After several days, Su Cheng once again stood on the platform.
Although he had already faced off against the Godwind Academy team and hadn't participated in subsequent battles, with the assistance of Ning Rongrong, the performance of the Royal Academy of Tian Dou's second team was still impressive, winning every match thereafter.
This was quite normal.
Not all academy teams possessed Soul Ansestor-level combat power.
Ning Rongrong's Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda had strong auxiliary abilities. With her support skills, the other team members also gained strength close to Soul Elder level.
As long as they didn't face an extremely powerful Elemental Academy, the Royal Academy of Tian Dou's second team couldn't be considered weak at all.
But today, they were up against the Heaven Water Academy team.
On the platform, seven girls in blue uniforms stood opposite, with the leader having long aquamarine hair draped over her shoulders, delicate features, and fair skin, giving her a misty and ethereal beauty.
"The Royal Academy of Tian Dou's team, Su Cheng, a Level 54 Assault-type Soul Master."
"The Heaven Water Academy team, Shui Bing'er, a Level 43 Control-type Soul Master."
"Both sides, prepare to release your martial souls."
As the referee gave the command, both sides formed their formations, and their martial souls were released simultaneously.
The Heaven Water Academy had formidable strength, with three Soul Ancestors among them.
Three Assault-type Soul Masters stood at the forefront.
Shui Bing'er was in the middle, with two Agility-type Soul Masters flanking her on either side.
At the end of the team stood a pale-faced girl with black hair, presumably the auxiliary-type Soul Master of the opposing team.
Apart from the captain, Shui Bing'er, both an Assault-type Soul Master and the auxiliary-type Soul Master at the end also possessed Soul Elder cultivation.
On Su Cheng's side, it was similar to before, with Su Cheng advancing alone while the others retreated to the edge of the platform.
Seeing this familiar scene, Shui Bing'er's expression didn't change much.
Obviously, this had become a routine for Su Cheng's team, and the other teams had gotten used to it as well.
Or perhaps they had no choice but to get used to it, because he won every time.
Su Cheng had already seen the martial souls of the other team members during previous matches and had an idea of what to expect.
Only Shui Bing'er's martial soul was different. She was enveloped in a layer of brilliant and misty blue light, floating behind her, emitting powerful energy fluctuations.
The true identity of this mysterious martial soul couldn't escape Su Cheng's eyes—it was an Ice Phoenix.
But now, upon closer inspection, he felt that there wasn't much difference from his previous observations during the matches. It seemed ordinary.
With the referee's command, the match quickly began.
One by one, the other members of the Royal Academy of Tian Dou's team leaped off the platform, leaving only Su Cheng.
The Five Elements Domain was deployed.
The third soul ring lit up.
The Eternal Sword in his hand once again split into seven sword shadows.
Five of them intercepted the main Assault-type Soul Masters, while the remaining two protected him.
Only Shui Bing'er, the Control-type Soul Master, and the auxiliary-type Soul Master at the back were not attacked by the sword blades.
At this moment, the first soul ring on Shui Bing'er's body also lit up.
A flash of ice-blue light, the first soul skill: Ice Seal.
Although this instantaneous control skill was only a first-level soul ring skill and had a simple and direct effect, it was quite powerful, with excellent control effects and instant activation, making it difficult to defend against.
The previous winning streak of the Heaven Water Academy mostly relied on Shui Bing'er's powerful crowd control ability.
However, this skill had no effect on Su Cheng.
He didn't even make a move, and the two sword shadows beside him didn't react either. Instead, a layer of sword qi barrier spontaneously appeared around his body.
Then the sword qi froze and shattered, turning into ice mist that dispersed, leaving him unscathed.
This unexpected turn of events stunned Shui Bing'er, clearly not anticipating this outcome.
Her expression became more solemn, and the second soul ring on her body lit up.
Five ice rings were released, each covering one of the three Assault-type Soul Masters from Heaven Water Academy and the two Agility-type Soul Masters.
The five Soul Masters covered by the ice rings instantly gained a translucent blue armor layer, and with the simultaneous effort of the three Assault-type Soul Masters, they finally gained a brief respite from the pressure imposed by the sword blades.
Su Cheng thought for a moment but decided not to increase the power of his sword technique for now, wanting to see what other tricks the opponents had up their sleeves.
"Snow Dance, begin."
As Shui Bing'er spoke, she quickly applied the second soul skill to herself, and a layer of frost armor appeared on her body.
