"Not good, her real target is Oscar!"
Seeing Zhu Zhuqing's actions, Tang San shouted in frustration.
In this preliminary match, he hadn't been using his Blue Silver Grass martial soul much and had habitually positioned himself at the front of the team.
While he had considered that Skywater Academy might change their strategy, he hadn't expected only four people to take the stage, with Zhu Zhuqing as the sole fighter.
As a result, their team formation was still spread out, designed to prevent large-scale soul skill attacks from the opponent.
But who could have predicted that Zhu Zhuqing had grown this much stronger? With just one sudden assault, she forced Xiao Wu to use Teleportation twice to protect Ning Rongrong.
For a food-type soul master, there was a restriction in the Soul Master Tournament: only items created after stepping onto the stage could be used.
Watching Zhu Zhuqing charge at him, Oscar glanced down at the sausage in his hand that he hadn't had time to distribute yet, feeling helpless. What kind of lousy strategy is this? Could someone at least come protect me?
There was no time to complain. Oscar quickly shoved a Swift Flight Mushroom Sausage into his mouth. Two wings sprouted from his back, and he rose into the air.
Although the effect was halved when he used it on himself, wasting some of its potential, he had no choice but to do so for self-preservation.
At least Zhu Zhuqing can't fly, Oscar thought, relaxing slightly as he ascended.
Then, he heard Tang San shout:
"Oscar, be careful!"
Careful? Careful of what?
Before Oscar could figure out what Tang San meant, a figure appeared in his line of sight.
Zhu Zhuqing, in her sky-blue uniform, had somehow sprouted a pair of small, dark wings and was flying faster than him, positioning herself directly above him.
Since when could she fly?
This was Oscar's last thought before Zhu Zhuqing appeared right in front of him, knocked him out with a swift chop to the neck, and threw him out of the arena.
Oscar had never participated in actual combat, and since Qian Renxue had plans to cultivate him, Zhu Zhuqing hadn't used too much force. She simply knocked him out and tossed him out of bounds.
Turning around, Zhu Zhuqing saw that the remaining team members had already regrouped, with Dai Mubai staring at her in disbelief.
Due to the wings she had just used, the shadow of her martial soul had been revealed to the group. It was clear Dai Mubai had seen her new martial soul.
What made it even harder for him to accept was that he no longer felt the same resonance with her that was associated with their former Martial Soul Fusion Technique. Instead, he felt a faint sense of suppression from her martial soul.
"What happened to your martial soul?"
After a brief moment of shock, Dai Mubai felt a deep sense of betrayal, even stronger than when Zhu Zhuqing had publicly divorced him. This anger surged from the very core of his martial soul.
Zhu Zhuqing gave him a cold glance, showing no intention of answering, and then disappeared again in a flash.
"Boss Dai, calm down!"
Tang San, watching the black shadow flicker around them, felt a bit irritated. He used his Blue Silver Grass to bind Dai Mubai's waist, stopping him from impulsively charging forward.
We're still in the middle of a fight. Do you think she's going to answer you, given her attitude toward you?
Feeling the force of the Blue Silver Grass around his waist, Dai Mubai reluctantly calmed down, but the resentment in his eyes deepened.
Under Tang San's command, the remaining five formed a protective circle around Ning Rongrong, each tied to a strand of Blue Silver Grass, staying alert for Zhu Zhuqing's next attack.
Suddenly, Zhu Zhuqing's movements paused, and she shot straight toward Ma Hongjun.
Her first and third soul rings lit up one after the other. As she charged forward, her hands came together above her head, and the claw blades on her fingers extended sharply, merging into a one-foot-long blade.
A black energy blade, radiating fierce energy, slashed swiftly toward Ma Hongjun.
Sensing the terrifying power contained in the black blade, Ma Hongjun didn't dare be careless. He hadn't forgotten that Zhu Zhuqing's level was now twenty levels higher than his.
"She's coming at me!"
With a low roar, Ma Hongjun recalled his teacher's advice. Without caring that Tang San's Blue Silver Grass was still wrapped around his waist, he decided to rely on himself.
The three soul rings above his head lit up one by one, instantly boosting his fire abilities to their maximum. His body rose into the air, and without hesitation, he spat out a stream of fire to meet the black blade.
Phoenix Fireline—his most powerful attack to date.
The black energy blade clashed with the fire, and after a brief collision, the remnants of the black blade were deflected, exploding to the side.
In mid-air, Ma Hongjun's small eyes narrowed. That had been his strongest attack, yet it still couldn't entirely stop one of Zhu Zhuqing's casual strikes.
Luckily, he hadn't been overconfident. He knew that in terms of explosive power, no one else on their team could match him.
Turning around, Tang San, who had witnessed the scene, furrowed his brows.
