Unbreakable Douluo Zheng Zhan turned to glance in the direction of the rostrum, then raised his right hand high.
"The match begins!"
He had naturally noticed the change in the Holy Spirit Battle Team's lineup. He could sense that every member of the Holy Spirit Battle Team possessed at least Soul Emperor-level cultivation.
Especially the two women who appeared to have completely identical physiques.
Even with his Titled Douluo strength, he felt a faint, indistinct sense of threat from them.
In truth, if it were possible, he would have preferred the Tang Sect team to eliminate these evil soul masters right here. Although he was from the Sun Moon Empire, as an orthodox soul master and soul engineer, he held no goodwill toward those evil soul masters who reeked of malevolent aura.
However, he had no choice in the matter. Before this, he had received instructions from Xu Tianran to loosen the restrictions.
Two yellow, two purple, one black, five optimally matched soul rings instantly rose from beneath Jiang Nannan's feet.
Upon releasing her martial soul, her body did not undergo major changes, only becoming noticeably taller and more slender. Her ears stood up and lengthened.
From this alone, one could see the gap in martial soul quality between Jiang Nannan and the rest of Shrek Academy's group. The main reason she was able to enter Shrek Academy's inner court was due to her several relatively powerful soul skills.
The Soft Boned Rabbit could not even be considered an advanced martial soul.
Meanwhile, Jili, who had just completed martial soul possession, instantly suppressed Jiang Nannan in presence. He also had an optimal soul ring configuration, but the soul rings pulsing around him were clearly six in number.
Jili's body slightly curled, then abruptly stretched outward. A sharp, pale blue airflow burst from his body.
Immediately after, his short stature suddenly swelled dramatically. The black robe covering his entire body was torn apart in an instant, revealing an extremely bizarre figure.
The first and third soul rings around him lit up. Jili's upper body became covered in blue-gray scales, his body became extremely burly, but his lower limbs became even shorter and more muscular, knotted with bulging tendons. Its head transformed into a triangular shape, lips protruding outwards to reveal sharp fangs.
Because his head had completely taken on the appearance of his martial soul, his original features were no longer recognizable. His face was likewise covered in scales, and a pair of small eyes gleamed with vicious, abyssal light.
Jili's four limbs had become abnormally thick, each ending in three claws. His right foot slammed fiercely against the ground.
With a deafening "Boom!", a wave of gray-blue energy surged toward Jiang Nannan. The wave condensed in midair into the shape of a ferocious giant maw, filled with a salty, fishy stench, as though it intended to swallow Jiang Nannan whole.
Although Jiang Nannan did not recognize what Jili's martial soul was, she knew that for beast martial soul users, the more their bodies transformed to resemble the martial soul itself, the more they could unleash its true power.
Moreover, Jili was a six-ring Soul Emperor. Against an evil soul master of this level, her cultivation would likely struggle to contend.
Still, Jiang Nannan had her own convictions. In her view, as long as evil soul masters like this continued to exist, countless ordinary families would be shattered because of them.
With a cold expression, Jiang Nannan leaped forcefully upward, evading the gray-blue airflow that had condensed into the form of a Devouring Brain Beast's giant mouth. Immediately afterward, her purple thousand-year-old third soul ring shone brightly.
Instant Teleportation was activated without hesitation.
Jiang Nannan did not retreat but advanced instead. In the next instant, she appeared right in front of Jili.
The surge of emotion caused Jiang Nannan to lose some of her usual rationality. Charging in close without first understanding her opponent's martial soul abilities was indeed somewhat reckless.
However, Jiang Nannan was not entirely without consideration. All of her soul skills required close range to activate, and with the Invincible Golden Body at her disposal, she could at least guarantee a safe retreat.
"Ga ga—" Jili let out a sharp, eerie laugh from his mouth. His large feet stomped the ground once more, and his entire body turned into an afterimage that vanished from sight.
The Devouring Brain Beast's martial soul had almost no weaknesses aside from being somewhat lacking in long-range attacks. Not only did it possess astonishing strength and defense, but its speed was also incredibly fast.
Jiang Nannan's heart jolted. Sensing an extremely alarming aura, she instinctively released her fourth soul skill, Invincible Golden Body.
A brilliant golden light barrier instantly enveloped her entire body, making her delicate figure appear as though coated in flowing molten gold, dazzling and eye-catching. As the light of the Invincible Golden Body flowed, a purple-black tongue suddenly shot out from behind her and struck the protective barrier.
"Bang—" A crisp, metallic clanging sound rang out abruptly.
At this moment, Jiang Nannan also turned around and saw Jili's figure clearly.
Right now, the sixth soul ring around Jili was radiating profound black light. That purple-black tongue was entwined with strange black airflow.
Having received instructions from Scorpion Tiger Douluo Zhang Peng earlier, Jili had held nothing back from the very beginning.
At the same time, Bei Bei, who was in the waiting area, seemed to sense something. His expression suddenly changed dramatically.
The dazzling golden light of Jiang Nannan's Invincible Golden Body barrier visibly dimmed at an alarming speed the moment it came into contact with the black airflow.
As the one directly affected, Jiang Nannan felt it even more clearly. The soul power within her body seemed to be devoured by the black airflow, draining away rapidly.
