The atmosphere atop the tournament stage was as tense as a bowstring pulled to its limit, ready to unleash unimaginable power at any moment.
Ma Rulong and Lin Xi had just barely managed to block the combined attack of Ye Guyi and Ma Xiaotao. The energy waves from that violent collision still rippled through the air when the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy launched a counterattack like a roaring tide, surging forward with unstoppable force.
Xiao Xiafeng, who provided various forms of support, moved his hands like blurs, crafting a batch of special energy-filled buns in mere seconds. He distributed them to his teammates to replenish their soul power, his expression focused and calm—as if the noise and chaos around him didn't exist.
Chen Fei, swift as the wind and elusive as a phantom, unfurled the radiant wings of his Flash Bird martial soul. Each flap stirred strong gusts of air, and in the blink of an eye, he had crossed more than half the arena, moving so fast that only his afterimage could be seen.
Mi Jia, who had deployed his Super Soul Cannon Formation, radiated an aura of mechanical divinity. A three-meter-wide soul cannon platform spread out before him, its eighty-eight dark muzzles glowing ominously, ready to unleash devastating power.
Li Yan, who had transformed into the "Flame Inferno Demon," was engulfed in dark red flames. Empowered by soul tools, the fire around him surged violently, as if it could burn everything in its path to ashes.
Xiao Hongchen, controlling one hundred and twenty-eight soul cannons simultaneously, resembled a monarch ruling over metal itself. After a full barrage, the cannon barrels still gleamed with a cold metallic luster.
Meng Hongchen, silently standing nearby, imbued the shells with her Ice Toad Poison. Her gaze was icy cold, her posture elegant yet dangerous—like a goddess of frost from the northern tundra, waiting to deliver a fatal blow.
All these actions, though intricate and complex, took place within just a few breaths. In those fleeting seconds, the entire battlefield had changed dramatically.
Chen Fei crossed the arena almost instantly, his speed too great for most to react. But Du Gu Xianmeng and Ling Luochen—elite members of the Shrek team—responded with impressive precision.
As soon as they saw Chen Fei's figure approaching like a flash of light, Du Gu Xianmeng's Jade Phosphor Divine Bow was already raised and locked on target. Her sharp eyes gleamed with the resolve of a hunter closing in on her prey.
A poison-tipped arrow shot forth like lightning, cutting through the air with a sharp whistling sound straight toward Chen Fei.
At the same time, Ling Luochen waved her Elemental Staff, her movements both graceful and powerful. Instantly, a wave of icy mist expanded outward, enveloping both her and Du Gu Xianmeng. The chilling frost that spread through the arena was so intense it made one feel as if they had been plunged into a frozen wasteland.
As soul power surged around her, the mist seemed to gain a will of its own—condensing and merging into a colossal Ice Hand, five meters tall, which reached out to grab Chen Fei. Each icy finger was thick and alive with energy, radiating immense strength.
Chen Fei's position in the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy's main lineup was proof of his ability—his strength was anything but ordinary.
Facing Du Gu Xianmeng's poison arrow, he seemed to have anticipated it, his body moving in a fluid rhythm that was too fast for the eye to follow. He evaded the projectile effortlessly.
But the arrow exploded as it passed him, detonated by Du Gu Xianmeng's control. A burst of emerald-green poison mist spread rapidly, expanding like a living organism trying to engulf Chen Fei.
However, he remained unaffected. At the moment he dodged the arrow, a thin protective film shimmered to life around his body.
It was a fifth-tier soul tool crafted by Meng Hongchen—one that provided poison resistance and immunity against most toxins.
Combined with his sheer speed, only a faint trace of the poisonous mist even touched the shield.
Even though Du Gu Xianmeng's poison, enhanced by the Crimson Swan Kiss, was extremely potent, all it managed to do was dim the shield's glow by half.
Having bypassed the poison arrow, Chen Fei was immediately confronted by Ling Luochen's enormous ice hand. Yet, his aerial maneuvering was flawless—he twisted his body with fluid grace, dodging through the freezing mist like a nimble bird.
The icy fog was freezing cold and obstructed all vision. Any soul master of the same level caught inside would have to circulate vast amounts of soul power just to maintain body temperature, or they would quickly turn into an ice sculpture.
More importantly, once someone entered this frozen field, they stepped into Ling Luochen's domain. Having nearly reached Rank 60, her mastery over ice was formidable—she was a queen commanding every flake within her realm.
As soon as Chen Fei entered the mist, Ling Luochen closed her eyes. Her expression turned calm and focused as the aura of frost around her pulsed in rhythm with the mist itself—they had become one.
She instantly locked onto Chen Fei's position through that connection, her third purple soul ring lighting up at once.
Within this frost domain—crafted at the cost of one-third of her soul power—Ling Luochen could instantly trigger any of her ice techniques at any point inside.
Thus, the moment Chen Fei entered, an Ice Prison materialized out of thin air.
Having absorbed the Extreme Cold Ice Marrow given by Zhou Sicheng and cultivated upon the Mystic Ice Jade Bed he gifted her, her mastery of ice had long surpassed the standard of a five-ring Soul King.
The strength of her Third Soul Skill: Ice Prison had reached a near-terrifying level.
In her previous tests, even Dai Yueheng—under the effects of all three amplification soul skills—needed at least three seconds to break it.
But as the Ice Prison formed, golden light flared across Chen Fei's body, layering atop his protective film.
An Invincible Barrier!
