"I'm done playing with you. Get down!"
With a flamboyant wave of his hand, Mu Yang willed his Iceflame Dragon in midair to unleash a "Frostfire Dragon's Breath", completely engulfing both himself and the white-disc-transformed Xie Yue.
The ice-blue flames of extreme cold burned fiercely, yet they had no effect on Mu Yang. With his mastery over his soul power, he could bathe in his own Iceflame without suffering any harm.
But Xie Yue was a different story. Struck directly by the "Frostfire Dragon's Breath", the wretchedly clingy ice-blue flames adhered to his body, impossible to shake off—almost as if he were doused in white phosphorus.
Fortunately for him, the flames had only just latched on, and their burning duration was still short. They had yet to corrode through his protective soul power. Otherwise, if he had to endure it with just his flesh and blood, he would have turned to ashes in mere moments.
"Snap—"
A flicker of Iceflame ignited Xie Yue's clothing, leaving him with nothing but a pair of underpants. With a snap of his fingers, Mu Yang instantly extinguished the raging Iceflame across the battlefield, as if it had never burned in the first place.
"You… won."
Shivering from the intense cold that had invaded his body—though he wasn't frozen solid—Xie Yue looked at Mu Yang, noticing that he had at least left him with his underpants. With a bitter expression, he trembled and admitted defeat.
Xie Yue (internally): "This guy's actually pretty decent… he left me some dignity!"
Mu Yang gave a slight nod and said, "Thanks for the match."
Immediately after, the referee—his face as dark as if someone owed him eight million gold soul coins—announced in a sullen voice:
"Mu Yang wins! Xie Yue, exit the stage. Martial Soul Hall Team, send out your final seventh member!"
Martial Soul Hall Team had suffered a crushing defeat. Mu Yang had already taken down six members single-handedly, and now there was a high chance he would take down the seventh, completing a full sweep.
As a red-clothed bishop of Martial Soul Hall, the referee's mood couldn't possibly be good.
Outside the Arena
Hu Liena took a deep breath, clenched her fists, and stepped toward the battlefield.
"Nana!"
At that moment, Yan called out.
Hearing her name, Hu Liena turned back.
"Good luck!"
Yan encouraged her.
"Mm."
With a solemn expression, Hu Liena nodded before walking onto the battlefield.
Watching the back of his goddess, Yan fell silent.
"The wind is bleak, the waters are cold; once the warrior departs, they may never return."
Yan fully understood the immense pressure Hu Liena was facing at this moment.
If she won this battle, Martial Soul Hall Team would still have a chance to defeat the Blazing Fire Team and directly secure a spot in tomorrow's championship match.
But if Mu Yang won, Martial Soul Hall Team would be in serious trouble.
After finishing the individual matches in the morning, they would have to fight another team battle against Sky Water Team in the afternoon.
Sky Water Team was no pushover. Even if Martial Soul Hall Team managed to win, they would be in poor condition for the championship battle the next day.
Losing this fight could very well cost them the championship altogether.
At this moment, Yan hated himself—hated that he was too weak, forcing his goddess to shoulder a burden she shouldn't have to bear.
On the Battlefield
"Hu Liena. Martial Soul: Charming Fox. Level 54 Control-type Soul King."
With her Charming Fox Martial Soul activated, Hu Liena transformed into tailed fox girl and formally introduced herself to Mu Yang.
"Mm-hmm."
Mu Yang simply nodded.
Seeing that Mu Yang only nodded without giving her any acknowledgment or introducing himself, Hu Liena's face darkened.
"Tch~! Am I really that lacking in charm?"
For the first time in her life, Hu Liena started to doubt her own allure.
"Mu Yang, can you tell me your soul power level and age?"
Hu Liena asked curiously.
A woman's intuition told her that Mu Yang was at least a few years younger than her, yet his soul power level surpassed hers. A genius like him—how could she not be curious?
Hearing this, Mu Yang pondered for a moment before replying:
"I have a girlfriend. Besides, Bing'er told me that as a boy, I must protect myself outside and not casually reveal my private information to others."
Immediately, Hu Liena's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot.
"Damn blockhead! Just wait, you'll suffer for this!"
Mu Yang's words greatly irritated Hu Liena, but for Shui Bing'er, who was watching from outside the battlefield, they meant something entirely different—filling her heart with warmth and joy.
"Hmph~! Just a mere flirtatious fox trying to seduce my Mu Yang? Dream on!"
"Match, begin!"
With the referee's command, the seventh match officially started.
"Third Soul Skill: Celestial Fox Transformation!"
The moment the battle began, Hu Liena's third soul ring lit up. With the support of this attribute-boosting soul skill, her spiritual power instantly surged by 100%.
"One strike to decide victory! Demon Eye! Soul Bone Skill: Celestial Fox Mirage!"
Hu Liena let out a delicate cry as an eerie purple glow flashed between her brows. A purple eye surfaced, and in the next instant, a dazzling purple beam shot out, instantly covering the dozens of meters between them and striking Mu Yang before he could evade.
Inside His Spiritual Sea
The moment the dreamlike purple light hit him, Mu Yang felt an exceptionally powerful spiritual force invade his spiritual sea.
At that instant, he understood why Bibi Dong had been so generous in offering three soul bones as the championship prize, despite knowing that this year's Soul Master Tournament had multiple Soul Kings as participants.
It wasn't generosity—it was absolute confidence.
In Team Battles: Martial Soul Hall Team had the Martial Soul Fusion Skill: Demon Charm Without a seven-ring Soul Sage, their victory was guaranteed.
In Individual Battles: Hu Liena, a Level 54 Spiritual Control-type Soul Master, already had spiritual power comparable to an average Level 60 Battle Soul Master, even in her normal state.
With her spirit-enhancing soul skill and the spiritual boost from an external soul bone, unless her opponent had reached seven rings, they would most likely be unable to escape her spiritual control.
Yes, that was right.
Even though it was only a brief moment, Mu Yang clearly saw the eerie purple eye on Hu Liena's forehead—it was an extremely rare external soul bone!
And not just any soul bone—it was one that significantly enhanced spiritual power, making it the perfect fit for a spiritual-type Soul Master!
"Fate really favors this orange-haired fox, huh? Ridiculous!"
Mu Yang secretly complained.
In the original story, Hu Liena did have an external soul bone, but it was a tail-type soul bone, which wasn't all that great.
As a spiritual-type Soul Master, giving her a close-combat-focused external soul bone did not really help her maximum potential. It only slightly covered one of her weaknesses.
External soul bones were usually obtained when advancing as a Soul Master, and the fact that hers was a fox tail meant it was likely an unexpected gain during one of her breakthroughs.
Originally, Mu Yang had assumed that if she had acquired that tail soul bone at four or five rings, she would have missed the opportunity to obtain it in this altered timeline.
After all, due to his butterfly effect, Tang San never got his Eight Spider Lances.
But to his surprise, while Hu Liena did miss out on her original fox tail soul bone, she ended up with something even better—a spiritual eye external soul bone!
For additional chapters
Versatile mage {40 chapters}
Douluo Dalu:This Soul Master is to Weird {30 Chapters}
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