This time, the one picking up the team member was the team captain, Ma Xiaotao.
Jiang Nannan's foundation and physical condition were clearly not on par with Xu Sanshi and Beibei, who possessed powerful martial souls and came from prominent families. Similarly afflicted by the poison of the Vermilion Clear Ice Toad, Jiang Nannan's entire body had turned snow-white, and even her vital signs were beginning to weaken.
Thanks to Wang Yan's earlier reminder, Ma Xiaotao didn't dare to recklessly inject her domineering fire-attribute soul power from her Evil Fire Phoenix martial soul into Jiang Nannan's body. Instead, she carefully placed Jiang Nannan on the wide, soft sofa in the waiting area.
Elder Xuan, as he had done with Xu Sanshi and Beibei, used his immense soul power to suppress the spread of the Vermilion Clear Ice Toad's poison within Jiang Nannan's body.
At this moment, everyone's expressions were somewhat grim.
Meng Hongchen could be said to have defeated three members of Shrek Academy without shedding a drop of blood. In this All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament, this was a first.
The audience in Star Luo Square was also buzzing with astonishment, whispering among themselves.
This was Shrek Academy, the continent's number one academy! Yet, a reserve team member from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, who appeared to be less than fifteen years old, had consecutively defeated three of their members. Not only was this unprecedented in this tournament, but it had never happened in any previous tournaments either.
At that moment, Wang Yan's exclamation drew the attention of everyone from Shrek Academy.
"What?! Tianhuang, how confident are you?" He stared intently at Xu Zihuang.
Xu Zihuang gave a calm smile.
"Absolutely certain."
Wang Yan's expression froze for a moment, but his serious demeanor softened considerably.
This wasn't the first time he had heard Yu Tianhuang say those words. The last time Yu Tianhuang claimed absolute certainty was the night before the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament began. True to his word, he had single-handedly crushed Qianling Academy, which had a Soul King in their ranks, with overwhelming thunderous might.
Yu Tianhuang's unparalleled talent and formidable personal strength were certainly reasons for Wang Yan's trust, but what truly convinced him was Yu Tianhuang's unshakable belief in victory.
Who would dare to claim absolute certainty of winning? Even someone as terrifyingly powerful as Ma Xiaotao probably wouldn't dare to say such a thing.
This was the confidence born from a lifetime of unmatched talent and dominating strength among his peers.
Though Yu Tianhuang's tone was devoid of any fluctuation, it carried an almost magical conviction that inspired belief.
Ning Tian had been silently watching Xu Zihuang, her eyes shimmering with admiration. From the beginning, her interest in Yu Tianhuang was indeed due to his talent and strength. However, after more than a year of interaction, she had unknowingly fallen for him.
Yu Tianhuang seemed to possess every virtue: talent, strength, appearance, personality, and demeanor, all of which were exceptional. But what attracted her most was his calm, commanding confidence that seemed to look down upon all others.
He almost perfectly fulfilled every fantasy she had about a partner. Young girls are often full of romantic dreams—how could such a flawless, outstanding young man not captivate her? Because of this, when Yu Tianhuang openly expressed his feelings through his actions, her first reaction was a sense of surreal disbelief.
Unbeknownst to Ning Tian, Wang Dong, sitting not far from her, had a similar emotion flickering in his pink-blue eyes.
Even Ma Xiaotao's heart was slightly stirred before she snapped back to reality, patting her ample chest.
"Alright, I'm counting on you. How could our Shrek Academy's reserve team be suppressed by a reserve team from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy? Go crush that little girl, or they'll think Shrek Academy has no one left!"
As the team captain, seeing Xu Sanshi and the others defeated by poison left her feeling incredibly frustrated, itching to jump into the fray herself. Unfortunately, the order of appearance had already been set and could not be changed.
Nearby, Dai Yueheng, Chen Zifeng, and Gong Yangmo's mouths twitched slightly.
This Flame Maniac was as ferocious as ever.
Xu Zihuang glanced around at everyone and nodded solemnly.
As he stepped onto the competition stage, Meng Hongchen was looking toward her team's waiting area, where her team's teacher, Elder Ma, and Xiao Hongchen were signaling to her with a few gestures.
She nodded subtly in understanding, then turned to see Xu Zihuang standing at the other end of the stage, facing her from afar.
As Elder Ma, the Sun Moon team's leader, had predicted, Shrek Academy's fourth contestant was indeed Yu Tianhuang.
The gestures from Elder Ma and Xiao Hongchen were a reminder for her to be cautious and to go all out from the start.
