Chapter 161: Zhu Zhuqing's Fourth Soul Skill, Reversal!
Swish!
The twin wings of the Fire Crane flapped with a sharp sound as two fire-red lines sliced through the air. In the blink of an eye, the two Fire Cranes had already appeared in front of Dai Yao.
As agility-type Soul Masters with a Soul Power of 39, both Fire Cloud and Fire Rain not only boasted incredible speed, but also the devastating attack power of fire-affinity Soul Masters. Their sharp crane beaks gleamed with cold light, and combined with the explosive force of their fire affinity, if they hit the enemy, their power would rival a full-force strike from a regular Soul Sovereign.
As they drew closer to Dai Yao, a glint of satisfaction appeared in their eyes. Even if you are a genius, Dai Yao, daring to underestimate our Chihuo Academy, you must pay the price!
The two positioned themselves on Dai Yao's sides, catching only a glimpse of his profile, but both noticed the slight curve at the corner of Dai Yao's mouth.
A sudden sense of caution rose in their hearts, but the intensity of their attack only increased.
Clang!
Dai Yao's hands shot out in a blur, the cloud pattern coiling around them. In the stunned gazes of Fire Cloud and Fire Rain, his hands, one left and one right, gripped the sharp crane beaks tightly.
A sound like metal clashing echoed.
Dai Yao's hands were even pierced slightly by the crane beaks, sparks flying as they made contact. The fire element on the beaks, upon meeting the cloud patterns on Dai Yao's hands, seemed to melt away like snow under the sun, immediately dissipating.
"How is that possible?!"
Both Fire Cloud and Fire Rain exclaimed in unison, astonished. Their combined attack, which even regular Soul Emperors would hesitate to block, was effortlessly stopped by Dai Yao?
But Dai Yao's crisis was far from over.
In front of him, there were still seven fireballs from the Fire Leopard Soul Master, and the searing Fire Dragon Claw from Fire Wushuang.
With the enhancement from the two Fire Star Soul Masters, the power of Fire Wushuang's dragon claw attack had reached a terrifying level. Even Dai Yao's body, if it took such an attack head-on, would definitely be severely wounded!
The power in Dai Yao's body exploded. His hands tightened, clutching the Fire Cranes' beaks, and with a mighty toss, he hurled them forward.
Fire Cloud and Fire Rain were used as human shields to block the attacks from Fire Wushuang and the Fire Leopard Soul Master.
Fire Wushuang watched helplessly as his target shifted from Dai Yao to his teammates. He had no choice but to retract his soul skill. However, the seven fireballs from the Fire Leopard Soul Master couldn't be recalled, and had to be redirected into the air.
Everything that had just happened transpired in the blink of an eye.
Seizing the opportunity, Dai Yao immediately used his Burst Step, becoming a blur as he retreated back to the Oakland camp.
"What speed is that? Even an agility-type Soul Master can't reach that kind of speed!"
Countless Soul Masters were left stunned by Dai Yao's speed.
"It's here! The speed he showed when he defeated me last time!"
Huo Wu's beautiful eyes narrowed, recalling the defeat she had suffered at Dai Yao's hands, her heart filled with unwillingness.
However, her lips curled into a charming smile.
Despite the failure of her strategy to defeat Dai Yao, she wasn't disheartened. If she had defeated Dai Yao so easily, she would have been disappointed.
The battle briefly paused.
"Are you alright?"
Feng Qianli, holding his Xuanwu Shield, asked as he kept an eye on Chihuo Academy's movements.
"I'm fine."
After using his Burst Step, Dai Yao's breathing was slightly heavier. Since he had activated his White Tiger Dark Gold Transformation, his speed was far greater than usual, but the strain on his body was also significantly higher.
Had he not been in this transformed state, his body might have torn apart from the strain.
Having narrowly escaped danger, Dai Yao immediately rejoined the sharp-knife trio and returned to the Oakland formation. On the other side, Chihuo Academy regrouped, reforming their triangular formation.
Luo Ling's enhancement staff lit up, a burst of colorful light falling onto Dai Yao, rapidly restoring his mental state.
However, Luo Ling's face quickly turned pale. The amount of Soul Power consumed by enhancing Dai Yao was immense; in just a few seconds, a third of her Soul Power had been depleted. This demonstrated the terrifying power of Dai Yao.
Withdrawing the enhancement, Luo Ling wiped the sweat from her forehead and gasped as she muttered in awe, "Dai Yao, you really are a monster! When I enhanced Dai Yuan, I barely noticed any Soul Power consumption. But enhancing you? In just a few seconds, a third of my Soul Power is gone!"
Luo Ling's comment alleviated some of the tension in Oakland's side.
Both teams stared at each other, neither side rushing to act. On the surface, it seemed like Chihuo Academy had thwarted Oakland's sharp-knife tactic, but in reality, Oakland still held the advantage.
