Douro Continent

Chapter 385 The Phoenix's Wildness (Part 2)

His martial soul is Crimson Thorns, making him the only soul master among all seven participating team members from the Plant Academy with fire resistance. He is naturally the Plant Academy's last hope; if he also loses to Ma Hongjun, then the final match is pointless.

When the instructor leading the Plant Academy team saw how powerful Ma Hongjun's flames were, his task for the previous members was simply to deplete Ma Hongjun's soul power as much as possible. After all, among the Shrek Academy members who had appeared before, none possessed a soul master with fire abilities like Ma Hongjun. If their sixth soul master could defeat Ma Hongjun, then they would still have a chance to defeat Shrek Academy. Tang San was seriously injured during the battle against Blazing Academy and was unable to participate. Although the other members of Shrek Academy were also very strong, the control-type soul masters from the Plant Academy were not weak either.

At the start of the match, Ma Hongjun's opponent swung both hands simultaneously, and his third spirit ring instantly lit up, activating his skill.

A crimson light emanated from his body, radiating outwards. Vast swathes of red thorns, each two meters tall, rose from the ground, creating a dense forest that separated the two. This prevented Ma Hongjun from seeing his movements, while his Crimson Flame Thorns swiftly surrounded Ma Hongjun and rapidly closed in. His goal was to trap Ma Hongjun within his thorns; once successful, he would be at Ma's mercy. He was confident in the fire resistance of his Crimson Flame Thorns. After all, this was a fire-attribute plant martial soul.

Will Ma Hongjun really be controlled by his opponent? He quickly gave the answer.

Facing the rapidly approaching thorny forest, the fat man remained calm. His third spirit ring instantly shone brightly, accompanied by a loud phoenix cry, and a huge purplish-red light and shadow appeared behind him.

Seeing this, not only did the teachers and team members watching from the Plant Academy change color drastically, but even the judges in the stands were astonished. In the previous matches, apart from a few individuals, most people hadn't been able to discern what Ma Hongjun's martial soul was. Now, seeing the light and shadow behind him, everyone realized that this seemingly unremarkable chubby boy actually possessed one of the most powerful martial souls: the Phoenix.

Enormous, purplish-red fiery wings unfurled instantly from Ma Hongjun's back. Even the highly fire-resistant Crimson Flame Thorns couldn't escape being incinerated by this terrifying purplish-red light. Even among fire-attribute plants, there are differences in power. If Ma Hongjun's flames couldn't even subdue this small fire-attribute plant, then his Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul wouldn't deserve to be called top-tier.

Boom—, flames shot into the sky carrying Ma Hongjun's body, and huge purple flame wings spread out behind him. In the air, he easily found his opponent's figure. Phoenix Wings Soaring, he pounced on his opponent without hesitation.

How can you dodge from the ground in the air? The speed and agility are simply not on the same level.

The Crimson Thorn Soul Master, trapped within the Thorn Forest, could only sense Ma Hongjun's movements but couldn't see them. Only when Ma Hongjun had already soared into the air did he realize the true extent of his opponent's power. Seeing his opponent rushing towards him, he could only make a final, desperate struggle.

The fourth spirit ring lit up, shimmering with purple light. Simultaneously, the crimson thorns on the ground were covered with a pale purple glow, which appeared on the thorns' spikes. The next moment, countless purple points of light shot into the sky, hurtling towards Ma Hongjun in the air.

Thorn Rain, the fourth soul skill. Thorns infused with intense fire element can attack over a wide area or be concentrated for a single strike. Once hit, the fire poison will spread throughout the opponent's body, causing massive damage.

Ma Hongjun truly bore the brunt of his opponent's soul skill attack. While he was in the air, although he could expose his opponent, he himself found it difficult to dodge. Moreover, the thorns and spikes came from all directions.

The Phoenix Reborn from the Ashes and Phoenix Wings Soaring to the Sky instantly activated to their maximum extent. The thorns and spikes that entered the flames surrounding Ma Hongjun's body immediately turned to ashes.

However, this was, after all, a skill from a thousand-year-old spirit ring, and the opponent's fourth spirit skill. Although Ma Hongjun still had an elemental advantage over his opponent, it wasn't as strong as it had been with the previous opponents. Therefore, although he filtered out the spikes and the fire poison on them, the impact of the spikes still fell on him to some extent.

If it were just a few or a few dozen, the fat man probably wouldn't have felt anything. But these were thousands upon thousands of sharp spikes. It wasn't exactly painful, but the constant tingling and itching was much more unbearable.

Ma Hongjun was completely enraged. Without holding back his soul power, he unleashed the full speed of Phoenix Wings Soaring and pounced straight down.

Boom! Ma Hongjun's body slammed heavily onto the ground in front of his opponent. Fourth Soul Skill activated.

