Although Meng Hongchen, protected by the defensive soul tool of her level-six full-body soul tool armor, emerged unscathed from Xu Zihuang's second soul skill, the automatic activation of the defensive soul tool still consumed a significant amount of her soul power.
As she was recovering, she saw, amidst familiar yet peculiar dark red ripples, a crystal spear over three meters long rapidly taking shape, firmly grasped by Xu Zihuang.
The spear was also formed from dark red crystal, but compared to the dark red crystal that had previously enveloped Meng Hongchen, its color was noticeably deeper.
This was because Xu Zihuang had infused more soul power into forming this crystal spear, aiming for greater hardness.
Some time ago, he had tested it. When fully channeling his soul power into his second soul skill, Mirror of Destruction, the resulting crystal was hard enough to rival a rare metal known as titanium gold.
Among all known rare metals, titanium gold ranked among the top in terms of hardness.
Only a few exceptionally rare metals surpassed it in hardness. Titanium gold was widely used in crafting close-combat soul tools that required high durability.
The pair of ice-blue longswords in Meng Hongchen's hands also contained this rare metal.
The brilliant golden glow from the soul tool barrier scattered onto the dark red crystal spear, refracting a magnificent array of colors.
Xu Zihuang gripped the spear's handle with his right hand and swung it diagonally, leaving a dark red afterimage that carved a neat scratch on the hard granite floor.
This demonstrated its incredible hardness and sharpness.
Seeing Xu Zihuang so close, Meng Hongchen's expression shifted slightly. Without hesitation, she activated her third soul skill, Ice Refraction.
A five-meter-wide ice crystal mirror instantly appeared beneath her feet, and through Ice Refraction, she shifted her position. Then, with a light tap of her toes, she leaped back dozens of meters, simultaneously brandishing her twin longswords to create a sky full of sword shadows, hoping to find a flaw in Xu Zihuang's defense while he dealt with them.
How could the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy not have thoroughly studied the abilities of the prodigious Yu Tianhuang? Every match of Shrek Academy was observed live by the Sun Moon team.
Through their observations, they had gained a certain understanding of the effects of Yu Tianhuang's first, second, and fourth soul skills.
Their team leader, Elder Ma, had even deduced that Yu Tianhuang's fourth soul skill could only replicate a soul skill three times a day.
The only thing they didn't fully understand was the time-attribute soul skill, Time Disarray, which was too rare for most soul masters to have knowledge of. Moreover, Xu Zihuang had only revealed a glimpse of this third soul skill during his battle against Sylvis Academy.
Elder Ma, though an eighth-level soul engineer and a Contra-level powerhouse, lacked the depth of knowledge about martial souls and soul skills compared to the original Douluo Continent's three empires.
Naturally, he couldn't discern the true nature of Xu Zihuang's third soul skill as quickly as Xu Jiawei, a Titled Douluo from the original Douluo Continent.
However, Elder Ma was certain of Yu Tianhuang's Golden Eyes martial soul's ability to see through illusions and track the trajectory of moving objects. He had specifically warned the Sun Moon team to be cautious of this.
Because these abilities were particularly effective against soul engineers.
Knowing this, Meng Hongchen used her third soul skill, Ice Refraction, primarily to create distance from Yu Tianhuang.
Since her Vermilion Clear Ice Toad poison couldn't penetrate Yu Tianhuang's body, her first soul skill, Ice Toad Poison, and second soul skill, Ice Poison Ring, were ineffective against him.
Moreover, with Yu Tianhuang's Golden Eyes martial soul's ability to see through illusions, her third soul skill, Ice Refraction, couldn't achieve the same effect it had against Jiang Nannan.
As Xiao Hongchen had said, Meng Hongchen's martial soul abilities could produce unexpected results in certain situations but could also be heavily suppressed under specific circumstances.
Xiao Hongchen could never have imagined his words would prove prophetic.
Not only were her first three soul skills ineffective, but Meng Hongchen's fourth soul skill was actually an unconventional amplification-type skill. In other words, at the soul master level, her only offensive option was her ten-thousand-year fifth soul skill.
