"Begin." Zhang Lexuan retreated several steps, her gaze becoming solemn at the same time.
Previously, when Yu Tianhuang fought Wang Qiu'er, she had not intervened because of her absolute trust in Yu Tianhuang's strength. She did not believe Wang Qiu'er's soul skills could harm Yu Tianhuang, and she trusted that Yu Tianhuang could control himself properly on the field.
But earlier, the Mother-Child Soul-Chasing Deadly Pursuit Bomb that had slipped from Huo Yuhao's palm was completely beyond her expectations. Naturally, she did not want such a situation to happen a second time.
Dai Huabin's fists collided in front of his chest, his entire skeleton producing a series of cracking sounds. His evil eyes stared fixedly at Dai Luoli in the distance.
When he had spoken those words to Dai Luoli earlier, he had appeared calm on the surface, but his inner emotions were far from as tranquil as he showed. He had known long ago that Yu Tianhuang was personally guiding Dai Luoli.
However, due to the pride in his heart, Dai Huabin had not gone to check on Dai Luoli's situation himself. After all, back then, Dai Luoli's talent and soul power cultivation were far inferior to his. His personality was like this—only those with strength and talent surpassing his own were qualified to earn his recognition.
And if Dai Luoli could catch Yu Tianhuang's eye, then he must possess extraordinary qualities. Perhaps it was related to his benignly mutated martial soul.
A benign mutation built upon the top-tier White Tiger martial soul, which meant Dai Luoli's martial soul quality was even higher than his own.
Dai Huabin firmly believed in his father's judgment on this point.
Rich pale white soul power light surged from within his body, and Dai Huabin once again completed his martial soul possession. Two yellow, two purple, one black, five soul rings in the optimal configuration flowed around him, and surging soul power fluctuations instantly swept over the entire area like a storm.
Under the pressure of the aura lock, Dai Luoli also released his own Blood Tiger martial soul.
The changes to his body after martial soul possession were similar to Dai Huabin's, but the overall color tone was blood-red. Blood-red fur, blood-red sharp tiger claws, and even around the pupils in his eyes, an extra ring of blood-colored pupils appeared.
Blood-red soul power rose from his entire body. This blood-colored glow carried no bloody or sinister aura; instead, it was filled with a noble temperament, containing intense spiritual fluctuations. Spiritual power and soul power were naturally fusing.
For the exceptionally talented Dai Huabin, in his childhood, he had been like an insurmountable mountain pressing down on Dai Luoli. Facing Dai Huabin's aura head-on, Dai Luoli could not help but feel his mind tremble slightly. The shadow from his childhood had ultimately left an impact on him.
"Luoli." At that moment, a gentle voice quietly rang in his ear.
Dai Luoli raised his head and looked past Dai Huabin to see Xu Zihuang standing on the north side of the fighting soul stage. All the tension seemed to vanish in an instant. The confusion and evasion in his eyes gradually faded, replaced by an indescribable look of determination.
"No! I absolutely cannot let Brother Yu down!"
But after this brief moment of daze, Dai Huabin had already seized the initiative.
"Roar—" Amid the tiger's roar, Dai Huabin's forward speed suddenly surged. His thick and powerful legs erupted with terrifying force in an instant, leaving fine cracks on the floor where he stepped. This method of exerting power was somewhat similar to Wang Qiu'er's earlier style, though he could not achieve the same effect as she.
In that instant, the speed Dai Huabin displayed left a trail of afterimages behind him.
From this alone, it was clear that Dai Huabin had still been holding back when facing Huo Yuhao.
A mere three-ring Soul Elder like Huo Yuhao was not yet qualified to make him go all out.
A layer of white protective shield instantly expanded outward, then abruptly contracted, fitting tightly against Dai Huabin's skin like armor. Especially intense white light surged over his pair of massive tiger paws.
It was precisely Dai Huabin's first soul skill, White Tiger Body Protection Barrier.
The same soul skill, when used in different ways, often produced completely different effects. This was vividly demonstrated in Xu Zihuang's second soul skill, Mirror of Annihilation. Originally just a group control and annihilation soul skill, it had been developed by Xu Zihuang into all sorts of practical applications.
