"Or perhaps these seven have something special about them!" Bibi Dong grasped the key point.
"Your Holiness, please watch the match patiently," Ning Fengzhi said calmly.
Bibi Dong's eyes turned icy as she glared fiercely at Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo beside her.
A mistake!
This was your mistake!
And Salas's mistake too!
You didn't even verify who exactly was competing from Gem Academy?
Gem Academy's trump card wasn't Dugu Feng, but these seven other Soul Masters.
What's so special about these seven?
Bibi Dong's mind rapidly flashed through the information on these competing Soul Masters.
She found the details pitifully scarce—only their Martial Souls and ranks.
Yet even so, Bibi Dong keenly noticed something.
All seven of them actually possessed Gem Spirits.
Among them, Ning Rongrong's Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, strictly speaking, was also a Gem Spirit.
"Could it be a Martial Soul Fusion Skill? To bench powerhouses like Dugu Feng and Dugu She, and instead field two Soul Experts—the only explanation is a Martial Soul Fusion Skill!"
Bibi Dong's expression darkened with uncertainty.
Meanwhile, on the Soul Duel Arena, Xie Yue and Hu Liena were equally shocked.
They had expected to face Dugu Feng, only to encounter these seven Gem Spirit Soul Masters.
They certainly didn't think this was a good sign.
The opponent's elaborate scheme made their intentions clear—they had concealed their strength to catch them off guard.
"Proceed as planned!"
Xie Yue barked coldly.
Drawing on his experience, he instantly decided that no matter the opponent's goal, they should stick to their original strategy. Now wasn't the time to lose composure.
He would crush them with overwhelming force.
"Release your Martial Souls!"
As the referee gave the order,
the seven from Gem Academy quickly gathered together.
With Ning Rongrong at the center, the other six formed a hexagon and unleashed their Martial Souls.
The Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, along with various gemstones—round, rhombic, triangular, teardrop-shaped—burst forth in a rainbow of colors.
The dazzling radiance completely enveloped all seven of them.
By now, everyone understood that these seven were undoubtedly preparing to execute some special technique, most likely a Martial Soul Fusion Skill.
After all, a two-person Martial Soul Fusion Skill could already bridge an entire realm in battle. What about seven?
The spectators didn't dare blink, their eyes fixed intently on Ning Rongrong and her team.
"Begin the match!"
The moment the referee spoke,
Ning Rongrong immediately raised her Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, her third and fourth Spirit Rings flashing continuously.
Six streams of amplifying energy split off, each flowing into one of her six teammates.
Simultaneously, a nine-colored beam erupted from Ning Rongrong's head, shooting skyward until it halted over thirty meters in the air.
The other six performed identical actions, activating the same Soul Skill—each releasing their own soaring beam of light.
In the next instant, the seven colored rays merged, coalescing into a massive mirage-like spectacle.
And at precisely that moment,
a red mist enveloped the arena as well—Hu Liena and Xie Yue's Martial Soul Fusion Skill had also been completed.
Once the match began, neither side could afford even a moment's hesitation.
The two sides were like needle against awl, each revealing their trump cards.
The mirage-like seven-colored light pillar collided with the red mist.
Yet, the Soul Skills from both sides seemed to lack any destructive power, instead creating a scene where each was intertwined with the other.
Two area-of-effect Soul Skills appeared simultaneously on the arena.
The dazzling radiance on the stage was somewhat disorienting—both sides had unleashed Soul Skills related to mental power.
Even those outside the arena were drawn to this brilliance.
Let alone the fourteen students on the stage.
The members of Gem Academy remained motionless. Though the red mist enveloped them, depriving them of their five senses and hindering their movement, they no longer needed to act at this point.
The Seven Shura Illusion Realm had already been fully deployed. The seven-colored light protected their minds, preventing them from losing themselves.
As for the other effect of the Alluring Demon—suppressing Soul Power by fifty percent—it was even more useless now.
Because their Soul Power had already been exhausted. All of it had been converted into mental energy through the Illusion Control skill, merging into the Seven Shura Illusion Realm.
If their Seven Shura Illusion Realm couldn't overcome the opponent, they would have no choice but to admit defeat.
But they firmly believed that the Seven Shura Illusion Realm, honed through rigorous training, would surely achieve success.
Ning Rongrong's talent was exceptional. After practicing repeatedly with Zhang Jingyang and the others, she had mastered this Seven-in-One Fusion Skill with ease.
Moreover, because she wielded the power of enhancement and possessed the highest Soul Power among them at level 43, she naturally became the core of the team.
She was the one controlling the Seven Shura Illusion Realm.
Now, eighty percent of the illusion's power was focused on Xie Yue and Hu Liena.
She noticed that the remaining five Soul Ancestors had already fallen completely under the influence of the Seven Shura Illusion Realm after it enveloped them.
Only Xie Yue and Hu Liena were still struggling.
Her heart leaped into her throat—could she really control them?
Xie Yue and Hu Liena had merged into one, forming a strange, androgynous figure with long, flowing hair.
In his hand was a Moon Blade, enlarged to twice its original size, indicating that Xie Yue was the one controlling this Martial Soul Fusion Skill.
The Soul Power he could wield had also reached the level of a Soul Emperor.
But at this moment, he wasn't attacking.
He was enduring the mental erosion of the Seven Shura Illusion Realm.
And so was Hu Liena.
Though their Martial Souls had merged, their minds remained independent.
Both could still perceive the outside world.
The illusion instantly plunged them into their most painful memories.
Both had lost their parents at a young age. Before their Spirit Awakening, they had inevitably faced discrimination and bullying, suffering greatly.
Only after their Spirit Awakening, when they were taken in and raised by the Spirit Hall, did they attain the strength of the Golden Generation today.
After so long, they had nearly forgotten those childhood memories.
Yet now, those memories resurfaced with startling clarity.
A sense of time's relentless passage washed over their minds.
They lingered in the illusion for a moment before breaking free.
They knew full well this was an illusion—they were no longer those discriminated-against, parentless orphans.
They were the proud and exceptionally talented Golden Generation of the Spirit Hall.
But then the scene shifted again.
Hu Liena's body trembled as she felt her life force draining away, her Soul Bone slipping from her grasp.
It was that dark underground.
Eerie laughter echoed around her.
"My External Soul Bone, mine—you can't do this!"
"My Fox Tail..."
"Ahahaha, yours, yours is mine."
The cruel, cold laughter left Hu Liena in despair.
"Why? Why must you steal my External Soul Bone!
I need the External Soul Bone to cultivate into a Titled Douluo, to serve the Spirit Hall, to serve my teacher. You... can't..."
Her entire body trembled as excruciating pain flooded through her.
Blood was draining away, even her soul being sucked out.
This time, Hu Liena couldn't escape.
She was trapped!
(End of Chapter)