“Understood.” Wang Dong’er and You Chen acknowledged at once.
Wang Dong’er had been observing her opponent ever since he stepped on stage. She could clearly feel the hostility in her opponent’s eyes, and there was no question that this hostility stemmed from the previous round’s result. The Clearjade Sect came from Radiant City after all, and must be friendly towards the Sun Moon Empire’s team.
But so what?
Wang Dong’er lifted her chin slightly. She was taller than You Chen, and so it seemed like she was looking down on him.
You Chen shot a cold look at her. He turned around immediately and walked toward the stage’s other edge.
Wang Dong’er turned around and proceeded to her own side. They widened their stride and arrived at their respective corners while they prepared for battle.
Zheng Zhan raised his right hand high into the air. Once he could see that both parties were ready and in place, he swung his arm down forcefully and shouted, “Begin!”
Both of them began to move once his arm went down. Wang Dong’er tapped on the ground with her foot, and she seemed as light as ever as she charged forward. Her Radiant Butterfly Goddess’ wings extended behind her back, while her soul rings sparkled dazzlingly at the same time. Pale golden light immediately covered her entire body.
Wang Dong’er was a lot more careful today after the painful lesson that she had learned from the previous round. She would never give her opponent the chance to ambush her, no matter what.
You Chen raised his arms from his sides, and two beams of light flashed by before a spike-like weapon appeared in each of his hands. Two yellow and three purple soul rings rose from his body at the same time.
The Clearjade Sect consisted of soul engineers, so Wang Dong’er wouldn’t underestimate her opponent because of his non-optimal soul ring combination.
You Chen’s body and soul rings suddenly looked a little virtual. He left a trail of afterimages in his wake as he darted forward, and he covered several tens of meters with one step.
What incredible speed! Surprisingly, he wasn’t a soul engineer that focused on boosting soul power – he was an agility-type soul master.
Wang Dong’er had ample fighting experience. She was taken by surprise, but that didn’t slow her reactions at all. She tapped her left leg on the ground, and she spun in a circle as if she were about to dance. Her wings transformed into two huge blades and sliced towards the spikes in her opponent’s hands, which were clearly soul weapons.
“Ding, ding!” Two bright, crisp sounds could be heard. Two yellow circles rippled through the air, and Wang Dong’er accelerated in the next moment as her footwork became incredibly complex and mystical as she sidestepped You Chen’s attack.
Those with better vision realized that Wang Dong’er’s wings had two small holes in them. She moved fast and tried her best to mask this fact, but it was clear that she was the one at a disadvantage in this collision.
“Powerful offensive capability. These spikes should make up his entire arsenal of soul tools. This is the mark of a true agility-type soul engineer.” Zheng Zhan nodded lightly as he thought to himself. He was quite in awe towards this contestant from the Clearjade Sect, who was developing down a very focused and singular path. Soul masters who wanted to become something had to display their greatest strengths in their entirety; this was the only way to stand out from the rest, the only way to become stronger.
Wang Dong’er was also a little astonished. Her wings were tough, and in addition to her quick reactions, enabled her to push away those spikes in the nick of time. Otherwise, her opponent’s spikes would probably have stabbed right into her body.
Wang Dong’er had been defeated in battle before, but this was the first time that her martial soul had been damaged. Martial souls were part of a soul master’s body, and it didn’t matter whether soul masters had beast souls or tool souls. Injuries to a soul master’s martial soul would undoubtedly affected the soul master’s own body. At this moment, the soul power within Wang Dong’er’s body became a little messy and disorganized.
Wang Dong’er was full of admiration inside. It was just as Huo Yuhao had said: every single team that could progress into the round robins wasn’t simple at all.
But this was the only thought that ran through her mind. You Chen was just too fast – his third soul ring lit up when Wang Dong’er sidestepped his attack, and his body seemed to split apart in the next moment as the afterimages that appeared from his incredible speed suddenly became material. His figure split apart into seven identical clones that surrounded Wang Dong’er at the same time. Everything happened way too quickly, and Wang Dong’er had no chance to dodge even if she wanted to. She was surrounded and trapped just like that.
But Wang Dong’er was a Soul Emperor, and she was a Soul Emperor from Shrek Academy. She wouldn’t be amongst the academy’s next-generation elites if she was stumped by her opponent’s speed.
Wang Dong’er’s fourth soul ring sparkled when her opponent and his shadows began to surround her. A beautiful yellow halo appeared on the ground with her body in its center. Wang Dong’er didn’t move at all as her opponent and his shadows closed in on her, and she just closed her eyes, as if she were using her ears to listen intently to something. She placed her hands together in front of her chest at the same time, and a sphere of light began to condense.