Achieving this was not difficult, as long as one had a deep understanding of one's own soul skills and extremely fine control, it was possible. Many inner court disciples in Shrek Academy's inner court possessed such ability and foundation.
Having come back to his senses, Dai Luoli subconsciously used his own first soul skill—White Tiger Body Protection Barrier.
More precisely, it should be called Blood Tiger Body Protection Barrier. Blood light swirled, and the fusion between spiritual power and soul power became even more pronounced. Then, he actually imitated Dai Huabin's posture, concentrating even more blood-colored light onto his pair of tiger paws.
"Bang—" Dai Luoli's Blood Tiger claws and Dai Huabin's White Tiger claws collided fiercely.
With just one strike, Dai Huabin displayed his superiority in cultivation and formidable personal strength. Dai Luoli's figure could not stop sliding backward five meters, leaving two deep gouges in the ground.
This was a straightforward, no-frills head-on clash; the difference was instantly clear.
But Dai Huabin's expression was gloomy, without the slightest trace of smug satisfaction. With such a large gap in soul power cultivation, it was only natural for him to hold the advantage. On the contrary, he was quite dissatisfied with the result of this strike. He had not held back at all just now.
Although Dai Huabin still held an absolute advantage, Dai Luoli had not been as utterly overwhelmed as Huo Yuhao.
Regardless of victory or defeat, at least Dai Luoli possessed the ability to clash head-on with him.
On the other hand, Dai Luoli's palms were still numb, yet the excitement in his eyes could not be concealed at all.
I blocked Second Brother's attack? So my strength has improved this much? I'm actually this strong?!
Suppressing the emotions in his heart, Dai Huabin opened his mouth wide again, and a beam of white light shot out from it.
Second soul skill, White Tiger Intense Light Wave.
An explosion rang out. Facing Dai Huabin's White Tiger Intense Light Wave, Dai Luoli, whose confidence had grown, showed no fear. However, he also knew there was an insurmountable gap in cultivation between himself and Dai Huabin, so without hesitation, he simultaneously activated his second and third soul skills.
The blood-red light on Dai Luoli's body became extremely solid. His right hand slapped toward Dai Huabin's direction. In midair, a massive blood-colored tiger claw appeared out of nowhere and slammed down heavily. Within a five-meter diameter, the ground sank several meters, leaving behind a huge tiger claw imprint.
Under the amplification of his third soul skill, Blood Tiger Diamond Transformation, the Blood Tiger Giant Spirit Palm Dai Luoli instantly shattered Dai Huabin's White Tiger Intense Light Wave. Moreover, when this blood-colored tiger claw appeared, the surrounding space was dyed blood-red. Dai Huabin, caught within it, clearly felt a momentary mental daze and was unable to respond in time.
"A spiritual attribute attack effect?!" It was precisely because the Blood Tiger Giant Spirit Palm carried a spiritual attribute attack that Dai Huabin was briefly suppressed.
But the gap in soul power cultivation was right there; Dai Huabin's impairment was limited.
During this interval, he still managed to timely unleash his third soul skill, White Tiger Diamond Transformation. With the combined effects of White Tiger Diamond Transformation and White Tiger Body Protection Barrier, he forcibly withstood Dai Luoli's attack.
But before the Blood Tiger Giant Spirit Palm could end, Dai Luoli's fourth soul ring shone brightly right after.
"Block hearing." At the edge of the stage, Xu Zihuang transmitted this intention to everyone present using his spiritual power.
Blood-red light surged upward. Behind Dai Luoli appeared a massive Blood Tiger phantom. In the next instant, the Blood Tiger phantom raised its head to the sky and roared—a heaven-shaking tiger howl erupted.
"Roar—"
Fourth soul skill—Blood Tiger Shocking Heaven Roar!
An unparalleled sound wave burst forth violently, instantly forming a tremendous impact force. Countless debris flew up, scattered, and shattered across the arena.
Although Dai Luoli's Blood Tiger Shocking Heaven Roar was not as grand in scale as Wang Qiu'er's fifth soul skill, Shattered Space Chant, it excelled in its extremely wide attack range and continuous duration.
