Cheating?
What does that mean?
Laughing Hongchen had always been puzzled by the occasional words his younger brother would blurt out that he didn't understand.
Universe.
First Soul Skill, Reflection, Ice Dragon King.
An Zhen's figure suddenly appeared in front of Laughing Hongchen. "Roar~" A low and domineering dragon's roar echoed from An Zhen's mouth. In a trance, a layer of illusory ice-blue scales seemed to attach to his body surface. The surrounding temperature instantly dropped, and ice and snow clustered around him, like subjects surrounding their king.
It was the Ice Dragon King, not the Ice Dragon King Spirit.
After Ma Xiaotao and Ling Luochen achieved their ultimate attributes, even if An Zhen didn't make a move, the championship of this competition could already be considered decided. For the Shrek Academy team, what was originally a serious and solemn competition directly became a simple training exercise.
An Zhen participated in the final match for two purposes: first, to build his resume; second, to ensure there would be no casualties, especially among the students of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy. In the original work, Ma Xiaotao, without achieving Extreme Fire, vaporized the opposing Soul Guide along with his spirit tool. Now, she had achieved a Level 70 Extreme Fire.
But how could that be allowed? These people would all be working under him in the future. Live, and then work for me!
The referee was really unreliable, or perhaps it was intentional.
A fair hand was raised, an illusory dragon claw attached to it, unleashing a burst of extreme cold. In an instant, the temperature nearby, and even across the entire arena, dropped at an extremely rapid pace.
A look of surprise flashed in Laughing Hongchen's eyes. With almost no hesitation, a determined glint appeared in his sky-blue eyes. Over a hundred gun barrels on his body adjusted their angles, and at such close range, the fully charged artillery fire directly burst forth.
Laughing Hongchen wasn't worried about hurting An Zhen.
...
The day before the competition.
Virtual World.
"Since it's a competition, let's go all out."
"Heh, I'm not worried about you. If you lose, don't go telling Smile Meng that I bullied you," Laughing Hongchen said with a swagger.
"Brother Xiao Zhen," Meng Hongchen pulled An Zhen's wrist.
They had discussed their battle tactics, but it was highly likely to injure An Zhen.
"It's fine." An Zhen took out a thin metal piece from his chest. "Grandpa sent the Hongchen Blessing to me in a suitable way. Go all out. If you trigger the Hongchen Blessing's protection, then I'll surrender."
"Hongchen Blessing, huh?" Laughing Hongchen nodded slightly. This way, there would be no safety issues.
"Brother Xiao Zhen, don't forget what you promised me." Meng Hongchen clung to An Zhen, wrapping herself around him like an octopus. "If Smile Meng wins, it means I've grown up."
Once she grew up, she could do things adults could do.
"Of course."
...
At the same time, upon discovering An Zhen's sudden appearance in front of Laughing Hongchen, Ma Rulong roared, "Opportunity!"
Team competition, individual competition, two-on-two, three-on-three.
If they wanted to achieve final victory, they had to win the team competition, and also severely injure Ma Xiaotao and An Zhen, the two most unstable factors, in the team competition, so that they couldn't exert much strength in the subsequent matches. If two or three of them fought Ma Xiaotao, even with the trump card of Laughing Hongchen and Meng Hongchen, they had no chance of winning. The seven-person team competition was the only chance to turn the tide.
Use an absolute defense spirit tool to restrain Ma Xiaotao.
Concentrate fire on An Zhen and Ling Luochen, supplemented by control abilities.
Then finally besiege Ma Xiaotao.
A large metal net was thrown towards the other members of the Shrek Academy team. Ma Rulong turned the muzzles of two Level 7 spirit tool cannons to aim at the Shrek team. The others tacitly aimed their guns or cannons at An Zhen.
"Boom!"
A violent explosion enveloped Laughing Hongchen and An Zhen, kicking up huge clouds of smoke. The terrifying energy fluctuations even affected Huo Yutong's Spirit Detection, causing her perception of the situation within the smoke to blur for a moment.
"Roar!"
A low dragon roar sounded, and a huge illusory Ice Dragon tail directly sent Laughing Hongchen, who was enveloped in a Level 5 invincible shield, flying, creating a strong gust of wind that directly dispersed the smoke. Due to the close-range firing, the explosion also greatly affected Laughing Hongchen. Although he himself was fine thanks to the invincible shield, more than a hundred gun barrels on his body were largely damaged in the explosion.
"The power is good." The black-haired young man walked out of the smoke with a smile, a faint golden halo fading from his body.
Jiang Nannan's Fourth Spirit Ability, Paragon Golden Body.
Although the number of times it could be used within a certain period was limited, and its duration was only three seconds, that was Jiang Nannan. What did it have to do with An Zhen?