The seven images arched inwards before they bounced out like lightning bolts. You Chen’s reactions were quick, indeed. Right when his seven images bolted out, a gigantic pillar of light that was over two meters tall rose into the sky with Wang Dong’er at its center: her Hexagram Array! This soul skill had formidable offensive and controlling capabilities, but it required her to predict her opponent’s attacks and movements.
She wasn’t working together with Huo Yuhao for now, but she was still as powerful as she had always been.
You Chen didn’t seem like he could maintain those seven images for too long. His seven images bolted out and instantly collapsed back together, and it was then that he saw a blade of light that seemed to eclipse the sun sweep towards him.
Wang Dong’er’s third soul skill, the Butterfly Goddess Slash.
Her Butterfly Goddess Slash wasn’t a concentrated attack anymore. It was separated into one hundred and eight light blades, and they were like an enormous web under Wang Dong’er’s control as they rushed towards You Chen.
You Chen retreated explosively. At a time like this, the only way he could avoid this attack was to move backwards. You Chen possessed incredible speed and outstanding offensive abilities, but his defensive powers weren’t that impressive at all. He wasn’t willing to risk being struck by his opponent. The truth was that You Chen resembled an assassin, and he was most adept with hiding in the darkness and erupting all at once to give his opponent a fatal blow.
However, this was a tournament after all, and there was no way he could hide himself on the competition stage. He left another trail of afterimages as he dashed backwards at breakneck speed.
Wang Dong’er didn’t chase him, instead making a simple gesture with her hands, as if she were lifting something.
You Chen had been monitoring her movements this whole time. Once she raised her hands, he nearly subconsciously bounced away diagonally like a fish.
A golden pillar appeared in the path that he was trying to escape toward – it was another Hexagram Array. You Chen’s reaction was quick, but Wang Dong’er’s judgement was extremely accurate. This simple movement swept away two of his afterimages and caused You Chen’s body to tremble. His aura seemed a little weaker than before, and then he looked on as Wang Dong’er’s hands made another lifting gesture yet again.
Hexagram Array was a powerful offensive and controlling skill all at once. More importantly, it was a fearsome ability that could be released again and again. Hexagram Array was Wang Dong’er’s fourth soul skill, and it was a five-thousand year soul skill. It just didn’t look like it on the surface.
You Chen was taken aback as he watched her lift her hands once more, and he immediately lunged sideways. However, he could see the sly and cunning smile on Wang Dong’er’s face as he pounced horizontally, and her hands suddenly paused in midair. In the next moment, You Chen could only watch as his body slammed into a golden beam that had just soared into the sky.
A golden layer immediately erupted from You Chen’s body without hesitation. He didn’t dare let Wang Dong’er’s Hexagram Array touch him. The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy didn’t have exclusive rights to use the Invincible Barrier; the Clearjade Sect had some too. He was immediately enveloped by her Hexagram Array when he released his Invincible Barrier.
You Chen couldn’t be bothered with his soul power that was being rapidly drained away. He tapped on the ground with his foot, and unleashed as much speed as he possibly could. This time, he left nine afterimages in his wake as he lunged directly towards Wang Dong’er. He wanted to use what little time his Invincible Barrier provided to give Wang Dong’er a series of his most formidable attacks. This was the only way he had a shot at victory!
Wang Dong’er began to move when her third Hexagram Array appeared. Her Radiant Butterfly Goddess’ wings flapped vigorously and propelled her into the air. The Light of the Butterfly Goddess burst out like a meteor shower and rained down toward her unbelievably quick opponent.
At the same time, a heavy cannon appeared in her hands... a soul cannon! The silver-white cannon had very elegant lines, and its barrel was extremely large. The entire cannon was about one and a half meters long, and the cannon mouth was a stunning twenty centimeters wide. Wang Dong’er carried it on her shoulders, and it seemed as if there were beauty in the violence.
You Chen was exceedingly fast, indeed. He tried his best to dodge the attacks of the Light of the Butterfly Goddess as much as he could. With his Invincible Barrier activated, the Light of the Butterfly Goddess naturally couldn’t hurt him, but all those lights could greatly impede his forward momentum. He would be significantly slowed if he allowed even one ray to touch him.
You Chen could clearly tell from their previous few collisions that this six-ringed Soul Emperor from the Tang Sect was incredibly powerful. Her soul power was more than one class above his own, and he would definitely lose this battle if he allowed her to regain her balance. His method was risky business, but it was clear that his Invincible Barrier was his last chance at victory.
He was coming closer and closer to Wang Dong’er. He didn’t hesitate any longer, and his fifth soul ring lit up as the two spikes in his hands shone with ghastly white light. The lights extending from the spikes were about half a foot long, and they were incredibly sharp as they whistled through the air.