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The instant Xiao Yunjù (Thunder Pearl) sensed the Jade Phosphor Dragon Emperor surging in, yellow soul-light flared across his body. He unleashed his first soul skill, "Thunder Pearl Traction."
A pitch-black thunder pearl materialized behind the Jade Phosphor Dragon Emperor. From it burst a lattice of lightning; the orb then began to vibrate at an extreme frequency, its magnetic field pulling at everything nearby.
The Dragon Emperor's speed faltered. Lu Chen (Thunder Trident) seized the opening: his first soul skill, "Piercing Volt," lit up in yellow. Lightning gathered at the trident's tip.
With a sharp thrust toward Yu Tianheng, a concentrated beam of lightning lanced out.
At the same time, Lei Jiuzhong (Thunder Umbrella) triggered his first skill, "Rib-Umbrella Thunderstrike."
He hurled his bone umbrella above Yu Tianheng's head; the canopy snapped open, and a storm of bolts poured from each spoke, crashing down on their target.
Yes—Thunderclap Academy's opening tactic was simple: focus all attacks on eliminating the highest-level soul master on the field, Yu Tianheng.
They refused to believe any defensive soul skill could withstand an assault from so many lightning-type techniques. Not even the Green Emperor's third soul skill—absolutely not.
In an instant, a wall of thunder sealed off Tianheng's retreat. Feathers of lightning, storms of bolts, and lancing beams converged from every side.
BOOM!!
A blinding flare erupted. Lei Dong (Thunder Spider) answered it with several blue spider-lances that morphed into thunder spears, stabbing straight into the glare.
They got halfway—and stopped cold, as if they had rammed into something impossibly hard.
Lei Dong tried to yank them back by reflex but found he couldn't.
When the white glare faded, he stared, stunned: his thunder spears were clenched tight in two blue-violet dragon claws.
Cold sweat beaded on his brow.
Even if lightning-type soul masters have a natural resistance to lightning, resistance is not the same as invincibility. Under a concentrated barrage like this, even a lightning-type Soul Emperor couldn't possibly walk away unscathed!
Yet, not only did Yu Tianheng show no signs of injury, he seemed completely unaffected as he caught the "Thunder Spear Pierce" with his bare claws!
In the single second of shock that Lei Dong (Thunder Spider) lost, the Jade Phosphor Dragon Emperor moved.
It tore free of the "Thunder Pearl Traction's" pull and pounced on Lu Chen (Thunder Trident), dragon claws scissoring in a Cross Dragon-Emperor Strike!
Lu Chen had just fired "Piercing Volt"—there was no time to use another soul skill. He could only cross his trident in a hurried block.
BANG!!
He was sent flying backward like a kite with a cut string, tumbling toward Yu Tianxin. Blood seeped from the torn webbing of his hands, which were still clenched around the trident's shaft.
"Jiuzhong (Thunder Umbrella)! Lei Dong (Thunder Spider)! With me, on Tianheng!" Yu Tianxin shouted as he caught Lu Chen. "Xiao Yunjù (Thunder Pearl), Lu Chen (Thunder Trident), Lei Mie (Thunderlight), Lei Tian (Thunder Eagle)—you take the Jade Phosphor Dragon Emperor!"
At Yu Tianxin's command, everyone found their targets.
Pinned by Tianheng, Lei Dong (Thunder Spider) lit his fourth ring—"God-Locking Hoop." A half-meter-thick chain of blue-white lightning shot out, cinching around Tianheng's waist.
Tianheng's entire body went numb as his soul power was slowly siphoned away by Lei Dong's chain. He frowned. At this rate, the "Thunder Lock" would drain him dry.
"Thunder Dragon Claws!"
"Ten-Thousandfold Thunder!"
Countless bolts of lightning, large and small, crackled across Tianheng's body—but they remained coiled, unreleased. He had become a true Dragon of Lightning.
Now, it was Lei Dong who felt an overwhelming current surge up his spider-spears and back through the God-Locking Hoop.
"AAAAH!!!"
