"Darkgolden Terrorclaw?!"
The spectators on the sidelines, unlike Xu Zihuang, who possessed the Golden Pupils Martial Soul and could notice the golden dragon scale patterns on those five dark golden claw shadows in that split-second flash, still instantly recognized this as the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear's strongest innate soul skill, Darkgolden Terrorclaw.
Zhang Lexuan and Ning Tian knew that Wang Qiu'er's sixth soul ring came from a twenty-thousand-year Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear, but seeing her unleash this Golden Dragon Terrorclaw derived from the Darkgolden Terrorclaw still filled them with considerable surprise.
Although the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear's soul rings were among the absolute top-tier, the soul skills they provided to human soul masters were exceptionally powerful; they usually leaned toward defensive types.
The Darkgolden Terrorclaw soul skill only appeared in Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear soul bones, and it had to be the left or right arm bone.
Even the Darkgolden Terrorclaw from the left and right arm bones could not compare to the genuine one from the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear; only the extremely rare palm bone that burst out after its death recorded the most powerful and complete terrorclaw soul skill.
These were conclusions summarized by a senior from Shrek Academy who had researched the soul rings and soul bones of the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear. This content was taught in one of the courses in Shrek Academy's inner court.
Yet Wang Qiu'er had obtained the Darkgolden Terrorclaw soul skill simply by absorbing the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear soul ring; this was clearly beyond what Zhang Lexuan and Ning Tian had expected.
The others were even more profoundly shocked. Especially Dai Huabin, who had just suffered a crushing defeat at Wang Qiu'er's hands.
"She actually obtained a ten-thousand-year Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear soul ring?"
Amid his shock, Dai Huabin's eyes surged with thick jealousy. The Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear soul ring had always been something he dreamed of obtaining. But Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bears were extremely rare and incredibly powerful; over all these years, he had never succeeded.
Yu Tianhuang's situation was special; that terrifying soul ring configuration, if it were him, he absolutely could not achieve. Yet Wang Qiu'er's ten-thousand-year Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear soul ring gave him the illusion that "I could do it too if it were me."
In the center of the arena, Xu Zihuang, having suppressed the abnormality in his external soul bone, Radiant Dragon Claw, finally released his own soul rings.
Five black and one red, six soul rings slowly pulsed around him. The strange golden patterns in his eyes blazed with golden light, and his deep fourth soul ring lit up in response.
His right hand's five fingers curled, then abruptly lifted. Like a mirror image, five equally dark golden sky-shattering claw shadows fiercely appeared in midair.
Xu Zihuang had used the Golden Pupils' fourth soul skill, Imprint, to replicate Wang Qiu'er's sixth soul skill, Golden Dragon Terrorclaw. Wang Qiu'er's Golden Dragon Terrorclaw was combined with the golden dragon bloodline within her body; for anyone else, even possessing the Imprint soul skill, they would be unable to replicate this Golden Dragon Terrorclaw. Possessing the golden dragon bloodline was an essential prerequisite.
And Xu Zihuang perfectly met that condition. Moreover, the golden dragon bloodline within his body was even denser than Wang Qiu'er's, and his fourth soul ring had a staggering fifty-thousand-year cultivation.
It was clearly visible that the Golden Dragon Terrorclaw he unleashed was more solid and carried even greater might.
"Boom!"
A terrifying, explosive sound rang out. The violent energy collision's shockwave instantly swept across the entire field. After only a brief stalemate, the five dark golden blades descending from the sky silently shattered and disintegrated. The remaining tiny dark golden light fragments wreaked havoc wildly through the air.
An extremely sharp aura erupted. The hard granite surface of the arena was covered in dense, smooth cuts. Within those cuts still lingered brilliant golden radiance, seemingly containing some special energy. Any granite touched by this brilliant golden light would rapidly crumble as if melting.
Only the area immediately surrounding Xu Zihuang's body remained unaffected. And the Golden Dragon Terrorclaw he unleashed continued its momentum unabated, only gradually dissipating after rising to over a hundred meters in the sky.
At that very moment, an impassioned dragon roar resounded throughout the entire field. Following her sixth soul skill, Wang Qiu'er unleashed her fifth soul skill.
A massive golden dragon instantly appeared from her body, coiling around her delicate frame.
Looking at Xu Zihuang's brilliant golden eyes that had shown no emotional fluctuation from beginning to end, the anger and battle intent in Wang Qiu'er's heart surged even higher. As if she had made a firm decision, the look in her eyes became resolute.
Immediately after, the surface of the golden giant dragon coiling around her actually ignited with golden flames of light, even more dazzling and brilliant than before.
The spectators at the edge all felt a palpitation in their hearts and instinctively retreated several steps.
"Is this light-attribute and fire-attribute power?" Zhang Lexuan's heart jolted. According to the information she had obtained, Wang Qiu'er's martial soul should have been a strength attribute.
