Fifteen minutes passed quickly.
The stands for Arena B3 were twice the size of Arena C7, with nearly half of the 500-seat curved staircase occupied. The audience for the two-person Soul Fighting was more lively than that for the singles matches—the variations created by two people working together were always more interesting than a one-on-one fight.
The referee was a female Soul Master in her early thirties, with short hair and a clear, crisp voice.
"Round 3, Match 6 of the Day, Double Soul Fighting! Red Team: Godwind Academy's Su Mei'er, Level 33 Control System, Martial Soul Wind-Winged Spirit Fox! Lu Qing, Level 33 Power Attack System, Martial Soul Wind Scythe!"
Su Mei'er and Lu Qing walked onto the stage side by side.
"Blue Team - Han Ce, Level 33 Control System, Martial Soul Ghost Vine! Chang He, Level 33 Power Attack System, Martial Soul: Formation-Breaking Spear!"
Han Ce had long, slender fingers with pale purple tips—traces left by his Ghost Vine Martial Soul. Chang He was tall and slender, holding a silver-white spear with a chilling glint at its tip. The two entered the arena in unison, clearly not their first time working together.
Su Mei'er glanced at her opponent, her gaze finally settling on Han Ce's fingertips. She had studied various Control System paths— the Ghost Vine, a Martial Soul, didn't have vines growing from the body; they grew underground.
"Watch out for that one. Its vines are spreading underground," Su Mei'er whispered to Lu Qing.
Lu Qing hummed in agreement. He didn't understand the characteristics of the Ghost Vine, but he believed Su Mei'er's explanation. With a flick of his wrist, two Wind Scythe simultaneously appeared in his palm. The scythes were bluish-gray, with fine air currents flowing rapidly around their blades, emitting a very low hum. The moment the two scythes appeared, his aura became more than twice as heavy.
Chang He's pupils contracted slightly. Power Attack System with dual scythes—he'd never seen anything like it before; he'd have to be careful later.
The referee raises his flag.
"Start!"
Han Ce made the first move. His First Soul Ring lit up— Ghost Vine: Entanglement! Three thumb-thick dark purple vines burst from the ground, winding along the ground and rushing straight at Su Mei'er's back. Han Ce wanted to block her retreat, forcing Su Mei'er to press forward, so that Chang He's spear tip would be waiting in front of her.
Su Mei'er raised an eyebrow—this Control System user is intelligent.
Su Mei'er had seen some Control System Soul Master would immediately bind people head-on, while Han Ce knew to cut off the retreat first, which meant he had done a lot of teamwork.
But Su Mei'er did not back down.
The First Soul Ring lit up— Wind Lightning Chain! Two cyan chains flew out from his side, their bodies wrapped in fine arcs of lightning, crackling loudly. The chains didn't attack the vines, but flew directly towards Han Ce's wrist along the Soul Power link.
She needs to control the controller himself first.
Han Ce's pupils contracted sharply. He urged the vines to defend, but the chains were faster than the vines. Two Wind Lightning Chain wrapped around his wrists from the left and right, and lightning exploded, instantly stiffening his ten fingers—binding and paralysis, the dual effects were triggered simultaneously, and the vine net he was weaving stopped in mid-air.
Some knowledgeable spectators in the stands sat up straight.
But Chang He moved. He had been waiting for this moment when Su Mei'er would make her move—the instant the controller released their Soul Skill, their side would be empty. Chang He's Second Soul Ring lit up—Breaking Formation Thrust! The tip of his spear shone brightly, and he transformed into a straight line, thrusting towards Su Mei'er's side. This thrust was both fast and cunning, the timing was extremely precise.
The sound of the spear tip cutting through the air was deafening.
But it was cut off by a horizontal hook.
Lu Qing's left-hand scythe slashed in from the side, hooking the spear shaft, and he pulled it to the left with a burst of muscle power. The spear tip grazed Su Mei'er's shoulder and missed. At the same time, Lu Qing's right-hand scythe flew out of his hand— Wind Scythe: Spin! The scythe drew an arc in the air, bypassing Chang He's front and slashing back from behind.