He howled in agony. Tianheng's martial soul quality and soul power level were far superior; even for a fellow lightning user, the damage from Tianheng's attack was immense.
Lei Jiuzhong (Thunder Umbrella) flashed his second ring.
"Umbrella-Wall Guard!"
The bone umbrella in his hand formed a thick blue shield. Bracing it before him, Lei Jiuzhong charged at Tianheng's flank.
Faced with the spiked shield, Tianheng had to release Lei Dong's spears and meet Jiuzhong head-on.
THUD!!
It was Lei Jiuzhong, the charger, who was sent flying. As he tumbled back, the latent energy from "Thunder Dragon Claws" and "Ten-Thousandfold Thunder" coursed through the umbrella and paralyzed him.
After withstanding a barrage of lightning skills—even though Ye Lan had transferred the damage away—Tianheng still felt a tingling numbness across his entire body.
Up in the VIP box, Yu Luomian's eyes gleamed.
"'Thunder Dragon Claws' and 'Ten-Thousandfold Thunder' can be used like that? A one-time burst skill has been turned into a sustained-damage ability!"
"Truly worthy of being 'the Scholar,' Ye Lan. Just by learning these two techniques, Tianheng's future achievements will far surpass Tianxin's!"
While Tianheng was engaged with Lei Jiuzhong and Lei Dong, Yu Tianxin's fourth soul ring ignited with purple light. The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, which had previously only formed armor on his arms, now transformed him into a half-dragon.
"Blue-Lightning Divine-Dragon Dash!"
The half-dragon became a streak of blue-white lightning, appearing before Tianheng in the blink of an eye.
Tianxin slashed a single claw.
Three colossal Thunder Talons, each over ten meters long, materialized before Tianheng. Numbed and a fraction too slow, he was unable to raise his arms to defend.
BOOM!!
The triple talons plowed three deep blue furrows across the stage. Shattered stone flew as Tianheng's body was hurled over twenty meters back.
Meanwhile, the four lightning soul masters fighting the lone Jade Phosphor Dragon Emperor weren't faring well either.
As they surrounded the Dragon Emperor, three halos of light flashed from the Nine Treasure Glazed Pagoda, buffing her with a triple attribute bonus.
Though Ning Rongrong had claimed she would only help Dugu Yan if she begged, on the actual battlefield, she wasn't foolish enough to do that.
With her attributes boosted by another forty percent, the Jade Phosphor Dragon Knight became a true draconic monster to the four from Thunderclap Academy.
Backed by "Life-Share," the Jade Phosphor Dragon Emperor fought without any fear of pain.
Xiao Yunjù used his third skill, "Thunder Pearl Chain," tossing out several pearls that trapped all five of them inside a lightning-filled domain, turning the area into their home turf.
Within this harsh environment, the Jade Phosphor Dragon Emperor fought the four of them to a standstill.
Their skills, amplified by the domain, struck her again and again, but the Dragon Emperor showed no reaction, taking no damage at all.
They, on the other hand, grew more and more injured with each of her charges. In just a dozen seconds, all four were wounded, their blue uniforms stained with blood.
Just as Dugu Yan was enjoying the fight, Yu Tianxin, having fired his "Giant Thunder Talons," channeled his soul power again. Using the massive speed and lightning boost from "Blue-Lightning Divine-Dragon Dash," he unleashed another volley of "Giant Thunder Talons" straight at Dugu Yan!
Caught completely off guard, Dugu Yan was instantly blasted away.
After knocking the Jade Phosphor Dragon Emperor aside, Tianxin relaxed his claws and began to pant heavily. Six massive claw marks now scarred the stage, a testament to the ferocity of his two attacks.
"Boss, did we succeed?!" Lei Dong asked, shaking his still-numb spider-lances.
Tianxin stared at the two figures he had sent flying, and his expression changed dramatically.
"We failed. Is that Ye Lan's third soul skill? How can such a terrifying soul skill exist?!" he muttered to himself.
Xiao Yunjù (Thunder Pearl) said with a pale face, "Those two aren't afraid to die! They fight with complete disregard for their own lives. Even the most reckless fighters don't use tactics like that."
