—Soul Battle Arena—
Wang Dong'er cracked her neck as she walked up the arena, her eyes unusually cold and serious. She looked at Huo Qiu'er as she stood across from her, cracking her knuckles.
Yan Shaozhe, Wang Yan, and Na'er were standing not far away from them.
Na'er looked bored, leaning against a wall. She just wanted it to be over as soon as possible so she can visit the school cafeteria, she heard it had extremely delicious food.
By human standards, she was but a child. She needs nutrients to grow even bigger if she were to accomplish her mission!
Wang Yan looked conflicted. He was both worried and also curious about the outcome of the fight.
He had learned that Wang Dong'er had a second martial soul, the famous Clear Sky Hammer! It was known to be the strongest Tool Martial Soul in the world! That statement hasn't changed for over a millennia.
The strongest Tool Martial Soul versus arguably the strongest Beast Martial Soul! What would the result of this sparring match be? Wang Yan would've been excited, if the two in the arena didn't looked as if they wanted to tear each other's throats out.
Yan Shaozhe looked unbothered. If something bad is going to happen, he would just step in and interfere.
As a rank 95 Transcendent Douluo, interfering a battle between Soul Ancestors is as easy as flipping one's hand.
Since this was a combat test for Huo Qiu'er and Na'er, the fighting arena had been cleared out. To which the audience seats are empty.
Well, except for Yan Shaozhe and the others who were standing near the arena for a clearer view and to prevent any potential accidents from escalating.
Yan Shaoze cleared his throat and said, "Ladies, I must remind you that this is just a sparring match to find out miss Huo Qiu'er's combat capabilities. So, no killing moves or crippling injuries."
Wang Dong'er and Huo Qiu'er both nodded.
'Yeah, they're not listening.' Na'er wryly smiled. She hasn't known them for long, but she could tell by their expressions that they're going to go all out in this match.
Which really confused her. As far she knows, this was the first time the two ever met each other!
She doesn't know Wang Dong'er, but Huo Qui'er wasn't one to be so hostile at someone she just met without a reason.
'This all happened because Qiu'er mentioned Huo Yuhao,' Na'er rubbed her chin, narrowing her eyes. 'What a scary man. I'll have to be careful around him.'
In Sun Moon Imperial Academy
"Achooo! Ugh. Is someone talking about—ah shit! The soul tool's going to explode!" Huo Yuhao hastily opened a window in the lab and threw a heating unfinished soul tool out into the sky.
—Just as it ignited in a brilliant BOOM! midair, lighting up the clouds like a miniature firework.
Huo Yuhao blankly stared at the explosion, inwardly wondering in how he, who has such superior intelligence and creativity that can rival an ordinary Class 9 soul engineer, had managed to screw that up.
—Back in Shrek Academy, Soul Fighting Arena—
Wang Dong'er rolled her shoulders and unfurled her Bright Goddess Butterfly wings from her back, and one yellow, two purple and one black soul rings floated around her.
Huo Qiu'er snorted with a look of contempt on her face and raised her right hand, curling her fingers. "Come at me."
Wang Dong'er's eyelids twitched. "You!"
"Fine, don't blame me for knocking you out!"
Wang Dong'er flapped her wings and shot towards her like a bullet. Her first soul ring lit up as golden patterns spread out forming extremely sharp, blade-like edges of light along the edges of her wings.
1st Soul Skill: Guillotine Wings!
The top Bright Goddess Butterfly wings curled down at Huo Qiu'er, like real guillotine blades coming down to decapitate her.
Huo Qiu'er didn't panic, nor did she activate her martial soul. She stood still, looking as if she was frozen in fear.
But she wasn't.
She curled her lips and pulled back her right arm, her hand tightly clenched.
A golden aura enveloped her body and she punched out.
It looked simple.
Ordinary.
That was until a large golden dragon head appeared behind Huo Qiu'er's body.
Wang Dong'er's eyes dilated as she felt danger rush over her whole body like a tidal wave. Her heart tightened and her four wings curled over her entire body like a cocoon.
