Chapter 264: Oscar, Out! Charge!
"Not good, her real target is Oscar!" Seeing Zhu Zhuqing's move, Tang San shouted in frustration. In this preliminary match, due to using his Blue Silver Grass martial soul less frequently, he was still habitually positioned at the front of the team. He had considered that Team Tianshui might change formations, but he never expected that only four of them would enter the field, and that only Zhu Zhuqing would actually fight. So, their formation was still spread out to prevent large scale soul skill attacks. But who would have thought that Zhu Zhuqing had grown so much stronger? With just one surprise attack, she forced Xiao Wu to use two consecutive teleports just to protect Ning Rongrong.
In the Soul Master Tournament, food type soul masters had a specific restriction: they could only use items they produced after stepping onto the stage. Seeing Zhu Zhuqing approaching, Oscar glanced helplessly at the sausages in his hand that he hadn't had time to distribute. What kind of ridiculous strategy was this? Could someone at least protect him? No time to complain, Oscar quickly stuffed a Swift Flight Mushroom Sausage into his mouth. A pair of wings sprouted from his back, lifting him into the air.
Luckily, Zhu Zhuqing can't fly, Oscar thought in relief as he ascended.
Then, he heard Tang San shout, "Oscar, watch out!"
Watch out? Watch out for what?
Before Oscar could understand, he saw a figure appear in front of him Zhu Zhuqing, in her sky blue uniform, had a pair of dark, delicate wings extending from her back. She was flying even faster than he was, now directly above him.
Since when can she fly?!
That was the last thought in Oscar's mind before Zhu Zhuqing appeared in front of him and knocked him unconscious with a swift chop, tossing him out of the arena.
Oscar had never been involved in any conflict, and Qian Renxue had taken a particular interest in grooming him, so Zhu Zhuqing didn't use excessive force. She simply knocked him out and threw him off the stage.
Turning back, Zhu Zhuqing saw that the remaining members had already grouped together, with Dai Mubai staring at her in disbelief.
Because she had just used her wings, her martial soul's apparition had become visible to them, and Dai Mubai had clearly seen her new martial soul.
What made it even worse for him was that he no longer felt the familiar resonance of their Martial Soul Fusion Technique. Instead, he felt an odd sense of suppression from her martial soul.
"What happened to your martial soul?!"
After a moment of shock, Dai Mubai was overwhelmed by a feeling of betrayal an even greater anger than when Zhu Zhuqing had publicly "divorced" him before. This fury stemmed from his very own martial soul's reaction.
Zhu Zhuqing cast him a cold glance without bothering to respond. In a blink, she vanished again.
"Dai Mubai, calm down!"
Watching the shadows flickering around them, Tang San irritably used Blue Silver Grass to wrap around Dai Mubai's waist, stopping him from recklessly charging forward. Idiot, we're still in the middle of a fight. And do you really think, given how she feels about you, that she'd answer?
Feeling the firm grip of Blue Silver Grass around his waist, Dai Mubai forced himself to calm down, though his eyes burned with even more resentment.
Under Tang San's command, the remaining five formed a defensive formation around Ning Rongrong, their waists also wrapped with Blue Silver Grass, ready for Zhu Zhuqing's attacks.
Suddenly, Zhu Zhuqing came to a halt and charged directly toward Ma Hongjun's position. Her first and third soul rings lit up, and as she sprinted forward, her hands came together above her head. The claw blades on her fingers extended rapidly, merging into a foot long razor sharp blade. A black energy wave, carrying a terrifying force, slashed toward Ma Hongjun.
Feeling the overwhelming power of the attack, Ma Hongjun dared not be careless she was twenty levels above him, after all.
"She's targeting me!"
With a roar, Ma Hongjun recalled his teacher's advice. Ignoring the Blue Silver Grass still binding him, he relied on himself rather than waiting for an opening. His three soul rings lit up in sequence, enhancing his flames to their peak. His body lifted into the air as he spat a stream of fire to meet the black energy slash.
Phoenix Fire Line his strongest attack so far.
The black slash collided with the flames, creating a brief clash before the remnants of the energy wave deviated and exploded to the side.
Hovering in the air, Ma Hongjun's tiny eyes widened he had unleashed his most powerful attack, yet it still failed to completely counter her casual strike.
Good thing he hadn't underestimated her. Among his teammates, he had the highest burst damage.
