Swoosh!
Who could have expected that Feng Piaoling would retreat so abruptly and without a trace of warning, leaving her with the infuriating sensation of throwing a heavy punch into soft cotton?
Even the Phoenix Meteor Shower she was actively channeling nearly collapsed, almost destroying her own offensive setup.
Yet at that exact instant, having retreated more than ten meters away, Feng Piaoling launched his next move.
"Golden Brilliance Quake-Kill Sword!" Gripping his sword with both hands, his robes fluttering wildly in the wind, Feng Piaoling unleashed a devastating slash.
Ma Xiaotao's expression turned hideous. Having learned from her previous mistake, she altered her Phoenix Meteor Shower from a wide-area carpet bomb into a concentrated, high-density stream—smaller in range, but far more lethal.
With a violent forward thrust of her wings, a vast torrent of phoenix meteors turned into a straight river of stars, rushing forward to wash over everything.
Raging flames erupted skyward, intertwined with crackling thunder and roaring winds. Two completely different lethal techniques overlapped; any Soul Emperor caught in its path would face certain death.
As the Phoenix Meteor Shower and the Golden Brilliance Quake-Kill Sword canceled each other out, Feng Piaoling's figure burst apart once more. Multiple phantoms darted rapidly toward Ma Xiaotao. For a moment, even with Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Detection Sharing, Ma Xiaotao was entirely unable to distinguish which was Feng Piaoling's true body and which were his clones.
Feng Piaoling and his illusions were simply too fast.
Even if she managed to discern the real one, she would be confused again a split second later.
Silently and without a trace, a sword thrust through the gap in Ma Xiaotao's phoenix wings, which had been reduced to a thin layer.
Just as the blade was about to touch her chest, Dai Huabin and Huo Yuhao, who were fully prepared below the tournament stage, activated their Haobin Power with a resounding burst, fusing their soul power together.
Huo Yuhao immediately launched a Spiritual Shock.
Feng Piaoling had long been guarding against the boy's interference. Just as he was about to release a Light of the Soul in counterattack, Electrolux's voice echoed in his mind.
"Wait, pay him no mind. Leave that boy to this old man. Focus on your fight."
The golden vertical eye between Feng Piaoling's eyebrows opened briefly and snapped shut just as quickly.
In that lightning-fast instant, everyone's eyes were glued to the sword thrusting toward Ma Xiaotao; no one noticed the brief spark at his forehead.
In the very next instant, Huo Yuhao let out a blood-curdling scream and fainted, his face turned deathly pale.
Simultaneously, another scream tore from Ma Xiaotao. As Feng Piaoling's sword pierced into her chest, whether triggered by a crisis of life and death, or by the inner turmoil and fierce unwillingness to accept defeat...
Without the guiding dark power of Ma Rulong's Judgment Sword, her phoenix flames unexpectedly turned into a dark, corrupting fire, raging wild from deep within her body.
The sudden blast prevented Feng Piaoling's Green Lotus Sword from penetrating even half a millimeter further after grazing her skin.
Has her martial soul mutated into the Black Phoenix? Feng Piaoling felt a slight wave of surprise. Without a moment's hesitation, he drew back the Green Lotus Sword and retreated, opening up distance between himself and Ma Xiaotao.
Ma Xiaotao's mind and body were already on the verge of total collapse. Her eyes, which had previously gleamed with vibrant fiery light, instantly turned pitch-black as ink.
Is it over just like this? Am I going to lose? Is Shrek Academy going to lose? What about Shrek's glory?!
Suffering defeat at Feng Piaoling's hands was an indelible disgrace to her. At this moment, her physical injuries no longer mattered; her spirit was enduring agonations. It was hard to imagine how embarrassing it would be when others learned she had fallen to Feng Piaoling. She could almost see countless people mocking her, ridiculing her, and deeming her unworthy to lead the Shrek Seven Monsters.
"Feng Piaoling!"
Biting her lip until it bled, Ma Xiaotao's face twisted with resentment.
