On the arena, both teams took their positions.
On Yu Tianheng's side, the Shi brothers stood at the very front like two guardian deities. If teams from other academies saw this formation, they might lose the will to attack on the spot.
Behind the Shi brothers stood Yu Tianheng and Dugu Yan, the couple positioned between them.
If anyone were lucky enough to break through the Shi brothers' defense, they would immediately be forced back by the powerful attacks of Yu Tianheng and Dugu Yan.
At the rear, Yufeng stood in front of Ye Lingling. The entire team was arranged in a 2–2–1–1 formation.
If Xiao Lin's team wanted to target Ye Lingling, they would likely face considerable difficulty.
On the other side was Tang Ni's team.
Xiao Lin, Xiao Wu, and Tang Ni stood at the front, the three lined up shoulder to shoulder.
Behind them were Osro and Zhu Zhuqing.
At the very back was Ning Rongrong.
Tang Ni's team was arranged in a 3–2–1 formation.
To deal with Yu Tianheng's team, Xiao Lin and Tang Ni planned to charge straight in and tear apart the Shi brothers' defense, after which Xiao Wu would seize the opportunity to cut into the back line.
Once both sides had completed their formations, Qin Ming announced the start of the match.
In an instant, various sounds of martial soul possession rang out across the arena.
Dragon roars, howling winds…
At the very moment the match began, while both sides were still activating their martial souls, Xiao Lin's three front-liners charged toward Yu Tianheng's team almost simultaneously.
Xiao Lin, Xiao Wu, and Tang Ni all possessed tremendous confidence in their abilities. Before their martial souls had fully manifested, they were already rushing toward the opposing formation.
This scene truly caught everyone off guard—even Qin Ming couldn't help but widen his eyes.
Xiao Lin was one thing—he was practically a walking stat monster.
But Xiao Wu and Tang Ni were clearly still within the bounds of "ordinary people"!
On Yu Tianheng's side, although they were shocked by the sudden charge, as professional soul battle competitors, they remained calm under pressure.
Yu Tianheng completed his dragon transformation at the first moment.
Since he only needed to dragonify part of his body, his speed was extremely fast.
So fast that before others had even finished their martial soul possession, he had already released his soul skills.
"First Soul Skill: Thunder Dragon Claw!
Second Soul Skill: Thunderstorm!
Third Soul Skill: Thunder's Fury!
Fourth Soul Skill: Giant Dragon's Encouragement!
Fifth Soul Skill: Bright Holy Dragon Transformation!"
In just an instant, Yu Tianheng completed his transformation into the Golden Bright Holy Dragon, stacking multiple enhancement-type soul skills.
Violent lightning leapt between Yu Tianheng's claws, while bolts as thick as water buckets coiled around his body.
Compared to the transformations Xiao Lin had seen before, this time Yu Tianheng had completely mastered the lightning.
The lightning no longer backfired on him and had become a weapon fully under his control.
Yu Tianheng was now far stronger than before—at least five times stronger.
Seeing Yu Tianheng's transformation, Xiao Lin couldn't help but worry about Xiao Wu.
The next second, within Xiao Lin's peripheral vision, Yu Tianheng began gathering lightning.
Terrifying lightning continuously pierced the air, condensing in the dragonified golden claws of Yu Tianheng, before finally being fired at Xiao Wu like a colossal lightning cannon.
Within that lightning cannon, a pair of dragon claws could faintly be seen.
This guy—Yu Tianheng—was already capable of shaping massive amounts of lightning.
With such combat power, even an ordinary Soul Emperor would not be his match.
Suddenly, a dazzling lightning cannon flashed, and a deafening explosion echoed across the entire arena.
The floor of the soul battle arena—normally capable of withstanding attacks from Soul Emperor–level experts—was instantly gouged out into a crescent-shaped crater.
Such overwhelming destructive power made Qin Ming, watching from below, feel a surge of worry.