This ten-thousand-year fifth soul skill was extraordinarily powerful but consumed a significant amount of soul power. Activating it required time to gather soul power.
She was looking for a flaw in Xu Zihuang's defense to find the perfect moment to unleash her fifth soul skill.
Though Meng Hongchen had a strong interest in Xu Zihuang, she had no intention of holding back in this final match, which concerned the honor of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.
The sky full of ice-blue sword shadows wove into a dense net, filling every corner of the space.
The intricate golden patterns in Xu Zihuang's eyes glowed brightly, and his figure continuously shifted, perfectly dodging the barrage of sword shadows.
His martial soul's innate dynamic vision was pushed to its limit at this moment.
Close-combat soul tools were generally more powerful than many long-range soul tools, but their drawback was that their attacks couldn't lock onto a target.
No matter how dense the ice-blue sword shadows were, in Xu Zihuang's eyes, they were like a near-frozen image.
While dodging the sword shadows and closing in on Meng Hongchen, he still had the composure to tightly grip the dark red crystal spear and make a throwing motion.
"Be careful," Xu Zihuang warned Meng Hongchen.
At this point, the distance between them was less than ten meters. Despite Meng Hongchen continuously unleashing the abilities of her level-six close-combat soul tool, she still couldn't slow Xu Zihuang's approach.
Their exchange left the audience dazzled. Compared to the one-sided outcomes of the previous three matches, this one was far more thrilling.
As Xu Zihuang threw the crystal spear, the third soul ring around him, purple tinged with black, lit up.
Mysterious golden patterns rapidly spread outward from his body, deliberately controlled to cover only a fifty-meter radius.
Both he and Meng Hongchen were within this domain, and the golden glow made the space itself seem to twist.
Heavenfiend Douluo was currently at the edge of the stage. Xu Zihuang had done this to avoid enveloping Heavenfiend Douluo in his third soul skill, Time Disarray.
Back when he had resisted Elder Xuan's casual grab, it had drained all his soul power.
Though Heavenfiend Douluo's cultivation and strength couldn't compare to Elder Xuan's, he was still a Titled Douluo-level powerhouse.
If Heavenfiend Douluo reacted instinctively and caused Xu Zihuang to expend a large amount of soul power unnecessarily, it would be a frustrating loss.
His approach toward Meng Hongchen from the start was for this very purpose.
The crystal spear, released from Xu Zihuang's hand, spun violently. The fine debris left on the granite floor from earlier battles trembled and scattered to the sides as the spear passed.
Meng Hongchen, with her martial soul active, her eerie blood-red eyes narrowed sharply as she prepared to respond.
However, just as the thought formed in her mind, in the next instant, the tip of the spinning crystal spear struck the flat abdomen covered by her ice-blue armor.
The level-six defensive soul tool centered on her chest and abdomen was triggered, once again emitting a dazzling ice-blue light.
But this glow didn't last long before it dimmed with a crisp shattering sound.
A palm-sized circular dent appeared on the ice-blue armor at Meng Hongchen's abdomen, filled with fine cracks.
Pieces of ice-blue metal fell away, revealing a blue-gold circular gem inscribed with a complex core array.
"Ugh," Meng Hongchen let out a muffled groan, knocked back by the crystal spear, which still carried tremendous force and spun like a drill.
The seemingly extraordinary blue-gold gem began to show signs of damage.
Xu Zihuang's gaze sharpened, and four massive, conical dark red crystals formed in the air. Each was over fifty meters long, blotting out the sky, eliciting gasps from the audience.
Elder Ma and Xiao Hongchen from the Sun Moon team stood up almost simultaneously, shouting urgently, "Stop! We concede!"
The crystal spear Xu Zihuang had thrown had already destroyed the core array of Meng Hongchen's armor's defensive soul tool. If these four conical crystals hit, the consequences would be unimaginable.
A beam of starlight descended from the sky, shielding Meng Hongchen's body. However, Xu Zihuang had already canceled his soul skill.
Crystal shards rained down, scattering onto Meng Hongchen's snow-white hair. The spinning crystal spear shattered as well.
