In the afternoon, on the Dou Soul Platform at Shrek Academy's plaza, Oscar held his jade sword, facing Ma Hongjun, Dai Mubai, and Zhu Zhuqing.
Dugu Yan wasn't participating in this battle; otherwise, with her third soul skill, this match would have been meaningless. Because besides Oscar, even Ma Hongjun wouldn't dare to touch Dugu Yan's third soul skill, or he would only end up poisoned and collapsing. If not treated in time, he might very well lose his life.
Zhao Wuji and Gai Yue were sipping tea on a high platform nearby, with Dugu Yan standing beside them. Her gaze remained locked on Oscar.
Oscar faced the three of them without any sign of panic. His jade sword danced through the air, and in an instant, several sword qi shot out, flying toward Ma Hongjun and the others.
Ma Hongjun let out a phoenix cry. A pair of fire wings flapped on his back, and he soared into the air. At the same time, he spewed a terrifying Phoenix Fire Line to intercept Oscar's sword qi.
Dai Mubai stood in front of Zhu Zhuqing and also spat out a golden light wave from his mouth, joining Ma Hongjun's Phoenix Fire Line to intercept Oscar's sword qi.
The sword qi, fire line, and light wave collided, instantly creating a shockwave. Then, Oscar advanced toward Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing with his sword drawn.
At the same time, Oscar formed a sword gesture with his hand. In the blink of an eye, a fire sword and an ice sword materialized, striking toward Ma Hongjun in the sky.
This was the most basic yet most difficult to master sword technique—controlling swords for attack. It required a Spirit Master to possess extremely powerful and resilient spiritual power.
And now, with Oscar's spiritual power comparable to a Soul Emperor's level, controlling swords to fight three opponents was no problem at all; he was even quite comfortable doing so.
Seeing Oscar advancing with his sword, Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing exchanged a glance. Their figures suddenly overlapped, showing no intention of wasting any more soul power.
Their figures slowly merged, and amidst a halo of black and white light, a three-meter-long, two-meter-high Netherworld White Tiger abruptly appeared, letting out a heaven-shaking tiger roar at Oscar.
The terrifying shockwave stopped Oscar's advance, but thinking this could stop him was far too naive.
Oscar reversed his jade sword, and a terrifying sword qi began to brew. In the next moment, a terrifying, invisible sword qi slash suddenly flew out, its power and oppressive aura far greater than Oscar's previous ordinary sword qi attacks.
Most bizarrely, the Netherworld White Tiger couldn't see the trajectory of the slash, only able to sense its terrifying danger.
"Frost Moon Sword Style, Second Form: Invisible Slash!"
However, with Dai Mubai at level thirty-three and Zhu Zhuqing at level twenty-three, their combined martial soul fusion skill, while not necessarily Oscar's match, had greatly amplified their strength to the extreme, not at all inferior to a Soul Ancestor-level powerhouse.
The Netherworld White Tiger suddenly opened its massive jaws. A terrifying light wave condensed within its huge mouth and suddenly spewed forward.
Although it couldn't see the slash's trajectory, Oscar was attacking head-on, so the slash could only be coming from the front.
The light wave suddenly erupted, indeed blocking Oscar's attack this time, but the Netherworld White Tiger's light wave also dissipated as a result.
The Netherworld White Tiger wasn't surprised by this. After all, this wasn't the first time they had dealt with Oscar. Although Oscar was only a food-type Spirit Master, his sword talent was exceptionally high. Among those of the same level, Oscar could completely rely on his swordsmanship to punch above his weight.
Of course, this was also due to his physical constitution and external soul bone's enhancements—a comprehensive advantage.
While Oscar was confronting the Netherworld White Tiger below, he used his spiritual power to control swords and attack Ma Hongjun in the air.
An ice sword and a fire sword attacked Ma Hongjun from two different directions, preventing him from attacking Oscar head-on. He could only deal with these two jade swords; otherwise, if he got distracted, he would be injured by these terrifying blades.
What disgusted Ma Hongjun the most was that these two jade swords were condensed from the two elements he controlled. The fire sword's flames were no less powerful than his own Phoenix Fire.
