Xiao Hongchen didnât take the second fight because of Wang Dongâerâs words. The next person to fight was a stocky and muscular youth, who looked like a square box when he stepped on stage. His torso very wide, but he was only about a meter and sixty centimeters tall. His thick arms were bigger than some peopleâs thighs, and his short and needle-like hair complemented his intrepid aura, while his eyes seemed like they were burning with flames. His feet made plonking noises on the ground with every step that he took.
âJudge.â Wang Dongâer spoke up right at this moment.
âWhat?â the judge replied with an enraged look on his face. His mood was horrible. Even though he was biased in this competition, one of the Sun Moon Empireâs team members had still lost his life!
Wang Dongâer continued, âLook at the floor â itâs so badly damaged. How can we continue the competition like this? Donât you think we should fix it up a little before anything else?â
That was true. The three explosive shells that had hammered into the ground had created an enormous crater that was more than fifteen meters across. Metal fragments, stone, and gravel were scattered all over the place, and the competition stage seemed as wretched as it could be.
The judge glanced coldly at her and said, âIs this the outcome you were hoping for when you brought the three explosive shells down to the ground? What a sly little rascal! However, youâre going to be disappointed. Iâm the judge for this round, and I have the authority to determine whether the competition stage should be fixed or not. You can fly, right? How will the flooring affect you? The competition is to continue.â
The short and stocky youth had already walked over, and he was getting closer and closer. Wang Dongâer could distinctly hear that his entire skeleton was crackling incessantly.
âAre your bones going to break? Do you want go back and check it out first?â Wang Dongâer said to him with a concerned look on her face.
âEnough nonsense!â the short, stocky youth shouted angrily. âYou killed Shi Xing, and I will force you to follow him into the grave!â
Wang Dongâer frowned and said, âWhatâs your name?â
The stocky youth glared at her and replied, âMy name is Zhou Xinghao.â
Wang Dongâerâs large, pretty blue eyes widened as she said, âIs he your boyfriend or your girlfriend? Why are you so angry? You can eat anything, but you canât just say anything you want. Which eye of yours saw that I killed him? And you still want to slander me?â
âYou⦠bastard!â Zhou Xinghao wasnât as good with words as Wang Dongâer was, and he darted forward and was about to attack her.
Wang Dongâer just stood there and didnât move at all. Her eyes were fixed innocently on the judge instead.
The judge wanted to be biased towards the Sun Moon Empireâs team, but he couldnât allow Zhou Xinghao to violate the rules and attack his opponent before the match had even begun. The judge hurriedly stepped in to block Zhou Xinghao, and he put on a serious look as he said, âThe round has yet to begin. I will disqualify you if you violate the rules! Go back to your places and prepare for battle. You can only attack each other once Iâve announced that the competition has begun.â
Zhou Xinghao huffed and puffed as he glared at Wang Dongâer. âI will break you into a million pieces to avenge Shi Xing.â With that, he turned around and strode back to his spot.
Wang Dongâer smiled at the judge. She was currently dressed like a man, but her good looks still stunned the judge momentarily as he returned her gaze.
âYouâre an honest and fair judge.â She walked away slowly after her remark.
The judge had recovered by now, and he almost vomited blood. Whatâs he thinking, calling me an honest and fair judge? This fellowâ¦
Huo Yuhao gave Wang Dongâer a thumbs-up from beneath the stage. Wang Dongâer gave him a smile in return as she put the Milk Bottle in her hands away, and turned around to face Zhou Xinghao.
Huo Yuhaoâs mouth moved as he mouthed something to her. Wang Dongâer tilted her head to signal that she understood. With the chemistry that the two of them had, they could even communicate through soundless mouthing.
The judge wasnât like before, and he waited for both parties to return to their rightful spots before he raised his right arm into air and swung it down forcefully.
Zhou Xinghao didnât fly into the air like Shi Xing had before. As the judge swung his arm down, he raised both arms into the air. A black ball of light began to light up, and a metal wheel that was more than half a meter in diameter appeared in his hands, which he tossed heavily in front of him.
The metal wheel dropped to the ground with a heavy plonk, and began to rotate vigorously. Ear-splitting clanging sounds could be heard, and the wheel rapidly transformed into a large and wide base.
Zhou Xinghao leapt onto the base, and at least twelve spots on his body shone with the light of storage-type soul tools.
This was the soul tool fortress, a classic opening. However, his soul tool fortressâ base was conspicuously bigger than that of typical forts.
However, it was it this moment that Zhou Xinghao found himself in a daze. His soul tool fortress was just entering its second assembly phase, and it hadnât been more than two seconds since he took out the wheel to toss onto the ground⦠but a mass of golden spheres was already crashing toward him!
Two seconds ago, Wang Dongâer had made her move right when the judge swung his hand down. She didnât even release her martial soul, but her entire body shot into the sky like an arrow as she rocketed towards Zhou Xinghaoâs position. A powerful ray of light sparkled as she dashed out, and the blinding white light propelled her forward as she rapidly accelerated to about a hundred meters per second.
