Book 14: The Finals!
Chapter 117.2: Xiao Hongchen's Three-Legged Golden Toad
The Golden Sacrifice filled the metal elements that had come together with fire to produce formidable power. Using these two soul skills at the same time gave him the energy to fire so many soul cannons at the same time. The toll on his soul power was only present on the soul skill, and the energy used to support the soul cannons all came from the metal elements.
He was known as the Sun Moon Empire’s number-one prodigy since the beginning of its history for his impressive ability to control metal. His overall battle prowess wasn’t inferior to Ma Rulong by much. If his level of mastery caught up with Ma Rulong, his abilities would irrevocably overtake his team leader’s.
However, a person that nobody expected suddenly stepped in front of Dai Yueheng just as Xiao Hongchen thought he had it.
Her figure was tall and slim, but appeared young and immature. Yet, there was a tinge of unwavering determination on her pretty face. Thick and vigorous golden light rose from her body and formed a light barrier that protected her inside.
Who was she? When Xiao Hongchen clearly saw the young girl that was far more good-looking than his younger sister, Meng Hongchen, his actions became a little sluggish, as he couldn’t bear to hurt her.
However, his assault had already been fully unleashed; withdrawing it now was impossible even if he wanted to.
Who was she? She was the number-one beauty in Shrek Academy’s outer courtyard, and could be said to be the one with the least salient features in this competition from Shrek Academy’s team—Jiang Nannan.
Just as that terrifying strike was about to land, Jiang Nannan went beyond everyone’s expectations and stepped in front of Dai Yueheng. In the next moment, her figure was swallowed by the soul cannons that loomed over everyone.
“No, Nannan…” Xu Sanshi looked on from far away. His pupils widened in an instant as the blood in his face receded, and a petrifying aura was immediately unleashed from within his body. His Strength of the Xuanwu was finally triggered once more in the moment Jiang Nannan placed herself in danger.
Ma Xiaotao was standing beside him. At this very moment, she raised her hand without warning and chopped down on his neck.
Xu Sanshi’s Strength of the Xuanwu had yet to erupt when he was knocked unconscious. Ma Xiaotao raised her leg and kicked him off the competition stage.
Wang Yan stood up abruptly below the stage when he saw Ma Xiaotao’s actions, and his eyes sparkled as he muttered under his breath, “She’s finally a qualified team leader.”
Just as Ma Xiaotao kicked Xu Sanshi off the stage, Ma Rulong’s dark red monkey had arrived before her. The monkey cooed in front of her, and its originally scrawny and tiny frame suddenly exploded in size – it had become an enormous ape that was over four meters long in the blink of an eye. It raised its giant fists and hammered them down on Ma Xiaotao’s head as the dark red fur all over its body stood on end, resembling a layer of iron needles.
This wasn’t a skill. It was a real soul beast, and its cultivation was definitely over ten thousand years judging by its aura. Who would have thought that Ma Rulong could release a soul beast to fight for him during the competition?
The monkey wasn’t the only one on the offensive. Thirty-six lightning balls had already caught up to Ma Xiaotao when she retreated before this, and it came from the Sun Moon Empire’s Michael.
All the lightning balls transformed into a large net that didn’t have a single loophole as it bore down on her.
Chen Fei, the Lightning Bird Soul King, pounced forward beside the enormous dark red demonic ape as he repeatedly fired spheres of golden light from his hands much like before. These spheres of golden light followed closely behind the lightning balls and sealed off every possible spot that Ma Xiaotao could dodge towards.
Yet, this wasn’t the greatest threat that Ma Xiaotao faced. The greatest and most conspicuous threat she was facing right now was still Ma Rulong, the Sun Moon Empire’s team leader.
The golden cannon was on his shoulder once more. Ma Rulong’s emotions appeared entirely unaffected by the death of his comrade, and his hands were still as stable as ever as he gazed at Ma Xiaotao with cold and sparkling eyes. Even if he was only locked on to her, it would consume at least half of Ma Xiaotao’s concentration.
The only person that didn’t make a move from the Sun Moon Empire’s camp was Meng Hongchen. She stood behind Ma Rulong as if she didn’t exist at all. Xiao Xiafeng rushed to Ma Rulong’s side and stuffed a ball of something round, white and soft into Ma Rulong’s mouth while the latter began chewing without hesitation.
A steamed bun… Xiao Xiafeng was actually a food-type soul master. There was no question that the steamed bun he had stuffed into Ma Rulong’s mouth served to amplify his soul power.
He rooted himself to the ground the moment he finished shoving the steamed bun into Ma Rulong’s mouth. There was a steamed bun in his mouth as well, while a cacophony of metal clanging sounds rang out from his body. Eighty-one cannon barrels appeared one after another, and a circular pedestal swivelled beneath him as he turned towards Ma Xiaotao and locked onto his target. This was the Soul Tool Fortress battle tactic.
