"Get ready!" Xuan Zi said, "Let's begin!"
At Xuan Zi's command, both sides immediately sprang into action. Zhu Ziyang and Dai Yueheng charged at the forefront, followed closely by Chen Zifeng and Tang Ya, while Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao brought up the rear, forming a two-two-three formation.
Opposite them, Ma Xiaotao led the charge, with Jiang Nannan, Bei Bei, and He Caitou behind her. Gongyang Mo, Ling Luochen, and Xu Sanshi were in the rearmost positions.
Zhu Ziyang, wielding the Pacifying Life-Reaping Scythe, and Dai Yueheng, with his White Tiger Possession, directly confronted Ma Xiaotao, who had her wings spread. Ma Xiaotao's wings burned with fierce flames, and a dazzling colorful light emanated from her beautiful eyes. Behind her, Gongyang Mo had released his Spirit, and the six Spirit Abilities of his Rainbow Dragon Spirit were simultaneously applied to Ma Xiaotao.
Strength amplification, speed amplification, spirit power amplification, defense amplification, attack amplification, and attribute amplification—with these six auxiliary auras, Ma Xiaotao's strength instantly surged. Just from her aura, she was definitely no weaker than a peak Spirit Saint! This was her confidence in daring to face two opponents alone.
Her second and third spirit rings lit up simultaneously, and Ma Xiaotao's face flushed. Then, a scorching fiery ray erupted from her mouth, carrying an intense heatwave, and shot towards Zhu Ziyang and Dai Yueheng.
Zhu Ziyang and Dai Yueheng naturally wouldn't sit idly by. Although Zhu Ziyang didn't reveal his spirit rings, his Spirit Abilities were still released with fluid ease. His second and third Spirit Abilities were unleashed simultaneously, and with a tap of his toes, he charged directly towards Ma Xiaotao. Dai Yueheng dared not be careless either; after his first, third, and fifth Spirit Abilities were simultaneously activated, a White Tiger Light Wave flew from his mouth, meeting Ma Xiaotao's Phoenix Fire Wire.
The flames and light wave collided, resulting in a brief stalemate, after which the flames engulfed the light wave, their momentum undiminished, and surged towards Dai Yueheng. However, the flames dissipated instantly after traveling less than a meter, because Zhu Ziyang had already reached Ma Xiaotao's side, and the Pacifying Life-Reaping Scythe unceremoniously slashed towards her.
Seeing this, Ma Xiaotao had no choice but to abandon her idea of pursuing Dai Yueheng. After instantly retracting her Phoenix Fire Wire, she lightly tapped her jade feet, soaring into the air to dodge the horizontal slash of the Pacifying Life-Reaping Scythe.
Zhu Ziyang leaped, closing in, and thrust the Pacifying Life-Reaping Scythe forward, its tip carrying a brilliant, bright edge, stabbing towards Ma Xiaotao. Ma Xiaotao clenched her pink fist, flames condensing upon it, and swung it at the scythe tip. The pink fist struck the golden scythe tip, immediately deflecting its forward trajectory.
Having failed to land a hit, Zhu Ziyang was not discouraged. His expression remained unchanged, but the hand holding the scythe flipped, then pulled back. The Pacifying Life-Reaping Scythe, whose blade was originally facing outwards, instantly had its blade facing inwards, and quickly swept backwards, its target directly Ma Xiaotao.
Ma Xiaotao unhesitatingly squatted down and retreated, instantly widening the distance between herself and Zhu Ziyang. Then, she flapped her wings, flying upwards, and instantly released her sixth Spirit Ability, a dense rain of meteoric fire that descended overwhelmingly towards Zhu Ziyang.