Yu Tianhuang's individual strength and crowd-control abilities displayed in previous matches had made the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy extremely wary. In their eyes, his threat level was no less than that of Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng, both Soul Emperors.
Looking at the ethereal Xu Zihuang, a strange feeling stirred in Meng Hongchen's heart.
Having released her martial soul, her ice-blue eyes shimmered as she began to take in Xu Zihuang's flawless features, her mind unconsciously captivated.
As a pure devotee of appearances, Xu Zihuang's allure was undeniable. Moreover, his extraordinary talent was unmatched.
It wasn't until Heavenfiend Douluo gave the command to begin that Meng Hongchen snapped out of it, releasing her martial soul again. For the first time in this All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament, she revealed her close-combat soul tool.
Ice-blue radiance shone from thirteen points on her body: her forehead, shoulders, chest, abdomen, elbows, hands, hips, and knees.
These thirteen points of ice-blue light quickly transformed into a set of exquisite ice-blue armor.
Though it was full-body armor, it wasn't bulky or redundant in the slightest. Every part was meticulously crafted and perfect. The ice-blue armor was adorned with intricate blue-gold patterns. Already beautiful, Meng Hongchen looked even more heroic and valiant in this armor.
A pair of slender, ice-blue longswords, over three feet long, appeared in her hands. Three pairs of thin, ice-blue wings, each just over a foot long, unfurled behind her. These were clearly flight soul tools, far more refined and advanced than the flight soul tools produced by Shrek Academy's Soul Tool Department.
This flight soul tool lacked any metallic texture, resembling wings taken from a soul beast.
Clad in this armor, she exuded a chilling aura.
"This is actually a level-six soul tool full-body armor," He Caitou muttered in astonishment from Shrek Academy's waiting area.
What is a level-six soul tool full-body armor? At minimum, it must include a close-combat soul tool, a flight soul tool, and a defensive soul tool.
For Meng Hongchen, a Soul King, to wield this level-six soul tool full-body armor was undoubtedly a masterpiece among masterpieces.
Generally, a soul engineer can only use soul tools of the same level as their own. Only with special crafting techniques or unique properties in the soul tool itself can one use a higher-level tool.
At just fourteen years old, Meng Hongchen had devoted most of her energy to reaching the Soul King level, even with the aid of rare natural treasures to accelerate her cultivation.
It was certain that this level-six soul tool full-body armor was not made by her.
Indeed, it was crafted by Jing Hongchen, the master of Mingde Hall, a true masterpiece.
Wearing the soul tool full-body armor, Meng Hongchen specialized in close-combat soul tools, in stark contrast to her brother Xiao Hongchen's focus.
On the other side, as Heavenfiend Douluo announced the start of the match, Xu Zihuang charged toward Meng Hongchen with full force.
His deep purple eyes instantly turned a brilliant gold. Though he only had four soul rings, they were an intimidating combination of three purple and one black, far surpassing Meng Hongchen's two yellow, two purple, and one black soul ring configuration.
Despite the difference of one soul ring and Meng Hongchen's level-six soul tool full-body armor, Xu Zihuang's aura was not inferior in the slightest.
After fusing with the right leg bone of the Thunder Hell Vine, the strength in his right leg had increased dramatically.
The core of human power lies in the torso and legs, and the leap in his right leg's strength allowed him to burst forth with speed comparable to a Soul King-level agility-type soul master.
Each stomp of his right foot propelled his body forward like a cannonball, the friction with the air producing a whistling sound. His long black hair fluttered in the wind, and his indifferent golden eyes showed no trace of emotion.
The granite arena floor was left with countless dense cracks but didn't shatter, demonstrating Xu Zihuang's precise control over his power, with no waste whatsoever.
These were the fruits of his tidal body refinement on Moon Pivot Island, fully displayed in this match.
Meng Hongchen dodged to the side, her speed surging, clearly avoiding a direct confrontation with Xu Zihuang.
This was the strategy given by Elder Ma, the Sun Moon team's leader: the longer the fight dragged on, the more advantageous it would be for her.
As she moved aside, the twin longswords in her hands slashed through the air.
Two ice-blue light shadows flashed like lightning, forming a condensed cross-shaped light blade that sliced toward Xu Zihuang, resembling a soul skill. This was the effect of her twin longsword close-combat soul tool.
As she used the twin longsword soul tool, her first soul ring lit up.
For some reason, Meng Hongchen instinctively warned Xu Zihuang.
"Be careful."
Though the soul tool barrier blocked her voice, those in the waiting areas of both teams, closest to the stage, clearly read her lip movements.
