With the Strength of the Xuanwu supporting him, the soul power unleashed caused the fire web to descend at a much slower speed. His fourth soul skill, the Mysterious Underworld Displacement, did not switch his position with his opponent. Rather, it caused his opponent to be translocated in front of him.
Xu Sanshi was calmer in such important battles. That decisive charge of his confused his opponent and caused him to slip up.
After the Shield of the Xuanming Turtle became the Xuanwu Shield, all his soul skills changed too. The Mysterious Underworld Displacement changed from its pure displacement effect to a soul skill that could both displace and translocate opponents.
The Mysterious Underworld Displacement now allowed translocation of all life within 100 meters to just right in front of him. The translocated person would also be momentarily stunned. Although it was only for one second, it was already sufficient for a defense-type soul master to do many things. If a friendly force was translocated over, the user could stop the person being translocated from being momentarily stunned.
He had arrived so close to Xu Sanshi in an instant that Li Yan did not even have time to react before he saw Xu Sanshi’s cold and scary black pupils. Following that, the Xuanwu Shield slammed into him.
Li Yan was a soul king, while Xu Sanshi was only a soul ancestor. But the Xuanwu Shield caused an unimaginable impact at this moment.
Li Yan still managed to react through his panic. He wanted to unleash his Invincible Barrier, seeing that things were not right. Everyone had prepared an Invincible Barrier before they came for the final. Although it was very costly, it could turn a situation around if used well. Furthermore, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy never had a lack of money.
But Li Yan miscalculated this time. Before the Xuanwu Shield even slammed against him, he already felt a gentle water ripple engulfing his body. He was a fire-type soul master, whereas the Xuanwu was a water and earth-type. Water was the main element, while earth was the secondary element. As his martial soul was suppressed, his soul powers retracted, and he couldn’t use the Invincible Barrier. After all, the Invincible Barrier was neither auto-activating or omnipotent.
The Xuanwu Shield slammed into him in the next moment.
Li Yan’s entire body turned black after he was struck, and there was a feeling of water being splashed. Countless metal shards flew out from his body in all directions. Not only this, but he seemed to have been sucked into a whirlpool. His body wasn’t thrown away, and a string of booms resonated from the Xuanwu Shield’s surface. Xu Sanshi’s first soul ring also started to flash.
Mysterious Underworld Quake. The violent Mysterious Underworld Quake. The ever-changing Mysterious Underworld Quake! Or rather, the improved version of the Mysterious Underworld Quake!
Li Yan’s body seemed to be struck thousands of times in that instant. His soul tool was knocked away from him, and his soul powers were dissipated. His life was also in danger…
The Heavenfiend Douluo reacted in time. When he noticed something amiss, he had already appeared beside Li Yan instantly. He used one hand to chop the central position where both of them had collided with each other.
The black light from the Xuanwu Shield jerked a little, and Xu Sanshi staggered backwards half a step, whereas Li Yan collapsed to the ground. At least 7 or 8 of his ribs were probably broken, and his internal organs were greatly injured too. If he hadn’t been wearing his soul tool armor, his injuries would have been even worse.
Even the Heavenfiend Douluo’s palm shook a little as he stopped Xu Sanshi. This showed how powerful the Mysterious Underworld Quake was. Xu Sanshi was no longer simply just a defense-type soul master.
A gentle, immense force dragged Li Yan’s body down from the competition stage. Healing-type soul masters immediately tended to him.
The Heavenfiend Douluo said in a deep voice after he glanced at Xu Sanshi, “The Sun Moon team’s second competing member for the individual round, Chen An, shall enter the fray. You, step back.”
His last few words were for Xu Sanshi.
Xu Sanshi didn’t retract his Xuanwu Shield, but stepped back a few steps. Another Milk Bottle appeared in his hand too. As he stepped back, he used the Milk Bottle without retracting the shield. Milky white ripples could be seen spreading outwards from his body before they were retracted back in.