"But their tactics worked. Our attacks didn't do a shred of damage to them! And that was seven of us against two of them!"
"Even a pair of Soul Kings would have died under that kind of group attack!" Lei Mie (Thunderlight) added.
"Boss! What do we do now?!" Lu Chen (Thunder Trident) asked in a panic.
"Don't panic. At this point, we can only use Yu Xiaogang's strategy! Everyone, coordinate with me to release a massive area-of-effect soul skill!" Yu Tianxin decided to go all-in.
"Yes, Captain!" the members of Thunderclap Academy responded in unison.
On the other side, Yu Tianheng and Dugu Yan were caught by Blue Silver Grass and landed safely, both looking exhilarated. With the support of their teammates, they had just experienced for the first time how thrilling it was to fight multiple opponents alone.
"Captain Ye! You are my god! This feeling of fighting while ignoring death is just too amazing. I'm afraid if I fight like this too often, I'll get used to it. One day when you're not around, I might actually get myself killed," Tianheng laughed.
"That's simple. Then I'll just never leave my idol's side," Dugu Yan said boldly.
"In your dreams, wicked woman!" Ning Rongrong retorted, hands on her hips.
"Alright. Now that we've tested Thunderclap Academy, let's show them Heaven Dou Royal Academy's team combat system!" Ye Lan announced.
"Shi Mo, Shi Mo! Martial Soul Fusion Skill: Black Tortoise!"
"Yes, Captain!" The Shi brothers bumped fists with a shared grin.
A dark light flashed, and a massive phantom of a Black Tortoise appeared above Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
Across the stage, Thunderclap Academy began to prepare Yu Tianxin's ultimate move.
First, Xiao Yunjù (Thunder Pearl) lit up his first, second, and third soul rings.
"Thunder Pearl Chain!"
Eight black thunder pearls instantly enveloped the members of Thunderclap Academy, forming a three-dimensional lightning domain twenty meters in diameter.
"Thunder Pearl Traction! Thunder Pearl Detonation!"
A magnetic thunder pearl, the core of their skill fusion, formed in the center of the domain, attracting all the lightning around it. It instantly absorbed the countless bolts released by the other pearls.
"Thunder Silk! Thunder Web!" Lei Dong (Thunder Spider) flashed yellow and purple as he released his first and third soul skills, sending countless silk and web-like threads of lightning into the magnetic core.
Then, Lei Jiuzhong used his third soul skill, "Ninefold Thunderstrike," and Lei Tian used his third, "Raptor Split," turning the lightning in the core a deep purple.
"Thunderstorm Core!" Lei Mie (Thunderlight) roared as his fourth soul ring lit up.
The purple core instantly expanded into a massive thundercloud, filled with flashing purple lightning.
RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
The once-clear sky turned dark and cloudy. Purple light flashed within the clouds, and the deafening thunder made everyone's ears ring.
Yu Tianxin leaped high into the air, drawn by the magnetic core of the lightning domain until he was floating.
He looked down at the giant Black Tortoise phantom and shouted, "I don't know why Heaven Dou Royal Academy isn't stopping us from releasing our skills, but you will pay a heavy price for it! I won't hold back!"
"Wind howls and rain falls, clouds cover the sun—Dragon Soars the Ninth Heaven: Yutian Thunder!"
A massive, demonic gale swept across the center of the stage. Guided by Yu Tianxin, a colossal Thunder Dragon began to take shape within the thundercloud.
ROAR—!
A purple dragon head, over ten meters wide, emerged from the dark storm cloud. The audience gasped at the sight of its immense size. The air around it distorted with heat the moment it appeared.
Ye Lan looked up at the Thunder Dragon Head with a satisfied expression.
"Now this is interesting."
"Domain Expansion: Water-Binding Infinite Prison!"
As he spoke, the Black Tortoise unleashed the "Heavy-Water Domain," a thirty-meter sphere that instantly covered half the stage in three meters of black water.
"Within the Heavy-Water Domain, all enemies suffer a fifty percent increase in gravity, and all their attacks are weakened by twenty percent."
