Chapter 24: Battle

The Spirit Master holding the blue-gold broadsword martial soul sensed a fluctuation of soul power around them and, without hesitation, used their first soul skill.

On the blue-gold broadsword, layers of white gas adhered to the blade, and this gas emitted a sharp aura.

This was the Spirit Master's first soul skill, named Blade Qi, which could increase the sharpness of the blue-gold broadsword martial soul and enhance attack power by 10%.

The Spirit Master holding the blue-gold broadsword subconsciously followed their body's movements, swinging the blue-gold broadsword to slash at the Spirit Master with the Crystal Python martial soul; as the broadsword swung, it brought forth a rustling wind that was startling.

The Spirit Master with the Crystal Python martial soul avatar saw the blue-gold broadsword sweeping toward their right shoulder, stomped their left foot on the ground, twisted their body, and took advantage of the momentum to dodge the incoming slash, while at the same time, the snake tail attached behind them followed the twist of their body to whip toward the Spirit Master holding the blue-gold broadsword.

The Spirit Master holding the blue-gold broadsword saw their broadsword being dodged and knew they were in trouble, so they immediately changed their move, bringing the blue-gold broadsword in their hand back to their chest and holding it vertically to block the trajectory of the snake tail's attack.

And on the broadsword, that sharp gas still remained.

The snake tail whipped against the blade of the blue-gold broadsword, creating several sparks from the friction and emitting a "Clack—" sound.

The Spirit Master holding the blue-gold broadsword was knocked back several steps by the immense force carried by the snake tail, while behind the Crystal Python Spirit Master, a clear blade mark was engraved on that crystal snake tail.

This blade mark made the Spirit Master with the Crystal Python martial soul twitch their face twice.

The Spirit Master holding the blue-gold broadsword reacted first, rushing toward the Crystal Python Spirit Master again and swinging the blade down toward the opponent's head, their movements showing no mercy.

The Spirit Master possessing the Crystal Python martial soul failed to react in time and only did so when the broadsword was upon them, hurriedly dodging to avoid the slash of the blue-gold broadsword.

However, in an instant, the second soul ring appeared on the blade of the blue-gold broadsword, and a touch of golden light spread from the second soul ring onto the blue-gold broadsword.

This caused the blue-gold broadsword to turn into a golden broadsword, and a sharp aura permeated everyone's hearts.

The golden broadsword slashed down fiercely, cutting a deep wound on the body of the Crystal Python Spirit Master; from the wound, a large amount of blood flowed out, and the Crystal Python Spirit Master fell directly to the ground, losing their combat capability.

After the Crystal Python Spirit Master lost their combat capability, the entire arena distorted slightly for a moment, and subsequently, that Crystal Python Spirit Master appeared outside the arena.

Outside the arena, the Crystal Python Spirit Master, who had originally been injured and weak, now had not the slightest injury on their body.

Zhou Huan looked at the uninjured Crystal Python Spirit Master, feeling incredibly surprised in his heart, and his gaze flickered as he looked toward Lin He.

"Is it a special ability inherent to the martial soul itself? Or the power of a soul skill?" Zhou Huan looked at the chessboard martial soul held in Lin He's hands, his eyes revealing a look of curiosity.

After watching for a few moments, Zhou Huan withdrew his gaze and looked toward the arena.

At this time, that Spirit Master holding the blue-gold broadsword was being suppressed by the Clear Fire Fox Spirit Master.

Around the Clear Fire Fox Spirit Master, there were always three or four fireballs circling; when the Spirit Master holding the blue-gold broadsword approached, the Clear Fire Fox Spirit Master would manipulate the fireballs to attack the opponent, blocking them from getting close.

And the Spirit Master holding the blue-gold broadsword, facing the incoming fireballs, could only use the broadsword to slash them open or dodge.

The Spirit Master holding the blue-gold broadsword was a Spirit Master focused on melee combat, while the Clear Fire Fox Spirit Master was a Spirit Master focused on long-range attacks.

