At this moment, Dugu Yan suddenly recalled her grandfather's warning.
Although poison-type soul masters are feared, they have many weaknesses, especially against fire and lightning-type soul masters, who have their own methods to resist toxins—high temperatures can deactivate poisons, and electricity can stimulate the body to expel toxins.
"First Soul Skill: Xuan Turtle Shield! *2"
In the distance, the brothers Shi Mo and Shi Yan immediately used their soul skills after Yu Feng helped create a safe space. A turtle shell shield appeared in their hands, with extremely sharp edges, and they aimed it at Xu Yang, who was already engaged in battle with Yu Tianheng, and threw it directly.
"First Soul Skill: Ghost Shadow Thrust!"
At the same time, Ao Si Luo activated his soul skill, transforming into a bolt of black lightning that charged toward Xu Yang.
The timing of the three was excellent; this was the perfect moment when Xu Yang was too preoccupied to defend himself against their attacks.
The massive shield traced two beautiful arcs in the air as it approached Xu Yang from both sides.
Ao Si Luo rushed up behind Xu Yang, his glistening claws poised to strike at Xu Yang's waist. Yu Feng flew above Xu Yang, his wings shimmering coldly as he prepared his first soul skill: Wing Blade.
With a flap of his wings, several wind blades descended from the sky, blocking Xu Yang's last escape route.
The five-person siege left Xu Yang with no way to escape; he could only brace himself for the incoming attacks.
"You are definitely going to lose this time! Xu Yang!"
"Second Soul Skill: Thunderbolt!"
To be safe, Yu Tianheng activated his second soul skill. The lightning that surrounded him instantly expanded with a crackling sound, penetrating the distance between them in an instant. As long as the thunder struck Xu Yang, it would paralyze him for a moment, allowing the other four to finish the battle in an instant.
"You really never learn! Do you think this can defeat me?"
"Second Soul Skill: Split!"
"Solar Fire Line!"
"Flame Barrier!"
Facing the onslaught from everyone, Xu Yang showed no signs of panic. With his Split soul skill and distraction control, he was least afraid of group attacks. With a thought, he communicated with his Solar Martial Spirit; his purple soul ring shone brightly as it instantly split into eight small Solar Martial Spirits.
These six small Solar Martial Spirits appeared around Xu Yang—one on each side and two in other directions—shimmering with golden light as they continuously gathered soul power.
In the next moment, two straight fire lines shot out from either side, piercing through the incoming Xuan Turtle Shield and causing it to dissipate into soul power in the air.
Simultaneously, the six Solar Martial Spirits in front, behind, and above Xu Yang unleashed their accumulated soul power in an explosive manner. They connected in pairs, and golden flames spread out instantly to form three flame barriers that protected Xu Yang within them.
As Ao Si Luo's sharp claws made contact with the flame barrier, he felt a stinging pain surge from his fingertips. Looking closely, he realized that his extended claws had already vaporized. Terrified, he forcefully altered his thrust direction and flew past Xu Yang.
Meanwhile, Yu Feng's wind blades hadn't even reached the barrier before they were dispersed by the rising hot air created by the flames. The upward airflow caused him to become unstable mid-air and completely ignore Yu Tianheng below him.
The worst off was Yu Tianheng himself; being closest to Xu Yang meant that the raging thunder could not break through the flame barrier's defense. Instead, he felt extremely uncomfortable due to the high temperature of the flame barrier.
"And you thought too much about winning against me and forgot I have another teammate!"
"Not good! Ao Si Luo save Lingling."
Originally planning to use lightning to distract Xu Yang, Yu Tianheng's expression changed dramatically as he shouted loudly at Ao Si Luo while turning to look at Ye Lingling's direction. Unfortunately, it was too late; Dugu Yan had already reached her side and used her long snake tail to bind Ye Lingling before violently throwing her off the stage.
Ao Si Luo had intended to rush toward Ye Lingling but froze upon seeing Dugu Yan's cold snake eyes. He instinctively shivered and halted his steps; he did not want to experience Dugu Yan's terrifying poison—it felt too unbearable.
"You are still too naive; how could you be distracted when facing me?"
The moment Yu Tianheng turned around, Xu Yang smiled. The flame barrier before him dissipated instantly as he concentrated soul power into his fist and smashed it toward Yu Tianheng. Yu Tianheng felt a tremendous force surge from his chest as if a bomb exploded within him; overwhelming soul power erupted from his chest cavity, shaking him violently and causing his soul power to collapse. His body flew backward uncontrollably.
He attempted to stabilize himself mid-air using soul power but found that his internal soul power had already collapsed from that previous strike. Now he couldn't gather any energy at all and could only watch helplessly as he fell outside of the arena.
After defeating Yu Tianheng, Xu Yang's assault did not end; instead, he unleashed what little remaining soul power he had left and charged toward Yu Feng in mid-air without pausing for breath.
"Get down here!"
Xu Yang roared as four small suns followed him into battle against Yu Feng. The suns encircled Yu Feng tightly while leaving only one side exposed toward Xu Yang without any protection.
As a speed-type soul master, Yu Feng's advantage lay in his speed; however, his relative weakness in strength became a disadvantage when facing Xu Yang—a powerful attack-type soul master—leaving him no chance of winning.
"Bang! Bang!"
With just two punches from Xu Yang, Yu Feng fell beside Yu Tianheng.
In just a few breaths' time, only four people remained on stage: Xu Yang, Dugu Yan, Shi Mo, and Shi Yan.
Xu Yang landed steadily on the arena and turned to look at Shi Mo and Shi Yan with a smile. "Now it's just the two of you left; do you want to continue?!"
Dugu Yan's icy gaze radiated red and blue poisonous mist around her body; her meaning was clear—if they didn't want to be poisoned, they should surrender obediently.
Shi Mo and Shi Yan were both defense-type soul masters with incredible defensive capabilities but were large in size and relatively slow. They had no means of avoiding toxins; facing Dugu Yan left them essentially powerless.
"Uh... Sister Yan, we admit defeat!"
The brothers Shi Mo and Shi Yan raised their hands sincerely with smiles on their faces as they chose to surrender.
"You scared me! I thought we were going to keep fighting; my soul power is already exhausted!"
Xu Yang relaxed instantly after hearing this; after all this fighting against several opponents of similar rank had pushed him to his limits. He had expended all his energy during those two strikes against Yu Feng earlier.
Talking to Shi Mo and Shi Yan was just an act of bravado; if they hadn't surrendered, he would have had no choice but to leave things up to Dugu Yan afterward.
(End of Chapter)