The current Wang Qiu'er seemed like a completely different person from before.
And what shocked Zhang Lexuan the most was that both the light attribute and fire attribute were approaching the level of ultimate.
It wasn't just Zhang Lexuan, even Xuan Zi, who was far away in the Sea God Pavilion drinking wine, suddenly stood up and looked uncertainly in the direction of Shrek Academy's outer court Soul Arena.
The golden giant dragon beside Wang Qiu'er had its surface as if gold was beginning to melt, revealing its original appearance. The overall form of the light and shadow greatly resembled a lion, yet its four claws were draconic, its entire body wreathed in golden flames, extraordinarily divine. Its body seemed semi-transparent like crystal, with fine golden scales beneath the golden fur. There was a faint, bewitching red thin line at the center of its brow.
Unless one looked carefully, it was very difficult to notice. Only through the Golden Pupils Martial Soul's ability, combined with tangible, substantive mental power, did Xu Zihuang vaguely perceive this red thin line.
Even a powerhouse of Xuan Zi's caliber would likely find it hard to see through.
Xu Zihuang's gaze sharpened. He knew this should be one of the special abilities of the Auspicious Emperor Beast.
Moreover, this transformed martial soul phantom was clearly Wang Qiu'er's true body, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion.
However, Wang Qiu'er still held something back; this dragon-lion-like phantom did not grow a third eye. Presumably, that red thin line was precisely where the third eye was located.
Different from Xu Zihuang's initial guess, although the golden dragon bloodline in Wang Qiu'er's body had been forcibly taken by him in large part, making her unable to simulate the Golden Dragon Martial Soul anymore, in reality, Wang Qiu'er's martial soul was not the so-called Golden Dragon Lion at all, it was precisely her true body, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion.
The Golden Dragon Lion was merely a disguise. Because the Suanni inherently possessed both dragon and lion characteristics. And normally, she only utilized the portion of power belonging to the golden dragon bloodline.
This was the first time she had truly unleashed her martial soul's power.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion possessed three attributes: the main attribute, mental, plus a near-ultimate light attribute and fire attribute. As a martial soul, its quality even slightly surpassed that of the former god-level martial soul, Six-Winged Angel.
Wang Qiu'er proudly raised her head, coldly staring at the distant Xu Zihuang. At the same time, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion phantom behind her raised its head and let out a long roar. A powerful arc-shaped, intense golden halo instantly enveloped the entire Soul Arena, as if forming a massive golden sun with a diameter of a hundred meters.
The space within nearly a thousand meters was completely dyed golden.
Fifth soul skill, Shattered Space Roar!
Smoke and dust revolved around this golden sun, slow to dissipate. The terrifying energy contained within the golden sun was enough to make anyone feel their heart tremble. Even space itself gave the illusion of layer upon layer shattering, trembling, and buzzing.
"Squeak?!"
The Thunder Beast, as if frightened by something, had all its fluffy fur stand on end. It burrowed into Ning Tian's hair, leaving only its head exposed, staring at Wang Qiu'er with eyes full of terror.
Zhang Lexuan had immediately activated the soul guidance protective barrier at the edge of the Soul Arena. Under the onslaught of massive, powerful shockwaves and colliding energies, dense ripples of light continuously appeared on its surface. As a result, the spectators could not see the situation on the competition stage.
Both the earlier Golden Dragon Terrorclaw and the current Shattered Space Roar, the two major soul skills Wang Qiu'er had unleashed, possessed might that far exceeded the limits of ordinary Soul Emperor attacks.
The halo persisted for a full seven or eight seconds before slowly dissipating.
Xu Zihuang and Wang Qiu'er's figures then reappeared.
Wang Qiu'er's full chest rose and fell slightly as she stared fixedly at Xu Zihuang opposite her. Having consecutively used her currently strongest two attack soul skills, the soul power consumption in her body was considerable.
On the other side, Xu Zihuang stood at the center of a silver diamond-shaped crystal, completely unharmed, calmly meeting Wang Qiu'er's gaze with an indifferent expression.
His calm voice reached Wang Qiu'er's ears.
"Is that enough?"
Xu Zihuang's profound eyes gave Wang Qiu'er the illusion that her identity had been seen through, causing her whole body to feel a chill. This sentence seemed to be questioning her; did she really intend to win this fight at the cost of exposing her identity?
The most complete form of her fifth soul skill should have also incorporated mental attribute attacks; it was a powerful soul skill combining light, fire, and mental attacks into one. Similar to Mu En's Dragon Emperor Evil-Breaking Slash and Dragon Emperor Shock Domain Realm, its activation would draw upon her origin power. The power of this soul skill was not restricted by the soul ring's age and would evolve along with the increase in her cultivation.
That was why she had just displayed a might far surpassing an ordinary ten-thousand-year fifth soul skill.
But if she incorporated the mental attribute attack, her martial soul would need to open its third eye and reveal its complete form.