Reflect Jiang Nannan, dispel the Reflection, then reflect again.
An Zhen was using his own First Spirit Ability. The Paragon Golden Body was used by the projection of Jiang Nannan reflected on him. This projection indeed could not use this ability again within a certain period, but this did not prevent An Zhen from creating a new projection.
However, in this round of firepower bombardment, there was no need to maintain it. The Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy also didn't expect An Zhen to suddenly flash in front of Laughing Hongchen. Laughing Hongchen only had an invincible shield on him. For Laughing Hongchen's safety, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy members stopped after a round of their strongest artillery bombardment.
On the other side, Ling Luochen raised her ice staff, and the rising ice wall easily blocked the attack from the Level 7 spirit tool cannon. A tiger's roar sounded, and activating his amplification and protective Spirit abilities, Dai Yueheng charged forward directly. The petite and lovely Xiao Xiao blew her Nine Phoenix Auspicious Xiao, and her first spirit ring lit up, an invisible force affecting the actions of the seven members of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy.
"Why?" Ma Rulong refused to believe this result. Laughing Hongchen next to him only managed to retreat unscathed by relying on his invincible shield, but An Zhen, who was at the center of the explosion, seemed completely unharmed.
An Zhen smiled without speaking, and a purple spirit ring lit up. His entire body instantly transformed into a golden sculpture, the golden halo bringing an indestructible texture.
"Paragon Golden Body!" Ma Rulong exclaimed in surprise.
And since he had just walked out of the explosion, he must have already used it once.
"Freak!" Laughing Hongchen stood up, looking utterly frustrated. Continuously using Paragon Golden Body multiple times without any ill effects, even he, a Soul Guide, knew that this completely defied Spirit Master theory.
"Meng!" Without any hesitation, Laughing Hongchen reached out to his sister behind him, gripping Meng Hongchen's wrist, their somewhat similar faces facing each other.
"Mm." Meng Hongchen nodded vigorously, her azure eyes filled with seriousness. She had made a promise to Brother Xiao Zhen.
Golden and ice-blue light pillars soared into the sky, intertwining and engulfing their figures. A strange fluctuation spread across the entire arena.
"This is?" A look of surprise flashed in Huo Yutong's starlike eyes.
"Wu Hun Fusion Skill." Ling Luochen's voice became more serious. Two Soul Guides actually unleashed a Wu Hun Fusion Skill. The young girl raised the ice staff in her hand, seemingly preparing to attack, then looked at An Zhen, who remained still at the very front, and lowered her raised ice staff.
Under the bewildered gazes of the entire audience, no one from Shrek Academy stepped forward to help An Zhen resist this attack. Instead, they watched from the sidelines. Even Ma Xiaotao, who had just destroyed another layer of absolute defense shield in the air, stopped her movements and looked at An Zhen curiously, as if this was not a team battle, but a two-on-one fight.
"An Zhen!" The light pillar condensed into a strange three-legged toad in the air. Its surface was metallic and crimson, and its eyes were abyss-like black, staring intently at the tiny human below.
The three-legged toad opened its mouth wide, and a crimson-gold vortex condensed. The next moment, metal, ice, and heat, three completely different attributes, subtly merged together. The air violently twisted, as if forming a hysterical madness. In an instant, more than half of the arena was enveloped by the crimson-gold vortex, which had a metallic texture, formed by the three-legged toad, surging like a sea of molten lava.
Wu Hun Fusion Skill, Hongchen Crave.
Having grown up together, An Zhen naturally understood this Wu Hun Fusion Skill. It possessed powerful offensive capabilities, but its control ability was even stronger. Enemies caught within it would experience immense pressure and restraint, as if imprisoned in a cage.
"A Wu Hun Fusion Skill, huh?"
An Zhen gently rubbed his brow.
For a moment, all eyes in the arena focused on An Zhen, wanting to see how he would face it.
On the high platform.
Xu Jiawei looked at Mirror Hongchen with some surprise. "I didn't expect Lord Hongchen's grandson and granddaughter to possess a Wu Hun Fusion Skill. They are not only exceptionally talented Soul Guides but also powerful Spirit Masters."
"spirit tools ultimately require Spirit Masters to wield them," Mirror Hongchen said calmly, his eyes fixed on the people in the arena.
Xu Jiujiu, in her luxurious long dress, looked expectantly at the young man in the arena.
An Zhen remembered that an elder once said, use magic to fight magic.
At the same time, another brilliant light lit up in the arena. It was a butterfly so beautiful it felt dreamlike, with dazzling blue-gold flames burning, plunging into the giant pale golden vertical pupil.
