"A Rock Armored Elephant. Looks like Dong'er has met a real challenge," Xue Di said calmly beside Su Yu. "Her previous strategy might not work on this opponent."
Su Yu smiled, "That's fine. I want to see how she handles this."
The match began.
Wang Dong'er spread her wings, taking the high ground. Her sapphire-blue wings shone, sending golden orbs raining down on Chen Ling.
Facing the attack, Chen Ling's eyes flashed yellow. His first soul ring lit up—first skill: Rock Body.
Already tough muscles gained an extra black protective layer, rough yet surprisingly tough.
Wang Dong'er's Butterfly Goddess Light bombarded Chen Ling, exploding in bursts of destructive light.
When the energy cleared, Chen Ling still stood like a mountain, unmoved.
Wang Dong'er's eyes narrowed in shock. Even after taking all the damage, Chen Ling hadn't lost anything at all—his defense was astonishing.
Unconvinced, Wang Dong'er fired a golden orb that exploded into 108 golden blades, enveloping Chen Ling.
Chen Ling's eyes flashed fiercely, his body glowing darker. His second soul ring activated, covering him in black scales—heavy armor.
With a shout, Chen Ling charged into the golden blades. Sparks flew as the blades struck his armor, bouncing off.
He pressed forward, forcing Wang Dong'er to retreat.
As she tried to gain height again, Chen Ling's third soul ring lit up—an invisible gravity field pulled her down.
This was Chen Ling's third skill, Rock Heavy Domain, imposing tenfold gravity within ten meters—a favorite move for catching flying soul masters off guard.
Pulled down, Wang Dong'er was suddenly struck by Chen Ling's trunk, producing a shockwave.
A golden shield flared to block the attack, rippling but holding.
Wang Dong'er used the opportunity to escape with her Wind God Leg's first form—Chasing the Wind's Shadow.
She was lucky—if not for Su Yu's Rampart Light, she'd have been in trouble. She hadn't expected Chen Ling to have gravity control, like Jiang Nannan.
Now prepared, Wang Dong'er braced herself as Chen Ling attacked again, gravity domain reactivated.
But with her Wind God Leg training—especially after days of personal instruction from Su Yu—her speed had increased greatly.
She unexpectedly closed in, her wing-blades striking Chen Ling's chest, sparks flying with each of her hundred-plus attacks.
The Rock Armored Elephant was powerful, but its weakness was speed—it was slow.
Wang Dong'er's rapid attacks didn't hurt Chen Ling, but she nearly got caught by his trunk.
"So tough, like a turtle shell," Wang Dong'er cursed, pulling back.
Her Goddess of Light Butterfly was a strong attack-type martial soul, yet she couldn't break his defense. This was her first time encountering such a situation.
"Stop struggling. You can't hurt me," Chen Ling laughed, leaving himself wide open.
Wang Dong'er grew annoyed. "Let's see just how tough you are."
Her fifth soul ring lit up—black light blooming as golden radiance enveloped her.
Fifth soul skill: Divine Light Possession.
For three seconds, she became a being of light, boosting all her non-dark attacks' power by double.
Wang Dong'er charged, golden orbs exploding all around. Her sixth soul ring also lit up—the giant Goddess of Light Butterfly rose, then became a dazzling blue-gold streak attacking Chen Ling.
In danger, Chen Ling activated his fifth soul ring: Rock Demon Body.
He charged head-on.
Boom!
The giant butterfly split into smaller ones, exploding behind Chen Ling and blasting him into the barrier.
He spat blood but remained standing—his martial soul was so tough that even this couldn't truly injure him.
"My turn!"
Eyes fierce, Chen Ling charged at Wang Dong'er.
She exhaled, and a black hammer appeared in her hand, inscribed with white patterns and exuding a powerful aura.
Wielding the hammer one-handed, her blue hair fluttered as she leaped and smashed down toward Chen Ling.
The hammer's force met Chen Ling's fist with a dull thud, and both were forced back.
Chen Ling stared at her hammer in shock. "Twin martial souls?"
Wang Dong'er smiled, "You guessed right, but—no prize."
She swung the hammer again.
Her elegant figure with a two-meter hammer looked strange, but the force was not to be underestimated.
They clashed again and again, but Chen Ling found that, despite his greater strength, he couldn't use his full power against that strange hammer—his whole body went numb when it struck.
Wang Dong'er seemed to be treating him like a chunk of iron, hammering indiscriminately.
"How crude, no technique at all," Di Mingli scoffed from the waiting area. "If it were me, Chen Ling would already be down. Someone needs to train her in strength."
Jiang Nannan disagreed, "These opponents aren't easy. If it were me, I might do worse. Heavyweight soul masters like this are my least favorite matchup."
Xue Di agreed, "Nannan's right. Dong'er's doing well, and Chen Ling's martial soul is rare and powerful."
Di Mingli just said, "Still no excuse for looking so clumsy. Su Yu used a hammer better than this at age eight."
Jiang Nannan was surprised—did Di Mingli know Su Yu so well? She had never seen Su Yu use a hammer.
Boom!
Hammer and fist clashed, sending Wang Dong'er and Chen Ling both stumbling back.
Wang Dong'er looked at Su Yu, then swung her hammer again, using the Wind God Leg to dodge and attack in a flowing motion.
Su Yu's eyes narrowed, "Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer?"
Xue Di looked confused, "Isn't that the Clear Sky Sect's signature?"
Zhang Lexuan and Wu Ming also looked over.
Su Yu nodded, "Each strike builds strength for the next—the Clear Sky Sect's ultimate technique. I didn't expect Dong'er to know it. She hid it well."
With the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer and the Wind God Leg's Chasing the Wind's Shadow, it was a perfect match.