The sounds of battle grew more intense.
With Lu Cheng, an archer whose Sun-Refining Fire was a grade higher than Ultimate Fire, providing support and aided by the precise guidance of Blood Pupils, the deterrent force was terrifying.
After all, no one wanted to be defeated by a single strike from one Dao of unpredictable crimson arrows while in the heat of battle with an opponent.
He stood there, not even hiding his figure.
But that thick sense of intimidation made Dai Yueheng and the others feel a chill down their spines, their movements becoming stiff.
Ever since he shot Chen Zifeng out of the Martial Soul Arena with three arrows...
Ma Xiaotao's team became more active.
Lu Cheng's Sun-Refining Fire suppressed the opponent's only control type, Ling Luochen, making her forehead bead with sweat, unable to even look up, not to mention the terrifyingly high explosive damage of the arrows; it would be a disaster for anyone they hit.
The battle soon came to an end.
It couldn't even be called a match between evenly matched opponents. It's a crushing defeat for Dai Yueheng's side.
"Huff, huff—" Dai Yueheng was drenched in sweat, hands on his knees, looking at Lu Cheng in the distance with disbelief.
From beginning to end, he only felt a deep sense of suffocation and powerlessness; no matter how hard he struggled, it was like falling into a giant net.
Ma Xiaotao's team's coordination didn't seem like a first-time collaboration at all! It was more like there was an invisible giant hand behind them, meticulously coordinating and linking all the members like marionettes.
Of course, there was also that impossibly handsome youth holding a bow; hidden arrows are hard to guard against, and they had truly experienced the pressure of a long-range martial soul for the first time.
Clap, clap, clap~!
Xuan Zi lazily clapped his hands, signaling everyone to gather.
"Have you all seen this kid's prowess?" He glanced indifferently at Dai Yueheng and the many Inner Academy disciples, showing a hint of playfulness.
"An existence even more terrifying than Ultimate Fire, the sun-shooting bow is indeed a top-tier martial soul the likes of which I've never seen—impressive!" Dai Yueheng exhaled a breath of turbid air and nodded slightly.
Gongyang Mo and the others also nodded, their eyes looking at Lu Cheng with a bit more respect and the recognition shared between powerhouses (monsters).
"Hahahaha—" Xuan Zi laughed loudly but shook his head: "You haven't even figured out this kid's martial soul. You should know that in this match, he hasn't even used thirty percent, no, ten percent of his strength."
"What?!!" Dai Yueheng was stunned, filled with disbelief.
With just this ten percent strength Xuan Lao mentioned, he had already forced the team's second damage dealer, Chen Zifeng, off the stage with three arrows and suppressed Ling Luochen from start to finish.
They were beaten until they were sweating profusely, and yet he was still holding back?!!
The gazes of many inner and Outer Academy disciples fell upon the "protagonist" in Xuan Zi's mouth, some subtle, some burning with intensity.
Lu Cheng's expression remained ordinary, a warm smile on his face.
"He only forced back Chen Zifeng and suppressed Ling Luochen, but with a strong support like Gongyang Mo, and without Xiaotao being allowed to use her Martial Soul True Body, logically you should have held out for a while longer, but—"
"Kid, show them your true strength."
"Okay." Lu Cheng smiled.
He pressed two fingers to his brow, his eyes gradually turning crimson. Everyone felt a mental shock, and their vision instantly ascended in dimension, looking down on everyone around them like a god.
In this miraculous state, they could even accurately predict and capture the next moves of those around them, allowing them to prepare in advance.
No wonder!!!
The expressions of Dai Yueheng, Chen Zifeng, and the others changed abruptly.
No wonder the other side was like an invisible giant net, bit by bit eroding and swallowing them up with coordination that didn't leave a single flaw; it turned out someone was controlling all of this from behind!
There was a unified "main brain."
Which meant—
The other side was using this kind of cheat to fight them just now?
"Simply... a freak," Dai Yueheng was shocked, his eyes looking at Lu Cheng with a hint more wariness.
With this main brain present, every moment and every attack from the opponent was orderly and perfectly timed, while every attack of theirs was like hitting cotton—powerless and hopeless.
"So, while he was secretly controlling the match, he also used a Divided Soul to shoot me off the stage with three arrows?" Chen Zifeng's eyes twitched as he discovered the key point.
"Correct," Xuan Zi said leisurely.
After this comparison...
No wonder they felt like they were sinking in a swamp, every step difficult and exhausting.
"I want Lu Cheng this time!" Dai Yueheng said with a smile.
"Hmph, then I'll have to use my Martial Soul True Body." Ma Xiaotao stretched her neck, somewhat dissatisfied that Lu Cheng was taken, but there was nothing she could do.
"Fine."
Just as Dai Yueheng was smiling, thinking Ma Xiaotao was just talking big—after all, her seventh soul ring was a genuine hundred-thousand-year one—Xuan Zi took a swig of wine and nodded slightly.
"You can use your full strength."
Dai Yueheng: "—"
I seem to be being looked down upon?
The second match was just as heated.
"I want to try Ultimate Ice, can I?" Ling Luochen stood by Lu Cheng's side, her beautiful eyes showing a hint of longing as she bit her red lip and spoke softly.
"—Naturally."
Lu Cheng was stunned for a moment, then smiled and nodded.
"Thank you." Ling Luochen nodded slightly, then her snow-white hand directly took Lu Cheng's hand.
Soft and cold.
"—" Lu Cheng was surprised; feeling Ultimate Ice didn't require skin-to-skin contact, right?
This cold and aloof senior from the Inner Academy wasn't like this in his memory.
At this moment, Dai Yueheng, who was in the middle of a fierce battle ahead, was sweating under Ma Xiaotao's offensive and shouted toward the back: "Luochen! Ice Armor!