The terrifying sound waves raged for a full five seconds before finally stopping.
This time, Zhang Lexuan promptly activated the soul guidance protective barrier at the edge of the fighting soul stage. However, this barrier, which defended against physical and energy attacks, could not block sound. While the impact force of the sound waves was stopped by the soul guidance barrier, the low, heart-oppressing tiger roar could only be endured by everyone themselves.
Because they had received Xu Zihuang's reminder in advance, everyone present had already blocked their hearing and was unaffected.
However, Huo Yuhao, who was leaning against the wall in a coma, had been overlooked. Struck by this sound wave assault, his eardrums were instantly pierced. Intense pain caused him to awaken abruptly, his body trembling violently.
And the moment Huo Yuhao opened his eyes, he saw Dai Luoli, whose right hand had transformed into a blood-colored tiger head, punching heavily toward Dai Huabin's chest.
"Thought of Winter Fist!"
Having continuously unleashed all four of his soul skills, Dai Luoli had almost no soul power left in his body. Yet he was incomparably excited. The man now was no longer the useless trash of the past; this furious roar seemed to vent all the repression he had endured before.
"Thought of Winter Fist?" Aside from those who already knew, such as Xu Zihuang and the others, everyone else present raised an eyebrow, even Huo Yuhao was no exception.
And for Xu Zihuang, who had heard Dai Luoli shout "Thought of Winter Fist" countless times, though his heart had long grown numb to it, that sense of nausea and chill seemed etched into his bones and impossible to erase.
Having taken Dai Luoli's fourth soul skill, Blood Tiger Shocking Heaven Roar head-on, Dai Huabin's aura appeared slightly weakened, with traces of blood appearing in his eyes. It felt as though invisible fine needles were stabbing into his sea of consciousness; the continuous pain was truly hard to endure.
But he forcibly overcame it with his tenacious will.
Roaring like a tiger once more, intense golden light continuously rose from beneath Dai Huabin's feet. With each ring of light that ascended, his aura swelled further. A pressure filled with ferocious killing intent began spreading outward—even the White Tiger phantom behind him had completely turned golden.
Fifth soul skill—White Tiger Demon God Transformation!
Dai Huabin's right fist had completely become dazzling gold. Likewise, throwing a punch, it collided with Dai Luoli's right fist that had transformed into a blood-colored tiger head.
"Boom—"
After only a brief stalemate, the blood-colored tiger head seemed pierced through by the blinding golden light and shattered with a bang.
Violent soul power fluctuations rippled outward. Dai Huabin stood unmoved, while Dai Luoli staggered backward dozens of steps, letting out low, muffled groans. His blood and qi surged chaotically within him, and finally, he collapsed sitting on the ground.
Even in his weakened state, Dai Huabin, after using White Tiger Demon God Transformation, was not someone Dai Luoli could withstand. That Thought of Winter Fist of his was merely in its initial form.
Although Dai Luoli lost this match, the excitement in his eyes did not diminish in the slightest. His burning gaze turned toward Xu Zihuang on the north side of the fighting soul arena.
Xu Zihuang also gave Dai Luoli a warm smile in return.
"Thank you, Brother Yu! It was you who let me see hope." Dai Luoli clenched his fists excitedly, murmuring in his heart.
"You're right, as long as I can become a Titled Douluo-level powerhouse, then all obstacles will scatter like shredded paper."
As his trust in Xu Zihuang grew deeper and deeper, Dai Luoli had recently confided in him about his matter with that little princess Xu Yun of the Star Luo Empire. And Xu Zihuang's advice to him had been exactly this.
After his condition recovered somewhat, Dai Luoli supported himself up with both hands and frankly said to Dai Huabin, "Second Brother, I lost."
After saying that, he walked toward where the Tang Sect representative team members were gathered.
In contrast, Dai Huabin's expression looked rather unpleasant. Part of it was due to his underestimation of the opponent, but suffering such a big loss at the hands of Dai Luoli, who was only a four-ring Soul Ancestor, was simply an utter humiliation for him.