Having already taken precautions, the Spirit Master holding the blue-gold broadsword could not get close to the opponent at all and was constantly suppressed from a distance by the Clear Fire Fox Spirit Master's fireballs.

Zhou Huan only watched for a few moments before withdrawing his gaze; this Spirit Master holding the blue-gold broadsword could never get close to the opponent and could only be kited; it wouldn't be long before he would be eliminated due to his physical strength being exhausted.

Just as Zhou Huan expected, after only a few minutes, the Spirit Master holding the blue-gold broadsword was knocked flying by two fireballs, which exploded a large hole in his chest.

Inside the hole, one could even see the heart beating within the chest.

Immediately afterward, both were teleported out and arrived outside.

Lin He looked at the three people from this match and said expressionlessly: "First is Xisi, your martial soul is the Crystal Python, possessing power and defense far exceeding Beast Spirits of the same level; you utilized these two characteristics very well.

However, you are very poor in terms of physical flexibility and speed; this is a major flaw, and I recommend you pay more attention to this aspect.

Then there is Jinfeng, your family-inherited martial soul, the blue-gold broadsword, possesses the sharpness characteristic, and you have learned the blade techniques inherited by your family, fully bringing out the characteristics of your martial soul.

However, your defense against long-range attacks is very small; you could choose soul skills like long-range Blade Qi or Blade Qi body protection.

And Huxin, your understanding of the Clear Fire Fox is truly powerful; you chose to specialize in long-range attacks, and you have pushed the Clear Fire Fox's control over fire elements to the limit.

However, your defense in melee combat is still a bit lacking; it would be best to choose a fire-defense type soul skill."

Lin He commented on and praised the strengths of the three, while also pointing out their weaknesses and proposing methods for them to compensate for those flaws.

Subsequently, he had the people for the second match step forward, enter the arena, and begin their battle.

This time there were again three people, and after a chaotic battle between the three, Lin He again commented on their strengths and weaknesses and provided some guidance.

Just like that, match after match began, until the eighth match started, and Zhou Huan also went up to compete.

After entering the arena, Zhou Huan felt a surge of someone else's soul power covering his body.

After this soul power covered his body, Zhou Huan felt his consciousness flash, and he entered a strange yet familiar body.

Zhou Huan examined his body, and after careful observation, he found that there was no problem with this body; seeing that the battle was imminent, he suppressed the doubts in his heart.

Zhou Huan directly released the Element Spirit Tree martial soul, and at the same time, his first soul ring shone brilliantly; because Zhou Huan's soul power had increased significantly, his range of control over the metal element had improved quite a bit, directly reaching a range of about fifteen meters.

The metal element was controlled by Zhou Huan, changing into a thin golden "membrane" on the surface of his body, used to protect against the attacks of the other two people.

The other two saw Zhou Huan release his martial soul so quickly and his body surface turn golden, and they immediately followed suit, releasing their own martial souls.

The martial souls of these two were the Blood Flame Snake and the Cold Ice Treasure Staff, both of which were medium-to-high quality martial souls, and both of these people were two-ring Great Soul Masters.

However, facing these two people, Zhou Huan was not worried about whether he would be eliminated.

The first soul ring of Zhou Huan's Element Spirit Tree martial soul kept emitting light, and the metal element gathered around Zhou Huan, turning into several golden flying needles, which were controlled by Zhou Huan and shot toward the two people opposite him.

The Spirit Master holding the Cold Ice Treasure Staff saw the golden needles shot at them by Zhou Huan and hurriedly swung the treasure staff in their hand; the first soul ring on it shone brightly, and a water curtain rose from bottom to top, blocking in front of the golden needles.

The golden needles shot into the water curtain and were blocked by it.

As for the other Spirit Master who had awakened the Blood Flame Snake, facing Zhou Huan's golden needles, they could only dodge, having no way to counter Zhou Huan's attack.