Chang He's expression changed drastically. He forcibly withdrew his gun and turned to block. The gun barrel collided with the spinning Wind Scythe, Huo Xing flew, and his hand went numb from the impact.
Before Chang He could even regain his footing, Lu Qing had already used the force of his left-hand sickle hooking onto the gun shaft to pull himself into the inner circle. He stretched out his right hand, caught the swirling Wind Scythe, and with both sickles out, he slashed at Changhe's throat from both sides.
Chang He staggered backward, the blade of the Wind Scythe grazing his chin and shaving off a lock of hair.
Before Chang He could regain his footing, Su Mei'er's Second Soul Skill arrived— Wind Fire Bewildering Array! A ball of spiritual fire wrapped in blazing flames exploded beneath Chang He's feet, with blinding flames and heat waves erupting simultaneously, completely locking down his vision and movement.
" Chang He!" Han Ce shouted hoarsely. He tried to activate the vines to rescue him, but the paralyzing effect of the Wind Lightning Chain was still in effect, and his ten fingers were completely unresponsive.
Lu Qing stepped forward. His left sickle parried the spear shaft that Chang He was trying to block, while his right sickle stopped three inches in front of his throat—the two sickles crossed to lock his throat, the blades facing outwards, the cold air clinging to his skin.
Chang He's Adam's apple bobbed. He looked down at the Wind Scythe locked on either side of his neck and slowly raised his hand.
The referee blew his whistle repeatedly.
" Su Mei'er and Lu Qing win!"
Han Ce knelt on one knee, panting heavily. His eyes were filled with lingering fear as he looked at Su Mei'er —from beginning to end, he hadn't even released a second vine. Chang He planted his gun in the ground, touched the two red marks on his neck, and gave a bitter smile.
Su Mei'er put away the chains and the spiritual fire, and glanced at Lu Qing.
"Well played."
Lu Qing retracted his twin scythes, the blades drawing two short streaks of blue light in the air before dissipating. He hummed in agreement and turned to walk off the field.
Su Mei'er followed behind, but suddenly stopped as she passed through the corridor. She turned around, her gaze sweeping across the corridor to the dimly lit stands behind her. For a brief moment, she had felt a gaze—not on the game, but fixed on them.
The audience seats were noisy and dimly lit, so you couldn't see anything.
"What's wrong?" Lu Qing stopped in his tracks.
Su Mei'er withdrew her gaze, the corners of her mouth curving back into their usual smile, "It's nothing. Let's go."
She turned and walked into the passage; the last wisp of blue lightning flashed in the darkness and disappeared.
In the stands, Feng Xiaotian stood up. His gaze lingered for less than a second in the direction Su Mei'er had looked back before shifting away. He turned and walked off the field, pausing briefly as he passed Jiang Lin and Cheng Luo.
"Did you see Su Mei'er's fighting style clearly just now?"
Jiang Lin nodded. Cheng Luo also nodded, his brows furrowed slightly, clearly still replaying the rhythm in his mind.
"She's Control System, and so are you," Feng Xiaotian said. "She doesn't just rely on Soul Skill; she uses strategy—when to strike first, when to counter-control, and when to let the strong attackers finish off the enemy. You can refer to this, but don't copy it exactly. Jiang Lin's Spirit Eyes focuses on mental control, while Cheng Luo's Wind-Binding Vine Entanglement and trapping the enemy. The methods are different, so the rhythm will be different."
Jiang Lin didn't speak, and turned his gaze back to Su Mei'er's back in the audience.
Cheng Luo cracked his knuckles, lost in thought. The Wind-Binding Vine excels at sustained suppression and Entanglement grip, which is different from Su Mei'er's preemptive interruption. However, its sense of timing in "controlling the first move and letting the strong attack reap the rewards" is worth learning.
"Let's go," Feng Xiaotian said. "The group still has half an hour left, let's go to Field 2 of Class A and wait there."