However, after a long while, he still unclenched his tightly gripped fists. He had to admit that Dai Luoli's mutated Blood Tiger martial soul was superior in quality to his own White Tiger martial soul. This was Dai Luoli's advantage.
Moreover, Dai Luoli still could not pose the same level of threat to him as Yu Tianhuang or Wang Qiu'er had.
Compared to Huo Yuhao, who had appeared earlier, the Tang Sect side held considerable approval toward Dai Luoli.
Against an ordinary Soul King, it was truly uncertain whether they could gain much advantage over Dai Luoli. Dai Luoli's strength had far exceeded their expectations.
"Beibei, Tianhuang was right. Luoli's strength is very strong; he truly is worthy of being the White Tiger Duke's son." Tang Ya smiled cheerfully, completely forgetting about Huo Yuhao behind her.
With his eardrums ruptured, Huo Yuhao could not hear Dai Luoli's address to Dai Huabin from such a distance in the center of the fighting soul stage, but Tang Ya's words, he heard every single one clearly.
"Dai Luoli, Dai Luoli…"
After a brief moment of stunned realization, his body trembled violently as he suddenly awoke.
"So he is…"
A rare look of eagerness appeared in Huo Yuhao's gloomy eyes.
Back when he lived in the White Tiger Duke's mansion, aside from his mother, only a few people had ever brought him warmth. Among them was one woman, the White Tiger Duke's concubine, a woman likewise hated by the White Tiger Duchess.
That White Tiger Duke's concubine had been very kind to him and his mother. When he was just born, she would often send them food and clothing. Later, after the White Tiger Duchess found out, the contact was cut off.
And that concubine's son was named Dai Luoli.
Seeing Dai Luoli fight Dai Huabin earlier, along with Dai Huabin's gloomy expression, Huo Yuhao subjectively believed that Dai Luoli was also struggling against fate like him and harbored some resentment toward the White Tiger Duke's mansion.
While greatly approving of Dai Luoli in his heart, he also developed a sense of shared suffering and sympathy.
But very soon, all of this was deeply buried once more. He saw Tang Ya and Beibei with bright smiles on their faces, warmly inquiring about Dai Luoli's condition.
Only he had been forgotten in the corner, like a rat hiding in the shadows. He was so out of place here, so superfluous.
Huo Yuhao forcefully pursed his lips and simply closed his eyes again.
The one-on-one elimination match was continuing. The next one from the Tang Sect side to take the stage was Xu Sanshi. With his Soul Emperor cultivation, he easily defeated three members of the Shrek representative team in succession. Later, He Caitou, Jiang Nannan, and Beibei took the stage as well, with similar results.
With such a large gap in cultivation and strength, and Beibei and the others being extremely outstanding inner court disciples, defeating Wu Feng, Xiao Xiao, and the like was only natural.
Xu Zihuang had not deliberately arranged opponents to counter Beibei and the others' abilities. In the face of absolute strength disparity, any arrangement was meaningless. Moreover, the purpose of this one-on-one elimination match was only to gain experience and familiarize themselves with the format.
The only one who gave Beibei and the others some trouble was Nanmen Yun'er; her Jade Demon Bird martial soul indeed had unique aspects. Unfortunately, the opponent she faced happened to be Xu Sanshi, whose abilities countered hers. Unable to break through the defense of Xu Sanshi's Mysterious Underworld Turtle Armor Shield, she ultimately ran out of soul power and was defeated.
In the blink of an eye, this sparring session neared its end. Next up was Tang Ya. In truth, the Tang Sect representative team originally did not need Tang Ya to take the stage, but she strongly insisted. Helpless, Beibei chose to concede voluntarily, leaving the last Shrek representative team member, Xie Huanyue, for Tang Ya.
Tang Ya's martial soul was Blue Silver Grass, with abilities mainly focused on control and lacking powerful soul skills for breaking through defenses.
Xie Huanyue's Pippi Elephant martial soul specialized the most in defense. After a period of consumption, Tang Ya discovered that her earlier soul skills not only failed to break Xie Huanyue's defense but consumed a huge amount instead. She decisively used her fifth soul skill, which she had never used since acquiring it.
