As the Heavenly Dou Royal Team stepped onto the arena, the atmosphere, which should have been tense, suddenly became somewhat awkward.
"Feng Xiaotian? Why are you on the arena?" Ning Rongrong asked with a hint of confusion.
The other members of the Heavenly Dou Team also stared at Feng Xiaotian with puzzled expressions, causing the young man in his twenties to blush.
Only Li Xun seemed to recall something and wasn't surprised by this.
Feng Xiaotian rubbed his nose: "Our Shenfeng Academy first accidentally lost to Thunder Academy, and our main team members were injured and haven't recovered yet. Then we lost to Blazing Academy as well.
Now, two of our members are severely injured and have lost their potential to advance. So, after discussions with the team leader, I was transferred to the Blazing Academy team."
Ning Rongrong was surprised and turned to ask Li Xun: "Can teams merge in the Soul Master Competition?"
Li Xun walked over to Ning Rongrong and patted her little head: "These elemental academies are closely connected because they follow the extreme path of Soul Masters. Except for Thunder Academy, which is backed by the Blue Lightning Tyrant School, the other academies often interact with each other. It's not strange for them to merge."
"Besides, he's just a simp."
Hearing the word "simp," Ning Rongrong couldn't help but chuckle as she looked at Feng Xiaotian. She had heard Li Xun explain the meaning of "simp" when she was younger.
"Brother Li Xun, if they continue to lose, won't they merge with other elemental teams?" Zhu Zhuqing frowned as she walked over: "If they combine their strengths, wouldn't that be unfair to the other teams?"
Li Xun shrugged: "It's just them exploiting a loophole. After all, no one expected an academy to give up its honor to others."
The Heavenly Dou Team's discussion was clearly heard by the Blazing Academy team, but except for Feng Xiaotian, who looked a bit embarrassed, the others didn't seem to care.
As the referee announced the release of Martial Souls, everyone quickly focused, and the arena was instantly filled with dazzling lights.
"The match begins!" With the referee's command.
On the Blazing Academy's side of the arena, the temperature soared, and sparks flew everywhere. Two support-type Soul Masters quickly condensed glowing rings above the heads of the other team members.
Huo Wushuang, along with a strong attack-type member, received the amplification and let out a loud dragon's roar. Flames erupted from his body, and a dragon's phantom formed behind him as he charged fiercely toward the Heavenly Dou Team.
Following closely were Feng Xiaotian and another agile attack-type member of the Blazing Academy team. Instead of following behind Huo Wushuang, they quickly dashed to the sides, forming an arc to flank the Heavenly Dou Team.
Only Huo Wu stood motionless in front of the two team members.
"Nine Treasures Out, Glazed. First, strength; second, speed; third, soul; fourth, defense." With a clear chant, four-colored lights infused into the members of the Heavenly Dou Royal Team.
Li Xun placed his hand on Ning Rongrong's shoulder and nodded at the team: "No specific strategy, just go all out."
Yang Qianjun felt the surge of power from the amplification and grinned. He spun his Soul Piercing Lance rapidly, then abruptly stopped and hurled it toward Huo Wushuang.
Before the lance fully shot out, Yang Qianjun grabbed its tail, using its momentum to propel himself forward.
Shi Mo and Shi Feng, the two brothers, chuckled and summoned their Black Tortoise Turtle shells, quickly moving to the flank of the Heavenly Dou Team to intercept the approaching Feng Xiaotian and his companion.
"Zhu Zhuqing, I don't want to support anymore. Can you take me directly to attack the support Soul Masters at the rear of the Blazing Academy team?" Seeing Zhu Zhuqing about to charge forward with her sharp sword, Dugu Yan quickly called her to a halt.
"Alright," Zhu Zhuqing replied after a brief moment of thought. She then wrapped her arm around Dugu Yan's waist, thrust her sword forward, and the two of them vanished from the spot in an instant.
A few breaths later, they suddenly reappeared in front of the two support Soul Masters of the Blazing Academy team, who were caught completely off guard.
"Repelling Fire Ring."
Huo Wu was startled, and the third Spirit Ring at her feet instantly lit up. A dazzling purple-golden light suddenly flashed around her body, merging with a red light to form a radiant ring.
Zhu Zhuqing and Dugu Yan felt a sudden surge of repulsive force hit them, and before they could react, they were flung backward.
Fortunately, Zhu Zhuqing reacted quickly. After being thrown a short distance, she swiftly moved behind Dugu Yan and caught her.
"Scarlet Flame Embers." Dugu Yan, who rarely took action, was annoyed that her first attack today had nearly ended in embarrassment. Her gaze toward Huo Wu changed as well.
It's often said that women are particularly hard on other women. The third Spirit Ring at Dugu Yan's feet shone brightly, and tiny sparks of fire sprayed from her mouth, heading straight for Huo Wu and the two support Soul Masters of the Blazing Academy team.
Her Martial Soul, the Scarlet Flame Serpent, evolved from the Jade Phosphor Serpent. This Martial Soul retained its original toxicity while also gaining some fire attributes.
Dugu Yan had initially thought that this flame could only be used to refine the toxins in her body to strengthen her physique. However, by chance, she discovered that the fire had another use.
Though it couldn't compare to the power of an assault-type Soul Master, this method could still be used for support or to spread toxins.
The sparks emitted a faint glow as they drifted toward Huo Wu and the others. When they were still some distance away, the sparks suddenly burst into flames, connecting together to form a massive fireball that surged toward the three of them.
Seeing this, Huo Wu narrowed her eyes and sneered. While retreating with her support Soul Masters, she released another Repelling Fire Ring.
The Blazing Academy was, after all, a master of fire. With just a glance, Huo Wu could tell that the fireball Dugu Yan had released was insubstantial, merely a hollow ball of fiery gas.
As she had expected, the moment the Repelling Fire Ring collided with the massive fireball, the fireball instantly disintegrated, dissipating into a faint white smoke.
"Hmph, playing with fire against our Blazing Academy..." Huo Wu waved her hand to disperse the smoke around her, about to taunt Dugu Yan, when she suddenly felt her Soul Power boiling within her body, rapidly depleting at an alarming rate.
Immediately after, she felt an intense pain throughout her body, as if countless tiny insects were biting her.
The two support Soul Masters behind her weren't faring any better. They were trembling violently, as if struggling to endure something.
"The smoke is poisonous!" Huo Wu was shocked and quickly turned her gaze toward Dugu Yan, only to find the other woman smiling at her.
"Yes, did you think a red serpent was purely fire-based?" Dugu Yan chuckled at Huo Wu's surprised expression. "And you shouldn't lose focus during a battle, you know!"
Huo Wu was momentarily stunned, then felt a sharp pain in her waist as her vision rapidly receded, and she fell off the stage.
Before she could get up, two support members of the Blazing Fire Team collapsed beside her.
Zhu Zhuqing stood at the edge of the stage, her gaze cold as she looked at the three fallen figures: "Sister Yan, please help them detoxify quickly."
"You three, come over here. If you delay the detoxification, you might die!" Dugu Yan leisurely walked over to Zhu Zhuqing and extended her hand toward Huo Wu.
Huo Wu numbly stood up. She couldn't feel the intense pain in her body anymore, only a deep sense of regret.
She had thought that even if Li Xun was strong, as a plant-type, he would be restrained by the Blazing Fire Team. She never expected that she wouldn't even get a chance to act before being defeated by Li Xun's teammates.