The Invincible Golden Body could indeed block attacks below the godly level for three seconds, but only if one had sufficient soul power to sustain the skill.
All of this happened in the blink of an eye. No one had expected that Jili possessed a skill capable of devouring soul power. Although he could not convert it for his own use, it truly countered Jiang Nannan's fourth soul skill, Invincible Golden Body.
Jili's sixth soul ring came from an extremely rare ten-thousand-year Scorpion Tiger. It was the very same martial soul as Scorpion Tiger Douluo Zhang Peng's. The Scorpion Tiger was a subspecies of the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger. Though not as powerful as the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, it inherited a great degree of its abilities.
The scorpion tail of the Scorpion Tiger could likewise devour soul power, just like the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger. Jili's sixth soul skill had evolved from this, specifically designed to break all kinds of protective soul skills.
It could be said that the ten-thousand-year Scorpion Tiger soul ring fit his Devouring Brain Beast martial soul perfectly. Because of this compatibility, even Scorpion Tiger Douluo Zhang Peng himself planned to accept Jili as his personal disciple after this tournament.
On the competition stage, the now-dimmed Invincible Golden Body shattered with a clear, explosive sound.
"No!" Bei Bei had already rushed onto the stage at the first possible moment. Now his heart was filled with terror as he shouted, "Stop! We, the Tang Sect, concede the first match!"
But he was ultimately one step too late.
Time on the competition stage seemed to freeze.
"Pfft—" That purple-black tongue directly pierced into Jiang Nannan's left calf. It seemed to encounter some obstruction and did not fully penetrate.
A strange, excited gleam burst from Jili's sinister little eyes. Then, with a forceful shake of his head, the tongue tore out from Jiang Nannan's left calf, dragging along a deep, mysterious bone. It was none other than the ten-thousand-year-old Ghost Shadow Leopard's left leg bone that Jiang Nannan had once fused with.
The bone, stained with warm blood, slid and fell onto the competition stage.
Jiang Nannan's face instantly turned deathly pale. The area around her left leg was a mangled mess of flesh and blood. Blood dyed a several-meter radius of the stage crimson.
Having a soul bone forcibly stripped away was, for a soul master, almost an irreversible injury.
"Damn it!" Xu Sanshi, He Caitou, Dai Luoli, and Tang Ya all roared in fury at the same time, following right behind Bei Bei onto the stage.
Zhang Lexuan, Wang Qiu'er, and Ning Tian, the three women, did the same.
The entire audience erupted in shocked gasps. This sudden and bloody scene caught everyone present completely off guard.
Jiang Nannan's appearance was not inferior to Tang Wutong or Wang Qiu'er by much. For such a beautiful woman to suffer such a brutal injury, anyone would feel regret and indignation.
However, Jili on the stage showed no intention of stopping there. He caught the ten-thousand-year Ghost Shadow Leopard's left leg bone in his right hand, and his tongue shot toward Jiang Nannan's forehead once more.
Only now did Unbreakable Douluo Zheng Zhan hurriedly release his pristine white Unbreakable Divine Shield to protect Jiang Nannan.
With his cultivation, he could have intervened in time, but orders from above tied his hands. The most he could do was try his best to preserve Jiang Nannan's life.
A mere Soul Emperor like Jili, no matter how sinister his methods, naturally could not resist a powerful ninth-grade soul tool. He recoiled as if electrocuted, withdrawing his tongue.
Jiang Nannan lost consciousness on the spot and fainted.
Looking at Jiang Nannan's miserable state, Zheng Zhan sighed inwardly. This girl's bright future was likely ruined here. At the same time, he worried that the methods of this evil soul master were far too vicious. The current crown prince of their Sun Moon Empire, choosing to cooperate with the Holy Spirit Cult, might very well be inviting a wolf into the house.
Turning back, Zheng Zhan met Jili's vicious gaze. Already in a foul mood, he snorted angrily on the spot.
"What are you glaring at?! You still want to kill someone in front of me?!"
The pressure of a Titled Douluo's aura instantly forced Jili back more than a dozen steps. Then Zheng Zhan also deactivated the soul tool protective barrier around the competition stage.
Tang Ya immediately rushed forward, picked up Jiang Nannan, and checked her condition. Bei Bei and the others stood protectively in front of Tang Ya and Jiang Nannan, each releasing their martial souls with faces as dark as water.
The other five young evil soul masters of the Holy Spirit Battle Team stepped forward to stand beside Jili, coldly watching the Tang Sect group across from them. Jili toyed with the soul bone in his hand and grinned provocatively.
The atmosphere instantly became extremely tense.
"Everyone, stop!" A thunderous shout rang out. Zheng Zhan's figure appeared silently between the two sides, forcibly separating the pressure from both parties' auras.
Although Zheng Zhan felt somewhat guilty for allowing Jili to severely injure Jiang Nannan, he could not change his position.
"Injuries and casualties are inevitable in a match. Anyone who dares act recklessly will be immediately expelled from this tournament."
Xu Sanshi was on the verge of exploding. Black qi swirled around his body, and his Xuanwu bloodline seemed ready to awaken at any moment. He glared coldly at Zheng Zhan.
Meanwhile, the usually gentle and refined Bei Bei spoke with an unprecedented thick killing intent in his voice.
"To the death."
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