Zhu Ziyang looked at the meteoric fire rain falling towards him, a slight smile playing on his lips. The Pacifying Life-Reaping Scythe in his hand immediately began to spin, forming an impenetrable barrier. The meteoric fire rain struck the barrier formed by the Pacifying Life-Reaping Scythe, exploding in succession, but unable to cause Zhu Ziyang any harm. After blocking the meteoric fire rain, the high-speed spinning Pacifying Life-Reaping Scythe did not stop, but was thrown by Zhu Ziyang towards the ground, targeting Jiang Nannan, Bei Bei, and He Caitou.
Seeing this, Ma Xiaotao in the air changed her expression and was about to return to assist, but Dai Yueheng, who had been accumulating power for a long time, did not give her this chance. His sixth spirit ring shone brightly, a dazzling golden light erupted from his entire body, and in a flash, he formed a 'kill' character in the air, smashing towards Ma Xiaotao.
Sixth Spirit Ability, White Tiger Annihilation Kill!
Seeing this, Ma Xiaotao could only be forced to meet it head-on. She did not dare to be careless, immediately unleashing her fifth Spirit Ability. A phoenix composed of blue flames flapped its wings and let out a high cry, with the might of a king of the sky, pouncing towards Dai Yueheng's attack.
The two powerful Spirit Abilities collided, causing a huge roar and a sky-obscuring smoke, with the outcome unknown.
On the other side, while Zhu Ziyang and Dai Yueheng confronted Ma Xiaotao, the others were not idle. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong stood closely together. Huo Yuhao's eyes emitted a faint light, instantly relaying the battlefield situation to everyone through his Spiritual Detection Sharing. However, his body suddenly emitted a black light, and Wang Dong's expression immediately changed. Before he could react, Huo Yuhao disappeared, and in his place, Xu Sanshi appeared, with a triumphant smile on his face.
This sudden change left Chen Zifeng a bit confused, but Tang Ya, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao immediately responded. Tang Ya and Xiao Xiao immediately released their Spirit Abilities to control Xu Sanshi, while Wang Dong, full of indignation, used his second Spirit Ability. His butterfly wings glowed brightly, and rays of light rained down overwhelmingly on Xu Sanshi.
Xu Sanshi raised his Spirit in his hand, attempting to block Wang Dong's attack, but Tang Ya's first Spirit Ability had already bound his limbs, and Xiao Xiao's Three Lives Soul Suppressing Cauldron also emitted a tremor, delaying his reaction by a second. By the time he broke free from their control, Wang Dong's Butterfly God's Light was already upon him.
The result was obvious; he was pulled out of the assessment area by Xuan Zi. There, he saw Huo Yuhao, whose face was full of resentment.
Time rewound to half a minute earlier. Xu Sanshi used his fourth spirit ring, Xuanwu Displacement, to swap positions with Huo Yuhao. Huo Yuhao appeared in the opponent's formation and was immediately greeted with the most enthusiastic welcome. Bei Bei and He Caitou unhesitatingly attacked him. Before Huo Yuhao could even resist, he was promptly pulled out of the assessment area by Xuan Zi, becoming the first person to be eliminated.
He was very helpless; in the opposing team, Bei Bei, He Caitou, and Xu Sanshi all understood his Spirit Abilities, so being targeted was a perfectly normal occurrence.
Both sides each lost one person. It seemed that Ma Xiaotao's team, losing a Spirit Ancestor, suffered more, but in fact, Dai Yueheng's team suffered more. Without Huo Yuhao's connecting role, neither Zhu Ziyang nor Dai Yueheng could understand the situation of the others in the first instance. At the same time, Wang Dong's combat value was greatly reduced, transforming from a Spirit Fusion Skill owner into an ordinary Spirit Elder.
The battle continued. Jiang Nannan, relying on her extreme speed, succeeded with every move. Her target was Xiao Xiao. After her first Spirit Ability was activated, Chen Zifeng alone could not stop her. Tang Ya understood Jiang Nannan's intention, but her flying blue gold spirit grass still couldn't catch up to Xiao Xiao.
