As Shuyan's voice fell, three more figures suddenly appeared on the spacious arena.
Chen Ming and Wang Lin both had the optimal configuration of two yellow and two purple spirit rings. Their Flame Lion and Black Tiger martial spirits respectively possessed their bodies, surging with powerful auras as fire and darkness intertwined. Without hesitation, they charged fiercely toward Shuyan.
Behind them, a burly man with a simple appearance and towering stature—over two meters tall—also released his martial spirit.
He too had a four-ring configuration. As his martial spirit possessed him, his body swelled dramatically. His terrifying muscles tore through his clothes, and a layer of crystal-like armor rapidly formed on his exposed skin. At the same time, a pair of enormous tusks emerged. A deafening mammoth cry followed as he let out a thunderous roar, causing the very ground of the arena to tremble with each step. This was none other than a top-tier beast martial spirit long thought extinct on the continent—Diamond Mammoth!
Even when faced with the joint assault of three Soul Sect–level opponents, Shuyan still did not release his martial spirit. A flash of icy blue light flickered in his eyes, and Chen Ming—who had just been surrounded by blazing flames—suddenly felt a suffocating pressure as if the sky itself had collapsed upon him.
The ultimate ice's absolute suppression of ordinary fire attributes activated. The flames surrounding Chen Ming slowly extinguished, and his martial spirit was forcibly pushed back into his body. Staring at his now normal self, Chen Ming looked around in a daze—until he heard Luo Qinghan's cold voice:
"Still not embarrassed enough? Get off the stage!"
Chen Ming shuddered all over. He met Shuyan's smiling gaze and clenched his fists before turning decisively and walking away without looking back.
You've got to be kidding—facing the Ice Empress of Ultimate Ice herself, and he, a fire-type soul master with nothing close to the ultimate flame, dared to join in the mess? Great. Not only did he fail to show off, but he also thoroughly embarrassed himself.
Just as Chen Ming exited the arena, Shuyan was once again surrounded by three attackers.
Wang Lin launched an aggressive assault. His sharp tiger claws left streaking afterimages in the air. With his martial spirit possessed, black fur sprouted across his body and his pupils turned vertical. All his attributes saw a massive boost—more than double, in fact. Though he couldn't suppress Shuyan, who wasn't even using his spirit, he could at least stall him a bit and create opportunities for the others.
Meanwhile, the massive Diamond Mammoth phantom took form. As its iron hooves thundered down, Shuyan's figure vanished like a ghost. His speed made Qian Gu Yueyin, who attacked from behind with her cudgel, narrow her eyes. In the next moment, the mammoth's stomp missed entirely, and the cudgel imbued with dark-gold spirit power struck only air. The arena, forged from special alloys, was blasted into a deep crater.
As Qian Gu Yueyin reeled from the failed strike, the enormous recoil forced her to drop her cudgel again. Shuyan reappeared unharmed a short distance behind them, snapping his fingers with a smile. Spikes of ice burst from the ground in layers. As the cold light flashed, Huyan Hao suddenly shielded Qian Gu Yueyin behind him, his third purple spirit ring lighting up. A massive black shield embedded with gems materialized in front of them.
This was his third soul skill—Titan Armor Shield!
With a roar, Huyan Hao met the ice spikes head-on. Countless shards shattered with crisp cracks, leaving shallow cuts across his body. Then, lifting the shield with a heave, he managed to block the entire barrage of ice.
The misty frost still hung in the air as Shuyan, slightly surprised, looked at the panting Huyan Hao—clearly not expecting the Diamond Mammoth to have such formidable defense.
But before he could dwell on it, a powerful surge of spiritual energy suddenly struck from behind. Shuyan's consciousness was affected for less than a second before he reopened his eyes, turned around slowly, and looked at Luo Qinghan, who was being pushed forward in a wheelchair by Tian Ling. He shook his head and calmly said:
"Not bad timing. You took advantage of my distraction to strike. But your spiritual power isn't strong enough. And that little girl hiding in the shadows—if you don't want a backlash, stop casually casting spiritual-type soul skills on me. I won't be responsible if something happens."
Just as he finished speaking, another wave of spiritual power surged toward him—clearly weaker than Luo Qinghan's.
Shuyan sighed helplessly. The mental defense Elex had left in his spiritual sea activated, and a shriek rang out. Less than five meters away from Luo Qinghan and Tian Ling, a girl in a black dress appeared from the shadows, collapsing to her knees and clutching her head in pain—clearly suffering backlash from her failed spiritual attack.
Luo Qinghan's grip on her wheelchair tightened. She stared coldly at the pristine Shuyan and said softly:
"Tian Ling, go help them. I'll find the right moment to act. You all just focus on knocking him off the stage."
Tian Ling bent forward slightly, a charming smile curling at her lips. She purred:
"You're sending a proper lady like me into a scuffle… shouldn't I get a little reward? Hmm?"
Luo Qinghan, clearly unused to Tian Ling's closeness, turned her head away and replied coldly:
"Don't use your usual tricks on me. Or I won't hesitate to mind-control you into fighting."
Tian Ling froze, then seemed to recall some unpleasant memory. She chuckled bitterly and said:
"You scary woman… fine, I'll go. No need to joke like that all the time."
Luo Qinghan merely shot her a cold sideways glance. In her smoke-blue eyes, a chilling light gleamed. Tian Ling instinctively shivered and forced another smile:
"Alright, alright! I'm going, don't be mad. So scary…"
With that, she briskly stepped forward, used one hand to vault over the metal railing, and landed effortlessly in the arena below.
With the same two-yellow, two-purple ring setup, Tian Ling's aura changed dramatically after her martial spirit possessed her. A fierce, ruthless air surged from her. Golden, scale-like armor resembling serpent skin crept over her exposed skin. Noticing the movement, Shuyan turned and chuckled:
"What, you couldn't wait to get beaten up too?"
Tian Ling gave a seductive smile. Her now clawed, golden hands clashed together with a spark. She sighed:
"You think I want to throw myself into this mess? But I can't beat that ice block, so I had no choice but to come here and get beat up. Be gentle with me, little brother…"
Shuyan raised an eyebrow, chuckled, and nodded. Then his body suddenly burst into motion. A punch wreathed in icy-blue spirit power struck so fast Tian Ling's pupils contracted. She didn't even have time to put on her usual act of mock grievance. Her first soul ring lit up, and golden armor surged onto her body—but in the next instant, she was blasted off the stage like a cannonball, smashing into the wall beneath the spectators' seats.
On the platform, Luo Qinghan's mouth twitched. She casually raised a hand to cover her face.
Looking at Tian Ling, who now lay stunned and teary-eyed in the wall, Shuyan chuckled and said:
"Just giving you an early break. No need to thank me. I've about finished playing around—don't worry, your friends will be joining you shortly…"
As he spoke, icy energy gathered in his palm. A long, elegant, and slender halberd formed. The oppressive force it radiated swept across the entire arena. Sensing danger, Wang Lin immediately decided to ditch his teammates and jumped off the platform without hesitation. Beside him, Huyan Hao instinctively stepped back two paces, looking pitifully at Qian Gu Yueyin with teary eyes:
"Sister Yue… what now?"
Qian Gu Yueyin gritted her teeth, blood dripping from her wrist. Looking at Shuyan, whose aura hadn't even fluctuated, humiliation and helplessness surged in her chest. Suppressing the strange emotions within, she said:
"Hold him off as long as you can. I still have one final move. I don't believe he can withstand the Unyielding Cudgel Technique that Grandpa taught me personally…"
Huyan Hao hesitated briefly, then clenched his teeth and charged forward…