"This is!" Xu Jiawei stood up in surprise. Not just him, but Ning Yunzhi, Mirror Hongchen, and other knowledgeable Spirit Masters reacted similarly. Xu Jiawei and the others looked even more shocked than when they had just seen the Smile Meng siblings use their Wu Hun Fusion Skill. That strange spirit power fluctuation, was it a Wu Hun Fusion Skill?!
How could one person use a Wu Hun Fusion Skill?
Mirror Hongchen was clearly aware of An Zhen's first two Spirit abilities. However, An Zhen, who was at most only Level 20 or so before, could not bear the burden of a Wu Hun Fusion Skill, and thus had never displayed it.
Xu Jiawei's gaze shifted from the dazzling butterfly, burning with light flames, to a beautiful pink-blue haired girl in the Shrek Academy resting area. If he remembered correctly, the butterfly that formed the Wu Hun Fusion Skill should be Wang Dong's Spirit. Copying someone else's Spirit to use a Wu Hun Fusion Skill.
In the arena, the dazzling vertical pupil opened, purple, gold, and blue lights intertwined, shooting towards the crimson-gold vortex that seemed to devour everything. Dissolving and disintegrating, the somewhat frenzied crimson-gold spirit power melted like spring snow when it encountered the brilliant tricolored light. The spectacular Wu Hun Fusion Skill battle turned into a most basic spirit power contest. An Zhen disintegrated, the Smile Meng siblings added, every second was an incredibly huge consumption. The result soon appeared: the tricolored light shot into the sky, and two figures fell from the air, narrowly dodging the aftershocks of the Golden Road.
"Since you're done, it's my turn," An Zhen's voice sounded. The next second, the familiar golden and ice-blue light pillars appeared, and a giant crimson-gold three-legged toad appeared in the air, transforming into a crimson-gold vortex, enveloping the members of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy.
'This is clearly our Wu Hun Fusion Skill!' Laughing Hongchen desperately wanted to shout it out, but he truly didn't have the strength. He and Meng Hongchen descended from the arena together. Their spirit power was now exhausted, and staying up there wouldn't help at all.
"Why is there such a freak?" Ma Rulong resisted with difficulty. As the captain and strongest among them, he bore the greatest portion of the pressure.
Their absolute defense shields were all used to block Ma Xiaotao, that explosive combatant. Now, facing the incoming Hongchen Crave, they could only resist with defensive spirit tools.
Their plan had clearly been going very smoothly. Right from the start, they had directly restrained the opponent's strongest combatant, that quasi-Spirit Saint with Extreme Fire. For An Zhen and the Pole Ice user, they had prepared ample artillery fire as well as Hongchen Crave, and a batch of special shells that they had started preparing the moment Pole Ice appeared in the competition.
But they didn't expect An Zhen to directly withstand the fierce artillery fire with Paragon Golden Body. But it was fine, they still had Hongchen Crave. However, the opponent was actually able to unleash a Wu Hun Fusion Skill alone, directly defeating Hongchen Crave, and now even used Hongchen Crave to deal with them.
Deep within the crimson-gold storm, the few members of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy could only desperately maintain their defensive spirit tools. The terrifying oppressive force was omnipresent; it was an all-around attack. Once any part of their body was exposed, the crimson-gold light would cut them like sharp blades. Not only that, but it also contained the poison of Meng Hongchen's Spirit, Zhu Qing Ice Toad. Once it entered the body, the consequences would be unimaginable. Although they could find Meng Hongchen to detoxify after the competition, they would definitely lose immediately now.
"The power is a bit too dispersed."
An Zhen was a bit unpracticed in his first use of Hongchen Crave.
Under the control of An Zhen's vast mental force, the crimson-gold storm that enveloped more than half of the arena began to contract, but it was not an end, but a concentration of power. The pressure faced by the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy team members suddenly increased significantly.
An Zhen and the five people maintaining their defensive spirit tools were rapidly depleting their spirit power.
"We surrender!"
Ma Rulong shouted.
He still had a trump card.
The Level 7 spirit tool, Chapter of Sacrifice, uses one's own vitality and potential as a sacrifice to temporarily increase spirit power and physical strength. The Level 8 spirit tool, Sword of Judgment, its power infinitely approaches that of a Level 9 spirit tool, integrating dark power into the opponent's body and then judging them with light power.
This was also the last resort he had saved to deal with Ma Xiaotao.
He could sacrifice himself for the glory of the Empire.
But at this moment, he had no choice but to surrender. Even if he unleashed the Sword of Judgment, his strength was not enough to interrupt the Hongchen Crave in a short time. But if he, the captain bearing the greatest pressure, were lost, his teammates would face Life-threatening danger, and he could not gamble with his teammates' lives.