Soto City, Grand Soul Arena!
Main Soul Arena!
Today is the annual Soul Battle Tournament of the three major families of Soto City.
This is undoubtedly the most exciting and entertaining match, with all forces of Soto City gathered here, and the audience seats are already full.
The betting battle of the three families is actually a redistribution of the Soto City market. Young Soul Masters represent the future of the family, and the strength of the young disciples basically represents the development potential of the family in the next ten years or so.
This year's bets are particularly huge. The Xiang family's land and the Gan and Bei families' clothing are practically pillar industries, and they have all been bet on this year.
If one side wins, the other side will basically lose most of the profits of Soto City.
The betting inside and outside is very lively. Zhang Gan also opened his betting account. He was very excited to learn that Ma Hongjun was participating in the Xiang family's Soul Battle, and he had started preparing seven or eight betting accounts early on to deal with the gamblers from Soto City.
During his collaboration with Zhang Gan, Ma Hongjun had already earned over 100,000 gold soul coins. That's how casinos are—money comes in fast.
The odds for the Gan and Bei families were lower than those for the Xiang family, and historically, the Gan and Bei families, who usually joined forces, had won. So this year, most people were betting on the Gan and Bei families. Ma
Hongjun gave all his 100,000 gold soul coins to Flander, asking him to help place the bets.
Therefore, this time, for the sake of his entire fortune, Ma Hongjun was determined to win no matter what.
The soul masters from both sides entered the arena. As expected, the five people from the Gan and Bei families who had met last time were present. The other two were a man and a woman. The man looked sinister, with black aura emanating from his face, giving the impression of a living zombie. The woman was an acquaintance; upon seeing Ma Hongjun, she excitedly pointed over and exclaimed in surprise, "Boss Ma!" This person was none other than Xiao Yuanyuan, the "Big Bread" from the Mu Su Soul Master Academy. She happily called out to Ma Hongjun, but realizing that the two were now on opposing sides, she quickly covered her mouth. Ma Hongjun also looked over in surprise, smiled helplessly, and shook his head. Gan Shuang, Bei Han, and the others were surprised to see the familiar Ma Hongjun and his group, but not overly surprised, as this outcome was within their expectations. Gan Shuang and the others all looked again at the zombie-like man. Although Ma Hongjun put considerable pressure on them, seeing the zombie man reassured them. The battle began, with both sides releasing their martial souls, and dazzling soul rings rose. Gan Shuang and Bei Han's side had uniform yellow-yellow-purple soul rings, all belonging to the best Soul Master combination. The Xiang family's side had six Soul Masters and one Great Soul Master, all with the best soul ring configurations. The red-haired man with the Flaming Lion martial soul and Bei Han with the shield martial soul were the main attackers, standing at the front, while the thin man with the long-armed ape martial soul and Zheng Jie with the dual-sword martial soul blocked the left and right flanks. Gan Shuang with the bow and arrow and Xiao Yuanyuan with the bread were at the rear. The silent zombie man stood in the very center; his martial soul was a tombstone, surrounded by wisps of black gas, giving him an eerie and terrifying aura. The Xiang family's formation was also arranged according to Ma Hongjun's prior arrangements. Huang Qing, wielding a giant axe, stood alone in front, flanked by two black tigers, Xiang Chengxian, and Xiang Chengwang. Next, Ma Hongjun and Dai Mubai faced Xiang Chengwang and Xiang Chengxian from the side. Jin Lian and Oscar formed a straight line with Huang Qing. This was a wedge formation. The support characters were the first to activate their spirit rings. In general, support-type spirit masters use their skills first in team battles, but today both sides were food-type spirit masters, a evenly matched contest. The tense atmosphere was then disrupted by the following spirit spells! Xiao Yuanyuan: "I have a big loaf of bread!" Oscar: " I have a big sausage!" Xiao Yuanyuan: "I have a small loaf of bread!" Oscar: "I have a small sausage!" Xiao Yuanyuan: "I have a soft loaf of bread!" Oscar: "I'm out..." Food-type spirit masters play a crucial role in a team. Both of them were constantly using their spirit skills to create bread and sausages, ready to feed their teammates when needed. Ma Hongjun had eaten Xiao Yuanyuan's big loaf of bread, just like Oscar's, which restored spirit power. The small bread roll increases speed; this soul skill was obtained with Ma Hongjun's help back at the Musu Soul Master Academy. As for the third soft bread roll, that's unknown. In team battles, with many people, without a good commander and sustained coordination, chaos easily ensues. Disrupting the opponent's formation is a very effective team battle tactic. Huang Qing's giant axe is perfect for this; generally, no one dares stand under its blade. Therefore, the third soul ring on the giant axe lit up immediately. "Sky-Splitting Axe!" The enormous axe shadow enveloped the seven opponents. If they didn't dodge, all seven would have to withstand the axe's attack, and at least half would be injured. But if they scattered, their formation would be disrupted. "Don't panic! Bei Han, you two split up and advance. Gan Shuang, use Frost Arrows on the giant axe!" said the zombie man in the middle, his second soul ring flashing. After Bei Han and Mad Lion split up and ran to the left and right...
"Wall of Tombstones!"
He pushed out the tombstone in his hand, which quickly expanded, blocking the five people behind him. The giant axe cleaved down, colliding with the tombstone and producing a resounding boom. An
icy arrow shot towards them, but Ma Hongjun activated his second soul skill, leaping onto Huang Qing's shoulder. His Dragon Soul Spear shattered the icy arrow.
"Flame Impact!"
"Flying Shield!"
Bei Han and the other had already rushed over.
"Black Tiger, meet it! Ghost Vine, attack!"