Next time, they absolutely could not fight on a soul battle arena anymore—this thing cost a fortune to build.
On the arena, lightning was unbelievably fast.
Although Yu Tianheng's attack couldn't be considered pure lightning—being closer to a lightning-attributed qi wave or light cannon—the inherent speed of the lightning attribute was still enough to leave most Soul Kings unable to react in time.
For ordinary people, there truly would have been no way to deal with it.
But the center of Yu Tianheng's attack was precisely where Xiao Wu stood.
In Xiao Lin's ears—and in everyone else's—Xiao Wu let out a clear shout, instantly putting Tang Ni's team at ease.
"Soft Bone Rabbit Possession—Invincible Golden Body!"
Once Xiao Wu activated her Invincible Golden Body, a golden light flashed in the center of the arena.
In the shocked gazes of Qin Ming and Xiao Wu's teammates, the massive lightning cannon—thick as a water bucket—was perfectly blocked by Xiao Wu with a single soul skill.
What shocked them most was that Xiao Wu didn't move an inch at the center of the arena.
As if Yu Tianheng's strongest attack was nothing more than a breeze.
Unlike the members of the Royal Team, who were feeling tense and excited, Qin Ming had more room to think.
He couldn't help but frown. From earlier observations, Qin Ming already knew that Xiao Wu possessed the Invincible Golden Body soul skill.
But he never imagined that Invincible Golden Body could achieve something like this.
Could it really be as Xiao Wu claimed—that Invincible Golden Body could block any attack below the divine level?
That kind of ability was simply too overpowered.
Before Qin Ming could think further, the team battle officially entered its second phase.
"It's decided—it's you, Coiling Dragon Staff!"
"Golden Dragon—battle!"
"Ghost Leopard Possession!"
"Nether Spirit Cat Possession!"
"Nine Treasures emerge with Glazed Light.
The Nine Treasures have names:
First, Power.
Second, Speed.
Third, Soul.
Fourth—Nine-Colored Fusion Divine Light!"
On the other side:
"Black Tortoise Possession!"
"Jade Phosphor Poison Dragon Possession!"
"Wind Chime Bird Possession!"
"Nine-Heart Begonia—Group Healing!"
Before troops move, supplies must go first.
The support-type soul masters on both sides provided enhancements to their teammates almost immediately.
On one side were powerful buffs of all kinds; on the other was near-infinite healing.
But before the two sides even collided, Ning Rongrong's Nine Treasures Glazed Pagoda had already seized the advantage.
With the enhancements from the Nine Treasures Glazed Pagoda, Tang Ni was like a violent output machine.
Multiple enhancement soul skills activated at once, instantly turning her into a golden tyrant of destruction.
In front of Tang Ni, Shimo had already activated his Black Tortoise True Body soul skill. Outside the enormous Black Tortoise phantom, several earth-yellow shields rotated defensively, trying to weaken Tang Ni's power.
However, in the next second, Tang Ni's jade-white fist came crashing down like a massive boulder.
In an instant, the Black Tortoise phantom and all its shields were smashed through, like steel piercing a balloon.
With a puff, Shimo's Black Tortoise True Body was shattered.
Only then did Tang Ni's Golden Dragon Fist finally strike the last layer of turtle shell covering Shimo's body.
Boom!
The shell cracked, and Shimo was sent flying backward, blood spraying from his mouth.
Fortunately, Qin Ming's composure was extraordinary, and he trusted Ye Lingling's healing abilities—otherwise, he would truly have worried whether Shimo might be beaten to death with a single punch.
Very soon, just as Qin Ming expected, while Shimo was still flying through the air, Ye Lingling's accelerated healing completely restored him.
By the time Shimo hit the ground, he once again activated Black Tortoise True Body.
A three-meter-tall Black Tortoise phantom glared ferociously at Tang Ni, making her feel extremely uncomfortable.
(End of the chapter)