Help me out!"
"Okay!" Ling Luochen quickly responded, then looked expectantly at Lu Cheng beside her.
The latter gently squeezed the beauty's soft hand, a smile curling on his lips. Then, the extreme cold energy within his body surged through his palm and into her body, a sublimation of the ice attribute manifesting at that moment.
"Ah..."
Ling Luochen's eyes were tightly shut, her face flushed with a hint of red.
The pleasure brought by the sublimation of her martial soul was something she was experiencing for the first time in her life. Ultimate Ice—this was a realm that all ice-attribute martial soul masters craved to reach their entire lives.
And now, just experiencing it was enough to make her intoxicated and unable to extricate herself.
A light blue staff was held in her hand, and a huge snowflake pattern formed under her feet. The temperature in the entire Martial Soul Arena suddenly dropped to a hundred degrees below zero, a thin layer of frost covering the ground, the seats below, and even the eyebrows and beards of everyone present.
"Ultimate Ice Divine Armor!!" (Ice Armor Protection)
As the beauty on the field gave a soft shout, a soul ring rose from beneath her feet. Everyone on the field was covered in a layer of transparent, crystal-like ice armor.
With the temporary advancement of her martial soul, even the names of her martial soul abilities changed.
At the same time, another black soul ring rose from her feet.
"Ring of Ultimate Ice!"
Ling Luochen's gaze was as aloof as a winter plum. She tapped her long staff, and the cold condensed into ice, imprisoning Ma Xiaotao and the others in the distance within ice cages.
On the field, only Ma Xiaotao was able to breathe out Phoenix Breath, relying on her advantage in strength to melt the ice cage and escape. But for the others, it was quite difficult.
Everyone also felt for the first time how exaggerated the boost of an Ultimate attribute was for a soul master.
Ling Luochen's original ice element strength was definitely not weak, but compared to now, it was like night and day.
"Phew—"
After Lu Cheng moved slightly, she reluctantly let go. Ling Luochen exhaled a breath of icy mist, her beautiful eyes full of lingering attachment and reluctance.
This feeling... one only knows after trying it.
She was a very pure person; her life's goal was to become stronger, and Ultimate Ice simply had a fatal charm.
It was truly addictive.
The result was naturally a victory for Dai Yueheng's side.
Lu Cheng and Ling Luochen joined forces and actually managed to temporarily suppress Ma Xiaotao's Divine Phoenix Fire with the Ultimate Ice attribute.
Ice counters fire.
And Divine Phoenix Fire was an advanced version of Evil Fire Phoenix, but ultimately, it still fell within the category of Ultimate Fire, far inferior to Sun-Refining Fire.
Thus, it would still be temporarily suppressed by Ultimate Ice.
However, Ma Xiaotao still didn't use her Martial Soul True Body, perhaps for fear of hurting Lu Cheng.
"Alright, today's special training is over."
Xuan Zi waved his hand somewhat impatiently.
"Adjust yourselves in the future; this old man won't accompany you in playing house anymore."
After saying that, he hummed a little tune and walked out: "With this lineup, we'd win the championship even if we played with our feet. Special training—hmph, simply redundant."
"Brother Lu Cheng, I apologize on behalf of my brother." Dai Yueheng's tone was exceptionally sincere: "I already taught that little beast a lesson yesterday and told him to steer clear of you in the future."
"Hehe, I've always been broad-minded and certainly won't take this matter to heart. Senior Dai can rest assured." Lu Cheng smiled brightly.
Dai Yueheng's eye twitched.
If he hadn't seen his brother's miserable state yesterday, he might have believed those nonsense words.
"Junior Lu Cheng, our coordination seems to have some loopholes. Do you want to go to the training ground to practice for a while longer—" Ling Luochen walked over with her long legs, speaking in a flat tone.
However, her usually cold face was now a bit shy and unnatural.
"Hmm—"
Lu Cheng pondered for a moment but didn't agree immediately. Instead, he looked pointedly at the leg strap on Jiang Nannan's leg. On her fair and slender thigh, the leg ring pressed slightly into the soft flesh, looking exceptionally tempting.
"Sister can do that too!" Ling Luochen bit her red lip, seemingly having made a decision.
"It's a deal!" Lu Cheng said with a smile.
Ling Luochen had a hint of coquettishness in her expression. She gave Lu Cheng a light glare before turning to leave.
In the following days of special training, Lu Cheng was exceptionally serious.
After all, he was accompanied by a shy and charming, garter-wearing, tsundere, and cold senior sister. In the team, his lovers occupied more than half.
It could be said that in name, it was a preparatory team.
In reality, it was his harem.
As for Zhang Lexuan staying at Shrek for the time being, he was also aware of it. It must be that Mu En had noticed something unusual, but it didn't matter. Once they reached the Mingdou Mountain Range and Xuan Lao's ridiculous operations appeared, Mu En would have no reason to keep holding Zhang Lexuan back.
It can only be said that our Xuan Lao never disappoints when it comes to disappointing people.
Time flew by.
Two months passed in a flash.
Everyone's coordination gradually got on the right track.
Lu Cheng's relationship with many Inner Academy disciples wasn't bad either. After all, Lu Cheng had no ill will toward these vibrant disciples on the front lines of the inspection team, because these young people truly risked their lives to kill evil soul masters; they were the generation of Shrek that still retained a sense of justice.
He didn't hate Mu En, nor did he dislike Yan Shaozhe.
To put it bluntly, these guys were forced by the so-called reputation of Shrek Academy to walk to where they were step by step.
The only thing he hated was "Shrek," the old system that shackled countless people.
And today was the day of departure.