Chapter 37: Spirit Bone
Arriving at the martial arts arena in the backyard of the City Lord's mansion, the bluestone-paved ground gleamed with a cold, hard luster in the morning light.
The towering walls surrounding it cast long shadows, enveloping the entire arena in an atmosphere of grim solemnity.
Lei Bao and Feng Chuixue stood opposite each other, ten zhang apart—a distance that, for a powerhouse at the Spirit Emperor level, could be crossed in an instant.
Lei Bao had his arms crossed, his bronze-colored muscles glistening with a metallic sheen under the sunlight, and his eyes burned with fierce Battle Intent.
Feng Chuixue, on the other hand, wore a blue robe that fluttered gently in the breeze; he appeared calm and composed, but his slightly narrowed eyes flashed with a sharp light.
"City Lord Feng, it is not too late to concede now."
Lei Bao's voice was loud and powerful, carrying a hint of provocation, "Lest I lose control of my strength later and embarrass you in front of everyone."
"Heh."
Feng Chuixue gave a contemptuous smile, his fingers curling slightly within his sleeves, "City Lord Lei, you are certainly confident. However, I am quite curious to know what kind of waves you can stir up within the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn. On the contrary, do not be the one who ends up unable to step down from this stage later."
Long Ziyun, who was watching from the sidelines, frowned slightly.
He knew Lei Bao too well; this man always planned before he acted. Since he dared to propose a time limit of one stick of incense today, he must have something to rely on.
It was just... defeating Feng Chuixue, who excelled in control, within the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn was likely extremely difficult!
Even he himself would find it hard to achieve.
Unless it was that brute Yan Luo.
His Savage Ape Martial Spirit was an absolute power-type and defense-type Martial Spirit.
He had no technique; he simply smashed with his fists, focusing on breaking all laws with pure force.
Feng Chuixue's control effects would struggle to have any impact on him.
But on second thought, Lei Bao did not seem like someone as hot-tempered and impulsive as Yan Luo.
He must have some method to defeat Feng Chuixue... Had he already reached the Spirit Saint level?
Or did he obtain something from the Water God Cult...
Long Ziyun stopped his train of thought; he felt that possibility was very, very low.
As for Yan Luo, his thoughts were simple.
He just wanted to know what confidence Lei Bao had to defeat Feng Chuixue, adopting an attitude of watching the show without fearing it would be too chaotic.
Because Yan Luo was considered an honest man among the City Lords and valued fairness, both Lei Bao and Feng Chuixue chose him to be the referee.
"Are you two ready?"
Yan Luo's booming voice, like a beating drum, interrupted Long Ziyun's thoughts.
Lei Bao had lightning faintly flowing around him, and a scorched aura began to permeate the air.
He laughed, "That goes without saying, but I wonder if City Lord Feng has prepared himself for failure?"
Feng Chuixue ignored him completely, "Let us begin."
"Very well, then I declare this sparring session begun."
Before Yan Luo's voice had even faded, he had already retreated outside the arena like an arrow released from a bowstring.
At that very instant, two dazzling rays of light shot into the sky simultaneously.
Six spirit rings shone brilliantly beneath their feet—two yellow, two purple, two black; a standard Spirit Emperor configuration.
Surging spirit power fluctuations spread outward from the two of them, whipping up dust from the ground.
A flash of disappointment crossed Long Ziyun's eyes; Lei Bao had indeed not yet achieved a Breakthrough to Spirit Saint.
But immediately, his curiosity grew even stronger: If that was the case, where did Lei Bao's confidence come from?
Could it be that he had obtained something extraordinary from the Water God Cult?
Both sides possessed Beast Martial Spirits.
Lei Bao's Martial Spirit was the Thunder Violent Tiger, a lightning-attribute Attack System Martial Spirit.
Among the four people present, his attacks were the fastest and most fierce.
And Feng Chuixue's Martial Spirit was the Blue Poison Beast, a poison-attribute and mental-attribute Control System Martial Spirit.
His Soul Skills were also a combination of poison and mental attacks.
Among the four present, he specialized in surprise and eeriness, making him difficult to guard against.
As witnesses, Long Ziyun and Yan Luo also possessed Beast Martial Spirits, the Sky Wing Tyrant Dragon and the Savage Ape respectively.
Both were also Attack System Martial Spirits.
