Seeing that his involvement wasn't needed, Su Ming stood confidently on the sidelines, watching over Rongrong and Lingling for their safety. After his relationship with Lingling was confirmed, he taught her the Lingbo Microstep technique, improving her self-defense.
Then, one of the Star Luo Battle Team members caught Su Ming's attention. He recognized the spirit ability—Mirror Realm—which belonged to the soul master Li Yang, currently being targeted by Oslo.
"Third Soul Skill: Mirror Shield Cascade!"
Instantly, several mirrors appeared above Li Yang.
"Everyone, get into the mirrors!" Li Yang shouted.
With those words, every soul master except the Netherworld White Tiger retreated into the mirror realm.
In the spectator area, Dugu Bo chuckled as he observed the technique. "What an interesting ability. I wonder how the little monster plans to handle this."
In Dugu Bo's eyes, trying to use space manipulation against Su Ming was futile. Still, he thought of a solution and wondered if Yan and Su Ming would think of the same.
On the battlefield, as the Star Luo team vanished, the mirrors began rotating, seeking opportunities to attack. Xiao Wu and the others returned to Su Ming's side.
"Brother, this technique resembles one of your abilities, though it seems that the space inside the mirrors can't be closed," Xiao Wu noted. She had struck at the mirror space with her attack, but it passed through harmlessly, leaving the mirrors untouched.
"Everyone, don't rely on your sight—use your mental perception to track the mirrors' movements!" Su Ming instructed. To him, their movement was slow, though he had an idea for dealing with them.
"Dugu Yan, release your Jade Phosphor Snake Emperor poison into one of those mirrors. Let's see how long they can stay in there!" Su Ming smirked.
Realizing his plan, Dugu Yan grinned. With her refined skills, her poison was deadly; anyone weaker than her couldn't survive it for even half a minute.
Su Ming cautioned her, "Hold back a bit. We don't want them collapsing inside before they get a chance to surrender—I might not be able to save them in time."
Dugu Yan huffed playfully but complied, her third soul ring lighting up.
"Third Soul Skill: Jade Phosphor Violet Poison!"
She held back to avoid being too lethal. A thick green mist flowed from her mouth into the densest cluster of mirrors.
Dugu Bo watched with a silent nod of approval.
Within five seconds, the mirrors vanished, and Li Yang's team reappeared, clutching their chests and visibly struggling.
The Netherworld White Tiger noticed its team's struggle but could do nothing, as Zhu Zhuqing had them completely occupied.
Their surprise at Zhu Zhuqing's strength was growing. The Netherworld White Tiger boasted a defensive shell, yet her attacks broke through it effectively. They couldn't believe how strong she had become since her time in Heaven Dou Empire.
Dai Weisi, concerned for his teammates, called out, "Su Ming! Please, spare my teammates. I'll surrender on their behalf so they can step down safely."
For the first time, Dai Weisi put his pride aside, understanding that Su Ming held the authority here.
Su Ming glanced at Dai Weisi, recalling that in the original story, Dai Weisi had shown similar loyalty. After Li Yang had used his ability to teleport Dai Weisi away from Tang San's Blue Silver Impaling Array, Dai Weisi had repaid him by targeting the Heaven Dou auxiliary soul masters to reduce pressure on his team.
"Alright. Now then, Star Luo Royal Academy, only you two remain."
"Lingling!" Su Ming turned to her.
While he could detoxify them himself, his skill was single-target and wasn't specialized for healing. Lingling's area-based healing would be more effective, and it was a chance for her to shine in her first match.
Lingling nodded, summoning a dual-colored lotus in her hands. White petals floated toward the Star Luo team, gradually cleansing the poison from their bodies.
Afterward, Li Yang and his teammates, although recovering, looked visibly weakened. Lingling herself was slightly breathless; the detox had used a third of her soul power. She was relieved Yan hadn't unleashed her full poison power, or it would've exhausted her entirely.
Li Yang turned to Dai Weisi, guilt evident. "I'm sorry, Captain. It's my fault—"
But Dai Weisi cut him off. "It's not your fault; the power gap is just too great. Now hurry and get off the stage."
"Don't worry, Dai Weisi, Zhu Zhuyun," Su Ming said coolly. "As agreed, this battle is solely between you two and Zhuqing. We won't interfere, but the necessary buffs will still be provided."