At the same time, the Assault-type female Soul Master charging towards Su Cheng raised her arm, emitting a bright blue light.
The first soul ring lit up, and a few scales appeared on her face, spreading across her body. Then, the second soul ring also lit up, and a massive blue light rose from her chest, colliding with the longsword blocking her path.
Su Cheng glanced at it but didn't pay much attention.
Although it was an enhancement-type skill, it was simple and straightforward, lacking substance.
His attention was now focused more on the auxiliary-type Soul Master at the back of the Heaven Water Academy team.
The black-haired girl named Xue Wu was dancing in place.
With her black hair flowing, she danced gracefully, the four soul rings on her body flashing alternately, and concentric blue halos spread out with her movements.
Then, suddenly, a dark cloud appeared in the sky directly above the platform, completely covering the entire area.
Immediately after, pea-sized raindrops began to fall from the sky, quickly turning into a downpour of water curtains.
Su Cheng narrowed his eyes slightly and nodded, "Interesting."
Not only was the martial soul skill interesting, but the opponent's martial soul was also quite unique.
Seeing the actions of Shui Bing'er and Xue Wu, the other team members also stopped trying to break through the sword blockade and launch attacks.
Instead, they gathered quickly, forming a protective barrier in front of the two.
"It's a martial soul fusion skill!"
At this point, many spectators also noticed the actions of Shui Bing'er and Xue Wu, shifting their attention to the platform.
This was the first true martial soul fusion skill to appear in this competition.
Blue and black hair instantly merged into one, transforming into a dazzling blue-white column of light that soared into the sky and floated into the hovering dark clouds.
At the same time, the bodies of Shui Bing'er and Xue disappeared, and in the next moment, the icy rain in the sky changed, turning into snowflakes dancing in the air.
Each snowflake was as sharp as a blade, swirling and floating down.
During their descent, they transformed into huge ice and snow vortexes, sweeping towards Su Cheng.
...
In the VIP seats,
Emperor Xue Ye looked somewhat worried and turned to Ning Fengzhi, whispering, "Master Ning, the Tian Shui Academy unexpectedly has a martial soul fusion skill, and it seems extremely powerful."
"Your Majesty, rest assured, they won't be able to defeat Su Cheng."
Ning Fengzhi said calmly, showing no concern.
At the direction of Shrek Academy,
Tang San stared intently at the ongoing battle on the platform, feeling complex emotions.
Just yesterday, Yu Xiaogang had brought back good news, and now he could start practicing with the Haotian Hammer.
Now Tang San was only a step away from becoming a Soul Ancestor. After reaching Level 40 and switching to practicing with the Haotian Hammer, he could try attaching soul rings to it, or even try for a ten-thousand-year soul ring.
He firmly believed that by then, with the formidable power of the number one martial soul in the world, this competition would no longer be Su Cheng's stage alone.
Dai Mubai looked resentfully towards the direction of the Tian Shui Academy team.
Clearly, he could also have the opportunity to demonstrate the power of his White Tiger martial soul like Shui Bing'er did, but until now, Zhu Zhuqing had never attempted this soul skill with him.
And as Zhu Zhuqing's strength continued to grow stronger, and he made no progress in recent years, the academy's teachers also didn't support them trying the martial soul fusion skill, fearing it would slow down Zhu Zhuqing's progress.
Thinking of this, he glanced at Zhu Zhuqing beside him with a mixture of words.
Zhu Zhuqing's eyes were vacant, seemingly looking at the snowflakes floating in the sky or perhaps at the two martial souls merging.
Or maybe she wasn't looking at anything, just lost in her own world.
In the Godwind Academy team,
Feng Xiaotian glanced at the girl next to him, "Qingyu, they finally used this move. Do you think Su Cheng can handle it?"
Feng Qingyu rolled her eyes at the words, "Of course."
Feng Xiaotian was stunned, "Is it a 'of course he can' or 'of course he can't'?"
"…"
On the platform,
"If you can withstand this move, we'll admit defeat."
Shui Bing'er's voice came from afar.
This martial soul fusion skill of hers had not been fully utilized since the start of the competition, nor had she ever used it before.
They didn't want to lose to Su Cheng so easily.
Accompanied by the huge snow dance vortex, a grating sound of cutting and rubbing reverberated in Su Cheng's ears.
Then, a clear phoenix cry sounded from the soaring blue pillar of light.
In mid-air, the snowflakes that had originally formed a tornado-shaped cutting attack scattered and reformed into a new shape.
A giant ice phoenix, over seven meters long, appeared out of nowhere.
