Watching from below the platform, Flender frowned deeply and reached the same judgment as Qi Ling. "It looks like this match should be over very soon! We'll soon know which side wins and which side loses."
Xiao Wu asked anxiously, "Dean, who will win, Brother Qi or those girls?"
"That's hard to say. I can only say that both sides have a chance of winning!" Flender said carefully.
"Then how do you know the match will have a result soon?" Xiao Wu asked.
"Simple. All dagger-type Martial Souls share one common trait!" Flender said. "Their first Soul Skills are remarkably similar!"
"Similar? How can that be? Even if they absorb Soul Rings from different Soul Beasts, they'll still get the same Soul Skill?" Xiao Wu asked curiously.
"Exactly. Their first Soul Skills are almost unaffected by their Soul Rings. They all get the same skill: Fatal Strike!" Flender said.
"This is the most important skill for an assassin! It lets them concentrate all their Soul Power into their next attack, greatly increasing its speed, strength, accuracy, and killing power!"
"But this move often has serious side effects, so they won't use it lightly unless they've reached the critical moment that can decide victory or defeat! Knowing the right moment to use Fatal Strike is precisely the measure of a qualified assassin."
"Th-then will Brother Qi be in danger? Can he block an attack like that?" Xiao Wu asked worriedly.
"That depends on his own choice. Will he choose to protect his companion, or will he choose victory?" Flender said meaningfully as he watched Qi Ling on the platform.
Choose his companion, or choose victory? Qi Ling smiled faintly. He had only one answer to that question: I want both!
Both sisters had entered stealth, waiting for an opportunity to launch their ultimate attacks on Qi Ling. Little did they know that this was exactly what he wanted.
If one distracted him while the other remained in stealth, Qi Ling would have had difficulty locating them. But when both entered stealth, his Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils could instead determine their positions through minute changes in their surroundings.
Although the two sisters left almost no trace as they moved as assassins, Qi Ling's Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils could see even the slightest tremor in the air. Their stealth was as good as nonexistent in his eyes.
Finally, believing they had found the best angles, the two struck simultaneously, activating their first Soul Skill: Fatal Strike. Incomparably powerful Soul Power poured into their daggers as they prepared to settle the match with a single blow.
They had also carefully planned their targets: strike where he had to defend! They brought both Ning Rongrong and Qi Ling within range of their attacks to see what choice he would make!
Faced with this painstakingly plotted attack, Qi Ling suddenly smiled and told Ning Rongrong, "Get ready, Rongrong. This will be over soon."
"Huh? What do you want me to get rea... Ah-!" Before Ning Rongrong could finish, she suddenly screamed, because Qi Ling had actually tossed her into the air with both hands!
No one present had expected Qi Ling to pull such a move, including the two sisters who had already launched their attacks!
After throwing Ning Rongrong into the air, Qi Ling smiled. "You've had me pinned down long enough, haven't you? It's about time you got a taste of my fists!"
"Second Soul Skill: Tyrant Dragon Fist, Twin Dragons Meet!"
This time, the Tyrant Dragon Fist Qi Ling unleashed was different from before. Soul Power gathered around both his fists at once!
This was a method of wielding power he had learned after cultivating the Nine Revolutions True Dragon Art. Although it was less powerful than when he used a single fist, it still retained seventy percent of the power.
Both fists whistled through the air, each swinging toward one of the two attackers.
Although Ye Mingzhu and Ye Mingyue were astonished, unable to understand how Qi Ling had detected them in stealth, they had no room to retreat now. They could only steel themselves and attack.
Neither could believe that, when they all had Thousand-Year Soul Rings, their strongest combined attack could still be no match for Qi Ling alone!
But that was exactly what happened. The instant they made contact with Qi Ling's fists, their eyes widened. The surging, tremendous force coming from his fists nearly crushed them. They could not withstand it at all!
"Pfft!" Both spat out a mouthful of blood as their bodies flew backward. While they were still in midair, the dagger Martial Souls in their hands vanished, no longer able to be maintained.
Seeing this, everyone below the platform winced as though they felt the pain themselves.
Oscar looked particularly helpless as he said, "Of all the things they could do, they had to challenge Boss Qi in destructive power. Isn't that like carrying a lantern into a latrine-looking for death?"
Having driven the two back, Qi Ling extended his arms again and securely caught Ning Rongrong as she fell from the air, cradling her sideways against his chest.
Still shaken, Ning Rongrong said angrily, "You! You awful jerk! Why didn't you tell me first?"
"If I'd told you first, wouldn't they have been ready? How would I have forced them into a head-on clash with me then?" Qi Ling said with a smile. "To fool the enemy, you have to fool your own people first."
"What? You've already beaten them?" Ning Rongrong asked in surprise. Those opponents had been so difficult to deal with, yet Qi Ling had defeated them in a single exchange?
Qi Ling smiled. "Of course. Ask the referee if you don't believe me."
Only then did the referee beside them look as though he had awakened from a dream. The match had been so spectacular that even he had become completely absorbed in it.
"The Killer Combination can no longer fight! The winners of the seventh two-on-two match are the Qi Le Rongrong Combination!" the referee announced.
As the referee announced their victory, thunderous applause erupted from the stands. The Shrek group below the platform cheered and screamed, delighted by Qi Ling's victory.
"Haha, how about that? I told you we'd definitely win!" Qi Ling said to Ning Rongrong with a smile. "I never go back on my word."
"Yes, I know. I know you're amazing! But could you... put me down first?" Ning Rongrong said, blushing. "Or are you planning to carry me off the platform like this?"
Only then did Qi Ling remember that he was still holding Ning Rongrong in a princess carry. With so many people watching, no wonder she was embarrassed.
So he set Ning Rongrong down and walked off the platform with her.
But after Qi Ling put her down, Ning Rongrong suddenly felt a sense of loss for some reason. It seemed being held by him felt rather nice, too?
What Qi Ling did not see was that two people in the stands had not cheered. After he won, they had kept watching him.
The space around these two seemed strangely blurred, making it impossible to see their faces clearly. Judging solely by their figures, they appeared to be two women.
One of them said, "I never thought Mingzhu and Mingyue would actually lose. It's unbelievable! They're the most outstanding geniuses among us!"
The other said, "There's nothing unbelievable about it. Beyond every person stands another, and beyond every heaven lies another heaven. Still, this Qi Ling certainly deserves our attention!"
"Young master, do you mean...?"
"Find someone to watch him in secret, but under no circumstances let him discover them!" said the woman addressed as young master. "I have a feeling that our clan's great undertaking is bound to be closely connected to him!"
Hearing the young master say this, the other woman was shocked. "Him? But young master, however powerful he is, he's only a Soul Grandmaster. What role could he possibly play?"
"Hmph. He may be a Soul Grandmaster, but he won't remain merely a Soul Grandmaster!" The young master seemed to smile. "In any case, pass on my order: no one is to make an enemy of him! If necessary, we may even offer him assistance!"
"Yes, young master!" the woman replied.
Then the two suddenly vanished from their seats, as though they had never appeared at all.