Upon hearing this, a hint of regret flashed across Qiangu Fuliu's eyes.
He had only just warmed up, and the exhilarating feeling of battle was welling up inside him, but it might all end so abruptly.
But that's how the competition is structured, so he naturally can't force his opponent to play all seven games.
He composed himself, turned his gaze back to the determined-looking female captain opposite him, and replied succinctly, "Alright, let's begin."
Nan Qiuqiu said no more, and her Soul Power surged instantly.
Two yellow, two purple, and one black—five perfectly matched Soul Ring rose from beneath her feet.
At the same time, a crystal-clear, pink, gem-like crystal appeared on her forehead, like a magnificent headdress.
Her figure seemed to be elongated by an invisible force, making her appear even taller and more agile.
Even more striking was the fact that dark red dragon scales spread rapidly from her fingertips, covering her entire right arm in the blink of an eye.
As the dragon scales were fully covered, a pale pink flame silently ignited, instantly incinerating the sleeve of her right arm into nothingness.
The flames appeared beautiful and gentle, yet even from a hundred meters away, Qiangu Fuliu could clearly sense a chilling aura of danger.
The casual look on his face vanished instantly, and his gaze became focused and serious.
This pink flame is anything but simple.
Without the slightest hesitation, Nan Qiuqiu's First Soul Ring suddenly shone brightly.
She pointed her fingers like a sword and pointed at the Qiangu Fuliu river a hundred meters away.
A highly condensed pink ray shot out instantly, so fast that it left only a blur in sight, heading straight for Qiangu Fuliu's face.
Faced with this seemingly delicate attack, Qiangu Fuliu felt a chill run down his spine, and a sense of crisis, stemming from instinct, suddenly arose within him.
He lightly touched the ground with his toes, and his body glided to the side like Gui Mei.
Almost at the same instant he dodged, the pink ray grazed his clothes and struck the Soul Tool Shield at the edge of the arena with pinpoint accuracy.
The next moment, a shocking scene unfolded.
The level eight Soul Tool Shield, which was strong enough to withstand attacks at the level of Soul Douluo, rippled slightly the moment it came into contact with the pink ray. The light became disordered, as if it had almost been pierced by the attack!
Qiangu Fuliu's eyes narrowed slightly, his expression becoming increasingly solemn.
Before going on stage, Kong Xuan had specifically instructed that Nan Qiuqiu, the captain of the Earth Dragon Sect, possessed an extremely rare " Annihilation " attribute in her Martial Soul.
Now that I've seen it with my own eyes, it truly lives up to its reputation.
This was no ordinary energy surge, but a terrifying force capable of disintegrating everything and annihilating its very essence.
Nan Qiuqiu's Martial Soul is the Rouge Dragon, and her greatest strength lies in long-range attacks.
With a swift tap of her right hand, pink light swirled at her fingertips, and condensed rays of Annihilation poured forth like a torrential downpour, weaving a net of death that enveloped the Qiangu Fuliu.
Qiangu Fuliu was quite wary of that strange Annihilation attribute, and his figure flashed repeatedly, leaving afterimages in the field, avoiding all the rays.
But he didn't just back down. Every move he made precisely reduced the distance between himself and Nan Qiuqiu, like a cheetah waiting for its chance to strike, steadily closing in.
Having witnessed the power of his Coiling Dragon Staff growing to over fifty meters, how could Nan Qiuqiu dare to let him get close?
With a clear shout, a faint dragon roar echoed around her, and her Third Soul Ring shone brightly.
A pink ball of light, about the size of a human head, was flung from her palm. It was inconspicuous at first, but it expanded rapidly during its flight, transforming into a huge ball of light several meters in diameter in an instant. After rising into the sky, it plummeted towards the area where the Qiangu Fuliu was located like a meteorite!
This was her Third Soul Skill, Annihilation Chain Explosion.
What appears to be just a giant energy ball at this moment actually contains a mysterious secret. Once it touches its target, the terrifying Annihilation energy it contains will instantly erupt, creating a large-scale chain explosion.
Nan Qiuqiu intended to use this area-of-effect attack to limit the speed of Qiangu Fuliu and prevent him from getting any closer.
With his exceptionally sharp combat awareness, how could Qiangu Fuliu possibly stand idly by and watch this area-of-effect attack land so easily?
A glint flashed in his eyes, and a cold snort rolled down his throat, "You really think I'm afraid of you?!"
His previous constant dodging wasn't because he was helpless against that Annihilation attribute.
At this moment, the fighting spirit that had been suppressed from afar finally erupted completely, like a dormant volcano suddenly awakening!
An immense fighting spirit, barely perceptible to the naked eye yet powerful enough to shake one's soul, suddenly spread out from him.
