Facing the attack of the Nether White Tiger, Xu Lin'er's expression changed drastically. The Star Illusion Realm could no longer withstand the full power of the Nether White Tiger's strike.
At that moment, the Silver Moon Scaled Dragon had already approached Long Wu. Its silver claws came crashing down. Even though Long Wu raised his defenses to the maximum, Zhao Lan provided full support, and Li Sheng's control abilities were unleashed together, it was all in vain under the pressure of overwhelming strength.
The Silver Moon Scaled Dragon could indeed quickly defeat Long Wu and his two teammates, but without Xu Lin'er's trio, the Star Illusion Realm would shatter. Once that happened, it would be impossible for the Silver Moon Scaled Dragon to defeat the Nether White Tiger in a short time.
By then, Ma Hongjun would break through the Star Guardian barrier, and they would still face defeat.
Even so, the Silver Moon Scaled Dragon did not turn back to defend, determined to crush Long Wu's trio.
At that moment, determination shone in Xu Lin'er's eyes. A surge of powerful soul energy erupted from her right arm.
A soul bone! It was a left arm soul bone. Since the start of the tournament, apart from Ma Hongjun, she was the second person to use a soul bone.
Although Zhu Zhuqing also possessed a soul bone, she had barely used its power, since she never needed to. Either her opponents were too weak, or if they were too strong, she would directly use her Martial Soul True Body together with Dai Mubai.
"Star-Moon Lion King Left Arm Soul Bone Skill: Star-Moon Guard!"
Another defensive ability,and this one could be used together with the Star Illusion Realm.
When the two were combined, they managed to block the Nether White Tiger once again.
Neither Dai Mubai nor Zhu Zhuqing had expected that Xu Lin'er still had a hidden soul bone she hadn't used. But at this point, there was no retreat.
The Nether White Tiger roared, "Let's see how many more times you can block me! Nether White Tiger Destruction Strike!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The Nether White Tiger's attacks shattered countless cracks across Xu Lin'er's Star-Moon Guard. On the other side, the Silver Moon Scaled Dragon had already forced Long Wu's trio out of the Star Illusion Realm and was once again returning as starlight.
With the "small fry" eliminated, the Silver Moon Scaled Dragon could face the Nether White Tiger head-on without fear. With the constant starlight impacts and star explosions from the realm, the momentum was shifting in its favor.
"Silver Dragon Claw!"
The dragon's claws, brimming with the power of stars and moons, slammed toward the Nether White Tiger. The two forces collided almost evenly.
The Silver Moon Scaled Dragon was only slightly pushed back, and a faint smile appeared on its lips. "Made it just in time!"
Although the Nether White Tiger stood its ground, a barrage of starlight and star explosions immediately followed, pushing it into a disadvantage.
Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing frowned slightly. If they had known about Xu Lin'er's soul bone earlier, they could have focused solely on the Silver Moon Scaled Dragon.
Xu Lin'er shouted, "Attack with full power! Once we take down the Nether White Tiger, Ma Hongjun won't be a threat!"
The Silver Moon Scaled Dragon understood perfectly. Its body shone with starlight and moonlight as it charged at the Nether White Tiger again, assisted by countless bursts of light. The Nether White Tiger was forced to keep retreating.
Just as victory seemed close, Xu Lin'er's trio suddenly turned pale. The joy that had begun to rise was instantly replaced by terror.
Xu Cuicui cried out, "Young Mistress, the Star Guardian can't hold! Ma Hongjun is too strong!"
Xu Lin'er yelled, "Even if it can't, we have to hold on! Even if our soul power is drained, we must,"
Before she could finish, the Star Guardian in the sky shattered. A phoenix cry echoed, and flames engulfed the heavens.
"Your Star Guardian is indeed strong," came Ma Hongjun's voice. "My phoenix flames were suppressed to this extent, but besides controlling fire, I'm still a true battle soul master!"
The Nether White Tiger shouted, "Hongjun, finish them!"
Ma Hongjun didn't even need the reminder. He transformed into a massive fire phoenix, his yellow second soul ring and purple fourth soul ring lighting up simultaneously, locking onto Xu Lin'er's trio.
