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Even Ye Lingling, the steadiest of the Imperial Combat Team, couldn't hide her shock.
"Two thousand-year soul rings?" Yu Tianheng's brow creased.
After their loss to Shrek, he'd grown more cautious. Seeing Ning Tian's soul rings, he didn't pause, his body shifted into the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon's dragon form. His right arm bulked up into a claw, three soul rings—two yellow, one purple circling it.
His first soul ring glowed as he launched himself forward, a blue lightning claw slashing toward Ning Tian.
"He's tougher than Dai Mubai," Ning Tian judged with a glance. He dodge effortlessly before closing in, his sword thrusting out fast as lightning.
"So quick!" Yu Tianheng barely touched the ground when a sharp danger pricked at his side. His hair stood on end, and without a second thought, his second soul ring flared. The electric snakes around him thickened, bursting into a shower of lightning arrows that flew everywhere, enveloping Ning Tian.
This was his second soul skill, Thunderbolt Fury, with a paralyzing sting.
Ning Tian didn't retreat, he pressed forward, treating the lightning like it was nothing. As the arrows struck his Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Sword, they didn't slow him. They melted away, soft as snow in sunlight.
Yu Tianheng's lightning faded too. A faint golden spark flickered along Ning Tian's sword, rippling over him before vanishing.
With no lightning to block him, Ning Tian's blade reached Yu Tianheng's throat. The sudden threat locked Yu Tianheng in place, his breath catching as fear blanked his mind.
Instinct took over. His third soul skill, Thunder Fury, erupted, sparking the lightning around him back to life in a wild surge.
It didn't matter.
Zap!
A golden arc flashed again. Ning Tian slashed six times, tracing a small 'kill' character with his sword tip. He stepped past as Yu Tianheng crumpled, his soul power spent.
Ning Tian's face lit up, not from the win. Yu Tianheng wasn't a real threat, even back before Shrek. No, it was that golden arc that fired him up.
Just as he'd guessed, after shifting the side effects to Tang Hao, his Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Sword had grown into a top-tier weapon martial soul, hinting at the Evil-Repelling Divine Thunder. His first three soul rings, all wood-type like his martial soul, had stirred a trace of that power.
He just couldn't call it up on command yet.
Yu Tianheng's lightning had sparked the divine thunder hidden in the sword. Next to that, Yu Tianheng's jolts were weak.
The Imperial Combat Team finally shook off their stun.
"You jerk! I'll kill you!" Dugu Yan snapped, seeing her boyfriend 'hurt.' Rage took over as she shifted into her Jade Phosphor Serpent form, legs merging into a green tail. Her third soul ring shone, and she spat a thick purple mist that spread fast, aiming from behind.
"Dugu Yan, are you nuts? Ning Tian, behind you!" Qin Ming yelled, shielding the others while shouting a warning.
Ning Tian was already moving. He'd seen this type before in Soutuo City's arena. His sword flashed dozens of times, weaving a net of light that caught and broke the mist apart.
"No… how? You stopped my Jade Phosphor Purple Poison?" Dugu Yan's voice shook. Tang San had outsmarted it once, but Ning Tian just cut through it with raw sword energy.
"Enough, Dugu. I lost," Yu Tianheng called, pulling himself up.
"Tianheng, you—" Dugu Yan dropped her focus on Ning Tian and hurried to help him.
"I'm fine. He held back. I just overdid it with Thunder Fury and ran out of soul power," Yu Tianheng said, forcing a weak smile. Losing to Shrek stung, but this was worse, he hadn't even pushed Ning Tian to use a soul skill.
Dugu Yan realized she'd jumped the gun. Her sneak attack in a one-on-one fight hit her like a slap. Face red, she stammered, "S-sorry."
Ning Tian shook his head. "Don't do it again."
This world didn't play nice. With Dugu Bo behind her, he couldn't strike back hard. But he wasn't letting it go either. Her grandfather's herb garden would settle the score.
Others weren't as calm.
Zhu Zhuqing stepped up, her voice icy. "Low move."
Ning Rongrong piped in, "Yeah, ambushing him? That's how your parents raised you?"
"I said sorry! What else do you want?" Dugu Yan's eyes watered. Sheltered by Dugu Bo her whole life, she wasn't used to this, especially not from girls younger than her.
'Where'd this drama queen come from?' Ning Tian thought. She'd broken the rules with that sneak attack, and now she was acting like the wronged one.
