Chapter 173: Chapter 174: Crushing Force – The Might of the Jade Phosphor Five Poisons
While the spectators from the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy whispered among themselves, analyzing the situation, the battlefield itself was already boiling over with tension.
Hurled forth by Zhou Sichen’s immense strength, Dai Yaoheng shot across the arena like a blazing meteor tearing through the sky. In less than a heartbeat, he covered nearly a hundred meters of open ground, his body wrapped in turbulent winds that shrieked past him. The very air distorted in his wake, leaving behind rippling trails.
Golden radiance surged violently across his massive tiger claws, like molten magma ready to erupt. That golden light brimmed with earth-shattering power, his trajectory aimed unerringly at Chi Hengyu’s towering shield wall.
BOOM!
The collision resounded like heaven and earth collapsing. Dai Yaoheng’s claws slammed into the shield with overwhelming force, the impact erupting into a localized energy storm. Violent shockwaves blasted outward in all directions.
Chi Hengyu, who was desperately maintaining his soul skill while simultaneously trying to assemble parts of the Thunderous Cannon, felt as though a charging mammoth had rammed into him head-on. His body lurched uncontrollably, nearly knocking him off balance. The component in his hands almost slipped to the ground.
Under Dai Yaoheng’s unrestrained might, the colossal shield wall quaked violently, like a lone vessel caught in raging seas. Cracks spiderwebbed rapidly across its surface, spreading outward like shattered glass. The defensive formation that had seemed unbreakable moments ago was already on the brink of collapse.
Impossible... this power... what kind of monstrous strength is this?!
Chi Hengyu’s mind screamed in horror. His face turned as pale as paper, beads of sweat streaming down his temples. For the first time, he truly felt the shadow of death looming over him. His hands fumbled, his concentration faltered, and the intricate process of assembling the Thunderous Cannon became clumsy and disordered.
On the edge of breaking, instinct took over. Chi Hengyu roared and poured soul power into his body, instantly activating his first and third soul skills.
Two radiant streams of energy surged into the trembling shield wall, bolstering its structure. The previously crumbling barrier regained a semblance of stability. Cracks began to knit together before his eyes.
But Chi Hengyu knew—it was only a stopgap. The defense wouldn’t hold for long.
Panic sharpening his instincts, he shouted desperately:
"Xiao Feng! Release the mist!"
Across the battlefield, the team’s control-type Soul Master, known as Xiao Feng, froze for only a heartbeat before his eyes gleamed with comprehension.
He immediately abandoned the large disc-like metal component he was holding and raised both hands to his chest. Between his palms, a pale-white orb shimmered into existence. Wisps of faint violet mist swirled around it, carrying a mysterious and oppressive aura.
Xiao Feng’s thousand-year fourth soul ring blazed to life. The orb pulsed violently, unleashing a torrent of violet light that instantly surged outward, covering not only the six members of the Dou Ling Academy team but also the surrounding area.
In mere moments, the battlefield was swallowed by thick violet mist. Inside this haze, reality itself seemed to warp. Illusory distortions flickered everywhere—soul power fluctuations of varying frequencies and intensities sparkled like false stars in the night sky. The senses of anyone caught within were overwhelmed, unable to distinguish truth from illusion.
This was Xiao Feng’s martial soul—the Enigma Pearl.
Though it was an ordinary tool-type spirit, Xiao Feng himself was an exceptionally rare spiritual control-type battle soul master. Through the Enigma Pearl, he unleashed hallucinatory powers that disoriented enemies, disrupted their senses, and provided cover for his allies.
Within this surreal violet haze, even Ye Guyi and Ma Xiaotao—both of whose spiritual power far exceeded that of most Soul Saints—struggled to pierce through the confusion. They couldn’t pinpoint the exact positions of Dou Ling Academy’s members inside.
But the two of them weren’t shaken.
The instant their eyes met, both women understood. They didn’t need to lock on to individuals. The purple mist itself marked their enemy’s range. That was enough.
Without hesitation, each drew their personal seventh-tier soul tool.
Ye Guyi raised her Holy Light Sword, its slender blade glowing brilliantly, radiant enough to banish any darkness.
Ma Xiaotao grasped her Phoenix Divine Spear, its shaft wrapped in blazing flames, like a phoenix reborn from its ashes—domineering, untouchable.
Neither used soul skills. Instead, under Gongyang Mo’s powerful buffs, they funneled torrents of soul power into their soul tools.
Instantly, the Holy Light Sword and Phoenix Divine Spear flared with brilliance. The aura they released surged wildly, shaking the air itself.
Together with Dai Yaoheng, they coordinated their assault, striking the shield wall from multiple directions.
A top-ranked Soul Emperor, combined with two Soul Saints concealing their true strength, each wielding a seventh-tier soul tool at full force—this was a terrifying offensive.
Chi Hengyu, though formidable, was only a five-ring Soul King. Against such a barrage, his defense was nothing more than paper.
CRASH!!!
With a deafening explosion, the massive linked shield wall shattered apart, splitting down the middle in a cascade of broken fragments.
Shards of shattered shields shot outward like cannonballs, carried by razor-sharp winds that carved dangerous arcs across the battlefield.