To break Dai Yao, almost everyone from Chihuo Academy had used multiple Soul Skills, depleting their Soul Power significantly.
On Oakland's side, aside from the Soul Power consumed by Luo Ling's enhancement and Luo Feng's Soul Skills, the main attackers, Feng Qianli and Dai Yuan, had hardly used any Soul Power.
Moreover, as the absolute core of the team, Dai Yao's Soul Power far exceeded others of his rank. With only his first three Soul Rings being used, his consumption was minimal.
Fire Wushuang turned back and exchanged a brief glance with Huo Wu. At that moment, they both nodded imperceptibly.
"Dai Yao, now you'll see the brilliance of our fire-affinity Soul Masters!"
Huo Wu was brimming with confidence, and her already attractive appearance now radiated with youthful vigor.
After the failure of the strategy to defeat Dai Yao, she immediately shifted to the second tactic.
She slowly raised both her hands, and two orange-yellow flames rose from her palms, growing over a meter high.
With the signal given, the six members of Chihuo Academy simultaneously made their move.
The two support-type Soul Masters unleashed bright flames, and their third Soul Rings gleamed. Boiling Soul Power surged into Huo Wu's body.
Her momentum continued to rise, as though she were a queen of flames.
The fire in her hands grew brighter and changed color, from orange-yellow to eerie blue, until finally reaching a bright white-hot glow.
The other four members of Chihuo Academy formed a defensive line, standing in front of Huo Wu to protect her, clearly preparing for Dai Yao's potential surprise attack to disrupt her Soul Skill.
Purple light shimmered as Huo Wu activated her fourth Soul Skill.
A massive white fireball condensed above her head, radiating intense light, so bright that it even obscured the sun in the sky.
"Is that Huo Wu's Solar Dance?"
Dai Yao murmured, his expression turning serious.
He knew well the power of Huo Wu's fourth Soul Skill, Solar Dance. After all, he had endured its effects with his body before. Its destructive power was so immense that only his White Tiger Eight Wings could resist it.
But this Solar Dance was different from before. Enhanced by two support-type Soul Masters, its power had increased dramatically. With such power, resisting it head-on was not a viable option.
Moreover, this was only the second match, and revealing his external Soul Bone would alert other teams to its existence, prompting them to devise countermeasures.
Therefore, to go further in the competition, he couldn't reveal his external Soul Bone just yet.
Aside from that external Soul Bone, there were two other ways to block this Solar Dance.
The first was his Dark Gold Terror Claw Soul Bone skill, the Sky-Piercing Claw, but this would expose his Soul Bone.
The second was his fourth Soul Skill, White Tiger Thunderstrike. However, this skill's power was too great, and the Soul Power consumption was immense. Using it against Chihuo Academy would be overkill.
Additionally, though he had fire immunity, unlike Tang San, who could wrap himself in Blue Silver Grass, Dai Yao could only resist fire-based energy attacks. The explosive shockwave from such an attack was still hard to bear.
A helpless smile curved at the corner of Dai Yao's mouth. He turned slightly and gave Zhu Zhuqing a barely noticeable nod.
The surrounding academy teams watching the match were all grave. They could clearly feel that Fire Dance's attack this time could be considered the most powerful skill in the entire competition.
Even the Divine Wind Academy and Thunder Academy from yesterday, in terms of attack power, could not compare to this strike from the Blaze Fire Academy.
If it were an ordinary academy facing Blaze Fire Academy, they would have long since surrendered.
In the VIP stands, countless spectators were moved by this power.
Ning Fengzhi exclaimed, "The power is restrained, with no excess release. This young lady's fire control ability has reached a terrifying level. It's not just her soul power, but three people's combined force."
"Dai Yao, how are you going to deal with this?"
Feng Qianli and the others were filled with anxiety, especially Luo Feng, who at this moment was at a loss.
For such an attack from Blaze Fire Academy, he had no counter-strategy. The only person they could rely on was Dai Yao.
"Dai Yao, what should we do?" Luo Feng asked, full of worry.
Dai Yao gave a slight smile, taking the lead in issuing commands. He made a gesture to retreat and then began walking alone toward the opposing team of seven.
At this moment, Huo Wushuang's expression darkened. He saw the challenge in Dai Yao's eyes. If it weren't for the tactical plan, he would have charged at him immediately.
Seeing Dai Yao make no move to resist, Fire Dance's eyes showed confusion, but it was quickly replaced with a fierce determination.
"Dai Yao, six months ago, I was defeated by you. Over these six months, I have trained day and night, and my goal has always been to defeat you!"
Fire Dance's tone remained as calm as possible, but the trembling in her voice couldn't be suppressed.
Her words carried the weight of all the hardships and diligence she had endured over the past six months, as well as the satisfaction of soon overcoming her opponent.
"In these six months, you've become stronger, even gaining a ten-thousand-year soul ring. But victory will certainly belong to Blaze Fire Academy!"
