Ye Yin's second soul ring suddenly lit up. Unlike the white light of a blessing, this time it shone with a deep, eerie black light.
Second Spirit Ability: Soul Skill Curse!
The target was the Martial Soul Fusion Skill—the Ice and Snow Fluttering Ice Phoenix. The curse's effect was to increase the attack's range by five hundred percent. But it came with a side effect: since the attack range was now so large, its attack power was no longer needed.
The moment the curse landed on the Ice Phoenix, its attack range, which could originally only cover the arena, suddenly expanded fivefold, directly encompassing an area of several dozen meters around the stage. Everyone in the audience was startled and instinctively tried to flee, while Emperor Xue Ye and the others in the VIP section trembled, wondering what Tianshui Academy was trying to do.
Shui Bing'er and Xue Wu, still merged within the phoenix, also became anxious. If they accidentally injured so many spectators, their academy would likely be suspended, even if they won the match. But they quickly realized something was wrong.
The destructive, extreme cold storm did not descend. The chilling current it emitted visibly became… gentler. The extreme low temperature that seemed to freeze souls vanished, replaced by a kind of… coolness. One could even say it was refreshing, like a cool breeze carrying an icy mist on a hot summer day.
The volume of the Ice Phoenix and the swirling snow around it instantly expanded, but this coolness had no destructive power. Countless tiny, harmless white snowflakes drifted down from the churning dark clouds like a celestial maiden scattering flowers. The audience members subconsciously reached out to catch them. They were cool to the touch and melted instantly. Forget about freezing souls, their hands didn't even turn red.
What kind of terrifying Martial Soul Fusion Skill was this? It was clearly a grand, romantic, and beautiful artificial snowfall performance.
The entire arena instantly fell into an eerie silence. Everyone looked up, staring blankly at the harmless snowflakes falling from the sky. The Shrek team was just as stunned. Dai Mubai maintained his defensive posture, feeling the snowflakes fall on him. They were cool and… quite comfortable. Not to mention injuries, he didn't even have frostbite. Ma Hongjun's wall of fire hadn't been extinguished, and the snowflakes falling on the flames made a sizzling sound, more like cooling down in a sauna than a life-or-death battle. Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing stood on the soft snow, looking completely bewildered.
As the fusion skill ended, Shui Bing'er and Xue Wu landed back on the ground. The expressions on their faces were incredibly complex. Shui Bing'er's cold and beautiful face was filled with unbelievable shock and confusion, while Xue Wu's mouth hung open, completely dumbfounded as she looked at the stage, which was now covered in soft snow like a fairy tale world.
Was this their ultimate move? It felt like gathering all their strength to smash a mountain, only for their punch to turn into a gentle stroke on a kitten's head. The huge contrast and the spirit power backlash made their chests feel tight. The grievance was extreme. The ultimate move they had been preparing for so long was just… gone.
[Resentment from Shui Bing'er +88!]
[Resentment from Xue Wu +88!]
Shui Bing'er could no longer maintain her cold and noble demeanor. Like a little girl whose candy had been snatched away, she began to tremble with anger, and tears finally rolled down her cheeks uncontrollably. She glared fiercely at Ye Yin.
"You… what did you do?!" she cried out. "My Martial Soul Fusion Skill! Give me back my Ice Phoenix!"
After a brief, deathly silence, the entire audience erupted.
"Puhahahahahahahaha!!!"
Laughter, like a tsunami, engulfed the arena, more frenzied and out of control than any time before.
"Oh my God! A divine move! Another one!"
"He turned their ultimate skill into artificial snowfall?! Ye Yin, are you a comedian sent by the devil?!"
"Goddess Shui Bing'er is crying! She's so pitiful, but it's so funny!"
"Hahahaha, I can't, my stomach hurts! Shrek is just too wicked!"
"Shenfeng Academy's farting, Elephant Armor's limping, Blazing Fire's singing, and now Tianshui Academy's… snowing! He really is the nemesis of the Five Element Academies!"
In the VIP section, Ning Fengzhi covered his forehead with his hand, his shoulders shaking violently. Salas's face was as black as a pot. Hu Yan Zhen, completely abandoning his image, slapped his thigh and roared with laughter. "Hahaha! Serves you right! You made fun of us! Crying now, aren't you!"
On the stage, the other members of Tianshui Academy were all dumbfounded. They looked at their captain, who had fallen to the ground, tearfully accusing Ye Yin, and then at the harmless snowflakes still falling from the sky. A huge sense of powerlessness and absurdity washed over them. How could they still fight? The Shrek team had almost fully recovered to their peak condition. In contrast, Shui Bing'er and Xue Wu were overdrawn on spirit power, and the others were injured and exhausted.
Supported by Shen Liuyu, Shui Bing'er managed to stand up. Wiping away the blood from the corner of her mouth and the tears from her face, her ice-blue eyes were filled with unwillingness and humiliation, but also a deep sense of fatigue. She looked at the Shrek team, who were in perfect condition, then at her own depleted teammates.
There was no need to struggle anymore. The opposing support Spirit King stood there like an insurmountable mountain. Any further fighting might only lead to even more incredible humiliation. Thinking of her mighty Ice Phoenix turning into a sky full of snow, Shui Bing'er's delicate body trembled again, and her eyes reddened.
She took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing her surging emotions, and with great difficulty, raised her hand.
"Ref… referee… Tianshui Academy… we surrender."
Her voice was not loud, but it spread clearly throughout the arena, filled with helplessness, bitterness, and the determination to preserve their last shred of dignity. The arena fell silent again. Everyone looked at the Ice Phoenix goddess on the stage, her tear stains not yet dry, yet still striving to keep her back straight. They felt sympathy, but also admiration. She was the only captain who, after facing Ye Yin's strange methods, had managed to actively surrender to protect her team.
The referee wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. It hadn't stopped all day. He quickly announced, "Tianshui Academy surrenders! Shrek Academy wins!"
----------------
New Year Giveaway Update
To celebrate the New Year, I'll be randomly dropping a membership giveaway code in the Patreon community chats on January 2nd.
It will be first come, first serve—the first person to use it gets the membership access.
Keep an eye on the Patreon community chats. Once the code is claimed, the giveaway ends.
Happy New Year 🎉
You can read advanced chapters here: patreon.com/GregariousLion