His Martial Soul was the Crimson Blaze Thorn, and he was the only one among all seven members of Botanical Academy's team who possessed fire resistance. At this point, he naturally represented Botanical Academy's final hope—if he also lost to
When the Botanical Academy team leader saw how ferocious Ma Hongjun's flames were, the orders he'd given to the previous participants had simply been to drain as much of Ma Hongjun's Soul Power as possible. After all, among the members Shrek Academy had sent out so far, none had possessed flame abilities like Ma Hongjun's. As long as this sixth Soul Master they were fielding could defeat Ma Hongjun, there would still be a chance to overcome Shrek Academy.
The moment the match began, Ma Hongjun's opponent swept both hands simultaneously, and the third Soul Ring on his body blazed to life as his skill activated.
Crimson light radiated outward from his body in all directions, and massive red thorns—each two meters tall—erupted from the ground, forming a sprawling thicket that separated the two combatants. This way, Ma Hongjun couldn't see his movements, and his Crimson Blaze Thorns were rapidly closing in around him, constricting his space. His goal was to trap Ma Hongjun within his thorns—once that was accomplished, it would be a matter of having his way with the target. He was quite confident in the fire resistance of his Crimson Blaze Thorn. After all, this was a plant Martial Soul with fire attributes.
Would Ma Hongjun actually be trapped by his opponent? He provided the answer quickly enough.
Facing the thorn forest surging toward him, the chubby youth showed no panic whatsoever. His third Soul Ring flared to life, and with a piercing phoenix cry, a massive purplish-red spectral image materialized behind him.
At the sight of this, not only did the teachers and team members watching from Botanical Academy's side change dramatically in expression—even the judges in the stands were stunned. In the previous matches, aside from a handful of perceptive individuals, most people hadn't been able to determine what Ma Hongjun's Martial Soul truly was. Now, seeing the spectral image behind him, everyone realized that this seemingly unremarkable chubby youth actually possessed one of the highest-tier Martial Souls in existence—a Phoenix.
Towering purplish-red flame wings erupted from behind Ma Hongjun and spread wide. The Crimson Blaze Thorns, which boasted powerful fire resistance, couldn't escape their fate of incineration under this terrifying purplish-red radiance. Even among fire-attribute powers, there was a clear hierarchy. If Ma Hongjun's flames couldn't even suppress a minor fire-attribute plant, then his Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul wouldn't deserve to be called the highest tier.
Boom—flames carried Ma Hongjun's body skyward, and the enormous purple-flamed wings spread wide behind him. High in the air, he had no trouble locating his opponent at all. Wings of the Phoenix Soaring Through the Heavens—he dove straight toward the target without a moment's hesitation.
Ground against air—how could he dodge? Neither speed nor agility was on the same level.
The Crimson Blaze Thorn Soul Master, still standing within his own thorn forest, could only sense Ma Hongjun's movements but couldn't see them. It wasn't until Ma Hongjun had already launched himself into the sky that he realized just how powerful his opponent truly was. Watching the figure bearing down on him, all he could manage was one final struggle.
His fourth Soul Ring ignited, purple light flashing. The crimson thorns covering the ground were simultaneously overlaid with a faint violet glow that appeared on their tips. The next instant, countless purple points of light shot skyward, converging on Ma Hongjun in the air above.
Thorn Rain—his fourth Soul Skill. Thorns infused with intense fire elements could be deployed as a wide-area attack or concentrated into a focused barrage. Once struck, the fire toxin within would spread through the opponent's body, causing devastating internal damage.
Ma Hongjun took the full force of his opponent's Soul Skill head-on. While being airborne allowed him to expose his opponent's position, it also made it nearly impossible to dodge. Moreover, the thorn projectiles were coming from every direction.
Fire Phoenix Immersion and Wings of the Phoenix Soaring Through the Heavens activated simultaneously at maximum power. The moment the thorn projectiles entered the flame barrier surrounding Ma Hongjun's body, they were instantly reduced to ash.
However, this was still a thousand-year Soul Ring technique—his opponent's fourth Soul Skill. Although Ma Hongjun still held the elemental advantage, it wasn't as overwhelming as against the previous few opponents. As a result, while he filtered out both the thorns and the fire toxin coating them, the kinetic force of the projectiles still struck his body to some degree.
If it had been just a few—or even a few dozen—projectiles, the chubby youth probably wouldn't have felt much. But this was thousands upon thousands of thorn spikes. The pain was bearable, but the constant, creeping itchiness that followed was far more unbearable.