Fire Dance said, her voice firm and resolute.
"Aren't you going to use your ten-thousand-year soul ring?"
Hearing Fire Dance's question, Dai Yao casually placed his hands behind his back, smiling slightly.
"Sorry, the ten-thousand-year soul ring would be overkill for you."
Upon hearing Dai Yao's disdainful words, Fire Dance's anger surged to the sky.
"Arrogant! You will pay for your pride!"
Not just Fire Dance, nearly all the spectators were dying to know what Dai Yao's fourth soul skill was.
The ten-thousand-year fourth soul ring had attracted everyone's attention from the start of the competition, but it had yet to be used.
Now, with Dai Yao facing such a terrifying attack from Blaze Fire Academy, his words of confidence, claiming the fourth soul skill wasn't necessary, only increased everyone's curiosity to the extreme.
"Dai Yao, I really want to see how you will block my Fire Dance Radiance!"
Fire Dance finally could no longer hold back. Her control over the soul power of three people was at its peak, and after gathering energy for so long, it had reached its limit.
The white-hot sun transformed into a beam of light, hurtling toward Dai Yao.
Under the gaze of all the spectators, Dai Yao did something that stunned everyone. He stepped aside and retreated.
This led to a dangerous opening in the Oakland team's formation. Fire Dance Radiance would now directly destroy every living force of Oakland except for Dai Yao!
Seeing Dai Yao's retreat, which led to this dangerous situation, Fire Dance froze for a moment. Then, her expression shifted through a complex mix of grimness, disappointment, and anger.
It was as though something pure had been defiled by Dai Yao.
"Dai Yao, I didn't expect you to be such a coward!"
Her anger boiled up, her emotions erupting like a volcano.
The eighty thousand spectators were all filled with disappointment. The Dai Yao they had so highly anticipated had chosen to retreat.
However, just then, a cold air swept over the arena. Even the intense heat brought on by Blaze Fire Academy's soul skills seemed to lessen.
"What's going on? Why is it so cold?"
Some people rubbed their arms, shivering.
"What's happening? Are they still letting us watch the match?"
"What's going on? The fire elements in the environment are dimming."
Fire Dance, sensitive to the change in the surroundings, furrowed her brows and said, "What's this? Why does it feel colder?"
The soul masters in the VIP stands also felt something was off.
It was supposed to be a hot moment, so why was it suddenly turning cold? The only possibility was that someone had used a soul skill. But would a soul skill cover the entire fighting arena?
The soul masters in the VIP stands, all of whom were highly skilled, quickly realized the anomaly was caused by the sensitive attack-type girl from Oaklands. But with her strength, she shouldn't have been able to cause such a drastic change.
Master Yu Xiaogang furrowed his brow, deep in thought. Suddenly, his face shifted from contemplation to shock.
He involuntarily took a step forward, but if it weren't for Tang San stopping him, Yu Xiaogang would have walked right into the arena.
After being stopped, Yu Xiaogang seemed unaware and continued staring intently at Zhu Zhuqing. He muttered softly, "Could this be the legendary... domain?"
In the VIP stands, Ning Fengzhi suddenly stood up, startling the Emperor of Snowy Night beside him.
The Emperor of Snowy Night looked at him in confusion and asked, "Sect Leader Ning... what's wrong?"
Ning Fengzhi had lost his usual composure, his face pale with shock. After a long pause, he regained his calm, though his voice still trembled:
"Your Majesty, the anomaly just now was caused by that young girl's domain."
"Domain?"
The Emperor of Snowy Night exclaimed. As the ruler of a nation, he certainly knew what a domain was.
A domain was an extremely terrifying talent, capable of greatly enhancing oneself while weakening the enemy's attacks. Even many Title Douluos didn't have one, but the top Title Douluos certainly did.
Sea God Douluo Bo Saixi, Qian Daoliu, and Tang Chen all possessed domains.
"Fourth Soul Skill: Netherworld!"
Zhu Zhuqing's cold voice echoed through the fighting arena, immediately drawing all eyes to her.
At that moment, Zhu Zhuqing, wearing a crystal crown, floated in the air, becoming the ruler of the Netherworld.
Her face was cold and stunning, her noble and aloof aura, paired with her fiery curves, captured the hearts of all the spectators in an instant.
Eighty thousand people suddenly realized that Oaklands had such a beautiful and stunning woman among their ranks. Before, it was because Dai Yao's brilliance had overshadowed everyone else.
"Is she going to block Blaze Fire Academy's attack?"
Many spectators began to worry. Blaze Fire Academy's attack was incredibly powerful—could Zhu Zhuqing really block it on her own?
Under the gaze of tens of thousands of spectators, Zhu Zhuqing's fourth soul ring glowed brightly. As she extended her jade hand, a pale light wave shot out, colliding with the white-hot sun.
(End of Chapter)
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