After Qin Ming finished blowing his top, he began the day's training content.
The practical combat training didn't involve much showy fluff; it was the real deal right from the start.
"First match, Shi Mo versus Osler," Qin Ming said calmly.
The opponents for the Emperor Team's practical training were decided directly by drawing lots. This was true even if one encountered an opponent who completely countered them, because who could guarantee that their opponent in a real soul master battle would always be someone they countered?
Thus, Soul Battle training against any opponent had become their norm. Although Osler had basically never beaten Shi Mo, he would not give up.
At this moment, only Shi Mo and Osler remained on the Soul Battle stage. The others watched from the sidelines, summarizing the strengths and weaknesses of both sides.
On the stage, Shi Mo and Osler stood facing each other.
"Shi Mo, Martial Soul: Black Tortoise, Rank 36 Defense Type Soul Elder. Please." Shi Mo, with his square face and straight nose, spoke plainly.
As his voice fell, three soul rings—two yellow and one purple—slowly rose around his body. A massive, emerald-green tortoise shell emerged, covering Shi Mo's torso and leaving only his limbs and head exposed.
This was Shi Mo's Martial Soul, the Black Tortoise. Upon undergoing Martial Soul Possession, he didn't appear short or wretched like a common turtle; on the contrary, his stature grew several inches, making him look even more burly and robust. His exposed limbs were thick and powerful, seemingly containing the strength of a thousand pounds, while the emerald shell greatly increased his defensive power.
The Black Tortoise, as the name implied, possessed the bloodline of the Black Tortoise, and it was quite strong. Although the original work didn't delve into this bloodline, it mentioned that this Martial Soul was an existence no weaker than the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, which already proved its power.
After possession, even without using soul skills, Shi Mo's defense received a massive boost—at least not something a kid like Osler could easily break through.
Though Osler felt somewhat helpless internally, his battle intent was ablaze. Qin Ming's teaching philosophy was simple: as a soul master, never avoid a fight. The most important thing for a soul master was to have guts.
"Osler, Martial Soul: Black Leopard, Rank 36 Agility Attack Type Soul Elder. Please."
Undergoing Martial Soul Possession, Osler's blonde hair turned black, and black fur grew over his body. His golden pupils turned into the vertical slits of a feline, and his entire body became more supple. He crouched low to the ground, the muscles on his legs bulging slightly, ready to explode with startling speed at any moment.
Similarly, three soul rings—two yellow and one purple—circled his body. Osler no longer felt a shred of fear; if he was to fight, he would go all out.
Both had completed their possession with the standard soul ring configuration.
However, facing Shi Mo—a literal meat shield—made Osler feel like he was going crazy, as he had no way to crack that turtle-like defense.
"First Soul Skill: Leopard Shadow Raid!"
The first soul ring on Osler's body lit up first. Under its effect, his speed increased by 50%. As an Agility Attack Type soul master, he transformed into a black blur, circling Shi Mo while waiting for an opportunity to strike.
Shi Mo's gaze followed the movement of the black shadow slowly. With his defense, he truly didn't fear Osler's attacks, but catching Osler was no easy task either.
However, the two had faced each other countless times over the past two years and were intimately familiar with each other's methods and attack patterns.
Shi Mo grinned and charged directly in one direction. Osler was too fast, so a collision like this was naturally impossible to land.
By the time Shi Mo reached his destination, Osler was already on the opposite side.
But this was precisely Shi Mo's goal. Once Osler was positioned opposite him, the first soul ring on his body lit up.
"First Soul Skill: Shield Transformation!"
With the release of the skill, the tortoise shell on Shi Mo's body detached, transforming into a massive, dark-green shield 1.5 meters tall and 60 centimeters wide.
This was Shi Mo's first soul skill. It allowed him to detach his shell into an offensive shield while boosting his strength by 30%.
However, doing so caused his own defense to drop, which was why Shi Mo wanted to move away from Osler's encirclement.
Now that Osler was in front of him instead of circling him, the threat was much smaller.
Following the first skill, the second soul ring on Shi Mo's body also lit up.
"Second Soul Skill: Black Tortoise Flying Shield!"
Shi Mo hurled the shield in his hand directly at Osler. His second soul skill involved controlling the flying shield to attack or to form a long-range defensive barrier.
The shield lacked a homing function; the ultimate effect of the skill depended entirely on Shi Mo's own control ability.
Seeing this skill, Gu Xuan had felt a twinge of envy when he first heard the description, as this kind of ability was the easiest to use for miraculous effects.
If controlled properly and backed by sufficient soul power, this single skill would be enough to make Shi Mo invincible.
Yondu from the Avengers, who controlled a whistle-arrow, could slaughter in all directions with a single object. If Shi Mo could specialize in his control over the flying shield—even if he didn't reach Yondu's level—at least the incident from the original work where he injured a teammate with a flying shield wouldn't happen.
Thinking this, Gu Xuan felt he could train the flying shield attack capabilities of both Shi Mo and Shi Mo in the future, turning them into masters of combined offense and defense.
However, the current Shi Mo didn't have that level of effortless control. The shield flew toward Osler, and although his gaze was locked onto him, Osler wasn't about to stand there and let it hit him.
"Third Soul Skill: Leopard Shadow Doppelganger!"
The third purple soul ring on Osler's body lit up. He split into three; two doppelgangers identical to the original appeared, running in three different directions.
His third soul skill, Leopard Shadow Doppelganger, could create two identical doppelgangers that possessed 30% of the original's attack power. It was quite a formidable skill.
Most importantly, Osler could switch positions with his doppelgangers at any time while the skill was active. Though he could only switch once per activation, it was enough to confuse Shi Mo's vision.
Of course, if Osler could switch positions freely, this skill would be godly, but he could only do it once upon activation. Once the skill was fully deployed, that ability vanished.
Even so, Shi Mo was momentarily unsure of which one to attack, as he couldn't determine which was the real body. If Osler were standing still, Shi Mo could tell by observing the blood and qi, which would be far stronger in the original, but Osler's high-speed movement made observation impossible.
Helplessly, Shi Mo could only manipulate the flying shield back to his side for protection to prevent a sudden strike.
The three Oslers had already surrounded Shi Mo from three directions.
Watching this, Gu Xuan felt a bit frustrated. He realized that people in the Douluo Continent seemed to limit their soul skill usage to the literal description rather than thinking about how to develop them further.
If Shi Mo were currently manipulating the flying shield to rotate at high speeds around his body, would Osler—an Agility Attack Type close-combat soul master with sharp offense but low defense—even dare to attack?
A rapidly spinning shield could not only defend against attacks but also produce decent offensive power. Yet, Shi Mo simply held the shield up in his hand, looking for all the world like a sitting duck.
'I know your defense is amazing, but you don't have to stay on the defensive the whole time, right?'
(End of Chapter)
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