Ma Hongjun was now thoroughly enraged. Holding nothing back, he pushed Wings of the Phoenix Soaring Through the Heavens to full speed and plunged straight down.
Boom—Ma Hongjun's body slammed into the ground in front of his opponent. His fourth Soul Skill activated.
Ma Hongjun's fourth Soul Skill, Heaven-Shaking Phoenix Strike, was fundamentally a counterattack technique. Its greatest drawback was that the opponent could dodge, since it couldn't lock on. But ironically, this Botanical Academy Crimson Blaze Thorn Soul Master had planted his thorn forest across the arena from the very start—his intention, of course, had been to restrain Ma Hongjun. Now, however, it had become his own cage.
In the thunderous explosion, the instant Ma Hongjun landed, the shockwave of Heaven-Shaking Phoenix Strike erupted. The distorted air instantly annihilated the surrounding thorn forest, and within that distortion, the Crimson Blaze Thorn Soul Master's body was plunged into a state of dizziness without any suspense.
"Chubby, go easy!" From below the arena, Tang San,
The Shrek Academy members' concerns proved unnecessary. Despite the agonizing itch covering his entire body fueling a surging tide of fury, Ma Hongjun had spent so much time alongside his companions that he had developed reasonable control over his emotions. The instant he dazed his opponent, the fire-attribute shockwave from Wings of the Phoenix Soaring Through the Heavens had already invaded the other's body. At the same time, his rotund figure executed a nimble spin, delivering a spinning kick square to the opponent's chest.
The Crimson Blaze Thorn Soul Master's body traced a graceful parabolic arc through the air and landed straight outside the arena, where a Botanical Academy teacher caught him. Though he was still in a state of dizziness, he had sustained no real injuries.
After the Botanical Academy teacher quickly examined the Crimson Blaze Thorn Soul Master's condition, he immediately understood that the opponent had shown mercy. With a quiet sigh, he signaled to the referee that they forfeited the final round and conceded the match.
The Shrek Academy members erupted in cheers and rushed onto the competition stage as if greeting a hero, launching the chubby youth's round body into the air.
From the start of the advancement rounds until now, the first solo sweep of seven had finally occurred. And it came from a Shrek Academy member who had never competed before. This fact stunned every academy in the Tian Dou Empire's tournament.
A faint glow flickered as a spectrum of expressions played across the chubby youth's face. It had been quite some time since he'd fought anyone outside the team. Winning this battle so decisively—it was partly due to his Martial Soul's overwhelming advantage against his opponents, but it was equally inseparable from the hard work he'd put into his training over these past days. Even Ma Hongjun himself felt that since eating the Crested Phoenix Sunflower, his Soul Power had advanced by leaps and bounds. Within the entire team, he had become an indispensable source of offensive output.
In terms of overall combat strength, Ma Hongjun now ranked only behind Tang San and Dai Mubai among the Shrek Seven Devils, slightly surpassing even
"Not bad, Chubby!" Dai Mubai clapped Ma Hongjun on the shoulder.
Ma Hongjun beamed proudly. "Of course! How could all the effort I've been putting in these days go to waste? Leave the remaining advancement rounds to me. But honestly, Boss Dai—sweeping seven in a row feels absolutely amazing. Hahaha!"
The Great Master regarded Ma Hongjun with a faint smile. "Don't let it go to your head. Today's victory came solely from the fact that your Martial Soul countered your opponents so overwhelmingly that you were able to defeat seven in succession. Under different circumstances, it wouldn't be nearly so simple. For example, would you still feel confident against Tianshue Academy's
"Uh…" Ma Hongjun scratched his head, and his excitement diminished considerably. He stared at the Great Master, speechless.
The Great Master smiled. "As the team's most powerful offensive output, your importance is beyond question. But you must also understand that precisely because you possess such terrifying offensive power, you are also the one most likely to draw the enemy's attention and be targeted for elimination first. Within a team, assault-type Soul Masters and Control Type Soul Masters are invariably the highest priorities—both are the first targets the enemy focuses on. Therefore, you must not only maximize your offensive capability but also do everything possible to protect yourself. Your teammates won't always be by your side. For your future development, you are the one among all of you who most needs to learn how to fight alone. This is something every assault-type Soul Master must possess. Be neither arrogant in victory nor discouraged by defeat. Maintain a balanced mind."
(End of chapter)