However, Ma Xiaotao didn’t think that her chance would come so quickly. The instant the Star Barrier was destroyed, she was greatly astonished. She absolutely didn’t think that the four of them could’ve destroyed the barrier that even Dai Yueheng couldn’t from the outside.
At that moment, Huo Yuhao had an extremely pale face as he supported the unconscious w.a.n.g Dong. However, his eyes were just that resolute. Although there was an age difference of seven years between the two, Ma Xiaotao had no choice but to admit that she had been moved by Huo Yuhao’s eyes at that moment.
This resolute, stubborn unyieldingness from a youth who wasn’t even thirteen gave her an indescribable sense of shock. He was like a towering, stable mountain that made people trust him.
After that, Ma Xiaotao witnessed everything occur. The only person who could hear the crisp shattering of the Absolute Defense Barrier was her, who was trapped within it. She didn’t know how Huo Yuhao had done it, but she didn’t need to ponder this question at this moment.
Her silent flames once again rose into the sky, and when her phoenix once again cried out in her voice, its flames had reached an incomparably terrifying degree of heat.
It carried a few traces of demonism within it, causing Ma Xiaotao’s eyes to turn dark red. Right after that, her phoenix wings once again blossomed from her back. However, the flames that appeared alongside her wings were now dark red as well!
The sonorous cry of a phoenix carried boundless tyrannical might and anger as it mightily rang out, its demonic, dark red flames covering its wings surging forth as it did so. The Absolute Defense Barrier completely shattered in its wake, making it seem as though Ma Xiaotao was just crus.h.i.+ng the last weed in her path. At the same time, her body shot out like a cannon sh.e.l.l made of fire.
She didn’t fly towards Princess Jiu Jiu, but the four soul masters who were grouped together.
The students from Shrek Academy had never lacked in coordination. The instant Ma Xiaotao started moving, Dai Yueheng exploded out. Although he’d been previously injured, his injuries weren’t severe. His powerful physique that had been strengthened threefold had turned him into the person with the st.u.r.diest body on the battlefield. His body was practically intertwined with Ma Xiaotao’s as he rushed out, but the person he chose to run towards was Jiu Jiu.
The soul master in front of Princess Jiu Jiu who hadn’t made a move since the start of the battle finally stood up. A pair of enormous wings suddenly unfurled, blocking Dai Yueheng’s path like a set of wooden doors.
This was Sheng Yi, a defense-type Soul King whose martial soul was the Gigant Eagle.
Although Jiu Jiu’s Starcrown was powerful, its drawbacks were very obvious. The Starcrown wouldn’t give too much of a boost to its user’s physique, and because of that, Princess Jiu Jiu’s physique was still one of her weaknesses, even if she had an auxiliary-type soul skill strengthening her defense, or even her attacks. Because of that, she always had this defense-type Soul King protecting her, so as to avoid any accidents from occuring.
Dai Yueheng’s eyes went wide as he roared, “Screw off!”
He charged tyrannically forward, then used both his palms to aggressively catch the wings which were swatting at him.
As a defense-type Soul King, Sheng Yi wasn’t so easily taken care of. His second and fourth soul rings lit up simultaneously, and his enormous wings turned a metallic grey, then burst forth with a metallic light.
An ear-piercing sound caused by friction rang out, accompanied by countless sparks flying about. It seemed as though both parties were metallic weapons which were clas.h.i.+ng with each other.
Considering how much rage Ma Xiaotao had pent up inside her, how could Dai Yueheng’s mood be any better? As the eldest son of the White Tiger Duke, the arrogance he possessed in his heart was no less than hers. If it weren’t for the disparity between their cultivation levels, he would’ve fought for the position of leader already. Although he looked much more mature than his younger brother from the outside, there wasn’t too big of a difference between them on the inside.
There was no need to even mention how depressed Dai Yueheng had been feeling, seeing that he had been ganged up on and even injured by his opponents. At this moment, he was only facing a single opponent! More importantly, Princess Jiu Jiu had been heavily injured by the destruction of the Star Barrier, and her Starglory Spell had been interrupted as well. In other words, her companions couldn’t provide her any a.s.sistance at all.
In a situation like this, the outcome of a battle between a Soul King and a Soul Emperor could be imagined.
If an ordinary a.s.sault-type Soul Emperor fought against a defense-type Soul King, the latter might be able to hold their ground for a few breaths. Unfortunately, Sheng Yi was facing a Soul Emperor who possessed the White Tiger, one who was not only extremely good at close-combat, but one who had an extremely tyrannical physique!
Although Sheng Yi’s wings–which were as tough as metal–blocked Dai Yueheng’s path, the latter shoved his sharp claws into the former’s wings amidst an ear-piercing sound caused by friction.
Dai Yueheng let out another explosive roar, and a fierce, white light surged through his eyes as he unleashed the White Tiger’s Extermination for the second time.
However, his attack struck only air this time. A powerful absorption force suddenly descended from the sky, causing Sheng Yi to vanish into thin air; only, his wings now had ten additional gashes on them.
