At this moment, Ma Rulong, having reacted, broke out in a cold sweat, his heart feeling as if it would leap from his throat.
He hastily retrieved a black helmet from his storage ring and quickly put it on.
Simultaneously, he released his martial soul—the Big-Headed Spirit Ape.
With the release of his martial soul, his head visibly grew several sizes larger, giving him a somewhat peculiar appearance.
Ma Rulong's soul skills were almost entirely dedicated to amplifying soul power and strengthening soul tools.
Now, he unhesitatingly used his soul skills, fully boosting the helmet-type soul tool on his head.
The next moment, the red gem on the black helmet glowed dazzlingly. Immediately after, a dark red light burst forth from the gem, instantly transforming into a small ape, which charged at Jinshi with bared fangs and claws.
Ma Rulong's reaction speed was already remarkably fast, but Jinshi's speed was even greater.
Her soul skills were almost all instant casts. The light from her soul ring merely flashed for a moment, and her first soul skill—Fleeting Light, Clear Frost—was already activated.
Four golden sword lights flashed, instantly tearing through the air.
"Squeak! Squeak!"
The dark red little monkey was accurately struck by two sword lights, its form instantly dimming, and its power weakened accordingly.
Ma Rulong himself was not spared; he also took two hits.
The immense power of these two strikes shattered his soul tool armor, sending fragments flying in all directions.
Ma Rulong was sent flying backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily onto the ground.
The next moment, Firefly appeared behind him and unleashed a punch. Ma Rulong could no longer hold back and quickly activated his invincibility shield.
michael, Xiao Hongchen, Xiao Xiafeng, Chen Fei, and the others were all greatly alarmed by this.
The pace of this battle was simply too fast. They had only just reacted and no longer cared about continuing to bombard with soul cannons. They all rushed to rescue Ma Rulong.
"Boom!"
A dark purple light spread out, and purple currents tightly entwined Xiao Hongchen and the others.
In that instant, they felt a bone-chilling cold invade their bodies, followed by a sudden weakening and stiffness that made their movements slow and sluggish.
Castorice, holding the Stygian Death Scythe, walked slowly with steady steps. On her, her second soul ring was already lit, emitting a purple glow.
She was casting her second soul skill—Realm of the Abandoned Underworld, a powerful domain-type soul skill.
As the skill activated, a Stygian River domain unfolded around her.
Within this domain, everyone would be eroded by death qi, and all their attributes would be greatly reduced.
If they stayed in this domain for too long, they might even face the direct threat of death.
"Boom!"
Another loud bang, and flames erupted, completely enveloping Ma Rulong.
Under the scorching heat, even with the protection of his invincibility shield, his soul tool armor melted and warped from the high temperature.
Finally, he was slammed into the arena ground by Firefly's punch, leaving behind only a deep crater.
"It's over!"
In the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy's lounge, Elder Ma, seeing this scene, helplessly covered his forehead, his face full of bitterness and resignation.
He knew very well that with the relatively fragile physical strength of a soul engineer, facing such a fierce combined assault from Jinshi and Firefly was simply too difficult to withstand.
Xiao Hongchen, seeing this, had veins bulging on his forehead, his anger flaring.
He instantly released his martial soul—the Three-Legged Golden Toad—and his first four soul rings simultaneously shone with dazzling light.
Immediately after, he consecutively unleashed four soul skills: Metal Control, Golden Effervescence, Golden Condensation, and Golden Sacrifice.
As the soul skills were cast, soul power boiled and burned within his body.
Countless golden lights emerged from him, finally converging to arm Xiao Hongchen into a formidable soul tool artillery platform.
At first glance, this artillery platform appeared to have at least over a hundred metal cannons, delivering an absolute shock.
It's important to note that fifth-rank soul engineers, like michael and the others, who were elite soul engineers from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy, could only control a dozen or so soul cannons. Yet, Xiao Hongchen controlled ten times that number.
From this perspective, Xiao Hongchen indeed had reason to be arrogant.
The next moment, Xiao Hongchen roared. He fired frantically, transforming his inner frustration into a torrent of firepower. Countless golden light orbs shot out like raindrops, bombarding Firefly, Jinshi, and Castorice.
michael and Xiao Xiafeng, seeing this, also followed suit.
Although Ma Rulong had decisively activated his invincibility shield, this shield could only last for a mere three seconds, clearly rendering it unreliable.
Chen Fei, as a melee soul engineer, wielded twin daggers and moved like lightning, directly charging towards Jinshi.
At this moment, they no longer cared about any soul tool formation; they could only fight individually, attempting to salvage this precarious situation.
For a moment, the sound of explosions once again reverberated throughout the arena, the continuous blasts like a grand fireworks display.
The audience was thrilled, shouting with excitement, cheers and roars rising and falling, pushing the atmosphere of the entire arena to a climax.
"Clang!"
Lu Jingming's expression was calm. With a gentle sweep of his long spear, he easily blocked a sudden slash that emerged from the ice behind him.
Meng Hongchen's figure slowly emerged from within the ice. This was her third soul skill—Ice Refraction, which allowed her to move freely within ice and launch surprise attacks.
At this moment, Meng Hongchen's eyes held a mixture of solemnity and doubt. At the same time, her peripheral vision unconsciously darted towards Xiao Hongchen and the others, her heart filled with worry.
"Student Meng, you're wondering why your cold poison isn't working, aren't you?"
Lu Jingming seemed to see through the doubt in Meng Hongchen's eyes. His lips curved slightly into a faint smile as he spoke.
