Ma Hongjun was unaware of Qian Renxue's inner world.
Even if he did, he couldn't care less now.
Shui Bing'er's image lingered in his mind
, uncontrollably like the passion he felt back then.
This happened without warning; he had only glanced at her briefly, yet it had become so deeply etched in his heart.
It's worth mentioning that Shui Bing'er's spirit possession truly stirred Ma Hongjun's second spirit, the Fire Phoenix.
Although the feeling wasn't as intense as with Ning Rongrong because of the lack of close proximity, it was undeniable that whenever the Ice Phoenix appeared in his mind, the Fire Phoenix within him would stir slightly.
Ma Hongjun felt he couldn't continue like this, or Shui Bing'er would truly become his inner demon.
It was always like this, making him itchy.
The match began.
Ma Hongjun's gaze remained fixed on Shui Bing'er, layers of faint blue light appearing and enveloping her spirit.
Four spirit rings, yellow and purple, appeared on her body.
Tianshui Academy clearly holds the advantage.
The Beast Academy's Soul Masters lean towards strength-based, offensive types. While their team composition is reasonable, they lack a particularly outstanding attribute.
Tianshui Academy, on the other hand, consists entirely of water and ice attribute users, focusing on control.
For a single-attribute team like Tianshui Academy, their strengths and weaknesses are very obvious.
Since the Beast Academy cannot counter them in terms of attribute, their chances of defeating Tianshui are slim when their Soul Power levels are similar.
However, the Beast Academy's advancement to the finals demonstrates their strengths; to defeat them, Tianshui Academy will need to unleash their trump cards.
The match intensifies, and Shui Bing'er and Xue Wu finally unleash their Soul Fusion Skill,
"Ice and Snow Drifting."
This Soul Fusion Skill is incredibly powerful; Shui Bing'er's Ice Phoenix and Xue Wu's Snow Element are both top-tier Souls.
During their preliminaries against Shrek Academy, their Soul Fusion Skill, with its powerful attack and control capabilities, interrupted Xiang Chengxian and Dai Mubai's Soul Fusion Skill.
In the end, if it weren't for Tang San's ice immunity, he would have already been defeated by them.
When performing the Spirit Fusion, Shui Bing'er finally dispelled the blue halo surrounding her, fully revealing the exquisite beauty of her Ice Phoenix Spirit.
Although both were phoenixes, Shui Bing'er's phoenix was entirely composed of ice crystals, looking more like ice glass, radiating a flowing blue light.
In contrast to Ma Hongjun's wild Fire Phoenix, the Ice Phoenix displayed purity.
The moment the Ice Phoenix appeared, Ma Hongjun felt a tremor within him.
A small purple flame appeared at his fingertips.
This wasn't the feeling of Spirit Fusion, not at all like the harmonious attraction between the Dragon Soul Spear and the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. There
seemed to be a sense of competition between the Ice and Fire Phoenixes.
It was a peculiar feeling; Ma Hongjun was certain there was a connection between their spirits, but it wasn't the feeling of ordinary Spirit Fusion, nor was it a feeling of mutual opposition.
It was contradictory!
Now, the Ice Phoenix and another spirit already had a Spirit Fusion skill, so why did it still feel something for him?
It's important to know that Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing originally had a spirit fusion, but after Dai Mubai fused with Xiang Chengxian, the connection between them disappeared. The
same applies to the spirit fusion technique of Grandmaster, Flander, and Liu Erlong.
After Grandmaster's spirit completely mutated, the three of them could no longer use the three-in-one spirit fusion technique.
Instead, it became a two-person spirit fusion technique with Liu Erlong,
essentially kicking Flander out as the third party.
"You guys should admit defeat and get down! I can't control it anymore!" Shui Bing'er, dancing in the air, cried anxiously.
This was the drawback of Shui Bing'er's spirit fusion technique; the skill was too powerful, and she couldn't fully control it.
Their Ice and Snow Drifting spirit fusion technique was different from the instantaneous skills like the Black and White Demon Tiger and the Nine Treasures Exquisite Spear. Their
spirit fusion technique involved the complete fusion of Xue Wu's snow element into the Ice Phoenix, essentially a fusion of two people's power, controlled by one person.