Extreme unwillingness led Ma Xiaotao to completely abandon all suppression of her evil fire. Driven by the dark malice within her heart, her martial soul began to mutate and sublimate in an instant.
At that moment, the bloodline within her transformed into a Dark Phoenix full of despair and violence, possessing an endless intent for destruction and ruin.
A resounding phoenix cry suddenly echoed through the air. The sixth soul ring on Ma Xiaotao flared with brilliant light once more as a black Phoenix Meteor Shower burst forth, transforming into a dark river of stars that swept toward Feng Piaoling.
"Golden Brilliance Quake-Kill Sword!"
A dazzling golden light spanned half of the tournament stage as Feng Piaoling slashed at the pitch-black river of stars.
A shocking sight unfolded: the Golden Brilliance Quake-Kill Sword, which had previously been capable of tearing through the Phoenix Meteor Shower, was shattered for the very first time.
Utilizing his Clone Shadow Technique, Feng Piaoling shifted his body deftly, maneuvering through the gaps to dodge the incoming Dark Phoenix Meteor Shower.
A pair of massive, black phoenix wings unfurled behind Ma Xiaotao. Having awakened the Dark Phoenix martial soul, she actually managed to predict Feng Piaoling's movement trajectory using pure beast-like instinct.
With a single flap of her wings, her entire body transformed into a ball of black fire, soaring into the sky before unleashing another dense volley of phoenix meteors.
She locked down all of Feng Piaoling's evasion routes, causing Wu Feng and Wang Dong'er's hearts to leap into their throats, not even daring to breathe.
"Not good, Xiaotao's martial soul mutated!" Xuan Zi finally put down the chicken leg and wine gourd in his hands, his eyes showing a look of uncertainty and alarm.
The Huang Jinxu was equally terrified when he saw those horrifying black phoenix flames. What on earth was this black fire? Even his Heavenfiend Lonestar martial soul felt a tremor of fear at that moment.
"Looks like I can't dodge it. In that case, I won't." Seeing the barrage of black meteors cascading toward him, Feng Piaoling remained completely fearless.
A terrifying aura of sheer sharpness erupted from him; his momentum became utterly distinct from before.
His teal robes billowed wildly. Out of nowhere, a surge of sword intent fused into a formidable domain of pressure that instantly pierced through Ma Xiaotao's black meteor shower, showing no mercy whatsoever.
The evil aura that Ma Xiaotao was building up felt as laughably weak as a child before this force that cut through the void, deflating instantly like a punctured balloon.
For a split second, a trace of terror flared within Ma Xiaotao, who had long lost her sanity.
However, she was soon consumed once more by the evil aura released by her Dark Phoenix and the dark thoughts within her own mind.
Below the stage, Ling Luochen and Xi Xi looked at each other, their eyes filled with endless marvel. Is this his true power?
Only by exchanging blows with him could one truly grasp how formidable Feng Piaoling was. That absolute control over the entire battlefield and his supreme confidence were undoubtedly the most powerful they had ever witnessed in their lives.
Meanwhile, Wu Feng and Wang Dong'er finally let their hearts settle back into place, feeling an immediate wave of relief.
In the void above, a streak of sword light seemed to flash by. Ma Xiaotao didn't even get the chance to strike; her black phoenix wings shattered, and she was thrown backward at high speed, crashing hard against the protective barrier set up by the one hundred and eight soul masters.
The spectating crowd stood dumbfounded. A dead silence fell over the entire arena.
Prior to this, no one had imagined that Feng Piaoling had been hiding his true strength, defeating Shrek's two Soul Emperors and three Soul Kings using only his self-created battle techniques.
Even more beyond everyone's imagination was that once Feng Piaoling unleashed his genuine power, Ma Xiaotao—who had seemingly undergone a martial soul mutation—didn't even get a chance to land a single hit.
She was defeated directly and utterly.
If Ma Xiaotao had merely been an ordinary genius soul master, the crowd would not have been so astonished. But she was the captain of Shrek Academy—the greatest academy on the entire continent!