Whoosh!
Feng Piaoling's figure blurred, crossing over ten meters in a flash to appear before Nanmen Yun'er. He thrust out a sword-finger, carrying an unmatched aura of sharpness as it struck toward her forehead.
Nanmen Yun'er's pupils dilated. An unprecedented sense of mortal crisis swept through her entire body, causing her to instinctively close her eyes.
Puff!
A powerful gust of wind blew past the top of Nanmen Yun'er's head, causing her light green hair and white female school uniform to flutter violently.
In the next moment, the expected death did not arrive. Feng Piaoling's finger had stopped half an inch from the point between her brows.
As the light green hair and white hemline slowly settled, Nanmen Yun'er opened her eyes. Looking at Feng Piaoling's handsome face so close to her own, her heart raced frantically. With a bitter smile of someone who had just survived a catastrophe, she said, "I lost."
Feng Piaoling nodded, withdrew his sword technique, and turned to look at Ning Tian.
Ning Tian stepped forward to help Wu Feng up, also wearing a bitter smile. "I lost. I will deliver the Soul Elevation Pill to you within a month. However, I must remind you that one can only consume a single Soul Elevation Pill in a lifetime; taking a second will damage a Soul Master's foundation."
What choice did she have but to admit defeat? Setting aside the fact that her Soul Power was nearly exhausted, even at full strength, what could she—a Support System Soul Master—do when three Battle Soul Masters had already been defeated?
"I know," Feng Piaoling replied simply with three words before turning his gaze toward Mu Jin. "Teacher Mu Jin, I am going to cultivate."
"Mhm, go ahead. From now on, you only need to report to class every morning to show your face; I won't interfere with you at any other time."
The more Mu Jin looked at this student of hers, the more satisfied she became. Not only was he practically invincible at mid-to-long range, but his close-quarters combat was also absurdly strong. Without using his Martial Soul, he had single-handedly defeated three genius Grand Soul Masters supported by the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda.
He had control when needed and attack power when needed. With such strength, what else did she have to worry about? She could simply sit back and wait for her promotion.
She scanned the surroundings and addressed the students of Class 9 in the arena. "Every class will select the strongest student to serve as the class monitor. Tell me, who is your monitor?"
"Feng Piaoling! Feng Piaoling! Feng Piaoling!" No matter where one went, the masses always admired the strong. If previously it was mostly the girls who supported Feng Piaoling, now his strength had conquered the boys as well. In a true sense, he had gained the support of every student in Class 9.
"No wonder some factions are unwilling to send their outstanding Soul Masters as undercover agents. With this kind of atmosphere, if I weren't a transmigrator who knew Shrek's true nature, and if I didn't harbor a blood feud, I might have inadvertently blended in as a beneficiary of this system," Feng Piaoling lamented inwardly, but his gaze quickly became firm again.
He did not respond to anyone. Just as he intended to leave quietly for the Mimicry Cultivation Ground, Zhu Lu called out to him, her expression strained as she asked, "How exactly did you do that just now?"
What she meant by "how" was how Feng Piaoling had broken her Nether Hundred Claws soul skill.
Hearing this, Nanmen Yun'er, whose second soul skill had also been broken, looked over curiously. Ning Tian and Wu Feng, who had been knocked down and then helped up, did the same.
Perhaps due to her fire-attribute Martial Soul, Wu Feng—aside from her personal orientation—shared a personality somewhat similar to Huo Wu from ten thousand years ago. She was incredibly proud, competitive, and found it hard to accept defeat, always seeking ways to retaliate against those who surpassed her to win back a round. She was somewhat unruly, hot-tempered, and domineering, but she was a girl of true, raw emotion.
This was why, after being buried underground by Feng Piaoling's second soul skill, she had stubbornly wanted to continue challenging him. However, after Feng Piaoling defeated her using only his basic strength without a Martial Soul, the way she looked at him changed. It was the respectful gaze of the conquered toward the conqueror; vaguely, a spark of light seemed to appear in her eyes.
Feng Piaoling did not turn around. With his back to Zhu Lu, he said, "It's very simple. Your soul skill is imperfect. That is all."
He was telling the truth. Zhu Lu's Nether Stab and Nether Hundred Claws were fixed soul skills evolved over thousands of years by the Zhu family of the Star Luo Empire's Duke of Nether manor. They were undoubtedly the most suitable for the Nether Civet Martial Soul.
However, they contained many flaws. For others, these flaws wouldn't even count as flaws because the attack speed was so fast that a Soul Master of similar strength would struggle just to block, let alone find a flaw and strike back—that would be suicidal.
But Feng Piaoling was different. With sufficiently powerful mental strength and his mastery of the Heaven-Reaching Demon Eye, his perception was exceptionally sharp. Not only did he quickly discern the activation patterns of the Nether Hundred Claws, but with his superior reaction speed, he seized her wrists and decided the victory in one move.
"Imperfect?" Zhu Lu murmured thoughtfully.
Feng Piaoling said, "When performing the Nether Hundred Claws, your movements are too monotonous. As long as I see through the pattern and seize your hands, your soul skill collapses on its own."
Hearing this, Zhu Lu gasped—not out of shock that the Nether Hundred Claws had a weakness, but out of shock at his methods. No matter how fast the Nether Hundred Claws was, if it had a weakness, it would usually be broken head-on by a Power Attack System Soul Master due to insufficient attack power, or countered by a Control System Soul Master's methods.
Yet Feng Piaoling had not only seen through the pattern of the Nether Hundred Claws but had also used his bare palms to forcibly interrupt it. How fast must his hands be? How powerful must his control be? Losing to him was truly no injustice.
Giving Feng Piaoling a deep look, Zhu Lu shook her head. "I didn't lose because the movements of the Nether Hundred Claws are monotonous. I lost to you."
She had known about the weakness of the Nether Hundred Claws for a long time. Or rather, everyone in the Zhu family knew. It was just that when the attack speed was fast enough, that weakness ceased to be a weakness.
Feng Piaoling remained silent. What she said was true; whether the movements were seen through or not was secondary. The key was whether one could strike. If you couldn't strike, seeing through the pattern was useless. Those who could strike wouldn't necessarily seize the opponent's hands like he did; they could just as easily seize the throat, instantly incapacitating or even killing the opponent.
Feng Piaoling hadn't done it out of boredom; it was mostly to train the practical combat capabilities of the Heaven-Reaching Demon Eye.
Before stepping down from the stage, Zhu Lu suddenly turned and said, "Thank you for showing mercy."
Seizing her arms was no different from breaking them. He had chosen the way that caused her the least harm—no, that move hadn't caused her any harm at all.
Feng Piaoling said indifferently, "There is no need to thank me. Interrupting your soul skill was already my limit."
"Is that so?" The corner of Zhu Lu's mouth twitched. She was certain that even without his Martial Soul, this was far from his true strength. He was still hiding it; did he really think she hadn't noticed?
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