Yu Tianxin was still floating high above. He saw that the Heavy-Water Domain, only three meters deep, hadn't covered his team. What was the use of that?
Ye Lan gave him the answer.
"Blue Silver Transmutation!"
Countless strands of Blue Silver Grass transformed into Quintessence Water. Fueled by this endless supply, the Heavy-Water Domain instantly swelled, covering the entire stage!
Yu Tianxin, who had been floating, was instantly engulfed. The crushing gravity pulled him down to the stage floor.
The members of Thunderclap Academy struggled to breathe under the immense pressure, as did the members of Heaven Dou Royal Academy. But the Heaven Dou team had trained in the Heavy-Water Domain before and had long since adapted to the gravity.
"Are you trying to take us all down with you?!" Yu Tianxin transmitted through his soul power. "Once Dragon Soars the Ninth Heaven: Yutian Thunder is released, it can't be stopped!"
Ye Lan smiled. "Sorry, this isn't mutual destruction."
He then used "Perfect Watershield" combined with "Formless Form" to push away the surrounding heavy water, creating a massive hemispherical space.
Yu Tianxin's expression changed. He didn't know how Ye Lan had repelled the water, but he quickly shouted, "Run towards the empty space around Heaven Dou Royal Academy!"
Just as they were about to move, Ye Lan spoke again.
"Blue Silver Transmutation!"
The Blue Silver Grass around Yu Tianxin, in its Quintessence Water form, instantly solidified into incredibly thick "Jade-Gold-Veined Galaxy Vines," binding all seven members of Thunderclap Academy. Just as they were about to use their soul skills to break free—
"Yanyan, release the poison!" Ye Lan commanded.
"Tianheng, don't worry about soul power, unleash all your lightning!"
Dugu Yan's first, second, and third soul rings lit up, and three dense clouds of red, purple, and green poison fog sprayed into the Heavy-Water Domain, turning it into a murky, highly toxic poison water.
The members of Thunderclap Academy were instantly poisoned, showing symptoms of vomiting blood, nausea, and dizziness.
But it wasn't over!
Yu Tianheng used his third soul skill, "Power of Thunder," to increase his soul power by fifty percent, then his fourth purple soul ring lit up!
"Blue Lightning Tempest!"
He plunged his dragon claws into the Heavy-Water Domain. After a flash of white light, the murky water was filled with countless white bolts of lightning!
Water conducts electricity.
Trapped within the Heavy-Water Domain, the members of Thunderclap Academy had no way to dodge. The seven of them were instantly electrocuted, their mouths forced open in agony, allowing the poison water to pour into their bodies even faster.
This was the team combat system developed by Heaven Dou Royal Academy!
Even if Thunderclap Academy had ten or a hundred times more members, trapped within the Heavy-Water Domain and bound by Blue Silver Grass, they would have no chance of escape.
Then, by combining it with the Jade Phosphor Dragon Emperor's poison and Yu Tianheng's lightning, the Heavy-Water Domain became a five-attribute domain of poison, thunder, crowd control, gravity, and water. It was a man-made Domain Expansion created by Ye Lan!
Within the "Water-Binding Infinite Prison," it was a guaranteed-hit, group-control, AOE, poison-and-lightning dual-attribute attack!
And the attack wasn't over yet!
The "Dragon Soars the Ninth Heaven: Yutian Thunder" that Thunderclap Academy had collectively released finally crashed down toward the black, electrified water.
"Lingling, use Nine-Heart Saint Begonia!" Ye Lan ordered immediately.
If Ye Lingling didn't use it now, the seven from Thunderclap Academy would certainly die. They weren't defense-type soul masters and didn't have Ye Lan's shared life pool. Under the combined assault of the "Water-Binding Infinite Prison" and "Yutian Thunder," they would be annihilated without a trace.
Just before the Thunder Dragon Head hit the water, countless white and pink petals drifted down into the "Water-Binding Infinite Prison."
SIZZLE! CRACKLE!
The life force of the seven members of Thunderclap Academy was like a roller coaster, constantly being pushed down by the two massive attacks and then healed by the "Nine-Heart Saint Begonia."
