Xuan Zi Stepped In Yet Again
In the Shrek rest area, Wang Yan saw the surging Evil Fire on Ma Xiaotao's body through the Spiritual Detection Sharing, and instantly realized that something was wrong.
Although his communication was blocked, Huo Yuhao managed to maintain a weak connection.
Already under immense pressure, he could no longer hold on, and fear instantly enveloped his heart.
Xu Sanshi is already dead, Jiang Nannan is crippled, He Caitou is gone. The Shrek Team cannot afford any more losses!
They are just children; they shouldn't have to endure so much suffering and injury!
"Our Shrek Team concedes defeat!!!" Wang Yan shouted without any hesitation, his voice hoarse and piercing the sky.
"Damn it, we haven't lost!" Xuan Zi's eyes were bloodshot as he glared at Wang Yan with a predatory look, unleashing the full pressure of a Level 98 Super Douluo. "Xiaotao hasn't lost yet, the match can continue!"
"You old bastard! Are you blind?! Xiaotao is clearly about to have a Evil Fire, do you still want to kill her?!"
Wang Yan slammed his fist on the table, disregarding whether he would offend Xuan Zi, and roared in a fit of rage, his knuckles turning white from the force, "They're just children! They shouldn't have to endure so much!"
"No matter what, we cannot lose to the Sun Moon Empire!" Xuan Zi gritted his teeth, his breathing becoming heavier, and his oppressive aura intensified. "How can Shrek's glory be defeated by the Sun Moon?!"
Huang Jinxu looked at Xuan Zi and sighed helplessly, "Should the Shrek Team admit defeat?"
"Don't give up! Xiaotao can keep going!"
Xuan Zi decisively refused, and casually raised his hand to suppress Wang Yan with a burst of Soul Power, silencing him.
On stage, seeing that the time was right, Meng Hongchen also slowed down her offensive and prepared for the next step of her plan.
She sheathed her rapier, stood with her hands behind her back, her silver hair dancing in the rain, looking like a fairy who had stumbled into a battlefield. Only the cold light hidden deep in her blood-red eyes betrayed her true nature.
Seeing that Meng Hongchen's offensive was weakening, Ma Xiaotao, consumed by Evil Fire, failed to notice anything amiss. Instead, she assumed that Meng Hongchen's Soul Power was failing and chose to engage in close combat.
Furthermore, she discovered that as long as the power of the released Soul Skill was great enough, it could break through that annoying Repelling Ice Ring.
Of course, this was intentional on Meng Hongchen's part—she deliberately controlled her Soul Power output, leaving just enough opening for Ma Xiaotao to break through with a full-force attack, thus dangling Ma Xiaotao's appetite like fishing.
After Meng Hongchen released the Repelling Ice Ring to block the attack once again, Ma Xiaotao launched her three Soul Skill again, and this time she also used her Right Arm Soul Bone skill Phoenix Explosion Strike.
The four skills combined distorted even space itself, and the terrifying heat even evaporated the rain curtain, creating a vacuum zone.
Finally, he broke through the Repelling Ice Ring and stood close to Meng Hongchen.
We're close! I can finally kill these damned Sun Moon people!
Overjoyed, Ma Xiaotao slammed her right claw, fueled by Evil Fire seemed to Destruction everything, towards Meng Hongchen's heart.
She poured all her Soul Power, all her anger, and all her obsession into this attack.
But Meng Hongchen's sudden move caught Ma Xiaotao completely off guard.
She neither chose to retaliate nor dodge. Instead, while defending, she sidestepped the fatal blow, letting Ma Xiaotao's claws graz her shoulder, shaving off only a piece of her clothing. Then, she leaned close to Ma Xiaotao's ear and whispered something in a voice only the two of them could hear.
The voice was soft, like a lover's whisper, but the content was as venomous as a snake.
"Aren't you tired after such a fierce attack for so long? Or are you so stupid that you don't even know how to dodge the enemy's attacks, just charging in like an idiot and getting your face slapped all over?"
"You guys are missing quite a few people this year, aren't you? Could it be because of your stupid actions that you led your teammates into the enemy's trap, causing such heavy casualties?"
Bao Liang taught her to say these things.
Meng Hongchen launched a fierce attack on Ma Xiaotao's already tense psychological defenses, which were almost at their limit.
Every word was like a heavy hammer blow, striking the already battered walls of Ma Xiaotao's heart.
Ma Xiaotao's anger, having been tormented by Meng Hongchen for so long, has reached an extreme level; it only needs one trigger to ignite it completely.
Moreover, the reason they let Meng Hongchen come to the competition first was because Meng Hongchen not only had sufficient combat power, but also the strongest self-preservation ability among all of them except Bao Liang.
Moreover, Bao Liang couldn't guarantee he wouldn't accidentally kill Ma Xiaotao, so Meng Hongchen was the only option.
Moreover, it was obvious to anyone that Ma Xiaotao was not in a good state, and her Martial Soul and its flaws were common knowledge.
