The worsening situation of the Star Luo Imperial Academy team seemed to have no effect on Xu Jiujou, who stood calmly at the very back.
Her pair of azure eyes were as still as a deep lake, reflecting complete composure and a quiet confidence that seemed to say everything was under her control.
Although the battle between Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng, Chen Zifeng, and the five members of the Star Luo Imperial Academy appeared fierce, neither side had yet gone all out.
The most difficult thing to control in a team battle was the sudden, explosive cooperation that could appear out of nowhere—moments like that could completely reverse the tide.
Xu Zihuang had yet to use any of his soul skills, remaining on guard for exactly that reason—or rather, on guard against Xu Jiujou.
If the Star Luo Imperial Academy were to launch a counterattack, the one to lead it would definitely be Princess Jiujou.
As though responding to Xu Zihuang's gaze, Xu Jiujou smiled serenely. Her pale right hand slowly lifted, and a faint golden light glimmered at her fingertip before a beam of gold shot straight toward the sky.
Her fifth, black ten-thousand-year soul ring shone brilliantly.
In team battles, unless there was an overwhelming difference in overall power, the deciding factor often lay in the control-type Soul Masters of both sides.
Although Xu Jiujou was technically an auxiliary-type Battle Soul Master, within the Star Luo Imperial Academy's team, she primarily fulfilled the role of a control-type.
Xu Zihuang understood perfectly that the key to this match was suppressing Princess Jiujou.
His gaze hardened, and he instantly activated his second soul skill to counter her. He hadn't expected that the princess would so decisively unleash her only ten-thousand-year soul skill without hesitation.
But to his surprise, under the influence of that golden light, his spiritual power could no longer lock onto Xu Jiujou at all.
He had wanted to use his third soul skill, Time Distortion, but that required a brief moment to activate, so he instead attempted to control the other members of the Star Luo Imperial Academy.
However, at that very moment, the golden light at Xu Jiujou's fingertip suddenly condensed near the top of the soul barrier dome above the arena. It transformed into a dazzling golden star, then erupted with a brilliant, radiant glow.
The intense golden light was blinding yet not harsh—its brilliance felt strangely soft, like a mist that enveloped the entire stage in a hazy shroud.
Under this veil of gold, even Xu Zihuang's spiritual power could no longer lock onto anyone from the Star Luo Imperial Academy. Within this golden fog, all spiritual power and perception were completely severed—even the five senses were dulled.
"A domain-type soul skill?"
A trace of shock and wariness appeared in Xu Zihuang's eyes. Xu Jiujou's soul skill reminded him of the time he faced the Dark Devilgod Tiger in the Star Dou Forest.
When that creature launched its final desperate counterattack, it had used a similar kind of domain.
Xu Zihuang's guess was correct—Xu Jiujou's fifth soul skill was called Star Domain.
Just as the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had its inherited amplification skill, the Star Crown Clan, ancestors of the royal Xu family of the Star Luo Empire, had developed this domain skill over ten thousand years of refinement and passed it down through the ages.
Many powerful clans with deep foundations had such inherited skills. For instance, every direct descendant of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan with that martial soul shared the same three foundational soul skills, each optimized for their martial soul's characteristics.
The White Tiger Duke's lineage of the Star Luo Empire was the same—their White Tiger martial soul shared certain inherited skills as well.
These were results of generations of research to discover the most suitable skills for their martial souls.
However, for Xu Jiujou to possess such a domain skill at her fifth ring was truly extraordinary. Such a field-type soul skill wasn't something just anyone could inherit. Even her elder brother, Emperor Xu Jiawei, renowned as the greatest cultivation genius of the royal family in three centuries, had only acquired this soul skill at the sixtieth rank.
And among their generation, only the two royal siblings possessed this ability.
On the imperial city wall, Emperor Xu Jiawei revealed a faint smile.
"Our Star Crown bloodline's Star Domain hasn't appeared on the continent for countless years. The Soul Master world has likely forgotten this domain that can isolate spiritual power and perception. Both Star Domain and Star Guardian are nemeses of spiritual and Ultimate-attribute Soul Masters."
Within their Star Crown lineage, two particularly powerful soul skills had been passed down through generations:
One was this perception-blocking domain, Star Domain, and the other was a range-type defensive soul skill called Star Guardian, capable of isolating all attributes.
A gleam of expectation flickered in Xu Jiawei's deep eyes.
"I hope you'll surprise me even more, Jiujou."
While the emperor smiled faintly, the spectators were far less pleased.
The entire arena was now engulfed in golden mist—no one could see what was happening inside.