Soul power was already starting to condense in the black cannons’ openings. Xiao Xiafeng was a food-type soul master, and he was able to maintain the Soul Tool Fortress battle tactic for a longer period of time than normal soul masters because of that.
Ma Xiaotao had already been in a corner when she had moved to a spot beside Xu Sanshi. At this moment, she was under pressure from four people and a soul beast, and she had no hope of evading this onslaught. Her opponents’ strategy was obvious – they wanted to negate Shrek Academy’s team leader’s strength at once before they targeted anyone else.
Just as Ma Xiaotao was entering a perilous situation, the circumstances on the other side also began to change drastically.
Xiao Hongchen’s face was full of proud smiles when all his soul cannons hit their targets. Xu Sanshi had swapped him over with the Mysterious Netherworld Displacement, but had given him a shot at fame and glory instead of helping his team. He even had the thought that he’d become his own academy’s hero if he could wipe out Shrek Academy’s remaining five members with his epic strike; he would even become a national hero! It was just too bad for that little beauty.
However, the smile on his face was quickly replaced with a haze of terror. The reason was because a sphere of golden light burst forth as if it were riding the waves after it blocked his one hundred and twenty-eight soul cannons, and arrived right before his eyes. Subsequently, he felt as if the soul cannons on his body had grown ten times heavier, as if they were going to drag his entire body into hell. He was afraid that this terrifying weight would tear open his own physical body.
Even though he had the ability to control metal, his body was ultimately the one holding everything up, and that was flesh! He almost instantaneously severed his connections with his soul cannons, and let the dozens and dozens of soul cannons fall to the ground. The golden shadow dashed next to him in a flash and kicked him in the chest.
The golden luster receded. Xiao Hongchen could clearly see the person that had just kicked him in the chest. Wasn’t it the charmer with unrivaled beauty that he’d just felt bad for hurting?
What, what’s this? Xiao Hongchen’s eyes widened as he couldn’t believe that such a tender-looking young girl with only four soul rings could forcibly stop his one hundred and twenty-eight soul cannons. He wanted to exclaim, Is this reality?
Jiang Nannan’s kick was quite heavy, and knocked him over as he stumbled backwards. Xiao Hongchen’s soul power had been heavily expended at this point, and his body weight had seemingly increased exponentially, which meant he didn’t even have the means to dodge this attack.
Jiang Nannan leapt up the moment her kick landed on her target before she trapped his neck in between her legs. Before Xiao Hongchen could struggle or retaliate, he felt his body weight decrease by multiple times from the previous density, and a force traveled from his neck as he was tossed away as if he were being thrown into the clouds.
Subsequently, he saw a sharp edge flickering with golden light – it belonged to Dai Yueheng, the White Tiger Soul Emperor. The sharp edge was his shimmering golden tiger claw.
Xiao Hongchen wanted to curse and swear. He wanted to curse at Shrek Academy’s members. Why were they so perverted? Were they still people? What he didn’t see was that Jiang Nannan vomited blood and collapsed the moment she tossed him away.
Jiang Nannan didn’t have many flash points during this season’s competition. However, did that mean she wasn’t powerful? No, she was only low-profile by nature.
She was chosen by Elder Xuan to become one of the reserve team members, and shared the same status with Xu Sanshi. Could it be because she was pretty? One should take a look at her four soul skills.
Jiang Nannan’s four soul skills were: Waist Bow, Gravity Control, Instant Teleportation, and Invincible Golden Body.
The Waist Bow was a relatively normal soul skill, but the other three remaining soul skills rivaled even the Mysterious Netherworld Displacement, and could achieve miraculous effects when used appropriately.
What was the Invincible Golden Body about? Xiao Wu from the first generation of Shrek’s Seven Monsters had used this soul skill before. Jiang Nannan’s martial soul was similar to hers, and even some of her soul skills were no different either.
The Invincible Barriers used by soul engineers were created after they drew inspiration from this rare and powerful soul skill, the Invincible Golden Body. The Invincible Golden Body’s defensive capability was the ultimate form of absolute protection. Nobody would be able to break through the Invincible Golden Body during its execution unless they possessed divine power.
Jiang Nannan had used her Invincible Golden Body to block Xiao Hongchen’s strongest attack. She had then used Instant Teleportation and Gravity Control to unleash multiple-pronged pressure on Xiao Hongchen and finally used the Waist Bow to toss him out.
Xiao Hongchen’s disbelief and bewilderment came from the concordant combination of these four soul skills. Jiang Nannan vomited blood and crashed to the ground as she gave her all to maintain the Invincible Golden Body for just a moment longer, which took a heavy toll on her body.
She didn’t have Bei Bei or Xu Sanshi’s incredible potential. However, she had her own repertoire of sufficiently powerful soul skills. She was the number-one short range combatant in Shrek Academy’s team under particular circumstances, and it was her that gave Dai Yueheng an opportunity.
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