“Sanshi!” Bei Bei couldn’t help himself, and screamed from below the stage. He was the clearest about Xu Sanshi’s ability. He had fulfilled his potential by using the Xuanwu Shield, which also expended all his soul power. To recover his soul power to its peak state in a short period of time, he was using the Milk Bottle while his martial soul was still out. Although the impact on his body by his soul power was minimized by his strong Xuanwu aura, the feedback on him would be too great if he left this explosive Xuanwu state right now.
Jiang Nannan had also slowly regained consciousness in Xiao Xiao’s arms with the aid of the healing-type soul masters.
Jiang Nannan was a little dazed as she saw the huge and tall figure that was retreating step by step with his back facing her, and was using the Milk Bottle to regain his soul power.
“He’s, he’s doing this for me? He treats me… but…”
Complex emotions surged in this young lady’s heart, and her pain didn’t seem obvious anymore. Her intense distaste for a certain someone was slowly disappearing.
“He’s indeed awakened the powers of the Xuanwu. I’ve succeeded. But why do I feel frantic even though I succeeded? Is he really true to me? But I… but he…”
Jiang Nannan’s mind drifted with the scene when she saw Xu Sanshi for the first time. Her tender face was also starting to flush. She lowered her head, as if she didn’t dare to look at him on the stage. But she lifted her head very soon, and the look in her eyes changed tremendously in just a blink. There was an extra tinge of concern, or perhaps that was worry.
Chen An was an official team member of the Sun Moon team. His martial soul was the Lightning Bird. He was also Chen Fei’s biological younger brother, and they were only a year apart in terms of age.
Compared to his brother, Chen An was only 18 this year. It was obvious that he was more talented than his brother, as he could represent the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy as an official team member even though he was only 18 years old. But he only had this one biological brother, who had always been his goal.
Chen Fei was dead. He had died under Ma Xiaotao’s phoenix flames. Chen An’s eyes turned had blood-red from that point on.
Li Yan had lost. He had already jumped onto the stage the moment the Heavenfiend Douluo opened his mouth. His entire person seemed to be on fire, and a layer of formless radiance was shining from him.
He fought differently from other soul engineers. When the Heavenfiend Douluo signaled the start of the competition, he leapt towards Xu Sanshi like a bolt of lightning.
He was too quick. In terms of speed, he was even faster than his elder brother. Huo Yuhao could only tell that Chen An was wielding a pair of short swords as his weapons even though he had his Spirit Eyes.
The 100 meters between them seemed to be covered so easily. That bolt of lightning surged straight towards Xu Sanshi, and even the Heavenfiend Douluo had to be absolutely focused in preparation to end this round.
The radiance from Xu Sanshi’s Milk Bottle had disappeared when his opponent dashed out. He lifted the heavy Xuanwu Shield and performed an action that didn’t seem related to the competition.
He moved half a step to the right, and tilted the Xuanwu Shield at an angle. He also shut his eyes at this point and sealed his vision.
“Dang—” A streak of advancing golden light grazed past the Xuanwu Shield and amidst a stream of sparks. After that, a series of explosions echoed from the Xuanwu Shield. The frightening explosive force was too much for Xu Sanshi, even though he had the Xuanwu Shield. He retreated a few steps rapidly, and only managed to stabilize after staggering a little.
Yes, Chen An and Chen Fei were different. Chen Fei used his speed, as he was a speed-type long-range attacker, whereas Chen An was a close-combat soul engineer. He specialized in close-combat and attacked rapidly. A powerful assault-type close-combat soul tool, along with his extreme speed, made him stronger than an agility-type soul king.
The pair of short swords in his hand had been molded by him 7 times. The short swords would become more powerful every time they were molded. He had made them Class 6 soul tools through all his effort. One sword had a flash effect, and was extremely quick, while the other sword could invoke a thunderstorm. Once struck by this sword, a thunderstorm would rage and strike the opponent. It would also create an opportunity for the other sword.
It took Chen An less than a third of a second to slow his assault. In the next instant, he had already attacked Xu Sanshi like a bolt of lightning.
Xu Sanshi started to shift his feet, and his small steps changed repeatedly. It appeared that his actions were out of tune with the oncoming bolt of lightning, but he was able to dodge behind the Xuanwu Shield.