Only now did Wang Qiu'er belatedly realize this. She clenched her teeth tightly, her emotions slightly calming. She did not believe Xu Zihuang could recognize her identity based on these things.
After all, as long as she had taken human form and had not reached the god level, human soul masters could not see through her soul beast identity. Moreover, her third eye had always remained hidden; who could associate her with the Three-Eyed Golden Lion?
Feeling unconvinced, Wang Qiu'er's gaze remained icy. Ignoring Xu Zihuang, as her fourth soul ring shone, both hands transformed into golden dragon claws entwined with golden flames.
Fourth soul skill, Golden Flame Burst. Containing the might of light and fire attributes, accompanied by powerful explosive capability.
The silver diamond-shaped crystal transformed from the one-hundred-thousand-year head soul bone skill, Soul Barrier, dissipated. Xu Zihuang finally lost all patience, his figure floating down to the ground.
The moment Wang Qiu'er showed signs of movement, dark red ripples abruptly enveloped the entire field.
Wang Qiu'er's body was instantly encased in hard, dark red crystal imprisonment. Although she relied on her near-ultimate light and fire attribute abilities to break free from Mirror of Annihilation's control in time, that brief moment of delay had already decided the outcome.
Xu Zihuang flashed and appeared behind Wang Qiu'er. His hands seized her wrists, then his knee pressed down, pinning her to the ground.
His hands had likewise transformed into dragon claws, but their surface was covered in angular black-purple scales.
Xu Zihuang had used the power belonging to his variant Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul to complete dragonization. Black-purple lightning flickered on the pair of dragon claws, resisting the golden flames on Wang Qiu'er's golden dragon claws.
"Bang—"
Wang Qiu'er's body sank deeply into the ground, her face making intimate contact with the surface.
Yet she showed absolutely no sign of yielding. Stubbornly turning her head to look at Xu Zihuang behind her, her long hair had returned to pink-blue. Through the gaps between the strands, one could clearly see the ferocious, man-devouring glare in Wang Qiu'er's eyes, along with humiliation and a trace of grievance.
The dignified Auspicious Emperor Beast probably never imagined she would have such a day, being stepped on by what she considered lowly humans.
Xu Zihuang's gaze was cold, showing her no indulgence whatsoever.
"Is it enough now?"
"Not enough!" A trace of bright red overflowed from the corner of her mouth. Wang Qiu'er gritted her teeth and spat back. It was not a serious internal injury; she had bitten through her lip out of sheer rage and unwillingness.
Xu Zihuang frowned slightly.
Just then, a series of figures walked into the Soul Arena. It was precisely Bei Bei, Tang Ya, Xu Sanshi, He Caitou, Jiang Nannan, Dai Luoli, and Huo Yuhao, seven people.
Seeing the scene before them, everyone first stared wide-eyed, then their expressions turned strange. Only Huo Yuhao, with his head lowered and a gloomy aura, showed no great reaction.
"Tianhuang, what kind of play is this?" Xu Sanshi gave a cheap grin. His untimely teasing remark snapped Bei Bei and the others, as well as Zhang Lexuan and the Shrek representative team members, back to their senses.
Before Xu Sanshi's words even finished, Xuan Zi arrived, leading a group of elders. The Martial Soul Department's dean and vice-dean, Yan Shaozhe and Cai Meier, were prominently among them.
The group of elders naturally also saw Xu Zihuang and Wang Qiu'er in the center of the field. However, their expressions were not so colorful; they uniformly showed contemplative looks.
His gaze locked on the golden flames entwining Wang Qiu'er's pair of golden dragon claws, Yan Shaozhe's pupils contracted. He turned to Xuan Zi beside him and asked,
"Xuan Zi, this is…"
"Near-ultimate light attribute and fire attribute." Xuan Zi murmured to himself, "And they are perfectly fused. A soul master with a golden bloodline martial soul shouldn't their advantages primarily manifest in physical abilities? How could they possess such strong attribute control? Could it be a variant martial soul?"
The current Xuan Zi, unlike in Xu Zihuang's memories from his previous life, where he had clashed with the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, did not understand that the Three-Eyed Golden Lion possessed mental, light, and fire attributes. It was indeed very difficult for him to associate the Wang Qiu'er before him with the Three-Eyed Golden Lion that Xu Zihuang had once encountered in the Star Dou Great Forest.
Therefore, even though Wang Qiu'er had revealed near-ultimate light and fire attribute abilities, it did not cause too great an impact. Even from Wang Qiu'er's perspective, Xu Zihuang, who had seen her memories and knew her abilities, might not necessarily notice anything.
"As expected!" Yan Shaozhe's eyes lit up, his heart greatly excited. Although he did not know why Wang Qiu'er's martial soul possessed such abilities, as long as she was an inner court disciple of Shrek Academy and had no issues with her identity, this was good news for Shrek Academy.
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