With the shield wall broken, Chi Hengyu’s martial soul suffered severe backlash. He had only just reinforced the barrier while trying to assemble the Thunderous Cannon, and now, before he could react, a torrent of counterforce surged into his body.
His chest churned violently, blood rushing up his throat. With a wet pfft, a mouthful of fresh blood burst from his lips as his body staggered back several steps under the impact.
"Not good!" Chi Hengyu roared in despair.
Yet Ye Guyi and Ma Xiaotao, after breaking through the shield wall with Dai Yaoheng, did not recklessly charge into the purple mist.
They knew well that barging into Xiao Feng’s Enigma Pearl illusion was the same as walking into a trap. It would waste time at best, or worse, plunge them into a deadly snare.
Instead, Ye Guyi and Ma Xiaotao acted instantly. With their advantage as flying-type soul masters, their figures flickered and rose sharply into the skies.
One floated aloft holding a radiant holy sword, light shining with sacred brilliance. The other wielded a blazing divine spear, flames swirling like a phoenix reborn. Suspended high above, the two of them exuded majesty and dominance, looking down on the violet fog like hunters watching their prey from above.
On the ground, Dai Yaoheng stood firmly just outside the mist, his aura surging like a towering mountain. The oppressive pressure radiating from him was suffocating. His tiger eyes glowed with cold vigilance, fixed on the fog. He stood poised like a predator, waiting for panicked prey to scurry out from hiding.
Then—
Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish!
Five piercing sounds split the air, sharp as lightning bolts, streaking past Dai Yaoheng and plunging straight into the depths of the violet mist.
An instant later, deafening explosions thundered one after another. Each detonation sent out terrifying waves of energy, shaking the very air.
But then something far more horrifying occurred.
From within the violet haze, emerald-green mist erupted outward like a tidal wave.
This poisonous jade fog carried a stench so acrid it was suffocating, like a curse straight from the depths of hell.
And within it echoed agonized screams—piercing, desperate wails filled with unbearable pain. The sound alone made one’s skin crawl.
Those five projectiles were none other than the poison arrows of Duguxianmeng, forged from her Jade Phosphor Five Poisons.
While Dai Yaoheng, Ye Guyi, and Ma Xiaotao shattered Chi Hengyu’s defenses, Duguxianmeng had quietly lain in wait. The moment was perfect—she unleashed the five arrows she had been charging for so long.
Each arrow carried lethal venom, its detonation releasing torrents of Jade Phosphor toxins. Duguxianmeng didn’t need to aim precisely. Within Xiao Feng’s violet mist, the range of the enemy was already confined. Her poisons only needed to spread.
Now, within the mingled mists of violet and jade, her toxins slithered forth like silent phantoms. Corrosion followed wherever they passed.
The screams rang quickly, but just as quickly died away. Within moments, silence reclaimed the battlefield. Those who cried out had been consumed utterly by the venomous fog.
Soon after, whether by the poison’s effect or for another reason, the violet mist itself began to dissipate.
Having loosed her arrows, Duguxianmeng calmly lowered her Jade Phosphor Divine Bow. Her movements were unhurried, graceful—like a celestial maiden descending. She walked step by step toward Dou Ling Academy’s formation.
As the purple haze fully dispersed, only the lingering green fog remained before her.
Duguxianmeng raised her delicate hand, her jade-like finger gently pointing forward.
At once, the rampaging green mist stilled, becoming docile as if recognizing its master. It surged toward her finger, then condensed and was absorbed back into her body’s poison core.
When the fog finally vanished, the scene of the battlefield was revealed.
Seven figures lay sprawled in a circle on the ground, unconscious.
Their clothes had been corroded to rags, barely covering them. Their bodies were covered in pustules, leaking vile fluids, their faces twisted into grotesque and terrifying shapes—completely unrecognizable from their former selves.
At the very center of their formation stood a massive soul tool—an enlarged Thunderous Cannon.
The seventh-tier cannon had indeed been assembled, its metallic body radiating cold, imposing power. Yet those who could wield it lay incapacitated at its feet.
Even worse, the cannon itself had not escaped unscathed. The corrosive Jade Phosphor toxins had eaten through much of its metal casing, leaving it pitted and scarred. At best, it might survive firing once.
Duguxianmeng approached the fallen seven, her eyes devoid of pity, only cold decisiveness. From her robes, she drew out a handful of Hundred-Treasure Antidote Pills and deftly placed one into each of their mouths.
Only then did her gaze fall upon the Thunderous Cannon.
After a moment’s thought, she extended her hand, calmly storing the massive seventh-tier soul tool into her own spatial device.
She turned her head slightly toward Dou Ling Academy’s rest area. A faint smile tugged at her lips as she spoke:
"This soul tool is steeped in toxins. It won’t be easy to cleanse. I’ll hold onto it for now."
In the Dou Ling Academy’s viewing area, the supervising teacher had been anxiously watching every move on the field. At Duguxianmeng’s words, fury nearly consumed him.
His students lay broken and poisoned, their fate uncertain. Their painstakingly prepared trump card—the Thunderous Cannon—had been not only disabled, but brazenly claimed by the enemy.
If not for Duguxianmeng administering antidotes to his team at the end, he might have leapt down himself in outrage, consequences be damned.
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