Chapter 139: Tianshui vs. Blazing Fire
On Blazing Fire Academy's side, a tall girl over 1.8 meters with long, fiery red hair flowing down her back shouted, "Shui Bing'er! This time, I've found a way to beat you! Get ready to lose!"
At the front of Tianshui Academy, Shui Bing'er gently shook her head. "If you mean you've broken through to Soul Ancestor, then get ready to lose again. If I hadn't known you were coming, I would've already gone to obtain my fifth soul ring."
Shui Bing'er deeply cared about Tianshui Academy's honor. To obtain her fifth ice attribute soul ring, she would have to go to the extreme north—a region deadly to humans. Finding the right ten-thousand-year soul beast would take time, and the round trip alone would last a month.
Qian Xunji looked toward the center of the arena, where a girl with icy-blue hair stood at the forefront of Tianshui's team. Of course, it was her. She wasn't much older than Qian Renchuan, yet she was already level 50. Her appearance rivaled even Zhu Zhuqing's. Clearly, the full evolution of her Ice Phoenix martial soul had also subtly enhanced her beauty.
"You've reached level 50 already?!"
The red-haired girl—Huo Wu—looked stunned and unwilling to accept it. She had always been competitive. The Four Element Academies had deep ties, and her Blazing Fire Academy often interacted with Tianshui Academy. The moment she first met Shui Bing'er, she had secretly set her as a rival. But no matter how hard she trained, the gap only grew. Now it was nearly ten levels—and Shui Bing'er was three years younger.
Soon, light of yellow, purple, red, and blue hues flared. On the Blazing Fire side, a standard seven-person formation stood ready. At the front was fire-attribute power attacker Huo Wushuang, flanked by agility attackers Fire Crane and a Flame Leopard. Huo Wu, the control-type soul master, stood in the center, with two support-types behind her.
On Tianshui's side, after evolving into the Ice Phoenix, Shui Bing'er had transitioned from control to power attack and now stood at the front. Xue Wu and Qian Renchuan, both support-types, were at the rear.
"Look at Qian Renchuan's soul ring! That configuration!"
Cries of shock came from Tianshui's side. Hearing a male name, the Blazing Fire team also looked over—and their eyes widened. Qian Renchuan's soul ring configuration was purple, purple, purple, black—far superior to the standard two yellow, two purple or two yellow, one purple.
Even Huo Wu's eyes filled with surprise. At first, she'd paid no attention to him—just a male support soul master, after all. But now, even though she still dismissed him, she knew support-types were meaningless without strong fighters. Her goal remained: crush Shui Bing'er in one strike.
"First soul skill—Ice Thorn!"
Shui Bing'er acted first. The wings of her Ice Phoenix martial soul flapped as she soared into the sky. As the true king of birds—unlike Ma Hongjun's Phoenix, which without the Ten-headed Sun Serpent's inner core was still more of a fire chicken—she could fly without soul skills.
From above, her first soul ring lit up. A storm of sharp ice spikes rained down on the Blazing Fire team. Tianshui's power and agility attackers launched forward.
Huo Wu calmly raised her hands. Two orange-red flames swirled in her palms, rising over a meter high. This was the signal. Her six teammates immediately sprang into action.
The two support-types unleashed their third soul skills, channeling them into Huo Wu. Blazing fire surged into her body, and the flames in her hands brightened, turning from orange to ghostly blue, then finally to incandescent white.
Huo Wu had studied Tianshui thoroughly. Only Shui Bing'er posed a true threat. Her plan: unleash a full-power strike at the start. With a Soul Ancestor and two near-Soul Elders focusing their power on Shui Bing'er, they would crush her outright. Without her, Tianshui would fall apart—especially with no control-type soul master in the lineup.
Huo Wushuang's third soul ring lit up. The Flamehorn Blast Dragon in his martial soul spat explosive flames upward, neutralizing the descending ice spikes. He and two others formed a tight defensive line, third soul rings shining brightly—ready to intercept any counterattacks.
"Fire—Dance—Solar—Flare—!"
Huo Wu's voice rang out, each syllable boosting the white flame's brightness. By the final word, a massive ball of white fire hovered above her head, shining like a miniature sun. Its brilliance even outshone the real sun in the sky.
Hidden nearby, Ghost Douluo murmured, "Internalized fire, no leakage. This girl's control of her martial soul is terrifying. A remarkable talent."
Chrysanthemum Douluo added, "With two support-types going all-out, her fourth soul skill surpasses most fifth skills of average fire-type soul masters."
Shui Bing'er was only slightly surprised that they went straight for a full-power opening. Her fourth soul ring lit up instantly.
"Fourth Soul Skill—Blizzard Storm!"
A piercing phoenix cry rang out as the ring flared. Beast martial soul users on both teams felt their bloodlines suppressed by her Phoenix's presence.
A five-meter-high, one-meter-radius ice tornado erupted. The temperature plummeted. Snow and frost danced wildly as it barreled toward Blazing Fire Academy, freezing the very ground as it passed.
Huo Wu responded. Her sun of flame hovered half a meter forward—then launched. The blinding light streaked through the air toward Shui Bing'er.
Sun met blizzard in mid-air. For a moment, the ice tornado was tinted red—but then it surged forward again.
"Impossible!"
Huo Wu's pupils shrank in disbelief. Her ultimate move had not only been countered but overtaken. The blizzard absorbed her flame and grew more powerful—out of her control.
"Everyone, dodge!"
Shui Bing'er's warning rang out. Even she hadn't expected this level of destructive synergy.
The power attackers like Huo Wushuang had enough stamina left to escape, but Huo Wu and the two exhausted support-types could barely move.
At the last second, teachers from both academies intervened and dispersed the flaming blizzard. Had they not, the fusion of fire and ice would've scorched and frozen the Blazing Fire students—at best, they'd suffer second-degree burns and frostbite.
Qian Xunji nodded slightly. A top-tier martial soul like the Ice Phoenix had every right to wield such a powerful fourth skill. Looks like it was time to bring in the worshippers' heirs. Otherwise, the Soul Master Tournament would become a one-sided stomp. And that wouldn't be good—especially with Xiao Wu and the Titan Giant Ape's sacrifices coming later.
If Xiong Shi and Guang Ling found out he had orchestrated everything and hoarded all the rings for the Qian clan, they'd be furious. After all, he had sworn they'd go to Spirit Hall's youth.
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