Below the platform, in the spectator stands, the audience was completely caught off guard by this match and broke into heated chatter.
"Impressive! The Master of the Soul Hall truly lives up to his reputation. Who would have thought that besides his mastery of soul tools, he commands such terrifying combat techniques?"
"I originally thought Feng Piaoling's strength was at best around the Soul Emperor level. Now it seems he's far beyond that—a Soul Emperor couldn't have dispatched Wang Ying so effortlessly."
"Yeah, I think so too. That sword strike of his was so fast it startled even me."
"No way, aren't you a Soul Sage...?"
Overhearing the crowd's chatter, Ma Xiaotao's expression turned thoroughly unsightly. She glared at Huo Yuhao and demanded, "Huo Yuhao, what on earth just happened? Did you activate Spiritual Detection Sharing for him just now or not?"
Huo Yuhao's face was equally grim as he replied, "I did share my Spiritual Detection! But Feng Piaoling's sword was simply too fast. Even if Senior Wang Ying perceived it, he couldn't dodge in time. Besides, that fellow seemed to see right through the weaknesses of Senior Wang's soul skills, landing every single attack precisely on the weakest point of his technique."
By this point, Shrek Academy had already begun to show signs of fighting as individuals rather than a cohesive unit. Hearing Huo Yuhao's explanation, Ling Luochen leaped directly onto the arena stage, leaving behind a cold statement: "I'm up next. I won't allow you to cheat on my behalf, or else I'll report you."
"You..." Ling Luochen's condescending attitude left Huo Yuhao feeling deeply wronged and surging with anger.
Knowing Ling Luochen's temperament, Ma Xiaotao cast a glance at Huo Yuhao and said, "Since she insists on this, just do as she says."
On the competition stage, Feng Piaoling and Ling Luochen stood fifty meters apart.
Creak, creak...
Not daring to underestimate Feng Piaoling, Ling Luochen immediately activated her first and second soul skills, summoning a two-meter-long ice crystal staff while manifesting a layer of ice crystal armor around her body.
An astonishing chill caused the ground to freeze, while countless grain-sized ice crystals scattered through the air, dancing in all directions.
"Ice Prison!"
With all preparations complete, Ling Luochen launched her offensive first. Shifting her weight, she swung the staff in her hand, condensing an ice-blue sphere of light directly above Feng Piaoling's head.
It actually has no weak point? An ice element martial soul truly is a flawless soul type.
Feng Piaoling glanced at the sphere of light, surprising himself when he noticed that this unleashed soul skill lacked the structural weak points typical of other martial soul skills.
Buzz!
An invisible aura of sword intent expanded, causing the void to ripple gently. Feng Piaoling took a step forward, holding the Azure Lotus Sword, and delivered a heavy slash.
"Seeking the Gap!"
Boom!
Ice shards exploded everywhere. Ling Luochen was forced backward, while Feng Piaoling didn't yield an inch.
Although the seventh stance of the Nine Gale Swords, Seeking the Gap, lacked the power of the ninth stance, Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon, it far surpassed the latter in speed.
Repelling Ling Luochen with a single strike, Feng Piaoling's figure split into three, attacking from three different angles simultaneously.
"What kind of footwork is this? It's even more intricate than the Tang Sect's Ghost Shadow Perilous Track!" Ling Luochen was filled with astonishment, yet she dared not show the slightest carelessness.
Unable to discern Feng Piaoling's true body, she decisively unleashed her fourth soul skill—Chilling Ice Mist.
A vast expanse of icy mist, capable of corroding an opponent's soul skills, instantly engulfed nearly half the arena stage.
Under the mist's coverage, two of Feng Piaoling's clones immediately began to turn translucent.
"This one is the real body!" The fifth soul ring on Ling Luochen flashed as a massive, dark-blue ring of ice ascended into the air. Three beams of light then descended, enveloping Feng Piaoling's true body and his two clones alike.
A clever choice, but still overly cautious.
Ling Luochen using the icy mist to identify his true body was undoubtedly the correct move, but Feng Piaoling had never intended to rely on the clones to obscure her vision in the first place.
He had done so intentionally to make her wary of his clones, forcing her to split her attack.
Just as he anticipated, Ling Luochen fell for it. Though her primary target remained his true body, Feng Piaoling couldn't care less about an attack that had already been diluted.
She had had no weak points, so Feng Piaoling had simply maneuvered her into creating one herself.
Of course, even if Ling Luochen had ignored the clones, Feng Piaoling would have lost nothing, as she had effectively exhausted her options after unleashing her fifth soul skill.
Swish!
The Azure Lotus Sword slashed vertically, bringing forth a golden crescent of sword energy nearly resembling a full moon. The beam of energy and the formation were sliced clean in two before dissipating, while the icy mist along a straight path was split wide open.
It was none other than the Golden Light Tremor Slash.
In the next instant, the ice staff in Ling Luochen's hands snapped into two pieces, and her ice armor shattered with a loud pop.
Ling Luochen stood frozen in place, dazed. Only when the icy mist completely dispersed did she gasp for air, looking at Feng Piaoling with a complex gaze. "Counting the previous time, I owe you two lives."
Perhaps only she knew that with that last strike, Feng Piaoling could have easily cleaved her in half.
Yet at the crucial moment, he had held back.
"It matters not. Refusing to cheat alongside them proves you are an opponent worthy of respect."
Feng Piaoling made no effort to suppress his voice. Aside from the distant spectators, members of Shrek Academy and the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy below the stage naturally heard him clearly.
The Fiend Douluo, Huang Jinxu, was no exception. His old face flushed red, but pretending to be oblivious, he called out loudly, "Feng Piaoling wins! Next!"
"I'm up! Huo Yuhao, assist me!" Dai Yaoheng couldn't care less about cheating or not. Just moments ago, he had received a voice transmission from his father, ordering him to eliminate Feng Piaoling by any means necessary.
He was determined to fulfill his father's command.
On the other side, before stepping off the stage, Ling Luochen turned around and asked, "That wasn't your true strength just now, was it?"
Feng Piaoling blinked in surprise. "No, that was already my limit."
"Is that so?" The corners of Ling Luochen's mouth twitched slightly. He was still concealing his strength even now—did he think she hadn't noticed?
Hoo!
Exhaling a long breath, Feng Piaoling felt quite surprised by Ling Luochen's abilities. Although her raw power was only marginally stronger than Wang Ying's, her crowd-control capability and mastery over her soul skills were things Wang Ying couldn't hope to match.
Moreover, this was the first time his Heaven-Reaching Demon Eyes had failed to discern an opponent's weakness.
In the past, I've always observed martial souls with physical forms, rather than almost intangible existences like the ice element. It seems I truly cannot underestimate the world's soul masters, and my Heaven-Reaching Demon Eyes still need further refinement.
Feng Piaoling mused to himself.
Right at that moment, Dai Yaoheng stepped onto the stage.
Without a second thought, Dai Yaoheng immediately unleashed three enhancement soul skills back-to-back: White Tiger Barrier, White Tiger Vajra Transformation, and White Tiger Demon God Transformation.
Centered around his body, countless fist-sized golden spheres of light burst forth, instantly locking onto Feng Piaoling and swarming toward him in a frantic surge.
It was the fourth soul skill of the White Tiger martial soul—White Tiger Meteor Shower.