This ice phoenix was extremely vivid, like a living creature. Its eyes were bright, its tail feathers long and extraordinarily beautiful.
The blue divine bird descended from the sky without any trace of fire or smoke, dragging a dazzling blue light as it floated down.
Its movements were not fast, but with each step forward, the snowflakes falling from the sky would make its body more solid.
"This is…"
Seeing the splendid ice phoenix in front of him, Su Cheng was stunned.
The power of this attack was very strong. Even the overflowing energy fluctuations had reached the level of a Soul King, and the frontal pressure was definitely above a Soul Emperor.
But at this moment, he was indeed distracted.
In the previous matches, Shui Bing'er had never fully used her martial soul, nor had she ever used this martial soul fusion skill.
Su Cheng knew that there were some extraordinary top-tier martial souls in this world, and he knew that Shui Bing'er's martial soul was the Ice Phoenix.
But he had never cared before.
Although it was named Phoenix, it was at best just a type of martial soul.
Perhaps it was just a bird with a beautiful appearance, so it was given a nice name, just like Ma Hongjun's chicken martial soul.
But at this moment, he realized he was wrong.
Although the ice phoenix before him emitted a chilling aura, almost freezing the surrounding air entirely,
But within the core essence of this ice phoenix, he discovered a hint of vitality that seemed immortal.
This trace of core-level vitality, while high, was extremely weak.
Even placed on Shui Bing'er's martial soul, it wouldn't have any practical effect.
It was like a speck of gold dust sprinkled on a hundred-meter earthen city wall—extraordinary in value but meaningless to the wall.
If it weren't for the support of Xue Wu's martial soul fusion technique and Su Cheng's deep understanding of martial souls, as well as his practice of the Nirvana Scripture,
He probably wouldn't have noticed it.
Even with the assistance of superficial true vision, it wouldn't be possible.
"Phoenix..."
Golden light radiated from Su Cheng's eyes, and golden threads flashed across his forehead.
But he made no move, not even the sword by his side trembled.
The descending ice phoenix hesitated for a moment in mid-air, and Shui Bing'er's somewhat angry voice came from the blue light.
"Why are you still standing there? Release your soul technique! I can't control it anymore."
This martial soul fusion technique placed an immense burden on her, and the energy condensed in the ice phoenix was something she couldn't control at all.
Su Cheng ignored her, staring fixedly at the giant divine bird.
The next moment, the uncontrollable ice phoenix descended from the sky, and the vast energy poured down instantly.
"Boom!"
In an instant, a surging cold wave swept over.
In Shui Bing'er's anxious and astonished eyes, Su Cheng closed his eyes instead and was engulfed in this incredibly powerful attack.
This could be said to be the most destructive scene since the start of the qualifiers, and also the most terrifying.
Under the extremely powerful energy fluctuations, Su Cheng's unguarded figure was completely exposed.
There was a clamor from the audience seats.
"Quick! Go save him!"
Shui Bing'er gasped for breath and shouted loudly.
She knew too well how powerful that attack just now was.
It was an attack at the level of a Soul Emperor!
Even if Su Cheng was strong, receiving such a blow without any defense could definitely endanger his life.
She did say earlier that they would admit defeat if he could withstand this blow, but it didn't mean letting Su Cheng take the hit without any resistance.
Even Ning Fengzhi, who had been calm just a moment ago in the VIP seats, was now a bit anxious.
He didn't understand why Su Cheng didn't dodge?
That attack, even if he didn't block it, dodging would not be difficult at all.
Su Cheng had the protection of a Soul Saint-level domain.
The martial soul fusion technique of the Heaven Water Academy couldn't even lock onto him!
"Brother!" Ning Rongrong, who was watching from the sidelines, was surprised and quickly ran forward.
But there was someone who was faster than her.
A green figure swept past like a gentle breeze.
In the fluttering black hair, the face that was usually cold was now filled with anxiety.
It was the Soul Ancestor of the Shrek Academy team.
Feng Xiaotian and Feng Qingyu whispered to each other not far away, both looking somewhat puzzled.
The three academies of wind, fire, and water in the Five Elements Academy were friendly with each other, so they had some understanding of Shui Bing'er's martial soul fusion technique. According to Su Cheng's strength, he shouldn't have been unable to handle it.
Feng Xiao's thoughts went even deeper.
From Su Cheng's expression just now, it seemed like he was anticipating it, as if he deliberately accepted this attack.
But why?
Was there something special about that ice phoenix?