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Meanwhile, Xiao Wu moved.
Her target was not Huo Wu, nor was it Huo Wushuang, but that male student who had been hiding at the back of the Blazing Academy team. He was a Rank 39 Agility Attack System Spirit Master with a Fire Crane martial soul; his speed was decent, but right now he was completely terrified.
"Fifth Spirit Skill, Soft Bone Love-Lock."
Xiao Wu spoke softly, her voice heard only by the few on the stage. Her fifth spirit ring—that black ring with a pink glow—suddenly lit up.
The Fire Crane spirit master's body stiffened abruptly. He saw Xiao Wu's eyes, and in those pink pupils, it felt as if vortices were spinning. Then, he felt a surge of heat rise from his lower abdomen, instantly coursing through his entire body. His mind was suddenly filled with countless erotic images: his childhood sweetheart dancing and smiling, her clothes sliding off one by one...
"Ugh... ah..." He let out an unintelligible moan, his legs going weak, and the dagger in his hand fell to the ground with a "clang." The expression on his face turned from wary to obsessed, and a trace of drool even leaked from the corner of his mouth.
"Huo Yu! What are you doing!" Huo Wushuang roared.
But it was too late. Xiao Wu's figure appeared before Huo Yu like a ghost, her slender palm lightly pressing against his chest. "First Spirit Skill, Waist Bow."
A crisp "crack" sounded as at least three of Huo Yu's ribs broke, and he was sent flying, crashing heavily against the protective barrier at the edge of the stage and falling unconscious. Before passing out, a silly smile actually remained on his face.
Huo Wu saw the whole process. She saw it clearly; that spirit skill... there was definitely something wrong with it! It wasn't a simple mental attack; that effect, that expression of sinking into indulgence...
"You... what kind of evil arts are you using!" Huo Wu was trembling with rage, her red hair moving without wind as flames burned frantically around her.
Ning Rongrong stood at the very back of the team, the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Tower floating in her palm. Five spirit rings drifted up and down—Yellow, Purple, Purple, Black, Black. Another Spirit King with a ten-thousand-year fourth ring. She gave a light smile as the tower glowed brilliantly: "Nine Treasures have names: one says Strength, two says Speed, three says Soul."
Three rays of colored light fell respectively on Zhu Zhuqing, Dugu Yan, and Xiao Wu. The aura of the three girls surged instantly.
"Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Tower... and five spirit rings..." In the VIP seats, Ning Fengzhi shook his head with a bitter smile. He naturally knew his daughter's current situation and where that ten-thousand-year fourth ring came from. But seeing Ning Rongrong standing on the stage, using a modified martial soul and spirit rings to boost the girls under that man's command, his heart was still complicated to the extreme.
Bone Douluo Gu Rong sat beside him, his expression not looking good either. But he said nothing, only staring dead at Mo Bai's direction.
On the stage, the battle no longer held any suspense.
With Ning Rongrong's boost, Zhu Zhuqing's speed was so fast she left afterimages. She wove through the Blazing Academy formation like black lightning, a person falling every time she struck. Huo Wushuang exhausted all his strength trying to stop her, but his chest armor was torn open by her claws, leaving him bloodied.
Dugu Yan walked slowly toward Huo Wu. Poisonous mist swirled around her, and the scorching flames were corroded away the moment they drew near. "Little sister, still want to fight? Your fire can't burn me."
Huo Wu gritted her teeth, her fourth spirit ring lighting up again. But this time, before the fireball could even condense, it was interrupted by a sudden surge of cold.
Ye Lingling had walked to the center of the stage at some unknown point. The phantom of her Twelve-Petal Begonia bloomed behind her, and her fourth spirit ring—also black—flickered slightly. "Fourth Spirit Skill, Life Bloom."
But it wasn't healing. As her spirit skill was released, countless vines suddenly grew from the stage floor, quickly entangling Huo Wu's ankles and wrists. The vines carried an icy aura of life, actually suppressing her flames briefly.
"This... an attack skill for a healing system spirit master?!" Huo Wu was completely bewildered.
Five against seven, Heaven Dou Royal Academy Team One had only even sent out four people (Ye Lingling was just controlling the field and hadn't truly attacked), yet they crushed Blazing Academy. The entire process took less than three minutes.
The referee froze for several seconds before reacting, announcing loudly: "Heaven Dou Royal Academy Team One wins!"
The audience was silent for a moment, then erupted in deafening cheers and discussion. Everyone's gaze was focused on those five girls—they were so young, the oldest looking no more than twenty, yet their spirit ring configurations were so outrageous they overturned common sense.
Even more eerily, they didn't celebrate after the victory. Instead, they turned in unison and bowed slightly toward a certain direction in the VIP seats. Although the movement was small, it was still noticed by many sharp-eyed people.
Huo Wu was one of them.
She was supported as she walked off the stage, the wound on her chest still seeping blood, but her eyes were fixed on that corner of the VIP seats. There sat a man in black who looked quite young, leisurely sipping tea. It was him... those girls just now were bowing to him.
"Huo Wu, are you okay?" Huo Wushuang walked over clutching his chest, his face pale.
"I'm fine." Huo Wu pushed away the teammates supporting her, her gaze still not leaving that direction. "Brother, did you see that man?"
Huo Wushuang followed her gaze, his brow furrowed. "Soul-Forging Douluo, Mo Bai... it's him who turned Ning Rongrong, Dugu Yan, and the others into what they are now."
"Soul-Forging Douluo..." Huo Wu chewed on the title, a flame of unwilling resentment burning in her eyes. "Just what method did he use? Those spirit rings... and that rabbit-ear girl's fifth skill, that is definitely not an effect a normal spirit skill could have!"
Huo Wushuang sighed: "Don't think about it; that's not someone we can provoke. A Spirit Douluo-level leader, five members who are at least Spirit Ancestors and possess ten-thousand-year rings... in this tournament, Heaven Dou Royal Academy Team One is likely going to take the championship."
"Championship?" Huo Wu gave a cold laugh. "I'm not convinced. Those kinds of wicked paths..."
But she didn't finish her sentence. Because in the VIP seats, Mo Bai seemed to sense her gaze and turned to look over.
Their gazes met in mid-air.
Huo Wu's body stiffened abruptly. That gaze... was too calm, so calm it felt like looking at an object rather than a person. But in the depths of those eyes, it felt as if vortices were spinning, threatening to suck her soul in.
Mo Bai gave her a slight smile, then looked away.
In just that one moment of eye contact, a layer of cold sweat actually broke out on Huo Wu's back.