He sighed, not impressed.
"Let's move on. You've all met now," Qin Ming said, stepping in to calm things down.
Ning Rongrong huffed but went along. "Ning Rongrong, martial soul: Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda. Twelve years old, level twenty-seven auxiliary-type Tool Spirit Master."
"Zhu Zhuqing, martial soul: Hell Spirit Cat. Level twenty-eight agility-attack type Battle Spirit Master," Zhu Zhuqing added.
"We're all twelve, by the way," Ning Rongrong said, her tone daring them to react. "Your turn."
"Twelve?" The Imperial Combat Team traded looks, stunned. Even Qin Ming blinked. Ning Tian, a level thirty-five Spirit Elder with two thousand-year soul rings at twelve? Ning Rongrong with the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda, a top-tier sect martial soul?
Next to them, only Ye Lingling, fifteen and level thirty-five stood out. The rest, Yu Tianheng included, felt like they'd been slacking.
"Dugu Yan, twenty, martial soul: Jade Phosphor Serpent. Level thirty-eight control-type Battle Spirit Master."
"Shi Mo, twenty-one, level thirty-eight defense-type Battle Spirit Master. Martial soul: Black Tortoise Turtle."
"Shi Mo, twenty-one, level thirty-seven defense-type Battle Spirit Master. Martial soul: Black Tortoise Turtle."
"Yu Feng, nineteen, level thirty-six agility-attack type Battle Spirit Master. Martial soul: Wind Chime Bird."
"Osler, twenty, level thirty-six agility-attack type Battle Spirit Master. Martial soul: Ghost Leopard."
They listed off their details, the earlier confidence drained.
Last came Ye Lingling. "Ye Lingling, fifteen, martial soul: Nine-Hearted Begonia. Level thirty-five auxiliary-type Tool Spirit Master."
She was thin, clad in black, a veil hiding her face. Blue hair spilled down her back, and her clear blue eyes peeked out, framed by long lashes that moved like they had a voice.
"You're a Nine-Hearted Begonia heir?" Ning Rongrong asked, caught off guard. That martial soul was the only rival to her sect's top support title.
Ye Lingling gave a small nod.
Dugu Yan grinned. "Even the Seven Treasures princess can be shocked. Oh, and Lingling hit Spirit Elder at thirteen. You're almost there, right? Wonder if you'll make it."
Ning Rongrong tensed, then smirked as she eyed Dugu Yan's green hair and eyes. "That hair, those eyes, they're your family's mark, aren't they?"
Ning Tian raised an eyebrow. 'She's quick,' he thought.
"So what?" Dugu Yan said, on edge.
"And your three soul rings, they're all poison-type, right?" Ning Rongrong pushed, her smile growing.
"My martial soul's the Jade Phosphor Serpent. Of course they're poison-type. What's your point?" Dugu Yan shot back.
"No point, but you're in trouble. You might be poisoned by your own martial soul," Ning Rongrong said, pointing at her.
Maybe it was the light, but a faint cross seemed to glow on her finger.
"Keep talking trash, and I don't care if you're Seven Treasures—I'll shut you up," Dugu Yan snapped.
Qin Ming cut in. "Rongrong, watch it. This ties to Poison Douluo. Don't toss claims like that."
Dugu Yan's glare made Ning Rongrong duck behind Ning Tian, but she didn't back down. "I'm not making it up. That Tang San from Shrek had three poisonous soul rings due to which he had side effects—diarrhea all day, skin going dark."
"Was his martial soul Blue Silver Grass?" Yu Tianheng asked, suddenly sharp.
"Yeah, that's him," Ning Rongrong said firmly
"But Tang San didn't look sick when we saw him," Qin Ming said, puzzled.
Ning Rongrong blinked. "What? When we left, he was still… you know, going nonstop. Day and night, sometimes in his pants. It was nasty."
Zhu Zhuqing frowned, confused.
"You've been to Shrek?" Qin Ming asked, then remembered Flender mentioning some students leaving. "Anyway, Tang San was fine when we fought him."
Ning Rongrong didn't know how to respond, she'd just repeated what she'd heard. She tugged Ning Tian's sleeve, looking sheepish.
"What's Tang San's soul power now?" Ning Tian asked.
"Thirty-five," Qin Ming answered.
Ning Tian's pulse quickened. 'He's switched to his second martial soul.'
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