This time, the Heavenfiend Douluo had made a move. There was no doubt that Sheng Yi would die if he were to take on Dai Yueheng’s attack, so he had no choice but to intervene in a situation like this. While he was able to guarantee Sheng Yi’s safety, this was equivalent to announcing his departure from the match.
While everything over at Dai Yueheng’s side went smoothly, Ma Xiaotao revealed the strength befitting of the Continental Advanced Academy Soul Duelling Tournament’s reigning champion.
A dark red fire propelled her body forward, making it seem as though she was a real phoenix–an Evil Fire Phoenix.
There was no doubt about it–she was now using the completely unrestrained evil fire. In the past, she would always suppress the evil aura hidden within her phoenix flames during battles or cultivation sessions; that was the only way she could prevent it from affecting her state of mind. However, suppressing it would undoubtedly affect her cultivation to a certain extent. This was because she would have to use some of her energy to suppress it. Not only that, but the evil aura within her was a part of her strength in the first place!
At this exact moment, the dark red flames she revealed were her true, unsuppressed power–the full power of the Evil Fire Phoenix.
From another standpoint, the strength of the current Ma Xiaotao’s martial soul had already exceeded that of her ancestor from the first generation’s Shrek’s Seven Monsters, Ma Hongjun. This was because Ma Hongjun had relied on a heavenly treasure to resolve the issue of his evil aura, turning his martial soul into the pure Fire Phoenix in the process. Although the purified Fire Phoenix was even more overwhelmingly powerful, it lacked the blazing strength that came from the evil aura.
Without the support of the Starglory Spell, Huang Heyun’s team of four were bogged down for a brief moment. They were originally pursuing Dai Yueheng, but seeing Ma Xiaotao suddenly charge towards them had left them in a daze. Furthermore, they had been facing Ma Xiaotao horizontally. In other words, Ma Xiaotao was now suddenly flanking them on the side.
The lack of coordination that stemmed from a team of four once again appeared, as the four of them could only quickly turn around. Huang Heyun was left in an even more fl.u.s.tered state. He had been previously suppressed by Ma Xiaotao, and her sudden appearance after breaking through the Absolute Defense Barrier had crushed him in terms of impressiveness.
Panicked, Huang Heyun didn’t dare to waste any time. He forcefully pounded his own chest, and his eyes instantly turned blood-red. Then, he let out a tiger’s roar, causing a black hurricane to instantly sweep towards Ma Xiaotao.
This was Huang Heyun’s fifth soul skill, his strongest attack–Darkness Hurricane. Strengthened by his three teammates, this attack of his even seemed to have some substance to it. The instant it appeared, the air on the tournament stage seemed to melt. At the same time, this hurricane had a strong absorption force, which was now targeting Ma Xiaotao.
After using this attack, Huang Heyun’s veins turned purple. He was nearing the limit of his physical endurance, and there was a high chance that he would self-destruct if he were to use another soul skill.
Dugu Shangshan, who was standing behind him, had no choice but to remove his hands from Huang Heyun’s body. He now took Huang Heyun’s place, but the former quartet now turned into a trio.
This attack had been launched by the combined powers of four people, and it was even Huang Heyun’s strongest soul skill. From their point of view, even if it wasn’t able to directly take down Ma Xiaotao, it would at least be able to severely injure her.
However, they didn’t expect the valiant Ma Xiaotao to choose to not take it on directly.
With a sudden flap of her enormous wings of fire, Ma Xiaotao accelerated as she was sucked towards the powerful hurricane.
At this moment, her advantage in terms of cultivation was revealed. They were both Soul Emperors, but Dai Yueheng was five ranks lower than her. She was already Rank 67, and she wasn’t too far from the Soul Sage rank. After releasing her full power and bringing the level of her flames to that of evil fire, even a Soul Sage who had fused their element with their soul power might possibly lose to the current her.
Although she couldn’t break free of that absorption force, a strange scene occurred as she flapped her wings. It wasn’t her who was drawn into the Darkness Hurricane, but the hurricane that was drawn towards her.
As her feet spouted jets of blazing flame, Ma Xiaotao’s body shot out. The Darkness Hurricane that was nearing her immediately slowed down greatly as it was blasted by the two lava-like jets of dark-reddish fire. Furthermore, it even seemed to be damaged slightly, causing it to be reduced slightly in size. However, Ma Xiaotao was able to borrow the force from her two leg soul bones to explosively increase in speed. Flying in an arc, she brushed past the pursuit of the Darkness Hurricane and flew straight towards Dugu Shangshan’s trio.
Her fifth soul ring lit up in midair, and the phoenix flames by her side suddenly formed halos of fiery light. These fiery halos swept behind Ma Xiaotao, and she let out a fierce shout as she once again sped up. Her figure vanished within the dark-red flames, and she transformed into a true Fire Phoenix as she instantly appeared in front of Dugu Shangshan.