Ma Xiaotao rubbed her forehead, still feeling lingering pain between her brows. That had only been a rubber bullet, yet it carried such power. If it had been a metal round instead, her head might really have exploded.
"Damn it!"
She charged forward furiously, trying to regain some dignity. But just as she was about to reach Su Yunlin, something unexpected happened.
A burst of steam suddenly erupted from behind Su Yunlin, instantly propelling him out of Ma Xiaotao's attack range.
"Here, have a little gift!"
Su Yunlin casually tossed out a block of C4. The square device emitted a sharp beeping sound as it flew through the air.
Ma Xiaotao's instincts screamed danger. Without hesitation, she raised her phoenix wings to shield herself.
Boom!
The square explosive detonated violently, blasting Ma Xiaotao backward. The force sent her stumbling and rolling across the ground several times in an utterly miserable state.
"The next wave's coming!"
Su Yunlin had already put away the AWM. In its place, he pulled out a heavy machine gun—a Douluo-version Gatling gun.
"There's more?!" Ma Xiaotao exclaimed in shock.
Before she could react further, Su Yunlin opened fire.
A dense barrage of bullets slammed into her body. Fortunately for her, they were still rubber rounds. Otherwise, Su Yunlin would have turned her into a sieve already.
"That's enough! You've really pissed me off! Sixth Spirit Ability, Phoenix Meteor Shower!"
Ma Xiaotao unleashed her strongest Spirit Ability immediately, planning to drown the entire area in overwhelming firepower.
Su Yunlin's expression remained unchanged.
Then, a set of pitch-black armor materialized around his body.
"What is that?" Elder Xuan abruptly stood up from the spectator area.
Previously, watching Su Yunlin toy with Ma Xiaotao had only made him dismissive. That merely proved Su Yunlin possessed excellent combat awareness; it didn't necessarily mean soul tools themselves were powerful.
But now, this black armor had directly elevated Su Yunlin's aura to the level of a Soul Sage!
"A soul tool? An armor-type soul tool? And it can amplify someone this much?" Even Elder Zhuang beside him was stunned.
In their understanding, only ninth-grade soul tools could significantly boost the combat power of a Class 9 Soul Engineer.
"Go die!"
Ma Xiaotao's eyes had already turned bloodshot with rage. She wanted this man to pay the price.
Boom!
A figure suddenly appeared before her.
The abrupt change startled Ma Xiaotao, and in the next instant, a fist the size of a sandbag smashed directly into her face.
The punch landed solidly. Even the spectators in the stands felt pain just watching it.
"Ouch... Su Yunlin's way too ruthless. He's straight-up punching a girl in the face. Doesn't he know how to cherish women?" Gongyang Mo commented.
The other team members nodded in agreement.
Among the official team members, only Ling Luochen thought Su Yunlin had done a great job. She had been unhappy with Ma Xiaotao for a long time already and naturally enjoyed seeing her suffer a setback.
"You dare hit my face?! I'll—mmph!"
Ma Xiaotao tried to shout threats, but Su Yunlin's fists rained down like a meteor shower onto her face and body.
Xiao Xiao quietly asked Wang Dong, "Do they have some kind of personal grudge or something?"
Wang Dong nodded.
"Back then, Yunlin and I were taking a walk by Sea God Lake when Ma Xiaotao suddenly went crazy and nearly burned us to death. I think he's getting revenge for that."
The others immediately looked over.
There was actually history behind this?
Ma Xiaotao was beaten into constant retreat. She tried to counterattack several times but was completely suppressed by Su Yunlin in every aspect.
Then Su Yunlin unleashed a punch wrapped in black flames, smashing directly into her.
Instantly, Ma Xiaotao's Martial Soul possession was forcibly broken.
"That just now... Sovereign's Descent? No... this isn't ordinary Sovereign's Descent anymore. He's already carved out his own path!"
Elder Xuan's eyes widened.
"He fused the spiritual power and Spirit Power within Sovereign's Descent to forcibly disrupt Ma Xiaotao's Martial Soul possession state."
"One punch actually sent her Martial Soul back."
"This move is terrifying. If used properly, it could become Su Yunlin's signature technique!"
Elder Xuan could not help but marvel at Su Yunlin's talent. Not only had he mastered Sovereign's Descent, he had also developed his own variation from it.