Such immense power was difficult to control.
She was a kind girl, a fact Ma Hongjun had noticed during the preliminary rounds against Shrek Academy, when Shui Bing'er had also reminded Shrek Academy of the same thing.
"Admit defeat, let them come down. This power is beyond their ability to withstand,"
Long Gong Meng Shu said to the Beast Academy's team leader.
The Beast Academy members reluctantly left the arena, still somewhat unconvinced.
But what happened next left them speechless. Shui Bing'er, remaining on the stage, continued to control the Ice Phoenix, unleashing the power of her Martial Soul Fusion Skill, "Falling Ice and Snow."
Like a raging blizzard, it swept across the entire arena, even tearing apart the well-defended floor layer by layer.
One could imagine the damage inflicted during this storm.
The students of the Beast Academy were still shaken, a deep sense of lingering fear washing over them.
Once the energy of the falling ice and snow had dissipated, the arena was a mess. Shui Bing'er slowly descended from the sky, like a fairy descending to earth. Now, she was the only one on the stage.
Her blue Soul Master robe was somewhat torn, but the fluttering fabric only enhanced her aura.
After landing, Shui Bing'er's Ice Phoenix Martial Soul seemed to possess a spirit, drawing her attention to Ma Hongjun.
A hint of surprise appeared on Shui Bing'er's beautiful face.
Her gaze met Ma Hongjun's in mid-air, and from afar, Shui Bing'er saw the burning flame in Ma Hongjun's eyes.
"It's him again!"
Shui Bing'er murmured to herself.
This wasn't the first time she had felt this way. Back in Heaven Dou City, Shui Bing'er had sensed Ma Hongjun more than once.
But she didn't know why; she didn't know Ma Hongjun possessed a Phoenix Martial Soul. Therefore, she attributed this inexplicable feeling to
romantic attraction.
No young girl is immune to romantic feelings, especially those raised in a place like Tianshui Academy where they rarely have the opportunity to meet men. Therefore, they are ignorant, lacking, and curious about love.
As the saying goes, the more you lack something, the more you crave it.
Ma Hongjun's handsome looks and wild, unrestrained nature have already left a deep impression on most young girls.
Furthermore, Shui Bing'er, unaware of the unseen connection arising from her martial soul, links her impression of Ma Hongjun's appearance with this inexplicable feeling.
Naturally, she feels that Ma Hongjun is her destined one.
In this respect, she is the same as Qian Renxue; their understanding of the opposite sex is blank.
Both of them, at the age of budding romance, have been misled by Ma Hongjun, who has entered their hearts.
Filled with doubt, Shui Bing'er stepped off the competition stage.
Adhering to her principle of modesty, she wouldn't take the initiative.
She shyly glanced back at Ma Hongjun one last time before running away.
"A single glance back, and a hundred charms bloom!"
Although Shui Bing'er didn't smile, the shy blush on her face was enough to make all the beauties of the palace pale
in comparison. A restless night passed.
The next day!
The third round of the competition began.
Today, only ten teams remained.
The second-place teams from the Heaven Dou and Star Luo qualifying rounds received a bye, leaving the remaining eight teams to compete against each other.
The draw results were in, revealing two very shocking pieces of news.
First, the Spirit Hall team would face off against the Heaven Dou Royal Academy team.
In the third round, two seeded teams would be matched up.
This duel was no less than the final showdown.
In the previous round, the Spirit Hall faced Thunder Academy, sending only their Soul Master level members, omitting their three Soul King level members from the Golden Generation.
This time, against the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, they would likely send them.
The second was
Shrek Academy versus Star Luo Royal Academy.
Star Luo Royal Academy, as a seeded team, needed no introduction; their strength was beyond question. Shrek
Academy, on the other hand, was this year's biggest dark horse and a favorite to win the championship.
Most importantly, Shrek's captain hasn't played a single game since the start of the competition.
In the Shrek team's preparation area,
Ma Hongjun looked at Zhu Zhuqing with deep affection and said,
"I'll lead them this game; it's what I promised Zhuqing."
(End of Chapter)