BOOM!
Huo Qiu'er's punch connected with Wang Dong'er's cocooned defense, and the sonic boom that followed shook the entire Soul Fighting Arena. A dragon's roar echoed through the space—deep, ancient, and laced with overwhelming majesty.
Wang Dong'er was sent flying back!
The golden dragon head behind Qiu'er vanished into a shockwave of golden light and flames.
Huo Qiu'er smirked. "Is that it? All your boasts, hah! I wonder why Yuhao even hangs around you."
Just as Wang Dong'er reached the edge of the arena, the Bright Goddess Butterfly wings unfurled and she flew back in the air.
'What's with that strength of hers?!' Wang Dong'er panted and winced. Her wings had cuts along the edges, the radiant energy flickering erratically. Her arms were bruised and aching from absorbing the impact.
She injected soul power into her wings and arms, gradually healing the damage with practiced control. The flickering light along her wings stabilized slightly, the bruises on her arms dissipated.
Her breathing slowed as she regained her composure midair.
Wang Dong'er narrowed her eyes.
'So this is the power of a Golden Dragon! I've read about how terrifying their strength is, but I didn't expect it would be this extreme even without her activating it. If she does, then how strong—'
Huo Qiu'er smirked and started jumping up and down in place, waving her hands around.
Wang Dong'er gritted her teeth and spread her Bright Goddess Butterfly wings. 'I can't let her get close to me!'
She clasped her hands together, performing several handsigns.
"Water Style: Waterfall!"
A large amount of water materialized midair. It surged downward like a crashing tidal wave, cascading through the arena and try to drown Qiu'er in the overwhelming deluge of water pressure.
The roar of water echoed across the arena, blanketing the floor in thick, churning waves but it never went out of the arena as a invisible energy barrier prevented it from leaking out.
To keep the water from spilling out, Yan Shaozhe manipulated his soul power to construct a soul power constructed wall around the edges of the arena. He didn't want to get soaked and piss off Gong Changlong with damages to the arena.
"As expected of you, you even know how to use this jutsu." Huo Qiu'er muttered as she retreated. Since she shared most of Huo Yuhao's memories, she knew about Wang Dong'er and many others that are his friends.
Obviously they don't know about her, which is why she pretended to not know Wang Yan, Yan Shaozhe and Wang Dong'er. Which goes to his friends as well when they meet.
Oh but her hostility towards Wang Dong'er is real.
She didn't understand why, but there was just something about the girl that really drives her up.
Huo Qiu'er took a deep breath and performed handsigns as well.
Wang Dong'er's eyes widened when she saw this. "You—!"
"As I had said, I know him better than any of you do."
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
Qiu'er then expelled vast amounts of brilliant flames out of her mouth like a flamethrower towards the roaring tsunami. The sheer heat warped the surrounding air, causing steam to rise violently as it collided with the ferocious torrents of water.
The flames kept on spewing out of Huo Qiu'er's mouth—relentless, intense, hot as the flames converged into a massive ball of fire. The roar of fire echoed through the arena, battling the roar of water head-on.
It took a few minutes before all the flames and water evaporated into a massive cloud of scalding steam that engulfed the entire Soul Fighting Arena.
Visibility dropped to zero. The clash of elements had completely neutralized both techniques
Yan Shaozhe unravel part of the barrier with a flick of his wrist, dispersing the steam outward to prevent the girls in the arena to suffocate.
As the steam disperses, the sound of metal clashing echoed sharply through the air.
Sparks flew as Wang Dong'er's Clear Sky Hammer collided again and again with Huo Qiu'er's golden dragonic claws, the latter finally had a change in expression. She looked serious for the first time since the battle began.
Each time her claws met the hammer, a thunderclap of force rang out across the arena. Stone tiles split, the air rippled, and golden sparks mixed with silver-blue light.
Each time her claws met the hammer, her arms shuddered—just slightly. The Clear Sky Hammer's weight was heavy, even without any soul rings on it. Moreover, she quickly notices that the hammer's power was getting stronger every time it struck her.
