The mission for Qiu Ruoshui and Shen Liuyu was to protect the back row, but Zhu Zhuqing's speed was simply too fast. Under the effects of the buffs, her figure flashed through the gaps in their attacks like a ghost.
"Such incredible speed!" Shui Bing'er and her team were utterly stunned. They had seen agility-type Spirit Masters before, but never one this fast.
As Zhu Zhuqing's Nether Claw rushed toward Xue Wu, Shui Bing'er reacted instantly. "Ice Seal!"
Her first spirit ring shone, and a beam of light froze Zhu Zhuqing in place. Three Tianshui members immediately rushed the frozen figure, intending to eliminate the powerful assassin and gain an early advantage. It was at that moment, however, that they saw two more figures advancing on them from Shrek's side: Xiao Wu, Dai Mubai, and… another Zhu Zhuqing.
"There's another one?!" Shui Bing'er's heart sank. "It's a clone! The frozen one was bait to draw our attacks!"
As the real attackers closed in, Shui Yue'er released her third Spirit Ability. "Repel Ice Ring!"
A halo of icy air spread out, pushing Dai Mubai back. But Xiao Wu and the real Zhu Zhuqing flashed past the ring, using displacement skills to evade the attack completely. At the same time, Shui Yue'er and Gu Qingbo, Tianshui's own agility-types, broke away from the main group and raced towards the rear of Shrek's formation. Their target was Ye Yin. Though he hadn't made a move yet, they knew he was always the biggest threat.
Seeing Shrek's rich combat experience, Shui Bing'er quickly retreated to protect Xue Wu. It was then that Xue Wu began to act. Her four spirit rings flashed in succession as she began to dance amidst the swirling ice and snow. As she danced, the weather on the Douhun Stage began to change.
Large patches of snowflakes appeared out of thin air, accompanied by bone-chilling winds that instantly swept across more than half of the arena. Gale winds howled, snowflakes danced wildly, and visibility dropped to near zero. The biting cold not only drastically lowered the temperature but also carried slowing and frostbite effects.
The Shrek team instantly felt as if they were trapped in a quagmire. Their movements became sluggish, and their spirit power circulation was eroded by the cold.
"Such powerful group control!" Dai Mubai's expression changed slightly as he activated his White Tiger Barrier to resist the onslaught of the blizzard.
Though Xue Wu was a support-type, her abilities were far from simple buffs. Ma Hongjun felt the effects the worst; his fire attribute was severely suppressed by the extremely cold environment, and the flames burning around his body dimmed significantly.
"Damn it! This fatty's freezing to death!" he cursed.
Xiao Wu moved through the wind and snow with agile footwork, but her speed was also greatly restricted. Zhu Zhuqing's figure flickered in and out of sight, her speed advantage almost completely nullified by the storm.
"Fatty! Clear the area!" Ye Yin's voice cut through the howling wind, still calm and clear.
"Watch this!" Ma Hongjun roared, forcefully activating his spirit power as his three spirit rings shone at once. "Phoenix Fire Wire!"
He unleashed his strongest flames, attempting to melt the ice and snow and dispel the blizzard. However, against the extreme cold controlled by Xue Wu, his attack was like a drop in the ocean. It only melted a small area in front of him, which was quickly covered again by the relentless snow. The elemental suppression was too powerful.
A small smile touched Shui Bing'er's lips. Everything was going according to plan. With the ice and snow blocking everyone's vision, she wondered how Ye Yin would cast his infamous curses now.
And just at that moment, the frozen figure of Zhu Zhuqing—the one everyone had assumed was a clone—moved.
Crack!
She shattered the ice seal with a bang, and her figure shot out, targeting the two most crucial members of the Tianshui team: Xue Wu and Shui Bing'er. At that moment, the other five members of the Tianshui team were all entangled in combat. Even if they wanted to return to help, it was already too late.
Everyone thought the clone was the bait, but in reality, the main body was the bait. It was a plot within a plot.
"Fourth Spirit Ability, Netherworld Shadow!"
"First Spirit Ability, Hell Rush Stab!"
"Second Spirit Ability, Nether Claw!"
Zhu Zhuqing transformed into a black streak and charged forward.
"What?!" Shui Bing'er's calm face finally showed a flicker of shock. The Zhu Zhuqing they had treated as bait was the real hook. She had been completely deceived. Shrek's goal had never changed; the initial assault was the true objective, and the follow-up attack was just a feint to hide their real plan.
"What a brilliant plan, Shrek Academy!" she thought, her mind racing. "Second Spirit Ability, Ice Armor!"
A crystalline frost armor enveloped Shui Bing'er's body, and she actively shielded Xue Wu from the attack. Xue Wu's blizzard absolutely could not be interrupted. It was the foundation for their ultimate move, their Martial Soul Fusion Skill, which was not an instant cast.
Zhu Zhuqing's claw landed on Shui Bing'er's body, but the slippery Ice Armor deflected most of the force.
"Repel Ice Ring!" Shui Bing'er cast her third Spirit Ability again. An ice-blue halo forcefully pushed Zhu Zhuqing away. This time, they were too close for Zhu Zhuqing to evade.
Having bought the crucial seconds they needed, Shui Bing'er felt the preparation for their fusion skill was complete. Her figure quickly retreated towards Xue Wu, and the two transformed into a dazzling, blue-white pillar of light that shot into the dark clouds above. Their bodies disappeared, completely merging as their Martial Soul Fusion Skill finally erupted.
A spirit power fluctuation far more vast and colder than anything before instantly enveloped the entire arena. The dark clouds in the sky spun, gathered, and descended wildly. A biting cold wind roared as if it had come from the deepest abyss of the far north, whirling up a sky full of heavy snow. The temperature on the stage plummeted far below freezing, and the frost on the ground condensed into a thick layer of solid ice.
Then, under the low-hanging dark clouds, a gigantic ice crystal phoenix, with a wingspan exceeding seven meters and condensed completely from the extreme cold and the raging blizzard, began to take form.
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