Meanwhile, turning around and seeing this, Tang San's brows furrowed. He had always known Zhu Zhuqing had high explosive power, but he hadn't expected that even with Ning Rongrong's buffs, Ma Hongjun's attack would still fall short.
This can't go on. If they kept this up, they might lose another member at any moment.
"Fatty, keep attacking! Use your flames to limit her movement and force her into close combat with us!"
Explosive non energy based soul skills required recovery time after being used once. Even if they technically had no cooldown, continuous use would put an immense burden on the body. As Zhu Zhuqing's former teammate, Tang San understood this well.
Without hesitation, he shouted to Ma Hongjun, fully aware of the risk. Engaging Zhu Zhuqing, a high level agility type soul master, in close combat was dangerous, but there was no other option. Look at their team composition: Tai Long, Dai Mubai, Xiao Wu, and himself pure close combat fighters. He had to take a gamble. He believed that with his Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, he could briefly hold Zhu Zhuqing at bay.
Moreover, only in close quarters combat would his soul skills have a chance to land. He didn't need multiple hits, just one. If he could trap her even once, despite her higher level, her relatively fragile agility type body wouldn't withstand a full force attack from all of them.
Hearing Tang San's command, Ma Hongjun didn't hesitate. He unleashed a torrent of flames, rapidly restricting Zhu Zhuqing's movement range. Of course, he controlled the spread carefully, avoiding the area where Dugu Yan and the others were spectating. One Zhu Zhuqing was already hard enough to deal with if they dragged the other three in, he couldn't even imagine what would happen.
At the same time, Tang San used his Blue Silver Grass to reposition Xiao Wu near Ning Rongrong. She had already expended too much energy and wasn't fit for direct combat. Protecting Ning Rongrong was her priority.
Tang San stopped holding back his soul skills. The one he needed to conceal was his fourth soul skill there was no reason to hide the first three from Zhu Zhuqing, who already knew them well. He alternated between his first and third soul skills, combining them with Ma Hongjun's aerial fire attacks to try and suppress Zhu Zhuqing's advance.
But it was useless.
To Zhu Zhuqing, his Blue Silver Bind wasn't even worth dodging. A simple step forward would snap it apart. His Spider Web Restraint? She could shred it with a casual swipe of her claws. As for his second soul skill, the spores withered upon contact with the faint black mist surrounding her, rendering his Parasite ability completely ineffective only draining his soul power for nothing.
Seeing Zhu Zhuqing weaving through the fire and steadily closing in, Tang San stopped using his skills.
"Rongrong, buff Tai Long! Mubai, go all out and pin her down! I need an opening if I land my fourth soul skill, we'll finish her off immediately!"
A ruthless glint flashed in his eyes. If he had known this would happen, he would have secretly laced Dai Mubai's claws with poison. But now, with so many eyes watching, he had to abandon that idea.
Ning Rongrong hesitated for a moment, but her Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda shone as she granted Tai Long his buffs. It was her duty she couldn't refuse.
Tang San didn't waste another second. Alongside Dai Mubai and Tai Long, he charged forward, forming a fan shaped assault formation.
Zhu Zhuqing, however, merely blinked before surging forward at even greater speed.
From her perspective, Ma Hongjun's flames posed the biggest threat. But now, they were willingly throwing themselves at her, helping her close the distance while also blocking Ma Hongjun's aerial fire attacks. This was perfect.
Besides, she hadn't attacked yet for another reason her cooldown was nearly over. And now, they were rushing straight into her range. What were they thinking?
Tang San's poor judgment she could understand. But Dai Mubai? Did he really not remember the Zhu Clan's skill mechanics?
Even more amusing was that they had completely left their backline exposed.
Right before the clash, Zhu Zhuqing's fourth soul ring lit up. Three identical clones of herself emerged beside her.
Simultaneously, all three clones' second soul rings glowed. Using the momentum of her charge, she pushed off the ground, launching into the air while spinning at high speed. The claws of her frontmost clone shimmered with an eerie glow, forming a web of razor sharp slashes aimed at the three men.
She had used her fourth soul skill's clones to execute Nether Hundred Claws.
Meanwhile, taking advantage of the opening created by her clones' assault, she made a nimble leap her wings carrying her over the three frontline fighters, turning into a streak of darkness as she shot towards the defenseless Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong.
As for Ma Hongjun? As a high burst fighter, he had already depleted most of his soul power by covering the arena in flames.
Even if he had energy left, would he dare to launch an attack toward Ning Rongrong and Xiao Wu?
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