A deep black soul ring light expanded outward. Thick black Blue Silver Grass vines rose from the ground. These Blue Silver Grass vines were as thick as an adult's body and clearly resembled the vines of the Nightmare Devouring Flower.
Tang Ya let out a scream. Instantly, dense black thorns grew on the vines. Although they were called black spines, they looked more like rows of sinister teeth that were sharp and disturbing.
The black vines spiraled and exerted force, tightly grinding against Xie Huanyue, who was using his martial soul abilities and soul skills.
Xie Huanyue's entire body was covered in a dim gray light, his skin turning pitch-black and rubbery. His body was almost completely curled up into a huge meatball. The sinister, sharp teeth on the black Blue Silver Grass vines caused no damage to Xie Huanyue whatsoever.
In the end, Tang Ya had no choice but to concede.
Looking at the dejected Tang Ya, Beibei walked forward with a smile to comfort her. "It's fine, Little Ya. This was just a case of your abilities being countered. When you meet a suitable opponent, this fifth soul skill, Nightmare Fang, of yours will surely have its moment to shine."
Yes, the soul skill Tang Ya had just used was precisely her fifth soul skill obtained from that ten-thousand-year Nightmare Devouring Flower, Nightmare Fang.
Although this soul skill carried the Nightmare Devouring Flower's nightmare toxin, it required the black thorns on the vines to pierce the skin to inject the nightmare toxin.
"I was too greedy. I should already be content just to have obtained this soul skill." Tang Ya immediately broke into a smile, sticking her little tongue out at Beibei.
However, Beibei keenly noticed a strange look deep in Tang Ya's eyes. Seeming to realize something, he let out a soft sigh.
Now he understood why Tang Ya had insisted on fighting Xie Huanyue, whose abilities countered hers. Back then, the one who killed Tang Ya's parents and occupied the Tang Sect mansion in Heaven Dou City, the Iron Blood Sect's sect master Tie Li, had the martial soul Iron Arm Bear and specialized in power and defense.
"Little Ya, I won't stop you from seeking revenge against the Iron Blood Sect, but promise me, please don't go to Heaven Dou City alone behind my back, okay?"
"I'm sorry, Beibei. I actually didn't intend to hide it from you on purpose." Having her thoughts seen through, Tang Ya showed a shameful expression and apologetically hugged Beibei.
"I promise you."
Just as Beibei was about to say more, Xu Sanshi walked over carelessly and grumbled with a twitch of his mouth.
"Alright, that's enough. Time to head back. If you want to be all lovey-dovey, go find a private spot where no one will say anything. Do you have to abuse dogs in public like this?"
Tang Ya's pretty face flushed slightly as she left Beibei's embrace, not forgetting to glare fiercely at Xu Sanshi.
Having finally received Tang Ya's hug, only to be interrupted by Xu Sanshi, Beibei naturally did not give him a good look. He walked past Xu Sanshi and carried Huo Yuhao on his back.
But while carrying Huo Yuhao up, Beibei could not help frowning. Of course, he had noticed that Huo Yuhao was still pretending to be unconscious.
Is it because he doesn't want to be lectured by us? Huo Yuhao's behavior made Beibei's impression of him even worse.
On the other side, Xie Huanyue cheerfully blended back into the Shrek representative team's group. Eldest Senior Sister Zhang Lexuan walked at the very front. The members of the Shrek representative team and the Tang Sect representative team respectively exited the fighting soul zone from both sides.
Zhang Lexuan nodded slightly toward everyone.
"Today's sparring ends here. Everyone, go back and rest."
"Yes!" The group dispersed.
Before leaving, Zhang Lexuan specially gave Xu Zihuang a few words with a gentle smile, her gaze carrying profound meaning.
"Tianhuang, the team's integration from now on is entrusted to you. Toward the team members, you still need to have a bit more patience."
Xu Zihuang knew Zhang Lexuan was mainly referring to Wang Qiu'er. With a sheepish nod, he said,
"Don't worry, Eldest Senior Sister. I will."
After bidding farewell to Zhang Lexuan, Xu Zihuang did not follow the others back to Sea God Island. Instead, he sat down with Ning Tian on a wooden bench beside the lakeside path.
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