Although he had always known Zhu Zhuqing's burst attacks were powerful, he hadn't expected that even with Ning Rongrong's boost, Ma Hongjun's attack would still be slightly weaker.
We can't keep going like this, Tang San thought. If we're not careful, we might lose another teammate.
"Fatty, keep attacking! Use your flames to compress her position and force her into close combat with us!"
Non-energy-based soul skills, after being used once, require a certain amount of time to recover. Otherwise, even without a strict cooldown period, the strain on the body would be immense. As Zhu Zhuqing's former teammate, Tang San was well aware of this.
So, he decisively shouted toward Ma Hongjun in mid-air.
Without a doubt, engaging in close combat with Zhu Zhuqing, now significantly higher in level and an agility-type soul master, was dangerous. Tang San knew this.
But he had no other choice. Just look at their team composition.
Tai Long, Dai Mubai, Xiao Wu, and himself—all close-range attackers. He could only gamble on this, believing that with his Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, he could hold off Zhu Zhuqing for a short time.
Moreover, close combat was the only way his soul skills had a chance of hitting Zhu Zhuqing.
He didn't need to hit her multiple times—just once. If he could trap Zhu Zhuqing even briefly, despite her higher level, her relatively fragile agility-type body wouldn't withstand their combined assault, and she would be seriously injured.
Hearing Tang San's shout, Ma Hongjun didn't hesitate. He spewed a large amount of fire from his mouth, compressing Zhu Zhuqing's movement range.
Of course, he controlled the range carefully, making sure not to let the flames spread toward the observing trio—Dugu Yan and the others.
Zhu Zhuqing alone was difficult enough to deal with; dragging the other three into the fight? He didn't dare imagine that scenario.
At the same time, Tang San swung his Blue Silver Grass, placing Xiao Wu beside Ning Rongrong. Xiao Wu had expended too much energy and wasn't fit for direct combat anymore. Protecting Ning Rongrong was enough.
Tang San also stopped holding back his soul skills. He needed to hide only his fourth soul skill; the first three held no secrets from Zhu Zhuqing.
He alternated between his first and third soul skills, coordinating with Ma Hongjun's aerial fire attacks to try to block Zhu Zhuqing's advance—though it was largely ineffective.
For Zhu Zhuqing, his Blue Silver Bindings weren't even worth dodging. She stepped forward, and the vines shattered. The Spider Web was similarly torn apart with a casual swipe of her claws.
As for his second soul skill, the faint black mist surrounding Zhu Zhuqing caused his plant spores to wither upon contact. Aside from wasting soul power, his Parasite skill was completely useless.
Glancing at the flames engulfing the area and seeing Zhu Zhuqing get closer and closer, Tang San stopped casting soul skills.
"Rongrong, boost Tai Long. Boss Dai, go all out. Tie her up and create an opening for me. Once my fourth soul skill hits her, we'll finish her off."
A fierce glint flashed across Tang San's face. If he had known things would turn out like this, he would've secretly poisoned Dai Mubai's claws beforehand.
Unfortunately, with so many eyes watching, he had to abandon that idea.
Ning Rongrong hesitated for a moment, but the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda glowed, and she boosted Tai Long. It was a duty she couldn't escape.
By now, Tang San had already charged forward with the other two, moving to surround Zhu Zhuqing in a fan formation.
Seeing their actions, Zhu Zhuqing blinked but didn't retreat. Instead, she accelerated, rushing straight toward them.
For her, Ma Hongjun's flames were the bigger threat. Now that they were coming to her, they were helping her by blocking the aerial fire attacks. It couldn't have worked out better.
Moreover, there was another reason she hadn't attacked yet—she was waiting for her skill's cooldown to finish. Now, with that time approaching, they were walking right into her trap. What were they thinking?
Tang San was one thing, but did Dai Mubai not understand the power of the Zhu family's skills? And now she was using an enhanced version. Who gave them the confidence to leave their backline unguarded? Did they think three people could stop her?
Just as the four were about to clash head-on, the fourth soul ring on Zhu Zhuqing's body lit up, and three identical clones appeared by her side.
The second soul rings on the clones lit up simultaneously. With the momentum of their charge, they leaped into the air, spinning rapidly. The claws on their hands extended, forming a foot-long blade as they slashed toward the three attackers in front of them.
Netherworld Hundred Claws—Zhu Zhuqing utilized her clones from the fourth soul skill to unleash the attack.
Meanwhile, she took advantage of the opening created by her clones, leaping lightly.
With the help of her wings, she soared over the three in front, turning into a shadowy blur as she shot toward the backline, where Xiao Wu—having lost most of her soul power—and Ning Rongrong, who had no combat capabilities, were located.
As for Ma Hongjun, a high-burst soul master, he had barely any soul power left after covering the stage in flames.
Even if he did have some energy left, would he dare attack Ning Rongrong and Xiao Wu together?