The moment Zhu Ziyang saw the expression on Xu Jiujiu's face, he felt a sense of foreboding. Before he could react, Xu Jiujiu and the two control-type Soul Masters made their move.
Xu Jiujiu's first soul ring lit up, and a thin beam of starlight fell directly onto Zhu Ziyang. As it landed, he immediately felt as though he had been locked onto by something unseen. Sure enough, in the next second, Wang Shiying and Wang Yichen unleashed their first and third soul skills. Wang Yichen summoned a circular ring of flames beneath Zhu Ziyang's feet, while Wang Shiying sent out a gust of wind. Wind and fire merged, forming a fiery vortex that trapped Zhu Ziyang within.
Seeing this, Zhu Ziyang quickly wielded his Stillness Fate Ending Scythe, unleashing a burst of light elements to form a dense, impenetrable light wall in front of him.
But their actions were just a distraction.
The true killing move came from Xu Jiujiu.
With a gentle smile, she flicked her hand, and a beam of golden light shot into the sky, then suddenly crashed down in an unexpected location. It transformed into a golden barrier that rapidly contracted, trapping Zhu Ziyang inside before he could even move.
At the top of the golden barrier floated a radiant orb about the size of a fist, shimmering with dazzling brilliance and spinning rapidly. It had precisely one hundred and eight facets.
Zhu Ziyang's sudden entrapment sent shockwaves through both the arena and the audience.
On stage, Xu Jiujiu revealed a proud smile. So what if he was a Soul Emperor with a hundred-thousand-year soul ring? He still fell into her trap.
Without hesitation, Xu Jiujiu issued a command and activated her fourth soul skill. A burst of intense starlight surged forth, transforming into a glittering shield that enveloped the entire battlefield.
With Xu Jiujiu's order, the Star Luo team launched an even fiercer assault on the remaining six members of the Shrek team.
With her support and a tortoise-shell-like Soul Tool on his back, the Dark Demon Tiger Soul King Huang Heyun was actually able to fight Ma Xiaotao to a standstill. Ma Xiaotao's expression was grim. The starlight barrier above her severely disrupted her elemental control.
The Nether Mad Lion Soul King Dugu Shangshan, already stronger than Beibei and Xu Sanshi, now pushed the two of them into a constant retreat under Xu Jiujiu's buffs.
Chen Xiaojie, the Lightning Falcon Soul King, clashed evenly with Jiang Nannan. Though enhanced by Xu Jiujiu, his lightning attribute offered no speed advantage. In contrast, Jiang Nannan's extreme speed gradually gave her the upper hand. Xu Jiujiu's fourth soul skill suppressed everyone from Shrek — except her.
As for Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Eye was slightly restrained by the Star Crown. Under constant bombardment from the two control-type Soul Kings, they were barely able to defend themselves.
This was the Star Luo team's strategy — prioritize eliminating Shrek's others, then converge to take down Zhu Ziyang.
The situation on the battlefield was extremely unfavorable for Shrek. Off-stage, Wang Yan was filled with anxiety as he turned to He Caitou beside him.
"Caitou, what Soul Tool is that trapping Ziyang? And what about the one Huang Heyun is using?"
"That's an Absolute Defense Soul Tool — a grade seven defensive-type Soul Tool," He Caitou answered, his face also heavy. "It's a reverse-type defense Soul Tool that traps the target inside for fifteen minutes. The barrier's durability is comparable to that of a defensive Soul Douluo. To break it before time runs out, you must destroy the core at the top. But doing that requires strength on the Soul Sage level!"
"As for the Soul Tool Huang Heyun is using — it's called the Nine-Turn Conversion Instrument, a grade five Soul Tool. It can convert any attribute of soul power into a neutral attribute, allowing any Soul Master to absorb it, thereby enhancing soul power and attack potency."
Wang Yan was stunned. All his worry turned into a sigh.
"I didn't expect the Star Luo team to invest so heavily into this battle. Now, it's all up to them."
Meanwhile, inside the Absolute Defense Soul Tool, Zhu Ziyang could clearly see and sense the state of the battle outside. As soon as Xu Jiujiu's fourth soul skill appeared, he sharply noticed that the light element on the stage had begun rapidly thinning — and not just light, all elements were being suppressed.