Therefore, according to Bao Liang's deduction, if the method used is perfect enough, they can make Ma Xiaotao herself fall into the trap of becoming Black Phoenix.
Then they could use the most legitimate political reasons to take down or even kill Ma Xiaotao.
Of course, they wouldn't actually kill him; at most, they'd just bring him to the brink of death to cause trouble for Shrek Academy, thus buying their side more time to develop.
The Death Messenger incident before the start of the tournament was the most suitable psychological warfare tactic under the current circumstances.
Bao Liang told Meng Hongchen about this.
Meng Hongchen and the others didn't believe it at first, after all, Shrek couldn't possibly be that weak.
As it turned out, Jing Hongchen casually inquired and, lo and behold, it was true.
Then everyone on the Sun Moon Team was dumbfounded.
Bao Liang refused to believe it. As the team leader, Ma Xiaotao's arrogance led her team into the enemy's trap, resulting in heavy casualties. Afterwards, she was relegated to the water cooler, forced to watch the reserve team fight desperately. Did she feel no guilt or resentment at all?
Moreover, Meng Hongchen didn't believe that Ma Xiaotao could remain calm under the continuous pressure from their Sun Moon Team.
As expected, Meng Hongchen's suggestive words immediately cast a shadow over Ma Xiaotao's mind.
Just as Bao Liang had guessed, Ma Xiaotao had been constantly tormented by internal conflict ever since she left the Ming Dou Mountain Range.
Especially during the time she was recovering from her injury, she could only watch the reserve team fight desperately, and she felt so frustrated that she was about to burst into flames.
This emotion finally reached its peak during the battle against the Sun Moon Team.
After Meng Hongchen began to act as planned, Bao Liang and Xiao Hongchen were also ready to rescue Meng Hongchen and capture Ma Xiaotao at any time in the Sun Moon Team's rest area.
Bao Liang's right eye flickered with a ghostly blue flame, his mental energy ready to intervene at any moment; Xiao Hongchen gripped a Fixed Soul Cannon Shell, ready to blast someone at any time.
"Come on, Ma Xiaotao, don't disappoint me!" Bao Liang raised an eyebrow toward the arena, a look of anticipation playing on his lips.
On the stage, Ma Xiaotao's pupils constricted sharply. Meng Hongchen's words were like a rusty, blunt knife, stabbing her most painful spot and shattering her last shred of reason.
"Trap... teammates... heavy casualties... reserve team fighting desperately... I... I just wanted to win..."
A hoarse growl escaped her throat, and her originally purplish-red eyes instantly turned pitch black, devoid of any white, revealing only an endless abyss.
The Evil Fire surrounding him was no longer purplish-black, but had turned into a pure, deep, and chilling inky black.
That wasn't the fire of the phoenix; it was darkness that devoured everything.
"Phoenix... no, it's the Black Phoenix."
A glint flashed in Meng Hongchen's eyes, and a perfect smile curved her lips.
It's done.
She abruptly retreated, her rapier held horizontally in front of her chest. She simultaneously activated her Repelling Ice Ring and Repelling Fire Ring, enveloping herself in a cocoon of Absolute Defense. At the same time, she transmitted a signal to Bao Liang via Spiritual Detection Sharing: [Completed. Ready to close the net at any time.]
Ma Xiaotao's jet-black flames surged wildly, instantly vaporizing the stone slabs of the arena and even setting the air ablaze.
Her figure rose higher amidst the black flames, and behind her emerged a gigantic black phoenix phantom, its wings spreading to blot out the sky, each feather formed from the fire of death.
"Die... all of you, die!"
Ma Xiaotao's voice was no longer a human voice, but a murmur from the depths of hell, carrying endless resentment and murderous intent.
She spread her arms wide, and a storm of jet-black flames swept across the entire area, centered on her!
The audience, who had been discussing the matter, fell silent instantly, followed by an even larger eruption of screams and panic.
"Evil Soul Master! Captain Shrek Academy is Evil Soul Master!"
Even Huang Jinxu had to unleash his full Soul Power shield to protect the VIP seats in the front row.
"Is this... Martial Soul Mutation? Or a backlash from the Evil Fire?!" Huang Jinxu was utterly horrified; even the pressure of his Level 90 Soul Power couldn't suppress this black fire.
In the Shrek rest area, Wang Yan, who had been suppressed, struggled to raise his head and saw the Black Phoenix on the arena. Tears instantly streamed down his face.
"Xiaotao... you silly child..."
Xuan Zi's expression changed completely. He unleashed the full pressure of a Level 98 Super Douluo, wanting to rush onto the arena, but he was locked in place by Ye Yulin's Sun Moon Divine Needle and dared not move.
"Old man Xuan Zi, don't be in such a hurry, the real show has only just begun." Ye Yulin chuckled, the tip of his needle gleaming with Youyou light.
In the rest area of Sun Moon Team, Bao Liang stood up, stretched, and the ghostly blue flame in his right eye burned even brighter.
"Close the net."