"Second Soul Skill: Phoenix Rebirth!"
"Fourth Soul Skill: Phoenix Meteor Shower!"
A rain of fiery meteors filled the sky, falling toward Xu Lin'er's team. Empowered by the second soul skill, the attack was no weaker than a ten-thousand-year-level soul skill.
Xu Lin'er used her Star-Moon Guard to its limit. The Silver Moon Scaled Dragon tried to return as starlight, but the Nether White Tiger shot a beam of light to stop it.
The Nether White Tiger sneered, "Now it's our turn!"
The light beam forced the Silver Moon Scaled Dragon to defend. The phoenix meteors rained down, filling the Star Illusion Realm with dazzling light as the heat surged.
Xu Lin'er, Xu Cuicui, and Xu Hai pushed their star defenses to the limit. Xu Lin'er's soul bone ability was pushed to its extreme, but their earlier energy loss left them unable to resist Ma Hongjun's terrifying assault.
Crack!
The sound of shattering glass echoed. Their Star-Moon defense broke apart, and flames swallowed the three whole, blasting them out of the field.
Without the three to sustain it, the star collapsed into starlight and disappeared. The Star Illusion Realm shattered. Xu Fang's figure fell to the arena floor, her soul power completely exhausted.
Ma Hongjun turned toward the Silver Moon Scaled Dragon, his black fifth soul ring glowing as he prepared to attack again.
Fallen on the ground, Xu Lin'er forced out a weak breath. "We surrender…"
At her words, the Nether White Tiger halted its attack. The flames around Ma Hongjun gradually faded, and his soul rings vanished into his body.
The Silver Moon Scaled Dragon looked unwillingly at the Nether White Tiger and Ma Hongjun before dissolving into three figures who landed on the stage to help their teammates up.
They had underestimated Ma Hongjun's strength. Another thirty seconds would have been enough to defeat the Nether White Tiger… but there are no second chances. The Silver Moon Scaled Dragon was strong, but not strong enough to face both the Nether White Tiger and the Fire Phoenix together.
Their dream of being the first to defeat the Third Prince's team had been shattered.
The Nether White Tiger split back into two figures. Dai Mubai patted Ma Hongjun's shoulder. "Nice work. I thought we were going to lose today."
Ma Hongjun smiled. "The Star Crown Martial Soul was indeed impressive. If they were all at level sixty, this match could've gone either way."
"The fifteenth round of the advancement stage, match thirty: The Third Prince's Team versus the Star Crown Sect Team. Team battle mode. The Third Prince's Team wins. Each member earns seven points."
As the referee's voice announced the result, Ma Hongjun, Dai Mubai, and Zhu Zhuqing walked side by side off the arena. Qin Qiong, Li Sheng, and the others were already waiting nearby. After taking the Super Recovery Sausage, their injuries had rapidly healed.
Xu Lin'er watched their retreating backs, her fists clenched tight, unwillingness clear in her eyes.
"Next time, I'll make you pay!"
In the Crown Prince's team's rest area, Davis returned with a grim expression. He had to admit that his younger brother had surprised him time and again, even making him question whether he was the useless one.
Now Dai Mubai had reached level sixty-four, while Davis had only just reached level fifty-eight. Zhu Zhuyun was at fifty-three. The gap between them and Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing was growing wider and wider.
With only their fusion skill, there was no longer any hope of victory. Even lasting for a while would already be impressive.
Fortunately, this time they had formed an alliance with Spirit Hall. Pope Bibi Dong had sent him three Soul Emperor-level experts.
These three were said to be descendants of some of the worship hall's legendary powerhouses. They were now traveling the world for training.
Bibi Dong understood the growing conflict among the great powers and knew the strength of the Sword Sect. So she chose to cooperate with the worship hall despite their usual rivalry.
Unfortunately, most of the worship hall elders were unwilling, and it took the Great Worship himself to allow their younger generation to assist.
Since the God Realm Conference, divine inheritances had been appearing one after another across the continent. Naturally, the Angel God faction also wanted a share.