Qiangu Fuliu's eyes were sharp as knives, and the Coiling Dragon Staff in his hand emitted a stirring dragon roar.
As he pointed upwards, the dark gold staff instantly pierced the sky, transforming into a towering pillar tens of meters long, which accurately struck the rapidly falling pink Annihilation orb!
Then... the earth-shattering explosion that Nan Qiuqiu had anticipated did not occur.
The ball of light, containing terrifying Annihilation energy, punctured the Coiling Dragon Staff the instant it came into contact with it, like a balloon pierced by a sharp needle, its pink light flickering rapidly and uncertainly.
Immediately, the chilling aura of Annihilation vanished silently into the air, without causing the slightest ripple.
Nan Qiuqiu's pupils suddenly contracted, her beautiful eyes widened, and her face was filled with disbelief.
She simply couldn't understand how the Qiangu Fuliu had managed to do that!
In the preparation area of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, everyone's eyes were focused on the battle on the arena.
Seeing Qiangu Fuliu shatter the Annihilation sphere with a single strike, Kong Xuan couldn't help but comment, "It seems that Fuliu has condensed his fighting spirit to its limit, and is only one step away from transforming it into a domain."
He received traditional Soul Master theory instruction from his teacher Ren Jun from a young age, and had Ji Juechen, who had cultivated Sword Intent into a domain, by his side.
Therefore, the people around were no strangers to the concept of " the Domain of Intent ". Upon hearing Kong Xuan's evaluation, they immediately understood and were also filled with an irrepressible sense of envy.
They had already deeply appreciated the power of the field through their daily sparring with Ji Juechen.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of them still only have a basic level of control over their own Martial Soul and will, and they know that it is probably impossible to rely on the power of their own comprehension of the domain.
Kong Xuan's gaze remained fixed on Qiangu Fuliu. The Qiangu Family's Self-Created Soul Skill, " Battle Heaven and Fight Earth," passed down through generations, was known for its unparalleled ferocity and indomitable will.
Its power is beyond doubt; otherwise, the Qiangu Family in the original work would not have been able to gradually gain control of the massive Spirit Pagoda.
Although the Qiangu Family has not yet fully systematized this unique skill into the renowned " Unyielding Staff Technique " of later generations, the ultimate essence of the Coiling Dragon Staff is precisely this unyielding will that runs through it all, a true meaning of "breaking" that is enough to shatter the laws and look down upon the heavens!
It was this pure and domineering will that, in the instant of their clash, shattered Nan Qiuqiu's Soul Skill in the most direct way.
When crushed on an absolute spiritual and willual level, mere attributes become like rootless duckweed.
Then, Qiangu Fuliu Liu's Third Soul Ring flashed, and three clones identical to his original self instantly materialized on the arena.
Four figures, each wielding Coiling Dragon Staff, moved in perfect unison, yet they rushed toward Nan Qiuqiu from different directions, blurring the lines between reality and illusion and dazzling the eye.
Nan Qiuqiu was immediately caught off guard and hastily unleashed her pink Annihilation ray, only to find that the four figures seemed to be real, completely dodging her attack.
The Third Soul Skill of Qiangu Fuliu is called Divine Dragon Clones. Each clone has fifty percent of his own strength and is not just a deceptive illusion.
Just as she was struggling to cope, the true form of the Qiangu Fuliu had already broken through to within fifty meters of her like Gui Mei.
He suddenly stopped, gripped the Coiling Dragon Staff tightly with both hands, and raised it high above his head, the same movement as in the previous match.
A dark golden staff shadow, spanning over fifty meters in length and stretching across the sky, condensed once more and crashed down with a piercing shriek that tore through the air!
Wherever the stick's shadow passed, the space itself seemed to emit subtle distortions and groans of unbearable pressure.
Nan Qiuqiu was the first to be hit, and felt a vast, boundless fighting spirit mixed with pure power pressure rushing towards her.
Only now did she truly understand why Xu Shenshu had stood frozen in front of this blow in the previous match.
It wasn't that they didn't want to resist, but rather that they were so terrified that they couldn't even muster the thought of resistance!
The referee in mid-air was prepared. Almost as soon as the stick fell, he waved his hand and set up a solid and thick light shield, firmly protecting Nan Qiuqiu inside.
However, he learned from his previous experience, and this time he used a genuine level eight protective shield!
"Boom-!!!"
A deafening roar resounded throughout the entire arena once again. However, the level eight protective shield only rippled violently. The light barrier trembled violently, but ultimately it steadily withstood this earth-shattering blow without breaking.
Seeing this, the referee finally breathed a sigh of relief.