Facing Gu Xuan's sudden assault, Shi Mo felt like coughing up blood. If he had known it would turn out like this, he would have been better off just tanking a few punches earlier.
However, Shi Mo's reactions were far from slow. The purple third soul ring on his body ignited instantly, and he hurled the tortoise shell shield in his hand toward the forest of bone swords thrusting at him from the front.
"Third Soul Skill, Turtle Shell Burst!"
As the skill was released, the shield exploded mid-air, shattering into dozens of fragments. The force of the detonation instantly pulverized the incoming wave of bone swords.
Yet the offensive didn't cease. Despite the destruction, an endless stream of bone swords continued to erupt from the ground, lunging toward Shi Mo.
The blast had bought him a few precious breaths of time. Just as he attempted to leap out of the range of Gu Xuan's third soul skill, he realized Gu Xuan was already closing the distance, leaping across the tips of the bone swords.
"Converge!"
Startled, Shi Mo clenched his right hand and let out a roar.
Under his command, the dozens of tortoise shell fragments abruptly formed a circular magnetic field, attempting to lock Gu Xuan in place—just as his brother had used this move to restrain Osler earlier.
However, he completely underestimated Gu Xuan's raw power. Even as Gu Xuan entered the magnetic field of the fragments, his speed didn't falter for a single second.
Shi Mo's move was a special trait derived from the soul beast of his third ring, but its control capacity was limited. If the opponent possessed enough strength and explosive power, they could ignore the effect entirely.
While Osler was fast, he lacked sufficient strength, making it nearly impossible for him to break free once caught. Gu Xuan was different; his sheer physical power far exceeded the limits of Shi Mo's magnetic field.
In a few swift bounds, Gu Xuan appeared directly in front of Shi Mo, cutting off his path of retreat. Bone swords erupted one after another from the earth. Seeing that escape was impossible, Shi Mo was forced to leap off the Soul Battle stage.
As Shi Mo landed outside the ring, Qin Ming's voice rang out calmly. "Gu Xuan wins!"
Qin Ming then looked coldly at Shi Mo. "Shi Mo, is this the best you can do? What exactly are you afraid of?"
Hearing Qin Ming's words, Shi Mo lowered his head. He wasn't injured—his defense was as absolute as a turtle's shell—but he had been driven off the stage in such a stifling, helpless manner.
Shi Mo opened his mouth to explain, but Qin Ming spoke again. "Next group, Yu Tianheng versus Yu Feng."
Qin Ming didn't look at Shi Mo again, leaving him time to reflect.
Gu Xuan jumped down from the stage and approached Shi Mo, clapping him on the shoulder. "Shi Mo, don't lose heart. To be honest, your defensive power is the strongest I've seen among soul masters of the same rank. As a Defense Type, you've actually done quite well."
Hearing Gu Xuan's comfort, Shi Mo managed a helpless smile. "Don't say that, Gu Xuan. Your attack power is just too terrifying. Even when I face Tianheng, I've never been this pathetic."
After a pause, Shi Mo stole a glance at Qin Ming and whispered, "I can tell by Teacher Qin's face that he's definitely not satisfied. But the opponent was you—you're basically a freak of nature."
Gu Xuan chuckled and replied softly, "Don't worry. Next time, I'll show you how to train. I already have a rough idea for a combat style that suits you. Next time, we'll definitely make Teacher Qin proud."
Shi Mo's eyes lit up. From the training methods Gu Xuan used this morning, it was clear he knew exactly what he was doing. If Gu Xuan truly guided him, he might see some extraordinary results.
"Really? I'd appreciate that more than anything," Shi Mo said, grabbing Gu Xuan's hand in excitement.
"Of course. But for now, let's watch the match between Tianheng and Yu Feng," Gu Xuan said, returning to the spectator seats with Shi Mo.
The battle between Yu Tianheng and Yu Feng didn't offer many surprises, primarily because Yu Tianheng's Martial Soul was a natural counter to Yu Feng's.
Although Yu Feng could fly, he didn't dare come into contact with Yu Tianheng's lightning. His defense was too low; like Osler, he was an Agility Attack Type who excelled in speed and offense but had almost zero defensive capability.
Before long, Yu Feng was defeated due to soul power exhaustion, and the match ended with Yu Tianheng as the victor.
Dugu Yan had not taken the stage yet because the only opponent left was Ye Lingling. Since Ye Lingling was a Support Type with no combat capability, she couldn't serve as an opponent.
Just as Qin Ming was about to begin his critique, Gu Xuan spoke up. "Teacher Qin, I'd like to have a match with Sister Yan."
Before Qin Ming could react, the eyes of the others lit up. A fight with Dugu Yan?
Dugu Yan's soul power was Rank 37. Aside from Yu Tianheng, no one else was a match for her. Beyond being a Control Type, which gave her an advantage, it was her serpent toxin that truly killed any desire to fight her.
Yu Tianheng could rely on his powerful lightning to barely resist the toxin for a short time and take her down quickly with the might of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, but the others lacked that ability.
Even the Shi Mo brothers found their thick tortoise shells useless against her poison. Toxin wasn't just something that could be blocked; even inhaling a small amount was enough to strip them of their fighting capacity.
Now that they heard Gu Xuan wanted to fight her, they were filled with anticipation. Gu Xuan's attack power and combat instincts were undeniable, but how would he fare against an area-of-effect poison?
Dugu Yan looked at Gu Xuan with a playful smile. "What's this, Xiao Xuanuan? You want to test your big sister's level?"
Gu Xuan chuckled. "Sister Yan, it's just a spar. Surely you won't be too ruthless, right?"
Dugu Yan nodded. "True. To be honest, I've been wanting to test your strength myself."
Qin Ming nodded. "Very well. Since Gu Xuan is willing, Yanzi, you'll face him in the next match."
Saying this, Qin Ming stepped off the stage. He was curious to see how Gu Xuan would handle Dugu Yan's poison.
Over the last two days, Gu Xuan's strength had proven to be beyond doubt. Except for the fact that his soul power was only Rank 33, he was more than qualified to be a teacher.
Qin Ming had never seen a battle between Gu Xuan and Dugu Yan, so he was naturally happy to see it happen now that Gu Xuan had proposed it.
Suddenly, Qin Ming asked, "Gu Xuan, do you need to recover your soul power first?"
Gu Xuan laughed and glanced at Shi Mo. "It feels a bit mean to say this to Shi Mo, but my soul power consumption wasn't high. I can definitely handle another fight."
Shi Mo's expression soured. 'If you know it's mean, why say it?'
Even though Shi Mo's own consumption hadn't been huge, being told he was defeated without even making the opponent break a sweat felt like being kicked while he was down.
The others were secretly surprised as well. Gu Xuan had used his first, second, and third soul skills in succession.
Generally, a soul master's total soul power is limited. A Soul Elder's reserves are typically enough to use a first skill six times, a second skill four times, or a third skill twice before running dry.
If using all three, the limit is usually twice for the first, twice for the second, and once for the third before exhaustion sets in.
Gu Xuan had used each of his three skills once, meaning he should have consumed at least half of his reserves. Yet he claimed the consumption wasn't high?
This only proved that Gu Xuan's foundations were far deeper than those of an average soul master.
But then again, they felt it made sense. All three of Gu Xuan's rings were absorbed beyond the normal limits, and even the second ring—which wasn't technically an over-limit absorption—came from a top-tier soul beast like the Darkgold Terrorclaw Bear. Such a deep foundation was inevitable.
(End of Chapter)
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