Xiao Xiao glanced at the cheering freshmen in the stands, her brow furrowing.
"They're just waiting to watch us lose," she muttered with some bitterness. "It's three rings versus two—who are they so happy for? Aren't we freshmen too?"
"We've battled them all," Jiang Qingtong shook her head. "They stopped seeing us as freshmen a long time ago."
From a distance, Xie Huan Yue spoke to Dai Huabin: "Wang Dong's soul power is low, and Xiao Xiao exhausted two martial souls. We should all strike together and end them now!"
"Agreed," Dai nodded.
Ning Tian called out: "Just charge—my Seven‑Treasure Pagoda buff covers it!"
She shot a glance toward Jiang Qingtong, as if to say, "This is what happens when you don't choose me."
Jiang Qingtong recognized their plan—they intended to crush the defenders in one decisive blow.
Wang Dong clenched his fist, flexing the wings of the Divine Butterfly. "I'll go after Ning Tian. If we break her buff, we might still have a chance!"
Xiao Xiao frowned. "Even if we handle Ning Tian, the other two are three‑ring Soul Elders. Without you, Qingtong and I might not hold them off…"
Wang Dong shook his head and prepared to leap forward—then stopped.
Jiang Qingtong raised a hand to halt him. "Not necessary. Now isn't the time to sacrifice you for victory."
Wang Dong paused, his eyes searching hers. "Do you have another strategy?"
"Don't forget—I still have an ace up my sleeve!" she winked.
Realization dawned. "Right! You have a secret weapon! But do you need me? I can still fight."
She shook her head. "Rest for now. I'll handle the three of them."
"Alone?" Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao exchanged stunned looks.
"I'll handle control," Xiao Xiao volunteered.
Jiang Qingtong waved them off. "Less trouble."
On the high platform, Yan Shaozhe and Cai Meier watched her move forward. Cai sighed, "She's finally stepping in? Facing Ning Tian plus two Soul Elders, her Spirit martial soul alone won't be enough."
"I heard Master Mu said her second martial soul is a powerful offensive type," Yan added, "but she's still only a two‑ring Elite Soul Master. Facing three Soul Elders alone isn't wise."
They frowned as Jiang Qingtong left her teammates behind.
A few meters ahead, she stopped and stared down the three opponents.
Xie Huan Yue and Dai Huabin were poised to close the distance, targeting Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao—but at the sight of Jiang Qingtong stepping forward, they froze.
"What's she doing?" "Is she going solo against us?" "How arrogant! She's only two rings—against all three of us?"
Ning Tian sneered. "With my Pagoda buff, her spirit interference won't work. What's she thinking?"
Jiang Qingtong smiled calmly.
Although she and her brother Jiang Shengyu shared 29th‑level soul power, their training differed: he had strengthened his soul rings, but she had focused on her own cultivation. His soul rings were already ten‑thousand‑year grade, while hers remained at the thousand‑year level.
Yet her soul power hovered near the threshold of breaking through. She refrained from surpassing that limit to hide the fact that she could add soul rings without hunting beasts—something Shengyu didn't know.
With a second martial soul now in play, she didn't need to hold back.
She could simply make it look as though her second martial soul had three soul rings—making herself appear as a three‑ring Soul Elder, while still using a martial soul that only had two.
"Since they're so eager to see my second martial soul," she declared—
The Mirror‑within‑Flower martial soul flared, fiery light all around her, and a radiant phoenix materialized behind her.
Her soul rings shimmered as though being switched. A glossy obsidian ring appeared beside the two purple rings—two thousand‑year rings accompanied by a ten‑thousand‑year ring. The phoenix's light yet again washed over the arena, and a terrifying heat wave rippled outward.
The three men staggered under the oppressive pressure.
"Twin martial souls… again!"
The freshmen in the stands gasped. They'd already been shocked by Xiao Xiao's twin martial soul—now Jiang Qingtong had one too!
Worse—they were all Soul Elders now! Her third ring was ten‑thousand‑year grade!
The high platform erupted: Yan's jaw dropped. "An Evil‑Fire Phoenix! Her second martial soul is Evil‑Fire Phoenix? Impossible!"
Cai's brow furrowed too: "Could she be related to Xiaotao?"
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