The competition stage was only one hundred meters in diameter. This also meant that one second was all it took for Wang Dongâer to reach her opponent.
Wang Dongâer only unleashed her Radiant Butterfly Goddess when she was about ten meters away from Zhou Xinghao. Her dazzling wings extended to both sides, and she made use of that forceful propulsion force as she flapped down with her wings. Air resistance allowed her to soar upwards, and her entire body shot into the sky just like that. She opened her wings, and was facing Zhou Xinghao as her second soul ring lit up, and her Light of the Butterfly Goddess rained down on Zhou Xinghao like a meteor shower.
It wasnât just people from the Sun Moon Empire that knew how to use soul tools. Wang Dongâer had a Class 6 soul engineer with her, and how could Huo Yuhao not help the woman he loved âsuit upâ?
This was the force that a Class 6 soul thruster could emit within a short period of time. Wang Dongâerâs cultivation and physique was just enough to sustain the pressure from a soul thruster of this class.
The entire process happened way too quickly. The audience could only see a flash across their eyes before two bluish-gold wings stretched out not far from where Zhou Xinghao was, and golden meteors that seemed to eclipse the sun rained down from the sky.
Zhou Xinghaoâs soul tool fortress was still being assembled, and wasnât operational at all. He had no other choice but to open his Class 5 protective soul barrier at once. He was also a Class 5 soul engineer, and he was a five-ringed Soul King as well. His cultivation was a little weaker than Shi Xingâs hd been, but he was unnaturally talented, and he also possessed incredible strength. Zhou Xinghao had his own unique mastery of soul tool fortresses, and he could control certain immensely powerful and dense soul tools to assemble his very own fortress. He had a nickname within the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy; he was known as Heavy Cannon.
Zhou Xinghao used his protective soul barrier to defend himself against Wang Dongâerâs assault. He gritted his teeth as he pushed his soul tools to assemble as fast as he could.
However, Wang Dongâer didnât continue her onslaught, instead descending from the sky.
She folded her wings and raised them high into the sky, before they transformed into two enormous guillotine-like blades that slashed down from the sky. Her luminous wings seemed to make sparks as they slashed through the air, and dazzling golden flames began to burn.
Zhou Xinghaoâs protective soul barrier crackled and quivered amidst shrill and sharp sounds. In the next moment, Zhou Xinghao saw the same light sphere that took Shi Xingâs life erupt before him⦠and so, he subconsciously unleashed his own Invincible Barrier.
The Sun Moon Empire hadnât even understood how Shi Xing perished before Zhou Xinghao entered the arena. He didnât want to follow in his good friendâs footsteps!
âStupid.â Wang Dongâer muttered with a smile on her face, and her footwork changed as she wrapped around behind him. However, she didnât launch any further attacks.
Zhou Xinghaoâs soul tool fortress was finally complete amidst a series of metal clanging sounds. At this moment, he seemed like a large metal porcupine, and more than a hundred and fifty cannon barrels of various kinds protruded from his body, while he stood upon the metal base like a giant metal monster⦠and this was under the circumstance that stationary soul tools werenât allowed! Otherwise, the much bigger stationary soul cannons would make him look even more valiant and fearsome!
Zhou Xinghao gritted his teeth, as he knew that he had been tricked. Everyone on their team had two Invincible Barriers, but soul power was still needed to use one. The user still had to use about one percent of his or her soul power even if their opponent didnât launch another attack, while the most important component that he required for his soul tool fortress was soul power.
Zhou Xinghao activated one soul ring after another generously, and he unleashed all his soul skills that amplified his soul power. At the same time, the soul tool fortress began to spin on its base, and snapped around to track Wang Dongâer. Dozens of soul rays fired off, and swung around as if they intended to slash the entire world into pieces.
However, he still couldnât see Wang Dongâer anywhere even after he completed a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree turn. He looked up at the sky instinctively, but there was nothing in the sky.
âI love to beat fools,â Wang Dongâerâs voice sounded from behind him.
Zhou Xinghao couldnât see, but the audience could. Wang Dongâer had been behind him this entire time. Soul tool fortresses could only cover about a hundred and eighty degrees around the user, because cannons wouldnât be installed on the userâs back, as the body could rotate. Wang Dongâer picked up on this weakness, and she began to use Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track as the soul tool fort was rotating, and followed Zhou Xinghaoâs rotation. She wasnât too hasty to launch another attack, however.
Zhou Xinghao had his Invincible Barrier and his Class 5 protective soul barrier, so attacking her opponent would be highly inefficient at this moment. However, both of these barriers required soul power to operate.
Cold sweat trickled down Zhou Xinghaoâs forehead. However, the fact that he could represent the Sun Moon Empire in a tournament like this meant he had some outstanding characteristics. Nobody understood how Shi Xing had died in the previous battle, and he had perished without unleashing his full potential. Zhou Xinghao didnât want to see himself in a similar situation!
The soul tool fortress was like a metal porcupine, and a ball of silver light suddenly rose up from its position behind the nape of his neck and instantly exploded above his head.