all, they were dragon Soul Masters...
The pitch-black arena was illuminated once more.
A squad of temple knights lined the perimeter of the plaza, the torches in their hands lighting up the entire Soul Fighting Plaza.
The judges rose as one, for today's round of ranking matches had reached its end.
The head referee stepped onto the Soul Fighting Plaza.
He raised Xu Zi's right hand high and announced loudly, "Spirit Hall Academy Second Team versus the Heaven Dou Royal Academy and Thunder Academy teams."
"The final match of the second round-the Spirit Hall Academy Second Team wins!"
"Woohoo!" Seven cheers rang out from below the plaza, with whistles mixed among them.
After these two days of baptism by lightning, ice, and snow, the formerly lifeless team of young masters had finally had some enthusiasm hammered into them.