As their four teammates formed the defense, An Lengye and Fei Yuyan also sprang into action without hesitation.
An Lengye commanded the Frost Giant Bear, which stomped forward heavily, coming to a stop behind the shield wall.
It pounded its chest with massive paws, producing a deep, muffled sound.
Her first soul ring flashed, and instantly, icy blue light rippled outward. A crystalline layer of ice quickly crawled up the shield wall, instantly transforming it into a solid ice shield of greatly increased defense.
This was An Lengye's first soul skill—Ice Shield. Stacked atop the Rhinoceros Shield, it increased defense by at least threefold. Not even a typical Soul King could easily break through.
But An Lengye wasn't finished.
Her second soul ring lit up, and the Frost Giant Bear slammed its paws into the ground, sending waves of blue light surging across the arena.
In a blink, the entire hundred-meter platform was covered in thick ice, turning it into a frozen world.
The cold, biting air caused the temperature to plummet as though deep winter had arrived.
This was her second soul skill—Ice Seal, which not only restricted enemy movement but also disrupted their battle rhythm.
Meanwhile, Fei Yuyan made her move. Heat waves of flame erupted behind her as her Weaving Flame Tiger's fur blazed like a torch.
Astonishingly, her first, second, and third soul rings flashed in rapid succession—she was activating three soul skills simultaneously, a feat rare even among elite soul masters.
She first activated her first soul skill—Ring of Flames.
A red flaming ring appeared at Shen Ce's feet, bathing him in blood-red fire.
The Ring of Flames granted powerful fire attribute enhancements and resistance to one teammate, boosting both attack and damage potential.
However, it could only be applied to one person.
With this buff, Shen Ce's silver spear was instantly coated in fire, crackling with power, his aura rising to new heights.
But Fei Yuyan kept going, next activating her second soul skill—Blazing Wings.
The Weaving Flame Tiger roared, sprouting enormous flaming wings that lifted it into the air with Fei Yuyan riding on its back, majestic and awe-inspiring.
Then came her third skill—Azure Flame.
Pale blue flames surged into the Weaving Flame Tiger, and a phantom tiger split off, charging toward Shen Ce and merging into his spear.
Suddenly, the spear was wreathed in azure-white fire, with faint tiger roars echoing from within as if it had gained a life of its own.
Shen Ce's aura peaked, spear and man fusing into one, radiating both sharpness and explosive power.
The crowd was stunned into silence, holding their breath so as not to miss a single detail.
Fei Yuyan's dazzling combo had raised Shen Ce's power to a whole new level.
No one expected a sweet and lively girl with a Weaving Flame Tiger martial soul to possess such potent support skills, overturning everyone's impression of her and making the match even more exciting.
Qianling Academy's strategy was simple: defend with everything they had while Fei Yuyan amped up their captain for an all-out assault.
They knew their round-robin group was a living hell, with both St. Freya and Dou Ling Royal Advanced Soul Master Academy present.
They understood this might be where their tournament journey ended.
Yet even so, they refused to exit quietly. They resolved to shine on this stage and ensure everyone would remember their presence.
In contrast, St. Freya Academy's members looked completely at ease, watching Qianling's preparations without any attempt to interrupt.
To the audience, this calm confidence was the exclusive pride of a champion team.
And it was justified: for St. Freya, Qianling posed little real threat. Since that was the case, they might as well let their opponents go all out, making the match more satisfying for everyone.
"Are you ready? Then let's begin!" Lu Jingming's lips curled in a faint smile as he spun his spear, his gaze landing on Firefly.
For him, breaking Qianling's defense was easy, but Black Abyss was too dangerous—he didn't want any casualties in a tournament match.
Receiving Lu Jingming's signal, Firefly remained calm, stepping forward lightly.
Scarlet flames suddenly erupted around her, dancing wildly like she was the queen of fire.
Unnoticed, her right hand already held a translucent green winged sheath transformer, which shone enchantingly in the firelight.
Firefly walked over the ice, her blazing heat slicing through it like a blade, melting it wherever she tread.
In a flash, she stood before the shield wall.
Her expression turned serious as she called out in a clear voice, "Surrender now, and no one will get hurt. Otherwise, you'll all regret it!"
"Thank you for giving us time to prepare. We know we're no match for you," Shen Ce said, licking his dry lips and taking a deep breath, his tone tinged with resignation yet his eyes full of determination. "But since we're here, we have no intention of giving up easily!"
"In that case, like fireflies rushing to the flame—seeking life through death!"
Firefly's eyes flashed with resolve. With a shout, "Boom!" the air exploded as flames surged in all directions.
It was as if an invisible hand twisted the very air, the temperature skyrocketing. The ice An Lengye had laid down instantly turned to puddles under this terrifying heat.
Within the fire, Firefly's body was enveloped in a silver-white mecha.
The mecha burned with horrific flames, fire leaping and crackling across its surface, igniting the very air wherever it passed.
The terrifying fire swept in all directions. Even outside the protective barriers, spectators close to the field could feel the intense heat, as if they'd been thrown into a steaming cauldron, their clothes drenched in sweat and clinging to their bodies.
At the same time, the sun above seemed to burn even brighter under the influence of the flames, the whole arena engulfed in a sea of fire.
Feeling the scorching heat, Shen Ce's expression grew grim. He licked his lips again, feeling unprecedented pressure, but his determination did not waver.
A moment later, the flames subsided, and what appeared before the crowd was not the soft and lovely Firefly, but a magnificent silver mecha.
A blazing fire burned on its chest, with two green flaming ribbons trailing from the shoulders, adding a unique beauty to its powerful form.
Magnificent, powerful, scorching, wild, handsome… countless superlatives flashed through the audience's minds, but none could fully express the shock brought by this mecha.
Everyone stared wide-eyed, excitement and fervor shining in their eyes, fixed on the silver mecha.
The perfect fusion of mecha and beautiful girl—this unprecedented visual impact sent the atmosphere to a feverish pitch.
"Is that… a humanoid soul tool?"
In the Sun and Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy lounge, seeing Firefly's transformation, Elder Ma shot to his feet, face filled with shock and disbelief.
Few knew that Mingde Hall had long been investing huge resources into humanoid soul tool research, achieving some results after years of work.
But now, here on the tournament stage, on a Soul King-level girl, he saw what looked like a humanoid soul tool—no wonder he was so shocked.
"No, this is a martial soul…"
But Elder Ma was experienced. He quickly recovered, watching Firefly's glowing soul rings and the details of her transformation, and finally determined this was not a humanoid soul tool, but an unprecedented martial soul!
Even so, this discovery made him tremble with excitement.