A close-combat soul engineer was offensively stronger than a long-distance soul engineer. While the soul tool rays and soul tool cannons looked very dazzling, only a close-combat soul tool could unleash the effects of a soul tool to its fullest.
Xu Sanshi’s defense had reached a soul king’s standard with the Xuanwu Shield supporting him. However, he was still forced back by Chen An’s relentless attacks. He couldn’t even stand properly. A streak of flashing light left streaks and streaks of shrilling sparks. Bolts and bolts of lightning brought booming, reverberating sounds with them.
Xu Sanshi was in great jeopardy now. He was at risk of perishing under the pulsating bolts of lightning.
He was getting closer to the edge of the stage. If this continued, Xu Sanshi would certainly be forced off the stage even if he could resist Chen An’s attacks.
However, Chen An changed the direction of his attacks at this point. Xu Sanshi had to retreat laterally because of this.
“Rascal, what’re you doing?” The Sun Moon team’s teacher could not help but scold furiously. Chen An was on the verge of victory earlier!
“He wants to take revenge for Chen Fei. This fellow…” Ma Rulong was a little annoyed as he shut his eyes. What else could he say? If it were him, what would he do?
Chen An didn’t force Xu Sanshi off the stage, as he wanted more time to attack. He wanted to find a loophole and kill him.
Xu Sanshi was forced to retreat laterally. He was staggering now, and could be killed at anytime.
The Heavenfiend Douluo was experienced, and could tell Chen An’s motive.
“Boom—”
An explosion rang from the Xuanwu Shield. Xu Sanshi’s hands also trembled a little, and he staggered backwards quickly. He wanted to use his soul skill to make up for his shortfall, but Chen An’s speed increased to its peak at this instant. Chen An’s flashing sword stabbed towards Xu Sanshi rapidly.
The Heavenfiend Douluo hesitated for a while. He could tell that Xu Sanshi was unable to dodge this blow, but he saw Xu Sanshi’s Xuanwu Shield lighting up too.
He could end this round if he made his move, but he couldn’t determine the victor. That was why he hesitated. He didn’t strike with the hand he lifted, as he didn’t want to influence the result.
“Psht—” The flashing sword stabbed into Xu Sanshi’s chest. Intense lightning flashed across his chest, and his entire person seemed to be coated with a layer of lightning.
“No—!” Below the stage, the critically injured Jiang Nannan sat up. She let out a sorrowful groan, then spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.
How could Xu Sanshi not hear that? His eyes were filled with resolve initially, but a shred of comfort appeared when he heard that sorrowful groan.
The lightning that spread across his body was the effect caused by the flashing sword. As the sword stabbed into his body, the flashing lightning surged in his entire body and could even tear it apart.
Chen An was delighted when he managed to stab Xu Sanshi successfully. He muttered to himself, “Elder brother, I’ve avenged you.”
However, his smile stiffened up at this point.
Xu Sanshi’s body was covered on flashing lightning, but there were too many bolts of lightning on his body. Just as Chen An was stunned in place, a gentle ripple undulated, and Xu Sanshi’s tough Xuanwu Shield softened. It turned into rippling water that engulfed his body internally.
Xu Sanshi had been waiting for this moment for too long. Against a close-combat soul engineer, his Mysterious Underworld Displacement was useless. Bringing his opponent close to him would only enable his opponent to increase his frequency of attacks. The Mysterious Underworld Quake couldn’t even quake at a speed that matched up to the opponent’s rate of attack. That was why he could only wait for an opportunity to arrive.
Did Xu Sanshi slip up just now? No, of course not. He had intentionally revealed a crack in his defenses. That was because he could clearly sense that he was unable to hold on, as his soul power was depleting quickly and his opponent was attacking him relentlessly. He had no chance to wait any further, thus he needed to take a risk.
The Xuanwu Shield turned into a ball of black watery light that engulfed Chen An precisely. In the next instant, a huge illusory Xuanwu Shield appeared behind Xu Sanshi