"It's not necessarily over yet. There are still four of us, aren't there?" Huo Wu brushed aside the dark red strands of hair stuck to her forehead by sweat. "We're a team, not just one person."
"Stubborn to the end." Shui Bing'er's expression remained unchanged. "In that case, I'll just send all of you out of the arena."
"Try it if you can!" Huo Wu raised her eyebrows defiantly.
"Your last trump card is that support-type Soul Master named Xue Ke, right?"
The sudden remark made Huo Wu's expression freeze.
Ning Rongrong swooped down from the air, throwing Yu Hairou toward Xue Ke's position before swiftly ascending again, grabbing Ye Lingling and flying back into the sky.
"Oh no!"
The three members of the Blazing Wind team paled, but it was already too late to intervene.
"Fourth Soul Skill—Frozen Ice Palm!"
Chilling air converged from all directions, condensing into a ten-meter-wide icy palm in midair. With a sharp whistling sound, the massive palm descended from above.
With Ning Rongrong's four-ring support, Yu Hairou's Soul Power far exceeded her original level of 41.
A full-force strike.
Its power even rivaled that of a 45th-rank attack.
However, in the next second—
The condensed ice palm began melting at a visible rate before it could even touch Xue Ke.
"Boom—!" A terrifying recoil force struck Yu Hairou, a Soul Ancestor.
A sweet taste filled Yu Hairou's mouth as she spat out a mouthful of blood. The buff from the Nine Heart Begonia swiftly healed her injuries, but the impact still sent her flying. By the time she regained her senses, she had already landed outside the arena.
Yu Hairou stared blankly at the battlefield.
Xue Ke's body was now clad in armor-like equipment, translucent as a thin veil. Behind the armor, a phantom emerged—
The silhouette of a swan spreading its wings. This swan bore some resemblance to the swan Martial Soul of the Heaven Dou Empire, but its aura was far more noble.
"Impressive! No wonder you were so confident." Ning Rongrong landed behind Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er with Ye Lingling in tow.
As a support-type Soul Master, her role was to cheer from the sidelines—did they expect her to charge in recklessly?
Far away in the exclusive lounge, Tang Xiao stood up from his chair, his face filled with shock.
"No… this can't be!"
"Wh-what's wrong, Godfather?" Tang Long asked nervously, seeing the 97th-ranked Tang Xiao's eyes widen as he stared intently at the live broadcast on the soul tool screen, his body trembling slightly.
"Soul Bones… That girl named Xue Ke just used a Soul Bone to negate her opponent's attack and reflect it back."
"What's so strange about that?" Tang San frowned, glancing at Tang Xiao before turning to his teacher, hoping for an explanation.
Yu Xiaogang fell into deep thought under Tang San's gaze and didn't answer.
His eyes remained fixed on the live broadcast. If one weren't paying attention, they might not notice the confusion and doubt swirling in Yu Xiaogang's eyes.
In the end, it was Tang Xiao's voice that broke the silence.
"San'er, that Xue Ke's identity is far from simple!" Tang Xiao slumped back into his chair, his tone laced with astonishment. "If it were just Soul Bones, I wouldn't be this shocked."
Soul Bones were exceedingly rare, but for a Title Douluo, they weren't impossible to come across.
Even if Xue Ke possessed multiple Soul Bones, it would only be mildly surprising.
But this…
"That support-type Soul Master from the Blazing Wind team—her Soul Bones likely all come from the same type of soul beast. Judging from the phantom behind her, they're from the same swan-type soul beast."
Tang Xiao paused briefly, as if giving Tang San time to process, before continuing, "Her Soul Bones form a true Soul Bone Set, not just random pieces."
"What's the difference?" Yu Xiaogang asked urgently.
Tang Xiao didn't keep them in suspense.
"A Soul Bone Set maximizes the power of the Soul Bones, even allowing their skills to surpass their original rank. It also grants a special set ability."
"Though the specifics… I'm not entirely sure." Tang Xiao shook his head.
Soul Bone Sets were far too rare. Soul Bones themselves were already difficult to obtain, let alone a full set from the same type of soul beast.
Just what kind of background did this girl Xue Ke have?
Even the Clear Sky Sect couldn't produce a full Soul Bone Set.
Judging by the power of each individual piece, they all seemed to be at least thousand-year Soul Bones.
...
"I'm curious how long you can last." Ning Rongrong's gaze swept over Xue Ke.
After activating the Soul Bone Set, its synergy with the Emerald Swan Martial Soul actually restored Huo Wu's nearly exhausted Soul Power to its peak.
Not only that, but all four members of the Blazing Wind team—aside from their offensive capabilities—had their physical attributes and other aspects restored to full condition.
Bi Ji must have gone all out!
A full set of Emerald Swan Soul Bones—only someone like Bi Ji, the ruler of the Emerald Swan race, would dare to do something like this.
Emerald Swans were rare, but that was relative to the entire continent's soul beast population.
As the supreme leader of the Emerald Swan race, taking a few suitable Soul Bones from her clan for Xue Ke wasn't an impossible feat.
"Just what kind of price did Qian Renxue pay to make Bi Ji dig up her ancestors' graves and go against tradition by handing over her clansmen's Soul Bones to a human?"
After all, even soul beasts despised the idea of humans obtaining their Soul Bones—it was a matter of dignity, let alone willingly giving them away.
Ning Rongrong remembered that Xue Ke also had a ten-thousand-year Soul Bone. That one shouldn't have been from an Emerald Swan. Did they forcibly modify the Soul Bone to fit the set?
Did the Silver Dragon King intervene?
Or had the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud truly fallen into the Silver Dragon King's hands and played a major role?
Surely it couldn't be that absurd?
Ning Rongrong shook off her thoughts.
Regardless, she needed to focus on ending this match first.
With the Emerald Swan Martial Soul's shields and healing boosts, Huo Wushang recklessly charged forward, using his Titan Giant Ape Soul Bone to amplify himself, seemingly trying to pin down Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er.
With all the buffs stacked on him, along with the unique properties of his Titan Giant Ape Soul Bone, he did buy the Blazing Wind team quite a bit of time.
But in the end, Shui Bing'er froze his feet with her first Soul Skill, Ice Seal, then hurled him out of the arena with a barrage of hail and a whirlwind.
"Ahahahaha—!"
Huo Wushang, who had been flung out of the arena, face-planted into the ground but didn't seem to care. Glancing back at the arena, he laughed loudly.
"My job's done! Members of the Seven Treasures Academy, prepare to witness the Blazing Wind Academy's greatest power!"
"We were saving this for the finals, but—"
"Martial Soul Fusion Skill? That's your trump card?" Ning Rongrong cut him off before he could finish. "As if we don't have one too. It's not that special."
"Tch. Ning Rongrong, don't talk big. Even if you have a Martial Soul Fusion Skill, it's too late now."
Amid the fusion of wind and fire, the temperature of the entire arena began rising rapidly.
Waves of scorching heat radiated outward like rolling tides.
Each wave was stronger than the last.
This was the sign of a Martial Soul Fusion Skill nearing completion.
It was over. Everything was over.
No one could stop Feng Xiaotian and Huo Wu from completing their Martial Soul Fusion Skill—not even a Soul King.
Though they had exhausted all their trump cards, barring any surprises—
The Blazing Wind Academy had this match in the bag!