Chapter 64: Ye Lingling vs Shi Mo
Upon hearing Qin Ming's words, everyone immediately looked toward Ye Lingling, waiting to see how she would respond.
"No problem, Teacher Qin Ming." Ye Lingling smiled lightly and nodded. At the same time, she glanced around and asked, "But who will be my opponent?"
"Yu Feng and Oslo just fought, so we will not use them. Yanzi is already a three-ring Spirit Master, so she is not suitable either." Qin Ming thought for a moment, then said, "Tianheng is also too strong. Let's go with Shi Mo."
Shi Mo was the younger of the Shi brothers. His Martial Soul was the Black Turtle, and he was a level twenty-seven defensive battle Spirit Master.
Qin Ming's choice was clearly well considered. The main purpose of this match was to observe Ye Lingling's newly learned self-created Spirit Skill. Yu Feng's Wind and Oslo's high-speed assaults were not suitable. Dugu Yan's poison was too dangerous, and Yu Tianheng's attack power was excessive. Qin Ming worried they might lose control if the fight heated up. The Shi brothers, with their heavy defense and steady style, were the most suitable to showcase Ye Lingling's new skill.
Shi Mo nodded, accepting Qin Ming's arrangement.
"In that case, let's start quickly," Yu Feng said, his expression full of anticipation. "I really want to see what kind of skill you two managed to create in these three months."
After Ye Lingling and Shi Mo exchanged a brief nod, they stepped up onto the arena.
Yu Tianlin was not particularly worried. After spending time with Shi Mo, he knew the guy was very steady. Even if Ye Lingling could not beat him, Shi Mo would still be able to control his strength and avoid injuring her.
Besides, Ye Lingling had spent the past two months in constant combat training, gaining a great deal of experience. With that plus the powerful attack of Rasengan, the winner of this match was far from decided.
Once the two had taken their positions, Qin Ming raised his voice and announced, "Battle, begin."
The moment his words fell, a change swept over Shi Mo's body.
He tore off his shirt, revealing a body packed with stone-like muscle. A yellow-brown aura of Spirit Power surged up from his feet, wrapping around him in an instant. Cracking sounds came from his bones as his whole body swelled in size.
Shi Mo bent his back slightly. A layer of tortoise shell formed across his back and chest, shaped entirely from his earthen yellow Spirit Power. The shell was dark yellow with pale yellow lines, and at the center of the chest shell was a strange symbol, its meaning unknown.
As his Martial Soul possessed him, Shi Mo's limbs seemed to shorten slightly. Two yellow Spirit Rings rose slowly beneath his feet and circled around his body.
Yu Tianlin could not help complaining inwardly.
So he really has to take off his clothes every time he fights. That is a bit much.
But I might end up like him in the future.
Right now, Yu Tianlin could only transform one arm into a dragon. Even if both arms transformed later, it would not matter too much, since he could still get away with wearing short sleeves. Once his legs and eventually his whole body entered a dragon form, though, normal clothes and pants would definitely be torn apart.
He shook his head, pushing away those strange thoughts, and focused again on the arena.
While Shi Mo went through such a dramatic transformation on one side of the arena, Ye Lingling on the other side remained perfectly calm. She still did not summon the Nine Heart Begonia.
Indeed, the Nine Heart Begonia was meaningless in this kind of duel, so there was no need to summon it at all.
Shi Mo stared cautiously at Ye Lingling. He had just heard that the self-created Spirit Skill she learned over the past three months supposedly had the power of a thousand-year Spirit Skill. Even if he was not sure how accurate that evaluation was, a skill that dared to be described that way clearly could not be too weak. He naturally did not dare to be careless.
His first Spirit Ring lit up. A deep, steady aura flowed off his body, and a layer of yellow light coated the already thick tortoise shell, further boosting his defense.
After strengthening himself with his first Spirit Skill, Shi Mo saw that Ye Lingling still had not made any move. He took the initiative and started walking forward.
Even though he took the offensive, Shi Mo did not rush. Each step was heavy and steady, giving off a sense of solid reliability.
"No way, Shi Mo is using his first Spirit Skill right away against Lingling?" Yu Feng exclaimed, shocked. "Isn't that too exaggerated?"
"No, that is called being cautious," Yu Tianheng said with a hint of approval in his tone. "That is how you should face a support-type Spirit Master. You must not underestimate them just because of their role."
Dugu Yan added, "Shi Mo is being very careful and not exposing any openings. Now it depends on how Lingling chooses to respond."
"Shi Mo's caution is good, but it is not enough," Yu Tianlin laughed softly. "The Black Turtle is indeed a top tier defensive beast Martial Soul, but relying on the defense boost from his first Spirit Skill alone is not enough to withstand the self-created Spirit Skill I developed."
Rasengan and Chidori were Spirit Skills of the same level. Previously, Yu Tianlin had used Chidori to instantly crush a Diamond Mammoth Martial Soul that had already activated its first Spirit Skill to increase defense.
Now, Ye Lingling, wielding Rasengan, was facing a very similar situation. Shi Mo's Black Turtle Martial Soul was also using its first Spirit Skill to boost defense.
Of course, the Black Turtle was superior to the Diamond Mammoth in pure defense, and Shi Mo was two levels higher than Hu Yanshi. On top of that, Ye Lingling's overall combat strength could not compare to Yu Tianlin's. Under these conditions, she definitely could not achieve the same instant victory that Yu Tianlin had before.
Even so, Shi Mo was bound to suffer.
Qin Ming, who had been listening quietly to Yu Tianlin, finally spoke. "Is that so? Then I am very much looking forward to it."
On the arena, facing the steadily approaching Shi Mo, Ye Lingling finally moved.
However, there was still no visible change in her body. She did not summon her Martial Soul, nor did she activate any obvious Spirit Skill. She simply stepped forward to meet him.
"Uh, that's it?" Osler frowned. "What kind of self-created Spirit Skill is this? I cannot see anything at all."
"Relax and watch," Yu Tianlin's eyes lit up. "Rasengan is about to appear."
As the distance between the two shortened, Shi Mo suddenly accelerated, clearly intending to use the weight of his tortoise shell to ram straight into Ye Lingling.
Given that his limbs were somewhat shorter after Spirit possession and his shell restricted his arm movement, ramming with the shell was indeed his best attacking method.
Yet despite Shi Mo's heavy charge, Ye Lingling did not dodge. She curled the fingers of her right hand into a half-claw, gathered strength along her arm, and then struck out.
At the instant her right hand thrust forward, a concentrated orb of white Spirit Power swirled into existence in her palm. Under everyone's gaze, that spinning sphere was driven straight into the tortoise shell on Shi Mo's chest.
The Rasengan hit home. For a brief moment, the entire scene seemed to freeze.
Then, the heavy, dark-yellow shell on Shi Mo's chest began to twist violently as the spiraling force tore into it, the defensive power of the Black Turtle being shredded layer by layer.
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