Whether it was the Shrek team or the Sun Moon team, everyone's expressions turned peculiar.
Xiao Hongchen froze, then muttered under his breath, "This fangirl."
However, his tone carried more helplessness than anger.
He was still very protective of his twin sister, as long as she didn't cross his bottom line.
Facing Meng Hongchen's attack, Xu Zihuang's momentum didn't falter. A white flash appeared on his wrist, and a deep purple short blade, crackling with thunder, called Whale Fang, appeared in his right hand.
With a horizontal slash, a deep purple light blade imbued with a ferocious aura collided with Meng Hongchen's ice-blue cross-shaped light blade in midair.
Meng Hongchen's twin ice-blue longswords were top-tier level-six close-combat soul tools, their power undoubtedly greater than the level-four Whale Fang short blade.
However, the Whale Fang possessed the explosive properties of the thunder attribute. The deep purple light blade was annihilated by the ice-blue cross slash, but the cross slash also detonated prematurely, dissolving into a sky full of ice mist.
It was obvious that this mist was still laced with the Vermilion Clear Ice Toad's poison.
The Vermilion Clear Ice Toad poison released through a soul skill was naturally far more potent than the poison previously mixed into rain and air.
Wang Yan and the others from Shrek Academy in the waiting area had their gazes fixed. Since Yu Tianhuang claimed absolute certainty in defeating Meng Hongchen, he must have a way to counter the Vermilion Clear Ice Toad poison.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Xu Zihuang charged straight into the ice mist. A layer of black-purple light shimmered on his body, completely preventing the ice mist from penetrating.
He was clearly using the soul power of his ultimate thunder attribute to shield himself.
When it came to countering poison, the destructive attribute was naturally more effective, as all toxins would instantly dissolve upon contact with destructive energy. However, the ultimate thunder attribute also had a strong resistance to poison.
The thunder attribute is divided into yin thunder and yang thunder. Yin thunder combines the erosive properties of wind and the penetrating properties of water, while yang thunder incorporates the piercing properties of metal and the explosive and high-temperature properties of fire. It is not a singular attribute. Whether yin or yang thunder, both are manifestations of the righteous energy of heaven and earth.
No attribute can counter the thunder attribute; conversely, the thunder attribute can, to some extent, counter all attributes.
Of course, achieving this requires reaching the ultimate level of thunder, the ultimate thunder.
Beibei, for example, though his martial soul was the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, the potency of his thunder attribute was far inferior to Xu Zihuang's.
His control over the thunder attribute was also nowhere near Xu Zihuang's level.
The ultimate thunder attribute soul power shield enveloping Xu Zihuang might not completely dissolve Meng Hongchen's Vermilion Clear Ice Toad poison, but it was more than sufficient to isolate it.
"So that's it. What a domineering ultimate thunder," Wang Yan's eyes lit up, and he inwardly exclaimed in excitement.
Aside from Elder Xuan, the rest of Shrek Academy, unaware that Xu Zihuang's second martial soul possessed the ultimate thunder attribute, widened their eyes in shock.
"How is this possible? My Vermilion Clear Ice Toad poison is being blocked?" Meng Hongchen, shocked and uncertain, activated her second soul skill, Ice Poison Ring, to amplify the poison's potency.
An ice-blue halo enveloped the arena, but it still had no effect on Xu Zihuang.
As she released these two soul skills, Xu Zihuang had already closed in on her.
Strange dark red ripples instantly overpowered the ice-blue halo.
Second soul skill, Mirror of Destruction.
A dark red crystal suddenly enveloped Meng Hongchen, and the second phase of Mirror of Destruction's attack followed.
The crystal shattered into countless fragments, but Meng Hongchen's ice-blue armor erupted with dazzling light.
Having taken the full brunt of Xu Zihuang's second soul skill, Mirror of Destruction, she emerged unscathed.
Xu Zihuang had anticipated this outcome. His powerful mental strength had clearly sensed that the dark red ripples of Mirror of Destruction were blocked by Meng Hongchen's armor.
Since the dark red ripples couldn't penetrate her body, her body couldn't be crystallized by his second soul skill, rendering the second phase of the attack ineffective.
That was the principle behind Mirror of Destruction.
No matter how strong Xu Zihuang's second soul skill was, its duration was only five thousand years. Meng Hongchen's level-six soul tool full-body armor, equipped with a level-six defensive soul tool, blocking his skill was entirely reasonable.
However, once he could elevate his second soul ring's duration to ten thousand or even a hundred thousand years with the origin power of the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm, the power of Mirror of Destruction would undergo a qualitative transformation.
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