With Jinshi, Firefly, and Castorice on the other battlefield, the situation was well within control, so he was not in a hurry. Instead, he engaged in a conversation with Meng Hongchen with great interest.
"You knew?" Meng Hongchen's expression changed instantly, her eyes filled with surprise.
In all previous matches, she had never had a chance to appear, and her abilities had always been well-hidden. Yet, Lu Jingming seemed to know everything about her, which she simply couldn't comprehend.
"Of course. Although your martial soul is rare, it's not the type that's completely unrecognizable."
Lu Jingming said, his gaze calmly falling upon the small toad on Meng Hongchen's shoulder, which was as white as jade with blood-red eyes like fire.
He had indeed recognized Meng Hongchen's martial soul, but even if he hadn't, he knew what Meng Hongchen's martial soul was. He understood Meng Hongchen very well, both from his past life memories and the information gathered from the simulated universe.
"It looks quite cute. It's hard to imagine that it's the extremely dangerous Crimson-Eyed Ice Toad."
Upon hearing Lu Jingming's compliment, Meng Hongchen's pretty face instantly flushed, and her eyes became somewhat dazed. The words "cute" echoed repeatedly in her mind.
For some reason, although Lu Jingming was referring to the Crimson-Eyed Ice Toad martial soul on her shoulder, she couldn't help but apply it to herself.
Lu Jingming, seeing this, his mouth twitched slightly. In that instant, if he had taken the opportunity to launch a sneak attack, Meng Hongchen probably wouldn't even have known how she died.
However, on second thought, Meng Hongchen was only fourteen years old, and this Douluo Continent was inherently prone to "love-struck" individuals. With that, he felt relieved.
As for Meng Hongchen's cold poison, it naturally had no effect on him.
Whether it was Abyssal White Flower's decomposition power or its cell-level repair ability, both were sufficient to make him immune to most poisons.
Poisons that could truly affect him were extremely rare.
"I know it's hard for us to turn this match around, but I still want to try."
Meng Hongchen's eyes suddenly became clear and determined. It was as if she had instantly cast aside the distracting thoughts caused by the allure of beauty. She spoke with a serious expression.
Originally, she had been waiting for her cold poison to take effect, but now it seemed that the cold poison had no effect on Lu Jingming. Therefore, she could only go all out and make one last effort.
"Good, then come!" Lu Jingming nodded gently, his tone calm but filled with confidence.
He understood that Meng Hongchen definitely had hidden trump cards. It didn't matter; he would let her give her all, so she could lose convinced.
Meng Hongchen glanced again in Xiao Hongchen's direction. In just a short time, the battle situation had already undergone a huge change.
Apart from Xiao Hongchen who was still fighting tenaciously, michael, Chen Fei, Lin Xi, and Xiao Xiafeng had all fallen.
It was not difficult to deduce from the burn marks on their bodies that most of the injuries were burns, clearly indicating that Firefly had once again excellently served as the main damage dealer for the team in this battle.
Meng Hongchen forcibly suppressed the many distracting thoughts in her mind, took a deep breath, and completely calmed her emotions.
Immediately after, her fifth soul ring lit up with a black light. Simultaneously, ice and fire elements began to furiously gather around her.
She lightly tapped the ground with her foot, using the force to gracefully leap into the air.
In mid-air, Meng Hongchen elegantly spun, and the twin swords in her hands quickly joined together.
In an instant, the two elements of ice and fire spun wildly, red and blue lights intertwining, gradually transforming into a massive tornado that completely enveloped Meng Hongchen.
"Fifth Soul Skill, Ice-Fire Poison Dragon Drill!" Meng Hongchen cried out. The massive red and blue vortex, like a roaring giant dragon, swept towards Lu Jingming.
Hearing the name of this soul skill, Lu Jingming's expression instantly became a bit strange. His thoughts, for a moment, uncontrollably wandered, and some peculiar ideas involuntarily surfaced in his mind.
However, the movements of his hands were not slow at all.
He instantly activated his Thunder Stigma. In a flash, dazzling lightning glowed, accompanied by strange sounds like a thousand birds chirping. The long spear in his hand was tightly enveloped by lightning.
The flashing electric light layered around the Dark Abyss Spear, actually transforming it into a massive lightning spear radiating a terrifying aura.
"Boom!"
The lightning, like a world-splitting sword, instantly slashed across the sky.
The thunderous roar was deafening. The blinding white electric light instantly pierced through the red and blue vortex, and the powerful force continued its unimpeded trajectory, rushing towards the sky a hundred meters high, leaving a prominent hundred-meter-long trail in the sky.
As the lightning penetrated, the red and blue vortex gradually dissipated. Meng Hongchen's body, weakened by excessive soul power consumption, began to slowly fall from the air.
Just as she was about to activate the invincibility shield she had already prepared on herself to prevent injury from the fall, a pair of strong arms steadily caught her.
Meng Hongchen was momentarily stunned. When she recovered, she found herself being steadily held in Lu Jingming's arms in a princess carry pose.
"Are you alright? I'll put you down," Lu Jingming said, seeing Meng Hongchen's dazed expression, feeling that this pose was too intimate.
After all, though the other party might be a bit infatuated, she wasn't someone who would act casually.
"No, don't. I'm paralyzed by your lightning; I can't move. This is fine."
Meng Hongchen instantly snapped back to her senses, her hands instinctively wrapping tightly around Lu Jingming's neck, unwilling to get down from his embrace.
Lu Jingming helplessly looked at the arms wrapped around his neck, his mouth twitching again. You call that paralyzed?