Now, it would be Zhuqing's time to shine. This match would prove that she was no weakling. Meanwhile, Ghost Douluo was observing her closely, curious to see what kind of performance his disciple would deliver.
Dai Weisi and Zhu Zhuyun knew they were likely to lose, but with Su Ming setting the terms, they resolved to give it their all.
"Dai Weisi, what if Zhuqing doesn't return with us? Will the royal family really take action against the Zhu clan?" Zhu Zhuyun asked hesitantly.
Dai Weisi paused, then replied, "Don't worry. Although Zhuqing defied the family rules, Father wouldn't hold your parents responsible for it. Plus, Su Ming's power is formidable, and he's backed by Dugu Bo and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan. I'm sure my father would think twice."
"And you?" Zhu Zhuyun looked at him, her gaze searching.
Their minds connected as partners in fusion; Dai Weisi knew exactly what she meant. He responded firmly, "As long as Zhuqing doesn't challenge me for the throne or support my worthless brother, I promise I won't move against her."
He gave a bitter smile. "That said, I probably couldn't win against her now anyway."
With Dai Weisi's reassurance, Zhu Zhuyun finally felt some relief. Dai Weisi had no idea that he'd later be grateful for his response today.
After their honest exchange, the two felt a surge of compatibility, which in turn increased their martial spirit harmony. Though it wasn't a complete evolution like Zhuqing and Dai Mubai's Netherworld White Tiger, their strength and speed grew noticeably.
Su Ming watched this development with interest. The Netherworld White Tiger's aura had deepened—what happened here?
"Netherworld White Tiger Slash!" Dai Weisi and Zhu Zhuyun unleashed their strongest attack together.
"Fourth Soul Skill: Phantom Shadow!" In an instant, Zhuqing vanished from their sight.
"The audience, look! Zhuqing has vanished—it's a unique soul skill!" the announcer shouted excitedly, as the crowd marveled at her complete disappearance.
In the Thunder Academy's resting area, Dai Mubai watched intently, then turned to Tang San. "Xiao San, can you sense where Zhuqing is?"
Tang San activated his Purple Demon Eyes to examine the scene closely. To his surprise, his vision barely caught a faint glimpse of Zhuqing's afterimage. If he ever faced her, his Blue Silver Grass wouldn't be able to hold her, and even his Clear Sky Hammer would be useless.
He responded to Dai Mubai with a furrowed brow, "With my Purple Demon Eyes, I can only catch traces of her shadow. I can't lock onto her position. If only my spiritual power were stronger!"
Tang San felt frustrated. His Purple Demon Eyes had reached a level sufficient to see through most things, yet Zhuqing's stealth eluded him.
Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang, overhearing this, asked seriously, "Tang San, do you think you could win against Zhuqing if you faced her now?"
Tang San's expression grew troubled. In truth, he wasn't confident. Zhuqing's fourth soul skill was exceptionally suited to her assassin-like fighting style. Was this due to her absorbing a thousand-year spirit ring beyond her rank? Where did she find the courage?
Since reaching Soul King himself, Tang San had learned about the inherent risks of absorbing a ten-thousand-year spirit ring, which required immense mental strength to endure the residual grudges of the spirit beast. This difficulty further proved how inadequate his teacher's theory was.
"Master, I'm not sure I could win against Zhuqing, not without some rapid improvement."
Suddenly, an idea struck Tang San, and he turned to Yu Xiaogang. "Teacher, we were studying the Seven-in-One Fusion Skill yesterday, weren't we? If we use it as our opening move, we might overpower the entire Heaven Dou team."
"With everyone's strength focused on me, I could reach a high-level Soul Sage or even close to a Soul Douluo's power."
Tang San's suggestion piqued Yu Tianxin's curiosity. "Master, do you mean like the fusion technique the Canghui Academy used? But our martial spirits differ greatly from their gem spirits. Would it even work?"
Yu Tianxin's question echoed everyone's doubts. After learning that Yu Xiaogang's theories were stolen from Spirit Hall, many of them had started to question him. Could a so-called theory master really guide them in fusing their soul power?
Yu Xiaogang knew this was his chance to regain their trust.
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