To protect herself, Xiao Xiao unhesitatingly switched to her second Spirit Ability, Phoenix Arrival Flute, and a yellow spirit ring flew up. However, how could her speed compare to that of an agility-attack system Spirit King? Jiang Nannan had already rushed in front of her, extended a slender jade hand, grabbed Xiao Xiao's collar, and then Xiao Xiao was eliminated.
On the other side, Bei Bei and He Caitou also showed no weakness. With the assistance of Gongyang Mo and Ling Luochen, one confronted Chen Zifeng head-on, while the other provided artillery support from the rear, actually forcing the fifty-ninth-level Chen Zifeng to retreat steadily. Chen Zifeng's waist was wrapped with a blue, crystalline vine, which was Tang Ya's second Spirit Ability.
Wang Dong seemed a bit lost after losing Huo Yuhao's assistance, but fortunately, Tang Ya was there to temporarily act as the main control Spirit Master, directing Wang Dong's actions. Tang Ya directed Wang Dong to launch an attack against He Caitou, who was a Soul Engineer. Wang Dong's waist was also wrapped with a blue gold spirit grass, only unlike the blue gold spirit grass on Chen Zifeng's waist, this one glowed with a green light.
This was Tang Ya's fourth Spirit Ability, Chain Soul Vine, an auxiliary Spirit Ability that could connect herself with a companion to achieve shared spirit power.
With Tang Ya's spirit power boost, Wang Dong's strength temporarily reached the peak of a Spirit Elder. His third spirit ring immediately lit up, and the butterfly wings behind him emitted a dazzling, brilliant light, forming a giant scythe that unleashed a powerful slash, directly targeting He Caitou.
He Caitou, carrying a Level 4 Soul Cannon on his shoulder, was not flustered by Wang Dong's sudden attack. After calmly loading the pill and injecting spirit power, he fired a cannonball that collided with Wang Dong's third Spirit Ability.
The cannonball was instantly sliced in half by the Butterfly God Slash, which finally made He Caitou somewhat flustered. He immediately took out a Soul Shield and placed it in front of him, narrowly blocking the Butterfly God Slash, though his feet had already retreated dozens of centimeters.
Wang Dong, annoyed at not being able to take down He Caitou in one move, was about to attack again when he found a layer of ice crystals had appeared under his feet at some unknown point, perfectly immobilizing his feet on the ground. His expression immediately turned ugly, and then he heard Tang Ya's exclamation from behind: "Ah! Nannan, why do you have no sisterly affection at all!"
While Tang Ya and Wang Dong were jointly attacking He Caitou, Jiang Nannan was not idle. After dealing with Xiao Xiao, her target naturally fell on Tang Ya. Her second Spirit Ability was released, and with a flash, she appeared in front of Tang Ya, then, under Tang Ya's exasperated gaze, carried her into the air, giving her a taste of an aerial spin.
Tang Ya was eliminated, and Wang Dong followed closely, being sent flying by Ling Luochen's third Spirit Ability, Ice Radiance Ring. He was steadily caught by Xuan Zi and placed outside the assessment area.
At this point, Dai Yueheng's team was left with only Zhu Ziyang, Dai Yueheng, and Chen Zifeng. Just as Chen Zifeng was about to be jointly eliminated by Jiang Nannan, Bei Bei, and He Caitou, Zhu Ziyang's support arrived.
The high-speed spinning Pacifying Life-Reaping Scythe formed a powerful vortex of light, immediately halting the offensive of Jiang Nannan's trio. Jiang Nannan, relying on her extreme speed, broke free from the vortex's pull. Bei Bei, relying on the immense power of his Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, could also contend with the pulling force. Only He Caitou was helplessly pulled in.
Xuan Zi intervened in time and saved He Caitou.
Zhu Ziyang plus Chen Zifeng vs. Jiang Nannan plus Bei Bei plus Ling Luochen plus Gongyang Mo. Dai Yueheng vs. Ma Xiaotao plus Gongyang Mo. The battle entered a heated phase.