In the waiting area, Wang Yan suddenly stood from his seat, his brows furrowed tightly.
"A domain?"
This was the first time a domain-type soul skill had appeared in this entire Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. The power of domains was beyond question—they were the kind of soul skills every Soul Master dreamed of obtaining.
Even someone as powerful as Ma Xiaotao did not possess such a skill.
Golden mist coiled around Xu Zihuang's body, cutting off his five senses and making him feel as if he were drifting in a void. He hadn't expected Princess Jiujou to have hidden her strength so deeply. In his past-life memories, this princess had never shown such a domain-type soul skill.
If things continued like this, it was indeed possible that Shrek Academy could be defeated one by one.
In the past, without exposing his second martial soul's destructive and annihilation attributes, or using his awakened body martial soul, he truly would have been helpless in this situation.
But ever since fusing with the Thunder Prison Vine Right Leg Bone, everything had changed.
Following his will, a streak of violet-gold lightning suddenly flickered within the golden domain, and a strange wave of soul power spread outward from Xu Zihuang's right leg.
On the imperial wall, Emperor Xu Jiawei's pupils contracted sharply.
With his cultivation, he immediately sensed the violet-gold light flashing within the domain.
Almost at the same time, a deep, rumbling thunder shook the sky.
Dark clouds gathered, and heaven and earth dimmed as the winds howled violently.
In an instant, thunderbolts danced across the sky—striking again and again upon the barrier protecting the arena, sending ripples across its surface.
And the range of this terrifying lightning storm was still expanding.
Many spectators in Star Luo Square screamed in fear.
Even the contestants from the various academies felt chills at the destructive might of that lightning, let alone the ordinary citizens.
If not for the tens of thousands of soldiers maintaining order, chaos would have erupted.
"Silence!"
At Emperor Xu Jiawei's signal, Heavenfiend Douluo Huang Jinshu flared his soul power and shouted.
He shot into the sky as a streak of golden light, joined by the other three Guardian Douluo of the Star Luo Empire.
The four Titled Douluo released their soul power together, and only then did the raging heavens finally begin to calm—though the sky remained dark and heavy.
Within the arena, black-violet spheres of lightning began forming in midair and rising from the ground—each pulsing with an aura of utter destruction.
The golden mist of the Star Domain dimmed and collapsed before the overwhelming might of the lightning, retreating rapidly to the arena's edge.
In its place spread a world of black and violet.
The figures of both the Shrek and Star Luo Academy members became visible once more.
Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng, and Chen Zifeng didn't dare use their most destructive skills immediately. Instead, they shielded themselves with soul power—without clear perception, friendly fire was too great a risk.
By contrast, Beibei and Xu Sanshi were far less fortunate. Both had suffered serious internal injuries and even fainted before being rescued from the field by Mighty Strength Douluo Cheng Gang.
Gongyang Mo managed to avoid injury by ascending higher into the air in time, though Chen Xiaojie, who also had flight ability, was already closing in on him rapidly.
Cheng Gang's pupils turned pure black, without any whites, splitting into countless tiny lenses. This was the innate ability of his Ant Emperor Martial Soul, granting extraordinary perception—enough to sense everything within Xu Jiujou's Star Domain.
This was precisely why Emperor Xu Jiawei had appointed Cheng Gang as referee today.
At that moment, Huang Heyun and Dugu Shangshan appeared where Beibei and Xu Sanshi had fallen earlier, charging toward Xu Zihuang.
The injuries of the two Shrek students were clearly caused by them.
In fact, this had been Xu Jiujou's plan from the start—to use Star Domain to swiftly eliminate the weaker members like Beibei, Xu Sanshi, and the auxiliary Soul Master Gongyang Mo, reducing the enemy's numbers first.
Then, they would focus their entire team's power on Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng, Chen Zifeng, and Xu Zihuang.
Her fifth soul skill, Star Domain, was powerful beyond measure, and within it her other soul skills were greatly enhanced.
But the downside was the immense drain on her soul power—she couldn't sustain it for long.
Now that her domain had been shattered, disbelief filled the eyes of every Star Luo Academy member.
"How is that possible?!"
That question echoed in everyone's mind.
Standing at the edge of the arena, Xu Jiujou's face had turned pale, her gaze locked on Xu Zihuang.
She knew of Yu Tianhuang's fusion with the Thunder Prison Vine's right leg bone.
But Yu Tianhuang was only at the Soul Ancestor level—how could he possibly wield the Thunder Hell soul skill that came with that soul bone to such power?
How could he so effortlessly crush her domain?
What she didn't know was that Xu Zihuang's total soul power actually exceeded hers.