No matter the outcome, only through the true tempering of blood and fire could one become a successor of great will and fortune.
Davis looked at the three young men. "Gentlemen, Dai Mubai won again today. Since the tournament began, they haven't lost once. Do you have confidence?"
The first to speak was a handsome blond man around thirty years old. His short golden hair stood upright like steel needles. Hearing Davis's words, Jin Chen smiled.
"Your Highness, there is no need to worry. They may be undefeated, but so are we. Moreover, their trump cards have mostly been revealed, while we still have many we haven't shown."
The man on Jin Chen's left smiled gently. Although he was male, his features were even softer than a woman's, with long turquoise hair and blue eyes that gleamed with confidence.
"Big Brother is right. When we face them, leave Ma Hongjun to me. I'd like to see whose flames burn brighter,his Fire Phoenix or my Azure Luan."
He then patted the burly man beside him. "What do you say, Third Brother?"
The burly man, his red hair blazing like fire, spoke in a deep voice. "Agreed. I want to see whether his phoenix fire or my Blazing Lion flames are stronger."
Hearing their words, Davis finally relaxed a little. For them to set their sights on Ma Hongjun, a level sixty-seven Soul Emperor, showed how confident they were.
Although their soul power levels were slightly lower, Jin Chen himself was level sixty-five,second only to Ma Hongjun among all competitors.
The second and third brothers were both level sixty-four. Having fought together for over ten years, their teamwork made their combined strength terrifying.
So far, they had never needed to go all out in any match.
This was partly because many strong teams had already been defeated by Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun before facing them, leaving them with only moderate opposition.
The tournament progressed quickly. Soon, it reached the fortieth and final match of the advancement stage.
By what seemed to be deliberate arrangement, Davis and Dai Mubai had avoided meeting until now. This final match would finally bring the two princes face to face.
As imperial princes, they naturally carried the most attention and expectations. Letting their duel conclude the advancement stage raised the excitement to its peak.
In the rest area, Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, and the others analyzed their opponents' data. After so many rounds, both sides had revealed most of their abilities.
Besides the familiar Davis and Zhu Zhuyun, their team included a Soul King-level support-type soul master and a Soul King-level control-type battle soul master.
Their spirits were the Ruyi Disk and Ghost Vine, with soul power levels of fifty-one and fifty-five respectively, both around thirty years old.
The remaining three were the real threat,all above level sixty, all with optimal soul ring configurations, and each possessing a soul bone.
Like Ma Hongjun's team, they had fought their way through without a single defeat.
The strongest among them, Jin Chen, possessed the Golden Crocodile, a top-tier beast spirit excelling in strength and defense, both offensive and defensive in nature. His soul power was level sixty-five.
The second, known only as "Second Brother" or "Qingluan," had the Azure Luan spirit, another top-tier beast spirit specializing in aerial combat, at level sixty-four.
The third, "Blazing Lion," possessed the fire-type beast spirit Flame Lion, a powerful attack spirit with tremendous offensive and defensive power.
These three were among the strongest competitors in the entire tournament, the only team of three Soul Emperors.
Ma Hongjun's team had learned that they were indeed descendants of the worship hall's legendary Douluo,Golden Crocodile King, Azure Luan Douluo, and Blazing Lion Douluo.
Their elders were all Titled Douluo, each above level ninety-six.
With such teachers and such resources, their achievements at thirty were far from surprising.
They might even have trump cards they had yet to use, creating enormous pressure for Ma Hongjun's team.
Defeating them by pure strength would not be easy,but the outcome would only be known once the battle began.
After discussing their strategy, both teams were soon summoned to the preparation area.
As they appeared, a roar of excitement erupted through the Great Spirit Arena. Everyone was eager to witness the clash between the two princes.
As the final match of the advancement stage, it promised everything the audience could hope for.
The referee introduced each participant, building anticipation to its peak.
In the VIP section, Emperor Dai Yutian watched expressionlessly. Both his eldest and third sons were exceptional, but in this match, there could be only one victor.
No matter who won, however, his decision about the throne would not change.
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