Moreover, the ice sword's freezing power could restrain him, leaving Ma Hongjun at a loss for what to do.
After all, his third soul skill greatly enhanced single-target attack power, but it couldn't break through the encirclement of these two swords. Ma Hongjun could only rely on his self-created soul skill—the Phoenix Flame series—to deal with Oscar's jade swords.
And even this could only ensure that he didn't lose; there was no chance to support the Netherworld White Tiger. In this regard, Ma Hongjun could only helplessly say that it wasn't that he was too weak, but that their leader was too heaven-defying.
If Oscar hadn't obtained these two elements and relied solely on the jade sword with its cutting properties, he absolutely wouldn't have been able to hold him back for so long, after all, the power of his Phoenix Flame was formidable.
Gai Yue and Zhao Wuji, who were watching the battle, were also very satisfied with Oscar's sword-control technique. Especially Gai Yue, who felt that Oscar had truly inherited his teachings. As long as he persisted, Oscar might even surpass him on the path of swordsmanship in the future.
Of course, this possibility would be decades later. At least Oscar's soul power level would need to surpass Gai Yue's, as Gai Yue was already at level eighty-eight. No matter how monstrous Oscar was, he was only at level thirty-eight now, still a long way from Gai Yue.
Because Ma Hongjun was restrained by Oscar's two jade swords, he couldn't support the Netherworld White Tiger, allowing Oscar to focus entirely on it.
Oscar didn't choose to keep using sword qi for attacks. Instead, after closing the distance, he engaged in close combat with the Netherworld White Tiger.
With Oscar's physical constitution, plus the fifty percent passive enhancement to strength and attacks from his external soul bone, even the Netherworld White Tiger's strength was far inferior to his.
Just five minutes passed, and the massive body of the Netherworld White Tiger was covered in wounds. Moreover, due to defending against Oscar's attacks, the Netherworld White Tiger's soul power consumption was enormous. The martial soul fusion skill, which could normally be maintained for fifteen minutes, quietly dissipated after just five minutes.
Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing fell directly from the Dou Soul Platform. Fortunately, Gai Yue and Zhao Wuji were there to catch them instantly, then stuffed two super recovery sausages into their mouths.
After dealing with the Netherworld White Tiger, Oscar's gaze locked onto Ma Hongjun. He gently tossed his jade sword, which hovered before his feet. Oscar unhurriedly stepped onto the sword and rose into the air on it.
Oscar himself no longer needed to attack. With his powerful spiritual power controlling the ice and fire swords, it was enough to keep Ma Hongjun fully occupied.
High in the air, Oscar sat sideways on the jade sword, looking rather bored at Ma Hongjun, who was entangled with his two swords.
Oscar propped up his chin with one hand while controlling the two swords to attack with the other. Sometimes it was fiery sword qi, sometimes an ice slash, making Ma Hongjun extremely frustrated.
When Ma Hongjun activated his third soul skill, the two jade swords suddenly merged into one. Ice and fire fused to slash out a combined sword qi—precisely Oscar's self-created sword technique, Ice and Fire Dual Layers.
Ice and Fire Dual Layers not only had terrifying attack power but also produced a second, terrifying explosion, directly flipping Ma Hongjun over.
Finally, the two jade swords crossed before Ma Hongjun, pressing against his chest. Ma Hongjun looked helplessly at Oscar, who was sitting bored on a sword high in the distance, and sighed:
"Boss, we lost again! By the way, how do you train? Not only is your soul power level improving so fast, but how is your swordsmanship improving so quickly too?"
Hearing this, Oscar smiled slightly: "Nothing special, just practice makes perfect."
Below, Gai Yue and Zhao Wuji looked at such a smug Oscar but didn't mock him. Instead, they nodded seriously in agreement because they had witnessed Oscar's efforts firsthand.
Dugu Yan had just settled Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing that Gai Yue and Zhao Wuji had brought up when she heard Oscar's words, her face flushing red.
This was her man. Although he loved showing off, he truly had the strength. And it was precisely because of him that Dugu Yan had made the progress she had today.
(End of Chapter)