The former could fly in the air and did not lose to Lei Bao in terms of power, but was less agile than him; the latter had the strongest defense and power among the four, but was the slowest.
Revealing their spirit rings signified that the battle had begun.
Lei Bao took the initiative, and three buffing Soul Skills lit up in succession.
"First Spirit Ability: Thunder Claw, Third Spirit Skill: Tiger King Transformation, Fifth Soul Skill: Wild Thunder!"
The First Spirit Ability, Thunder Claw, imbued his attacks with the lightning attribute and increased his speed and attack power by 5%.
After all, on this Douluo Continent, the inherent abilities of such plants could become Soul Skills, and even for a Martial Spirit that was naturally electric, releasing lightning required Soul Skills to unlock.
The Third Spirit Skill, Tiger King Transformation, increased attack power and speed by one hundred percent.
And the Fifth Soul Skill, Wild Thunder, granted a 60% increase to all attributes.
With the three buffs stacked, his aura climbed steadily, and fine cracks began to appear on the bluestone slabs beneath his feet.
Both Feng Chuixue and Long Ziyun, who were watching from the side, were shocked.
While it was a matter of course to apply all buffing Soul Skills to oneself, this was considering the presence of an Auxiliary System Spirit Master.
Without one, one would be very exhausted later.
Moreover, as soon as the three Soul Skills were unleashed, they naturally understood what Move Lei Bao intended to use, given his habits and temperament.
"Sixth Soul Skill: Storm Nebula Crack!"
Lei Bao decisively unleashed his strongest finishing move.
"As expected."
Feng Chuixue was both pleased and alarmed.
He frowned slightly; he knew this battle had to be a quick one, but dealing with himself meant it couldn't be quick, unless he forced out his own strongest Soul Skill...
Could it be that he had a way to break it?
He immediately dismissed this thought in his heart.
Even if he had bought a Soul Guidance Shield (Level 5) or an Invincible Shield (Level 7) he would have no way to withstand his own Sixth Soul Skill, as his was primarily mental and sonic attacks.
But at this moment, he had no time to think further; he had to interrupt this move of Lei Bao's, otherwise, he would undoubtedly lose.
Storm Nebula Crack had a long-range attack effect and would increase Lei Bao's speed by 300% for one minute.
Coupled with the series of buffs earlier, once launched, even if he were lucky enough to dodge it, there would be no way he could escape for the next minute.
Thinking of this, Feng Chuixue used his finishing move without hesitation.
"Sixth Soul Skill: Nether Sonic Power!"
Dark blue sound waves rippled out from him, spreading in all directions like ripples on water.
Nether Sonic Power focused on mental and sonic attacks.
Anyone who heard the sound would fall into a state of confusion, causing their mental resistance to decrease.
Its mental attack would take the opportunity to forcibly interrupt any attack-type Soul Skill and cause the target to suffer backlash, basically ignoring any defensive skills.
Even plugging one's ears would be useless, and the stronger the Soul Skill, the stronger the backlash effect.
He thought he had won for sure.
However, just as the sound waves were about to touch Lei Bao, Feng Chuixue clearly saw the sneer tugging at the corner of his opponent's mouth.
A brilliant light bloomed from Lei Bao's left arm, and his entire body was enveloped in a protective shield.
Strange patterns flowed on the surface of the shield, rotating slowly as if they had a life of their own.
The Nether Sonic Power, which was enough to instantly incapacitate an ordinary Spirit Emperor, collided with this layer of light shield and vanished like a stone into the sea, not even stirring a single ripple.
"This is... a Spirit Bone?!"
Feng Chuixue's pupils constricted sharply; he finally understood where Lei Bao's confidence came from.
He had calculated everything, yet he had ultimately missed this.
This Spirit Bone clearly possessed extremely strong resistance to mental attacks, perfectly countering his Nether Sonic Power.
Lei Bao did not let up, and the momentum of the Storm Nebula Crack did not diminish in the slightest, sweeping towards Feng Chuixue with the force of a landslide.
The chaotic lightning illuminated the entire arena as if it were daylight, and the blinding light caused the two onlookers to squint involuntarily.
In his haste, Feng Chuixue could only condense all his spirit power in front of him, forming a pale blue barrier.
However, having lost the initiative, he was now beyond saving.
After all, he knew this in his heart too.