...

"Coward! Coward! Just stay huddled in that corner! Cower there forever!"

"Damn it, if I had a single wind-and-snow Soul Skill, I would’ve blown you out of the arena ages ago!"

"Watch out!"

The southeast corner of the arena was a chaotic mess. The six students from three teams were severely restricted. Though their eyes were open, they didn’t dare to look around normally. Overcome with dread, their gazes darted about, timid and evasive.

This combat posture was agonizing for them.

Gao Lingwei was just too intimidating. She was like a great mountain pressing down on their hearts, suffocating them.

"Zuo Er!" A cold voice suddenly echoed in Rong Taotao’s mind.

Rong Taotao didn’t know why Gao Lingwei was calling out the second girl from the left, but...

’Trust Da Wei. Isn’t that what I’m supposed to do?’

"Jump! Get some height!" Rong Taotao communicated with Gao Lingwei in his mind. He swept the Heaven-piercing Halberd in front of his chest, instantly clearing some space for himself.

Rong Taotao realized what was happening. Even before his Long Halberd had swept out, the girl—Zuo Er—had already started to back away. She wasn’t retreating from his attack, but flinching back in subconscious fear, her face a mask of panic.

’She must have accidentally glanced at Gao Lingwei!’

Rong Taotao tossed aside the Long Halberd he’d just swung, kicked off the ground, and shot forward in an instant!

Two of the three opponents on the left reacted immediately. One thrust forward with a spear, while the other quickly formed a Snow Burst in his hands.

Gao Lingwei leaped into the air. Snow Dance made her body even lighter, and as she curled her legs mid-air, the soles of her boots reached a height of a full three meters!

Not only that, but while still in the air, she threw her Butterfly Dual Sabers straight at the male student with the spear.

DING! A dark-gold scepter collided hard with the spinning Butterfly Dual Sabers, emitting a sharp, clear ring.

Gao Lingwei’s heart skipped a beat. ’My attack was intercepted!’

She hadn’t managed to push back the spear wielder on the far left, let alone the one on the far right holding a Snow Burst Ball!

’What about Rong Taotao...?’

DING!

Another sharp clang of colliding steel rang out. Gao Lingwei had her Butterfly Dual Sabers, but Rong Taotao had his Meow Meow Hammer!

The spear tip of the student on the far left was brutally knocked aside by the thrown hammer!

Meanwhile, layers of frost and snow coated Rong Taotao’s right arm, which he held up to block the student on the far right, the one with the Snow Burst Ball.

Elite-level: Iron Snow Forearm!

’A gift from Da Wei!’

The student holding the Snow Burst Ball grinned. ’I don’t care what kind of defensive skill that is. Even if you don’t get hurt, I’ll still blast you away!’

"Eat this!!!" the male student roared, viciously thrusting the Snow Burst Ball toward Rong Taotao.

But before the student’s hand could connect, Rong Taotao had already landed. And not only had he landed—the ground beneath his feet erupted with splashing, shattered starlight!

Rong Taotao roared, "Then let’s! Make it! BOOM!"

BANG!

Blades of grass flew, a shockwave erupted, and starlight filled the air!

A Soul Skill that had no business being on this battlefield had just appeared out of nowhere!

’You want an explosion? Let’s see who’s more explosive!’

Everything happened in the blink of an eye.

Gao Lingwei was still curled up in mid-air, yet to land, when the shower of starlight rushed past from five meters away. It burst out from beneath her boots, the force even nudging her slightly sideways.

She finally understood why Rong Taotao had told her to jump.

At five meters away, Gao Lingwei was barely affected, but the students surrounding Rong Taotao...

’That Rong Taotao is so devious!’

’Of course he’d set it off right in their faces.’

From the first on the left to the third, none were spared. All of them were sent flying by the burst of starlight.

Starfield Soul Skill: Star-Stepping Split!

"Hssss..."

"Ugh! Fuck..."

A violent tremor resonated from within their bodies, and the surrounding students all cried out in pain and anger.

They were all Snow Realm Soul Martial Artists, and the Snow Realm Lifebound Soul Beasts within them reacted violently. These beasts were overly sensitive to Starfield Soul Skills, especially a point-blank blast like this. The starlight splashing onto their hosts made the Snow Realm Lifebound Soul Beasts suffer.

Summoning Lifebound Soul Beasts and Soul Pets was forbidden during the match, so the beasts could only remain inside their masters’ bodies.

But in truth, whether the Lifebound Soul Beast was inside the Soul Martial Artist’s body or not, once you’d chosen your Attribute and formed a symbiotic bond with your Lifebound Soul Beast, you could do little to resist a counter-Attribute Soul Skill. You could only accept the rules of this world.

The crowd went wild!

"WHOA!!!"

"What did I just see? Was that Star-Stepping Split?"

"That’s so underhanded... He fought for this long and kept a Starfield Soul Skill hidden the whole time? No wonder he’s so strong. Has he been using a strength-enhancing Douxing Qi all along?"

"This kid has no honor! What a cheap shot!"

"Son of a bitch, he’s a damn Starfield Soul Martial Artist? Sneak-attacking our Snow Realm upperclassmen... Is that even allowed?"

Rong Taotao couldn’t care less. Kick ’em while they’re down!

The moment he landed, his feet still wreathed in starlight, he lunged forward and gave chase!

A defensive counter requires defense, but more importantly, it requires a counter!

As he shot forward, Rong Taotao brutally thrust his Heaven-piercing Halberd through the lower abdomen of the young woman, Zuo Er.

The young woman was already terrified from Gao Lingwei’s glare. Panicked and disoriented, she had then been sent stumbling back by the Star-Stepping Split.

In her daze, she only registered a blur of motion and a cold shock in her stomach.

Her face was a mask of terror as she felt the world begin to spin.

Having impaled her, Rong Taotao forcefully swept his weapon. The Heaven-piercing Halberd, still piercing the senior woman, Zuo Er, caught the stumbling senior man from the far left and swept them both out of the arena in one clean motion.