Su Yunlin only stopped after beating Ma Xiaotao to the point where she could no longer resist.
At this moment, her face was swollen and bruised, blood trickling from both her nose and mouth. Never in her life had she been beaten so brutally.
"Senior, it's your turn now," Su Yunlin said while looking toward the white-robed elder in the distance.
Elder Zhuang nodded and entered the spirit arena. Activating his Martial Soul, he began healing Ma Xiaotao.
Very quickly, all her injuries disappeared, even the bruises fading completely.
"You little brat really don't know how to show mercy to women," Elder Zhuang teased. "Xiaotao's such a pretty girl, yet you aimed every hit at her face. Aren't you afraid you'll never find a girlfriend?"
Su Yunlin crossed his arms.
"I already have a girlfriend. And I wouldn't hit my girlfriend. As for other women, that's none of my concern."
Elder Xuan walked over and tapped the black armor on Su Yunlin's body.
"This is a soul tool too? It's that powerful?"
Su Yunlin nodded.
"In the Sun Moon Empire, this is called a humanoid soul tool. Wearing it can enhance a Spirit Master's combat strength."
"This one is only the lowest grade. I call it battle armor."
"Right now, I divide battle armor into four stages: Levels One through Four. Or, like Spirit Ring colors, they can also be categorized as yellow, purple, black, and red."
"My current set counts as yellow-grade. At minimum, a Spirit King is required to wear a complete set, and it can boost combat strength to the Soul Sage level."
"By the third-grade battle armor stage, even a Titled Douluo would receive a major increase in combat strength."
"As for the highest level, fourth-grade battle armor—also known as red-grade battle armor—it would require divine-grade metals to forge. Theoretically, wearing it would grant power comparable to a Limit Douluo."
Su Yunlin casually explained the theory of battle armor to Elder Xuan.
Of course, even after hearing it, Elder Xuan still barely understood half of it.
"What?! Limit Douluo-level power? Can something like that really be created?" Elder Xuan asked immediately.
Su Yunlin shook his head.
"Not yet. Right now, research has only progressed to second-grade battle armor."
"What a pity." Elder Xuan's expression turned serious. "I'll report this matter to the Sea God Pavilion."
A soul tool capable of boosting a Spirit Master's combat power by two entire realms...
How was anyone supposed to fight against that?
And Su Yunlin had already said that the Sun Moon Empire was researching this technology too. If they ever succeeded in creating red-grade battle armor, wouldn't that be disastrous?
It seemed suppressing the soul tool department was no longer an option.
They had to study it properly.
Ma Xiaotao slowly regained consciousness.
The moment she saw Su Yunlin still clad in black armor, she immediately jumped up and hid behind Elder Zhuang.
Su Yunlin sneered and casually raised his fist.
The action alone frightened Ma Xiaotao so badly that she covered her face instantly.
"Don't hit my face!"
Clearly, Su Yunlin's earlier beating had already traumatized her. He had literally beaten her unconscious. It was far too savage.
"You're my defeated opponent now," Su Yunlin said while pointing at her. "From this point onward, I'll be commanding the official team too. Any objections?"
"If you do have objections, we can go another round."
"No more! No more!" Ma Xiaotao hurriedly shook her head.
She absolutely did not want another beating. She genuinely feared Su Yunlin might beat her until she cried, and that would be far too humiliating.
Su Yunlin then turned toward the approaching official team members.
"Your captain has already been beaten into submission. Does anyone else still refuse to accept me?"
"If you do, come fight me."
Silence filled the entire arena.
Even the prideful Dai Yueheng did not dare step forward.
Su Yunlin had simply been too terrifying earlier. He had beaten Ma Xiaotao into complete submission without hesitation.
If he could treat a beautiful woman that ruthlessly, then for men...
They might not even be able to protect their lower bodies.
"Hmph. At least you all know what's good for you."
Su Yunlin snorted coldly.
"From now on, I'm in charge of both teams. Any objections?"
All the inner court disciples immediately shook their heads.
Even Ma Xiaotao, the strongest among them, had been beaten into that state.
None of them wanted to experience it themselves.
Especially not against Su Yunlin while he wore that terrifying black armor.
...
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