Several days later, behind the Heaven Dou Royal Academy
"Faster! Your coordination is still too sloppy!"
Ignaz was using the "Stepping Waves, Treading Seas" footwork, continuously maneuvering under the six-person assault led by Dugu Yan. Neither her control-type soul skills nor the martial soul fusion skills of the Shi brothers could trap Ignaz.
"Shi Mo, Shi Mo, Yang Yong—you three hold him off. Lingling, support us with healing. Zhuqing, let's use that move."
The moment Dugu Yan gave the order, everyone understood her intent. They quickly formed a 1-2-2-1 battle formation.
"Fifth soul skill — Poison Rock Formation."
As Dugu Yan activated her fifth soul skill, the trio at the front—Shi Mo, Shi Mo, and Yang Yong—immediately unleashed their strongest techniques. Yang Yong focused on offense to keep Ignaz occupied, while the Shi brothers used the opening he created.
Using their Black Tortoise Shells, they quickly built a rotating energy shield around the combat area, trying to trap Ignaz.
Within a second, Dugu Yan shouted:
"Retreat!"
Just as she did, countless rock spikes suspended mid-air shot downward at Ignaz.
At this moment, Ignaz simply chuckled.
"You think you can trap me by sacrificing one of your own? Ridiculous."
"First soul skill. Second soul skill."
He instantly activated his first two soul skills, shattering the Black Tortoise Barrier. The shockwave flung the Shi brothers away.
Ignaz then unleashed a sweeping strike that sent Yang Yong flying out of the range of Dugu Yan's fifth soul skill, preventing him from getting injured by friendly fire.
He then spun the Blood Thunder War Spear in front of his chest, his precise footwork allowing him to dodge a portion of the falling rock spikes with ease.
But just as he struck down several incoming spikes, Zhu Zhuqing, who had been waiting silently on top of one of the falling rock spikes, made her move.
"Third soul skill — Nether Annihilation Strike!"
In an instant, Zhu Zhuqing vanished before Ignaz's eyes, concealed by the darkness.
As a massive stone spike came crashing down, Zhu Zhuqing emerged from the debris and shadows. Her hands turned into tiger claws as she launched a deadly strike from the side.
"Little Yan, you used the explosive power of your fifth soul skill to help Zhuqing unleash her third skill at the perfect moment to attempt a close-range attack. Not bad. Good thinking. But—still not enough."
Ignaz timed it perfectly. With a powerful leap, he dodged Zhuqing's attack. As he spun midair, he used the flexible shaft of the Blood Thunder War Spear to knock Zhuqing away.
At the same time, he activated the Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone, enhancing his speed and taking flight.
"Little sisters... you've lost."
Standing behind Dugu Yan on the Soul Battle Platform, Ignaz held his war spear casually while Shi Mo, Shi Mo, and Ye Lingling stared at him in shock.
With the control-type soul master Dugu Yan struck, the training session between the six and Ignaz was over.
"Yan-yan, your combo with Zhuqing was decent. If your timing had been just a bit more precise, I might've been caught off guard."
Dugu Yan accepted the praise with a smile but also expressed her admiration for Ignaz's strength.
"Iggy, with your current strength, I bet you could take on all seven members of a team at the Continental Advanced Elite Soul Master Tournament. Honestly, now the tournament seems kind of boring. I don't even feel excited anymore."
"No, I've already told the three deans—I'll be joining the tournament as both team leader and team member. So the main force of the team will still be the six of you."
The six were surprised by this announcement—they hadn't expected Ignaz to join in such a role.
"Your team leader status—did the tournament committee approve that?"
"Of course. A team leader isn't much different from a team member. As long as I don't break any rules, they have nothing to object to."
Truthfully, with the strength of Heaven Dou Royal Academy's first team, they hardly needed a team leader. Who else could lead them anyway?
One of the three deans? That would be impossible.
Still, a team leader was needed to handle daily affairs, so Ignaz was the only suitable choice.
Seeing Ignaz in such high spirits, Dugu Yan said seriously,
"Iggy, there are less than six months until the tournament. Why don't we go challenge some other academies?"
"Hmm… uh, well—"
Ignaz hesitated, then said,
"I was originally going to take you all to the Great Soul Arena, but with your current strength, there probably aren't many evenly matched teams left there."
"Then we'll just have to visit other academies for sparring matches."
At that moment, Ye Lingling glanced at Dugu Yan, and the two girls exchanged a sly smile. Then Ye Lingling said:
"Brother Iggy, we lost to Skywater Academy last time. Why don't we go there for a sparring match? With you around, we can help Yan-yan regain her pride."
"What? Skywater Academy?"
Upon hearing this, the two girls closely observed Ignaz's hesitant and nervous reaction. They smiled smugly—not going to explain about Bing'er now, huh? Starting to panic? Too late.
Dugu Yan stepped forward, took his hand, and said sweetly,
"Iggy, Bing'er and the others are my good sisters. Win or lose, they won't hurt us. There's no need to worry."
"Uh… Two Soul Kings going to bully seven Soul Sect-level soul masters... If word gets out, it might damage Heaven Dou Royal Academy's reputation."
Seeing his obviously lame excuse, both girls grew angrier.
Reputation? What kind of nonsense excuse was that?
If they hadn't already known about Shui Bing'er's relationship with Ignaz, they might've believed him and dropped the idea.
More importantly, they'd already discussed it with Shui Bing'er in advance. Once Ignaz returned, the three of them had decided—they would properly punish this two-timing scumbag.
Dugu Yan, puffing her cheeks in mock anger, asked,
"Iggy, why are you so against going to Skywater Academy? Are you hiding something there? Or… is there someone special at Skywater Academy?"
"No no no! Of course not!"
For the first time, Ignaz felt a cold sweat and deep fear.