It was the Clear Sky Clan's famous technique, used in forging and combat, the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer!
As the young miss of the Clear Sky Clan, how could Wang Dong'er not know how to use this technique? It was just that she mostly prefers using her main martial soul often.
"23! 24! 25!" Wang Dong'er yelled, swinging the Clear Sky Hammer.
Huo Qiu'er smirked. "Now this is more like it! I'll get serious as well, and end this in one strike!"
Her first, second and third soul rings shone in simultaneous sequences. The dragon might exuding from her body exploded, a layer of thick golden light instantly covered every part of her body.
She roared into the sky, and a golden dragon projection appeared. She started to combust like a small sun. Her terrifying strength was unleashed along with the Dragon's strength.
"One punch, to end it!" Huo Qiu'er bellowed, her voice overlapping with the roar of the golden dragon behind her. The pressure was immense—dense enough to make the very air hum with vibration. The intense golden light from her body quickly gathered in her right hand.
When she lifted her palm, it was already as shiny as a golden water crystal.
It was her golden fist.
In order, the soul skills she used are: Golden Dragon Body, Dragon's Strength, Golden Dragon's Fist!
Across from her, Wang Dong'er felt the heat and pressure enveloped her as if a mountain had collapsed on her. This wasn't just suppression from a powerful beast martial soul or quality of soul rings, no, this suppression came from something primal and something that stood at the apex of the martial path — Ultimate Strength!
In terms of pure physical strength, even two realms higher in cultivation than her, couldn't match her.
Huo Qiu'er's swung her golden fist straight at Wang Dong'er, a giant golden dragon head roared from behind her body.
The power and strength that she was unleashing was equivalent to a high ranked Sou Emperor!
"Dean Yan!" Wang Yan yelled.
"Hmm." Yan Shaozhe took a step forward and paused, his eyebrows furrowed. He glanced at Na'er, who stopped him with her arm raised.
"She's fine." Na'er said, her purple eyes shining as she stared at the arena.
Yan Shaozhe wasn't going to listen to her, until he looked back at the arena and noticed it as well.
"Well. Looks like old age caught up with me if I didn't notice that myself." He muttered and glanced back at Na'er.
'Even if I got rusty, a Soul Ancestor shouldn't have been able to notice that. Are her senses that good? Or is it her spiritual power?'
He couldn't wait to see how good she is and how the Silver Dragon Spear works.
Boom!
Dust and golden light exploded across the center of the arena, a shockwave erupting like a meteor strike. The sound alone cracked the surrounding walls—shaking the very foundations of the Soul Fighting Arena.
A golden dome of energy pulsed out from the impact site, and then everything went still. The air grew eerily silent.
Almost the entire platform had been obliterated—reduced to a wide crater of molten stone and glowing fissures. Golden flames licked the edges.
"...Where are you?" Huo Qiu'er wasn't happy and gritted her teeth.
She narrowed her eyes and had arms up, looking around in guard. She knew Wang Dong'er enough from Huo Yuhao's memories to understand that she wasn't that easy to defeat.
'But I didn't see her use any jutsus to escape, or did I? My eyes might not be the Sharingan, but I'm confident I can see the movements of a agility type Soul Emperor. So where—'
"You're really strong," Wang Dong'er's voice sounded from behind.
Huo Qiu'er quickly turned around and pulled her right arm back.
She froze, a powerful sealing ability locked her in place. She was quickly enveloped in golden light beam in the shape of a six pointed star. Under her feet was a three-five meter in diameter wide six pointed star shaped array.
"H-How did you...?" Huo Qiu'er groaned.
Wang Dong'er grinned across from her, seemingly uninjured but exhausted. Her fourth black soul ring shining brightly.
"I made a clone when we were covered in steam and used a water jutsu to hide in the puddle of water."
"Haaa... This is the first time I used it in combat and it takes a while to activate it, but it works perfectly." Wang Dong'er said as she flapped her wings, shooting straight towards Huo Qiu'er before switching to the Clear Sky Hammer.
"This is my victory!"