Yu Luomian, who had been about to step in and save them, breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Ye Lan direct Ye Lingling to heal them.
"Patriarch Luomian, don't worry. Ye Lan knows where to draw the line," Ning Fengzhi comforted him.
"I know. I never expected Heaven Dou Royal Academy's strength to have reached this level. 'Water-Binding Infinite Prison,' is it? A worthy name. Only Ye Lan could create such a wildly imaginative soul technique using a domain," Yu Luomian murmured.
Emperor Xue Ye laughed heartily. "These are the future pillars of the Heaven Dou Empire! Today's soul duel was truly spectacular! I never thought a 7v7 battle between Soul Ancestors and Soul Elders could be more exciting than a team battle of Soul Emperors and Soul Saints!"
Salas's expression remained unchanged, but he was laughing inwardly: Let the old man enjoy himself. He doesn't have many years left. Once Ye Lan and the Young Master have matured, no one will be able to stop the Spirit Hall's unification!
Ning Fengzhi's eyes gleamed. "'Water-Binding Infinite Prison' will likely be a nightmare for all of Heaven Dou Royal Academy's future opponents. It's even more terrifying than the 'Shield-Poison-Heal' system from a few days ago!"
"On a limited stage, 'Water-Binding Infinite Prison' is a guaranteed, full-range, crowd-control, high-damage soul technique!"
After his感慨, Ning Fengzhi was even more glad about Rongrong's decision to become Ye Lan's student and more determined to bet everything on him.
A flash of white light passed, and the members of Thunderclap Academy were left lying on the stage, gasping for breath.
They had survived!
Saved by Heaven Dou Royal Academy!
Although they felt their life force was now incredibly vigorous and their injuries were fully healed, the pressure, poison, lightning, suffocation, and pain they had just endured in that inferno had pushed their senses to the limit. They were left with nothing but lingering fear and the relief of having survived.
The referee excitedly announced, "Let us congratulate Heaven Dou Royal Academy on their victory over Thunderclap Academy! Is this the team combat system of Heaven Dou Royal Academy?! It's too terrifying! Can any academy truly stop them?!"
"Heaven Dou!!"
"Heaven Dou!!"
"Heaven Dou!!"
BANG!
BANG! BANG!!
Tang San frantically smashed the marble wall beside him, leaving deep craters in it. Blood streamed from his knuckles. He had been looking forward to Thunderclap Academy's "Dragon Soars the Ninth Heaven: Yutian Thunder" breaking through Ye Lan's defensive soul skill.
But things didn't go as he wished; the world did not revolve around Tang San.
After Ye Lan's Domain Expansion: "Water-Binding Infinite Prison" appeared, Tang San knew that their Shrek Academy had completely lost any qualification to fight against Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
Against such a terrifying area-of-effect attack, could they hope for Ma Hongjun to boil the water dry?!
After venting his frustration on the wall, Tang San left the Shrek Academy box without looking back.
"Xiao San!!" Yu Xiaogang called out anxiously.
Tang San didn't pay him any mind. He didn't think Yu Xiaogang could offer any useful advice.
Xiao Wu quickly chased after him, calling out, "Third Brother! Wait for me!"
Liu Erlong put her arm around Yu Xiaogang's and comforted him, "Xiaogang, let Xiao San be alone for a while. The boy will figure it out on his own."
The others in the room were already used to Liu Erlong's intimacy with Yu Xiaogang. Since the last time they helped Tang San get a soul ring, the relationship between the Soul Saint Vice-Dean and the "Grandmaster" had become public. Although they didn't know what she saw in him, as outsiders, they could only respect and understand.
Just as Liu Erlong was comforting Yu Xiaogang, a black-robed figure appeared in the Shrek Academy box.
Seeing the man's weathered face, Liu Erlong's expression changed dramatically, and she quickly pulled her hand from Yu Xiaogang's arm.
Yu Xiaogang's face flickered but quickly returned to normal, as if nothing had happened. He said, "Second Uncle…"
(End of Chapter)