"Black Tiger Demon God Transformation!"
"Entangle!"
Xiang Chengxian's black flame aura collided with the red flames, and Ghost Vine spread out, entangled the flying round shield.
"Take care of the giant lion first!"
Ma Hongjun commanded. The giant lion's flames posed too great a threat to them; Ghost Vine would be countered, and his third soul skill, Water Gun, was also greatly reduced under the flames.
"White Tiger Blazing Light Wave!"
Dai Mubai also unleashed his second soul skill, continuing to attack the lion.
"Shock Axe!"
Huang Qing swung his axe horizontally towards the lion.
Xiang Chengwang used his second soul skill, Black Tiger Shadow Transformation, to restrain Bei Han.
"Mad Lion, retreat!"
The lion was very fast; after eating Xiao Yuanyuan's bread, its speed had increased. Ma Hongjun had anticipated this and certainly wouldn't give it a chance!
"Spear Control!"
The Dragon Soul Spear flew out, piercing his retreating path.
"Save Mad Lion!"
"Long Arm Ascends!"
The skinny soul master of the Long-Armed Spirit Ape activated his third soul ring, suddenly extending his arm and closing in on Mad Lion. His long arm bent and wrapped around Mad Lion, trying to pull him back.
Ma Hongjun's Dragon Soul Spear immediately shifted its target, the spear piercing into the long arm, the water on the spear also seeping into it. Although the water wasn't highly toxic, it was enough to cripple one of his arms.
Dai Mubai's White Tiger Blazing Light Wave also struck Mad Lion, who was shaken and coughed up blood, flying away, only to be pulled back by the long arm's embrace.
"Chase after them, get close and fight!"
Two black tigers were in front, Ma Hongjun with his spear and giant axe behind, and Dai Mubai lagged behind to protect Jinlian and Oscar.
Their side mainly consisted of offensive fighters, so they needed to close the distance and engage in melee combat.
Gan Shuang activated his third spirit ring.
"Arrow Rain!"
Countless arrows shot over, and Ma Hongjun also activated his third spirit ring.
The blue dark patterns brightened, the Dragon Soul Spear spun, and a water curtain appeared in front of the four of them.
*Pfft pfft pfft...
* The arrows passed through the water curtain, but they had become powerless and were easily blocked with a wave of the hand.
"Corpse Qi Lingers!"
The tombstone shrank, and countless black wisps spread out from it. They swam and tried to burrow into the bodies of Ma Hongjun and the others.
Seeing the black wisps enter the bodies of Ma Hongjun and the others, the zombie-like man laughed; his corpse qi was poisonous.
"Back off!"
"Little Oscar, sausages!" As
soon as the black wisps entered his body, Ma Hongjun felt a bone-chilling cold, and his body trembled.
Oscar was prepared, throwing four small sausages at the four of them.
"Arrow Rain Cover, Round Shield Attack, Dual Blades Follow Up!"
The enemy wouldn't give Ma Hongjun and the others any time to eat the sausages.
"Eat quickly!"
Ma Hongjun, enduring his physical discomfort, activated his third spirit ring and wielded the Dragon Soul Spear rapidly, creating a mist that obscured the vision of both sides.
Arrows rained down through the mist, and Jinlian's third spirit ring lit up.
"Ghost Vine Cage!"
Ghost vines rose from the ground, intertwining in the air to form a dome that enveloped everyone. The arrows struck the vines but failed to penetrate them.
Bei Han and Zheng Jie entered the mist, blinded by it, and immediately stopped, trying to retreat.
After finishing the sausages, the Ghost Vine Cage disappeared. The corpse poison hadn't completely dissipated, and while the sausages weren't very effective against it, they managed to suppress the toxicity, though the cold sensation instilled an invisible fear.
Dai Mubai wasn't poisoned; he reacted quickly, unleashing another White Tiger Blazing Light Wave towards Zheng Jie.
Blinded, Zheng Jie had no way to dodge and was struck so hard he vomited blood. Bei Han sensed something was wrong, but with her round shield protecting her, she slowly retreated.
Ma Hongjun's first spirit ring lit up, and he unleashed the Extreme Shadow Flying Dragon Spear, piercing Zheng Jie's abdomen. Zheng Jie blocked it with his twin swords, but Ma Hongjun immediately followed up with his second spirit skill, the Spear Explosion, which blasted Zheng Jie away once more.
Zheng Jie was now incapacitated; the poor fellow still couldn't use his third spirit skill.
Ma Hongjun lifted him up and swept him off the stage with a single spear thrust.
At that moment, seven black arrows shot towards him, a precise, homing seven-star formation.
Ma Hongjun hastily parried, but was still struck in the back by an arrow.
Gan Shuang's use of soul skills today has been quite frequent. She's already used the thousand-year soul skill, Arrow Rain, twice in a row, and now she's used Seven Star Alignment.
"Could it be!"
Ma Hongjun suddenly realized, looking at Gan Shuang, who was already pale, eating the soft bread Xiao Yuanyuan had handed her. After finishing one piece, she continued using the Bow and Arrow skill.
Xiao Yuanyuan's soft bread must reduce the soul power required to use soul skills, which is equivalent to reducing cooldown.
This support ability is crucial for Gan Shuang, amplifying her abilities infinitely.
"We must take care of Xiao Yuanyuan first."
At this moment, a burst of flames rushed over, instantly evaporating the water mist between them.
"Jinlian, try to control that Tombstone Martial Soul. The three of you engage in frontal combat.
I'll take care of the bread and the arrow shooter first."
The group ate Oscar's recovery sausage and launched another attack.
(End of Chapter)