By channeling all his strength into the six-thousand-year soul bone—and with it being a top-tier one from the Thunder Prison Vine—this level of might was perfectly reasonable.
The newly gained soul skill of his Thunder Prison Vine Right Leg Bone—Thunder Hell—had now been unleashed in full.
"Boom—!"
Under Xu Zihuang's control, the first lightning sphere detonated.
Chen Xiaojie sensed danger and tried to quickly finish off Gongyang Mo, the auxiliary Soul Master.
His Lightning Falcon martial soul granted him incredible speed—but against Xu Zihuang, who possessed the dynamic vision innate to his martial soul, that advantage meant nothing.
The timing and placement of the first explosion were perfect.
When the sphere burst, it felt as if the air itself splattered—though what spread through the air wasn't liquid, but plasma—lightning turned to molten energy.
Chen Xiaojie screamed as the plasma enveloped him. His entire body went numb before his flesh began blackening visibly.
After all, his martial soul was of the lightning attribute too.
Cheng Gang frowned and quickly swept his hand to pull Chen Xiaojie to safety.
But the instant his palm touched the black-violet plasma, his expression changed—it crawled along his skin like a living thing, seeping toward his body.
He immediately released a surge of soul power to repel it, forcing the plasma out of his palm.
Even so, his hand still tingled with numb pain.
All things possess yin and yang—even lightning is no exception.
This lightning-plasma possessed the properties of Yin Thunder—silent, corrosive, invasive, bone-piercing—yet equally devastating in its destructive might.
One after another, the black-violet orbs exploded. The plasma flowed together, forming rivers of molten thunder.
The arena had turned into a Hell of Lightning—dense plasma dripping like magma from above, fusing heaven and earth into one vast thunder pool.
Gongyang Mo's face was pale with shock. He beat his seven-colored wings desperately, evading the falling plasma. Fortunately, within Xu Zihuang's precise control, the lightning near him was sparser.
Xu Zihuang raised his right hand—black-violet plasma dripped from his fingertips as his cold gaze swept toward Huang Heyun and Dugu Shangshan, making both shiver.
Was this truly something a mere Soul Ancestor could unleash?
Suddenly, a clear phoenix cry split the air.
Ma Xiaotao swooped down toward Huang Heyun and Dugu Shangshan, her eyes icy cold.
Beibei and Xu Sanshi's injuries were entirely due to her negligence as team captain—and it had taken Yu Tianhuang to break this stalemate. Her fury burned like her flames.
Flying nearly parallel to the ground, she propelled herself forward on twin jets of fire from her legs, aided by her two leg soul bones. In the blink of an eye, she was upon Huang Heyun and Dugu Shangshan.
The Star Luo Academy members had no time to rescue their comrades—they were themselves entangled by Dai Yueheng and Chen Zifeng's attacks.
Though not as visibly enraged as Ma Xiaotao, the dark expressions on their faces spoke volumes.
Wang Shiying and Yi Chen, the two control-type Soul Masters of the Star Luo team, were not suited for close combat. Without their front-line powerhouses, how could they possibly withstand two assault-type Soul Masters as fierce as Dai Yueheng and Chen Zifeng?
The team's only defense-type member, Sheng Yi, whose martial soul was the Giant-Winged Condor, released his second and fourth soul rings simultaneously.
His enormous wings turned iron-gray and shone with metallic light as he spread them wide, shielding Xu Jiujou from the falling black-violet plasma.
The Star Crown martial soul was powerful, but it offered little physical enhancement.
Though Xu Jiujou possessed strong auxiliary and even offensive capabilities, her body remained relatively fragile and required constant protection.
Despite Sheng Yi's defense, some of the plasma still seeped through, corroding his body from within and making him tremble.
Even with his tremendous endurance, he could barely withstand it.
In this state, he had no strength left to aid his teammates.
Meanwhile, Xu Jiujou, whose domain had been shattered, was gasping for breath from the severe drain on her soul power.
Behind them, Wang Shiying and Yi Chen—the twin controllers of wind and fire—were also forced off the field by the referee, Mighty Strength Douluo Cheng Gang, after nearly being incinerated.
Huang Heyun and Dugu Shangshan, though both unleashed their strongest fifth soul skills, were no match for the berserk Ma Xiaotao without Xu Jiujou's support.
"Boom—!"
A thunderous explosion echoed as half the arena was engulfed in golden-red fire.
From the stands, spectators saw two figures blasted skyward within a pillar of flame—only to be caught by the referee once again.
The golden-red flames and the black-violet plasma intertwined across the arena like a cataclysm descending upon the world.
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