A fifth-tier disposable soul tool that granted three seconds of absolute defense—unless the attack exceeded the level of an eight-ring Soul Douluo, nothing could break it.
Ling Luochen's ice was indeed powerful—so much so that Chen Fei dared not make direct contact. Yet, no matter how formidable it was, it couldn't affect what it couldn't touch.
The Sun Moon team had studied Shrek's tactics for days, simulating every possible scenario. Chen Fei had been ready for this.
And his choice proved flawless.
The moment the Ice Prison formed, its thick ice walls sealed Chen Fei in midair—but the invincible shield held firm, untouched. The golden light from his barrier reflected against the frosty glow of the prison, creating a stunning sight.
Inside, Chen Fei reacted instantly—two gleaming blades appeared in his hands, their edges flashing with lethal light. His expression hardened, eyes filled with determination as he launched a flurry of strikes.
Each slash struck the ice walls with a sharp crack, scattering shards in every direction.
He knew he had only three seconds. If he couldn't escape before his invincibility faded, not only would he fail his mission, but the entire Sun Moon team's carefully crafted strategy would collapse.
Ling Luochen, of course, wasn't naive enough to think Chen Fei could be dealt with so easily. The Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy was the pinnacle of soul tool research—its members were never short on tricks.
Having successfully trapped Chen Fei, Du Gu Xianmeng wasted no time—another poison arrow shot forth, exploding beside the Ice Prison. A thick layer of green mist enveloped it completely, forming a dual-layered defense meant to restrict Chen Fei's movements further.
If they couldn't defeat him outright, they would at least immobilize him and buy more time.
But just as Du Gu Xianmeng's second arrow struck, Ling Luochen's sharp eyes caught sight of a barrage of soul cannon shells raining toward them!
The giant ice hand she had previously formed now stood tall, intercepting the incoming projectiles head-on.
She had never expected it to stop Chen Fei; its true purpose was to intercept Mi Jia and Xiao Hongchen's artillery fire.
However, the sheer number of shells was staggering—tens of thousands filled the sky. A single five-meter ice hand could never stop them all… right?
Yet, the moment the first shell touched it, the ice's chilling aura instantly froze the projectile solid.
The once-lethal shells fell harmlessly to the ground with metallic clunks.
At that moment, Ling Luochen's fifth black soul ring lit up brilliantly. The massive ice hand became the medium for her Fifth Soul Skill: Celestial Ice Explosion!
A surge of extreme cold energy burst forth—each explosion detonating like a miniature bomb, igniting the shells midair and creating a chain reaction.
"Fifth Soul Skill: Celestial Ice Explosion!"
This was her most powerful area-of-effect ability to date—enhanced by Gongyang Mo's support and her refined ice essence, its might rivaled the full strike of a Soul Emperor!
Explosions thundered across the arena.
Each blast triggered several shell detonations, while the chilling aura froze even more midair.
By herself, Ling Luochen intercepted nearly eighty percent of Mi Jia and Xiao Hongchen's full barrage.
The remaining shells, though too many to stop completely, were either frozen or detonated before reaching her. Not a single one made it within ten meters of her position.
She had single-handedly withstood the combined artillery strike of two Sun Moon prodigies.
But it came at a cost—her soul power drained rapidly, almost completely exhausted despite Gongyang Mo's amplifications. The mist thinned and dissipated, revealing her and Du Gu Xianmeng standing unharmed, though Ling Luochen's lips had turned pale.
Her eyes widened slightly as she turned toward Meng Hongchen, who was smiling faintly.
A realization dawned on her instantly.
Gongyang Mo, who had been hiding in the mist, landed beside her—his face pale and solemn as he glared at the calmly smirking Meng Hongchen.
"Poison?!"
Indeed. The moment Meng Hongchen saw Ling Luochen conjure her ice mist, she had smiled knowingly.
Her Ice Toad Poison transmitted faster through ice than through air!
If it had been anyone else defending against the barrage, her poison might have been ineffective—but Ling Luochen's Ice-type Martial Soul provided the perfect medium for it to spread.
However, Du Gu Xianmeng only chuckled, showing no sign of concern for Ling Luochen or Gongyang Mo.
Her expression was one of supreme confidence, even disdain, as if Meng Hongchen's poison was beneath her notice.
Calmly inhaling, she even seemed unimpressed by the expanding toxic mist around them.
Glancing at Ling Luochen, Du Gu Xianmeng smirked. "The Ice Toad's poison? Please. Compared to my Jade Phosphor Five Poisons, it's nothing. The Hundred-Treasure Detox Pill that Sicheng gave us is more than enough to neutralize it."
Her tone was light and melodic, but laced with sharp mockery.
"Trying to play with poison in front of me? The Dugu Clan are your ancestors in that art!"
With that, she extended a slender finger and slipped a small detox pill between Ling Luochen's lips, tossing another to Gongyang Mo.
This Hundred-Treasure Detox Pill had been personally refined by Zhou Sicheng using his own blood—granting it miraculous power to neutralize nearly all known toxins.
Unless it was a poison beyond the limits of human soul masters, this pill, forged with his blood and enhanced by ten-thousand-year herbs, could dispel it entirely.
It was one of the special gifts he had gained after attaining his Body of Hundred Poisons Immunity through the Icefire Alchemy Body technique.
And in this intense battle, it proved to be a decisive advantage.
After all, this was a pill personally crafted by Zhou Sicheng—akin to a soul tool made with his own essence. Surely, that didn't count as an "external aid," right?
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