Her body swayed slightly, her internal energy churning, but she steadied herself with her twin longswords, lifting her head to look at the calm Xu Zihuang before her.
As she retracted her martial soul, her snow-white hair returned to its wine-red hue, and her blood-red eyes reverted to their original ice-blue.
Her beautiful eyes shimmered with emotion.
Losing to Yu Tianhuang didn't evoke anger or resentment in her. Instead, her peculiar feelings toward him deepened.
She had one more soul ring than him and was equipped with a full set of level-six soul tool armor, yet she was still defeated in a single move.
She knew clearly that if they were at the same cultivation level, she wouldn't even be qualified to face Yu Tianhuang.
"How did you know the location of my armor's defensive soul tool core array? And how did you neutralize my Vermilion Clear Ice Toad poison? Can you tell me?" Meng Hongchen bit her lip lightly.
Xu Zihuang replied calmly, "When you blocked my second soul skill the first time, the location of the core array was already exposed. Some things are destined to be impossible to hide."
As for using the ultimate thunder to counter her Vermilion Clear Ice Toad poison, he naturally wouldn't reveal that.
Hearing his words, Meng Hongchen's body trembled.
Every soul tool requires a core array to function. For defensive soul tools in armor form, the core array is typically located at the chest, in the central heart-protecting mirror.
However, when her grandfather, Jing Hongchen, crafted this level-six full-body soul tool armor, he used a special dual-core array technique.
The two core arrays, one at the chest and one at the abdomen, complemented each other, forming a soul power circuit that maximized efficiency. This was why she could use a level-six soul tool armor as a Soul King.
Though it was a dual-core array, there was a primary and secondary distinction. Her grandfather, Jing Hongchen, had taken an unconventional approach: the core array at the abdomen was the true primary component.
Jing Hongchen, the master of Mingde Hall, was one of the top ninth-level soul engineers in the Sun Moon Empire and the entire continent. Even if this level-six soul tool armor was a casual creation of his, for Yu Tianhuang to see through it so easily was still shocking.
Xu Zihuang could discern this mystery because of his powerful mental strength, which was nearly at the tangible yet intangible realm. No matter how well-hidden the core array was, the unique soul power fluctuations during its operation couldn't be fully concealed.
It had to be admitted that soul masters with mental attributes had an inherent advantage in crafting, using, and analyzing soul tools.
Meng Hongchen's level-six full-body soul tool armor was undoubtedly powerful, but the core array's location was its most vulnerable point.
It could be said that all of Xu Zihuang's actions from the start were for this one attack.
Meng Hongchen wanted to ask more, but Heavenfiend Douluo urged her to leave the stage.
While using a level-five soul power recovery bottle to replenish his soul power, Xu Zihuang glanced at Shrek Academy's waiting area and nodded to the team.
The expressions of the Shrek Academy members were numb. They had expected Yu Tianhuang to win, but no one had anticipated it would be so effortless.
It couldn't truly be called effortless—it only appeared that way.
This was thanks to Xu Zihuang's ability to counter Meng Hongchen's Vermilion Clear Ice Toad poison, his sufficient strength, and his exceptionally versatile soul skills, especially the synergy between his second soul skill, Mirror of Destruction, and his third soul skill, Time Disarray.
In this match against Meng Hongchen, even a power-attack-type Soul Emperor like Dai Yueheng might not have performed better.
On the Sun Moon team's side, Meng Hongchen had only sustained minor internal injuries.
After confirming she was fine, Elder Ma and Xiao Hongchen both breathed a sigh of relief.
Xiao Hongchen's expression darkened as he stood up from the sofa.
"It's my turn."
Elder Ma seemed to recall something and suddenly warned, "If I'm not mistaken, Yu Tianhuang's third soul skill might be a rare time-attribute skill. Be careful."
Xiao Hongchen paused briefly, then stepped onto the stage with firm resolve.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here are the chapters for today (づ￣3￣)づ╭～
"Don't forget there are 40 early chapters available on Patreo
[email protected]/facficmax10