Time flew by, and three years passed.
In a spacious indoor training arena at Tianshui Academy, a team battle training session was underway.
One side had as many as eight people, while the other had only one—it was truly a case of many against one.
But in a soul battle, victory wasn't determined by sheer numbers.
And that was precisely the case here. Even though the eight-person team worked together with impressive coordination, the battle was still far from optimistic.
The reason was simple: their opponent was a seven-ring Battle Soul Sage, while the highest-ranked among them was only a five-ring Soul King.
With the strength of a seven-ring Soul Sage, even without activating their Martial Soul True Body, they could easily handle eight five-ring Soul Kings. Not to mention, out of the eight, only three were five-ring Soul Kings, while the rest consisted of two four-ring Soul Ancestors and three three-ring Soul Elders.
"Essence of all things, Jade!"
Seeing that the battle was turning unfavorable, Mu Yang, whose five-ring soul rings—yellow, purple, purple, black, and black—were concealed under a disguise, activated his fifth soul ring. Wrapped in the Crystal Scale Armor, an external soul bone, his soul power surged, instantly conjuring two jade-colored ginsengs, which he tossed to Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er.
Catching the ginsengs, the sisters immediately consumed them. After the emerald glow from the Emerald Guardian Ginseng faded, another layer of profound dark light enveloped their bodies.
Fifth Soul Skill:Blue Jade Thorn Ginseng.
A food-type soul skill with a cultivation age nearing fifty thousand years. Upon consumption, it generates Thornlight, which reflects 40% of physical and energy attacks as a mental shock.
Since this mental shock is not actively released by the user but rather triggered passively, it doesn't suffer from the drawback where a stronger opponent's mental power could cause backlash to the user.
"Fourth Soul Skill—Resonant Water Wave!"
At that moment, Qiu Shuping, the vice dean of Tianshui Academy and a sparring partner in this battle, activated her fourth soul ring. A brilliant blue soul power radiated from her, and a powerful ripple of water rapidly spread outward.
The expansion speed of the water wave was astonishingly fast, covering a wide area. Caught off guard, four members of the Tianshui Battle Team—excluding the support-type soul master Xue Wu at the rear and the three five-ring Soul Kings, Mu Yang, Shui Bing'er, and Shui Yue'er—were instantly struck by the wave and sent flying out of the central white ring of the training arena.
According to the pre-set training battle rules, anyone who left the white ring and touched the ground was considered defeated and could not rejoin the battle.
"Mu boy, I've used a control-type soul skill to clear the field. How will you respond?"
Eliminating four people with a single move, Qiu Shuping smiled and questioned Mu Yang.
She was naturally well aware of the effects of the Jade Thorn Ginseng.
Although the vast gap in soul power between them meant the reflected damage wouldn't reach the full 40% on her, she still had no desire to experience the mental shock from her own attack being reflected.
"Aunt Qiu, facing a master like you, what else can I do? Of course, I can only go all in! Bing'er!"
As he spoke, through the connection between their martial souls, an illusory ice-blue flame ignited around Mu Yang.
Against a high-level Soul Sage like Qiu Shuping, Mu Yang had no choice but to rely on a Martial Soul Fusion Skill.
Even his Phantom God Secret Art wouldn't be enough.
After all, his Supreme Lunar Divine Refinement technique had only just stepped into the mid-stage of the third level, Full Moon. His spiritual power was only marginally stronger than an average Rank 70 soul master. Neither True Illusion Realm nor the Soul Capturing secret technique would be effective against a high-level Soul Sage like Qiu Shuping—in fact, he might even suffer a spiritual backlash instead.
After all, his Supreme Lunar Divine Refinement technique had only just stepped into the mid-stage of the third level, Full Moon. His spiritual power was only marginally stronger than an average Rank 70 soul master. Neither True Illusion Realm nor the Soul Capturing secret technique would be effective against a high-level Soul Sage like Qiu Shuping—in fact, he might even suffer a spiritual backlash instead.
Without the need for Mu Yang to say anything, Shui Bing'er, already aware of his intentions, was also enveloped in an icy blue glow.
However, just as the two were about to unleash their Martial Soul Fusion Skill, Qiu Shuping interrupted in exasperation, "Stop! I'm done!"
"Huh? What's wrong?"
Mu Yang was momentarily stunned, somewhat confused. Everything was going well—why stop now?
"Heh, I'm here to train the Tianshui Battle Team's real combat abilities. You're not even part of the team, so why should I waste my energy dealing with your Martial Soul Fusion Skill?
Unless… you're willing to represent the academy in the Soul Master Tournament three months from now."
Qiu Shuping said with a smile.
Well, there was one thing she didn't mention—she wasn't confident that she could definitely win against their Martial Soul Fusion Skill.
The two of them were not far from reaching Rank 60. By combining their strength, the foundation of their fusion skill would already reach the level of a seven-ring Soul Sage. While they might not yet match a Soul Sage using their Martial Soul True Body, with their special iceflame ability that combined offense and control, along with various secret techniques, the outcome of the battle was truly uncertain.
As a senior and the vice dean of the academy, Qiu Shuping cared about her reputation. Even if she knew that younger generations would eventually surpass her, she couldn't let that happen so soon, could she?
"Heh…"
Hearing this, Mu Yang glanced at Qiu Shuping, then at Shui Yanyu, who was watching from the sidelines. With a slightly awkward smile, he withdrew the illusory iceflame burning around him.
Represent Tianshui Academy in the Soul Master Tournament three months from now?
No way, no way—he, Mu Yang, couldn't be a traitor.
Tianshui Academy had indeed treated him well, but so had Blazing Academy. Over the years, he had been drinking Silver Flower Tea daily, which had a nourishing effect on the mind.
And that wasn't just because his uncle-in-law was the dean and his aunt was the vice dean, but because Blazing Academy invested heavily in nurturing its most talented students.
His treatment was something even the dean's own children, Huo Wushuang and Huo Wu, couldn't match.
Since the founding of Blazing Academy, they had indeed won the Soul Master Tournament before, but that was ancient history. As a member of Blazing Academy, he had to help them win a championship, didn't he?
Moreover, due to Blazing Academy's semi-public revelation of the Whale Gel secret, the strength of all the top teams in this year's tournament would far surpass those in the original storyline—it couldn't even be compared to previous tournaments.
With the help of immortal herbs, Huo Wushuang and Huo Wu had improved tremendously in recent years. However, since their training time hadn't been particularly long, they were still quite a distance away from Rank 60.
If he represented Tianshui Academy instead, then with Blazing Academy's lineup of two five-ring Soul Kings, along with a mix of four-ring Soul Ancestors and three-ring Soul Elders, their results in the Soul Master Tournament wouldn't even reach second place. At best, they'd be third, or they might even fall out of the top three.
As for the championship team, there was no doubt—it would belong to Tianshui Academy if Mu Yang joined.
Just a few days ago, his soul power had reached Rank 58, while Shui Bing'er was already at Rank 59. If he joined the Tianshui team, once they unleashed their Martial Soul Fusion Skill—whether Iceflame Phoenix or Ice Phoenix Shadowflame—Tianshui Academy would be guaranteed the championship title.
Unless Qian Renxue returned to Spirit Hall and represented Spirit Academy in the tournament, there was no one among the under-25 students in all the advanced soul master academies on the continent who could stand against their Martial Soul Fusion Skill.
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