Ma Hongjun's fourth soul skill, Phoenix Roar Strike, was originally intended as a follow-up move. Its biggest weakness was that the opponent could dodge it, making it impossible to lock onto the target. Ironically, the Crimson Thorn Soul Master from the Plant Academy had laid down a thorny forest on the arena from the very beginning, his aim being to restrict Ma Hongjun. However, this forest now became a constraint on himself.

With a deafening roar, the moment Ma Hongjun landed, the shockwave from Phoenix Howling Strike erupted, instantly distorting the air and destroying the surrounding thorny forest. In that distortion, the Crimson Flame Thorn Soul Master's body inevitably fell into a state of dizziness.

"Fatty, go easy on him!" Tang San, Dai Mubai, and the others shouted as they saw Fatty unleash his Phoenix Roaring Strike. Phoenix Roaring Strike has two parts: the first is a follow-up restraint, and the second is a terrifying phoenix magma surge. Once the second part is completed, the Crimson Thorn Soul Master, already locked in a stalemate, will undoubtedly die. As the most powerful offensive soul skill among the Shrek Seven Devils, Phoenix Roaring Strike would severely injure even a level 50 or 60 Soul Master hit head-on. Let alone an opponent who is only level 40.

The Shrek Academy members' worries were in vain. Although Ma Hongjun was extremely uncomfortable from the intense itching all over his body, which fueled his rage, he had managed to control his emotions after spending so much time with his companions. The instant he stunned his opponent, the fire-attribute impact of his Phoenix Wing Soaring technique had already penetrated the opponent's body. At the same time, his chubby body nimbly turned around, delivering a spinning kick to the opponent's chest.

The Crimson Thorn Soul Master's body traced a graceful parabola through the air before crashing out of the arena. He was caught by a teacher from the Plant Academy. Although still dizzy, he had not suffered any real injuries.

After quickly examining the Crimson Thorn Soul Master's physical condition, the teachers from the Plant Academy immediately realized that their opponent had held back. With a sigh, they informed the referee that they were forfeiting the final match and conceding defeat.

The Shrek Academy students cheered and rushed onto the stage as if welcoming a hero, tossing the fat man's spherical body into the air.

The qualifying rounds have begun, and now the first player to achieve a 1-versus-7 victory has finally occurred. Moreover, it happened to a Shrek Academy member who had never even appeared before. This fact shocked all the participating academies of the Heaven Dou Empire.

A faint light flickered, and the fat man's expression was incredibly complex. He hadn't fought an outsider in a long time, yet he had achieved a complete victory. This was certainly related to the fact that his martial soul was effective against his opponent, but it was also inseparable from the fat man's diligent training these past few days. Even the fat man himself felt that since consuming the Phoenix Sunflower, his soul power had increased by leaps and bounds. Within the entire team, he had become an indispensable source of offensive damage.

In terms of overall strength, Fatty is second only to Tang San and Dai Mubai among the Shrek Seven Devils, and is even slightly better than Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing.

"Fatty, you're pretty good!" Dai Mubai patted Ma Hongjun on the shoulder.

Ma Hongjun laughed triumphantly, "That's right, how could my efforts these past few days be in vain? Watch me in the next round of qualifying matches. But to be honest, Boss Dai, it felt really good to beat seven opponents in one go, hahaha."

The master smiled at Ma Hongjun and said, "Don't be too smug. Today's victory was only because you had a strong advantage over your opponents' spirits, allowing you to defeat seven opponents in a row. In other situations, it wouldn't be so simple. For example, would you still be confident of winning against Shui Bing'er from Tianshui Academy? Her Ice Phoenix and your Fire Phoenix are mutually restraining, giving you no advantage in terms of attributes. Moreover, her control over spirit skills and spirit power is clearly superior to yours. Or, even without attribute counterplay, if you encounter a highly agile agility-based spirit master, it would be difficult to defeat them. Even if you could win, your spirit power would inevitably be greatly depleted."

"Uh..." Ma Hongjun scratched his head, his excitement immediately diminished, and he looked at the master speechlessly.

The master smiled and said, "As the team's strongest offensive damage dealer, your role is undeniable. But you must also understand that precisely because you possess such terrifying attack power, you are also the easiest target for the opponent and the first to be destroyed. In a team, offensive and control-type Soul Masters are undoubtedly of paramount importance. They are the opponent's primary targets. Therefore, you must not only better utilize your offensive power, but also protect yourself as much as possible. You won't always have teammates by your side. For your future, you are the one who most needs to learn to fight alone; this is essential for offensive-type Soul Masters. Don't be arrogant in victory, and don't be discouraged in defeat; maintain a calm mind."

(End of this chapter)