He immediately understood what Xu Jiujiu's fourth soul skill was.
Star Guardian — a large-area defensive soul skill known for elemental exclusion and attribute isolation. Within its domain, all elemental energies were repelled or sealed away. Only those protected by Star Guardian were unaffected, and even gained 15–30% elemental resistance.
"What a powerful martial soul," Zhu Ziyang muttered. Then, he began thinking of how to break out.
His current priority was escaping the unknown barrier. He tested it with a light swing of the Stillness Fate Ending Scythe, only to see the golden shield ripple like water and then rebound the attack.
That was enough to tell him brute force wouldn't work.
His eyes moved to the spinning orb overhead. Though he didn't fully understand the Soul Tool's mechanism, his instincts told him the orb was the core. Destroy it, and he might escape.
Acting immediately, he released his third soul skill. Light shimmered around the scythe as Zhu Ziyang leapt into the air and slashed at the orb.
His strike, which used half of his power, made the orb tremble — but caused no real damage.
This gave him a rough idea of the orb's durability. Without hesitation, his sixth soul ring burst forth, releasing crimson light that dyed the entire barrier red.
Outside the invincible shield, Xu Jiujiu's heart sank.
She knew that if they couldn't finish off the others soon, Zhu Ziyang might really break out. After all, he was using a hundred-thousand-year soul skill!
"Everyone — give it your all!" Xu Jiujiu shouted. Her fifth soul ring flew out, and the Star Crown on her head burst with unprecedented brilliance. Beams of starlight rained down, freezing those caught in place.
Her fifth soul skill — Brilliant Starlight — a large-area control skill that immobilized all affected targets for one second.
This sudden eruption caught Shrek completely off guard. Aside from Ma Xiaotao in midair and the lightning-fast Jiang Nannan, everyone else was struck — Beibei, Xu Sanshi, Huo Yuhao, and Wang Dong were immediately immobilized and knocked off the stage.
Seeing four teammates eliminated in one go, Ma Xiaotao, who had been entangled by Huang Heyun, finally erupted. Despite the suppression from Star Guardian, she activated four soul skills in rapid succession — her third, fourth, fifth, and sixth — unleashing a storm of phoenix flames across the arena.
Huang Heyun was caught completely off-guard and was struck squarely by the Phoenix Azure Flame. His body slammed into the ground, blood spurting from his mouth despite the protection of Star Guardian. His face turned pale.
Having just defeated Beibei and Xu Sanshi, Dugu Shangshan relaxed slightly — only to be hit by three fire meteors from the Phoenix Meteor Shower. Fortunately, he wasn't the main target and only suffered superficial burns. He turned and went to support Chen Xiaojie against Jiang Nannan.
But the true targets of the Phoenix Meteor Shower were Xu Jiujiu, Wang Shiying, and Wang Yichen. Dozens of flaming meteors rained down on them. Xu Jiujiu was shielded by the defensive-type Soul Master Sheng Yi, who unfurled his metal wings to block the fire. But Wang Shiying and Wang Yichen had no such protection. They dodged and twisted, desperately trying to avoid the blazing onslaught.
They both forgot — Ma Xiaotao had already revealed four soul skills. The next must be her fourth one.
Just as Wang Yichen dodged several meteors and felt a rush of pride, a pillar of fire erupted beneath her feet, engulfing her entirely.
When the flames faded, Wang Yichen emerged in a miserable state. Fortunately, she had a fire-type martial soul and the added elemental resistance from Star Guardian — so her life wasn't in danger. But she was seriously wounded and unable to continue fighting.
Ma Xiaotao's outburst had injured one and repelled another — something Xu Jiujiu had not anticipated. Her confident smile slowly gave way to visible anxiety.
Then came the sound of something shattering — sharp and clear.
The Absolute Defense Soul Tool had broken.
Zhu Ziyang was free.
Xu Jiujiu's once-calm expression vanished. Gone was her smug, victorious look — replaced by panic and helplessness.
This had all happened in less than five minutes.
How could Zhu Ziyang destroy the core of a grade-seven Soul Tool so quickly?
Could a hundred-thousand-year soul skill truly be that powerful?
With Zhu Ziyang now out, the match was effectively over.
(End of Chapter)
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