Yan Shaozhe rushed off in a hurry.
"Dean…" Du Weilen was also shocked, his eyes wide. Zhu Ziyang had truly opened his eyes today. A martial soul that combined both Light and Death attributes, and a soul ring configuration of one yellow and two purple—all of it left Du Weilen deeply shaken. Most importantly, even Dean Yan had lost his composure and hurried back to the inner court. As for what he was going to do, Du Weilen could already guess.
On the battlefield, Beibei's trio was also startled by Zhu Ziyang's soul ring configuration. With bitter expressions, they said,
"Ziyang, you really are surprising! But we're not so easy to deal with either!"
As they finished speaking, the three simultaneously activated their soul skills. Beibei's right arm crackled with lightning, Xu Sanshi's shield glowed with dark light, and they charged at Zhu Ziyang from both sides. The one in the back, Xue Weiwei, was actually the one that concerned Zhu Ziyang the most. Her first and second soul rings lit up in turn, and a dark yellow halo spread out, instantly filling the entire arena.
Zhu Ziyang's team didn't immediately realize the power of this yellow halo.
Seeing Beibei and Xu Sanshi attacking him, Zhu Ziyang instantly understood their strategy. But he remained unfazed and confidently said to Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya,
"Nannan, deal with Xue Weiwei first."
"Got it!" Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya exchanged a glance, then launched into action.
Jiang Nannan activated her first soul skill, her body wreathed in a moonlight aura, appearing somewhat ethereal. Tang Ya charged directly at Xue Weiwei, her first soul ring flashing as a net of Blue Silver Grass surged forward.
"Not good!" They both immediately sensed something was off. Their speed had significantly dropped—by a large margin!
"It's her!" They instantly realized and turned to look at Xue Weiwei, who was smiling sweetly at them.
At that moment, Zhu Ziyang also sensed the effects of the faint yellow halo across the field, and his expression grew heavy.
Huangjing Mystic Deer, First Soul Skill: Slowing Light!
Second Soul Skill: Slowing Light!
He immediately recalled information he'd read in books. The Huangjing Mystic Deer martial soul—more accurately, a subspecies of the Crystal Mystic Deer—is a very special beast martial soul. Regardless of the number of soul rings, all Crystal Mystic Deer Soul Masters have only one soul skill, and that skill is always a domain-type control ability. The specific effect varies based on the subspecies: for example, the Red Crystal Deer's Weakening Domain, Blue Crystal Deer's Armor-Breaking Domain, and the Huangjing Mystic Deer's Slowing Domain.
It's a martial soul highly suited to battlefield control!
Xue Weiwei's Slowing Light, powered by two soul rings, was very effective. All enemies within the halo had their movement speed reduced by 35%!
This skill directly targets a soul master's base speed—a real problem for agility-type soul masters! Normally, Jiang Nannan's speed under her Moonlight Body state was 200%, but under the Slowing Light's effect, it dropped to just 130%.
That was a significant nerf. Jiang Nannan's face darkened.
"Nannan, work together with Ya-ya. Support each other," Zhu Ziyang called out, steadying Jiang Nannan's mindset.
"At this moment, you should be focusing on me instead," Beibei had already reached him.
Zhu Ziyang, also affected by the Slowing Light, couldn't take the initiative. Beibei's Thunder Dragon Claw slashed toward him.
Zhu Ziyang raised his Reaper's Judgment Scythe to block. With a loud clash, Beibei's expression changed as he was forced to retreat several steps. Yet Zhu Ziyang didn't relax—Xu Sanshi, wielding his black tortoise shield, followed up with an attack. The shield, carrying a stun effect, slammed toward him.
Zhu Ziyang immediately shifted the scythe from a horizontal slash to a vertical strike. The sharp blade collided with the turtle shield, producing a deep boom. Xu Sanshi was visibly knocked back a few steps.
As Xu Sanshi fell back, Beibei attacked again. Zhu Ziyang had to meet him once more. After knocking Beibei away again, Xu Sanshi launched another assault. The two coordinated their attacks seamlessly, pressing Zhu Ziyang back.
After several rounds, Zhu Ziyang had been forced back dozens of meters—he was in a disadvantageous position.
"Beibei, together!" Xu Sanshi called out after backing off a few steps.
"Okay!" Beibei nodded.
Their first soul rings lit up again as they activated their soul skills once more.
Lightning surged around Beibei, amplifying his aura. His dragon clawed right arm enlarged further, exuding even more destructive power.
Xu Sanshi's black turtle shield also grew larger, wrapped in a swirling dark aura that exuded menace.
With soul skills enhancing them, their attacks became even sharper. Zhu Ziyang continued falling back until he finally gained a brief moment to catch his breath after pushing them away again.
"You're strong. You're the first team that's made me use my soul skills," Zhu Ziyang said expressionlessly, golden light shining in his eyes. Behind him, his two purple soul rings rose as he activated his second and third soul skills simultaneously.
Second Soul Skill: Blessing of Light!
Third Soul Skill: Radiant Purge Slash!
Seeing this, Beibei and Xu Sanshi's expressions turned serious. They couldn't afford to rest. They launched themselves at Zhu Ziyang, knowing instinctively that they couldn't let him complete his third skill.
Their reaction was fast, but Zhu Ziyang's was faster. A sign of mastery in martial soul control is the ability to instantly cast soul skills. His second and third skills activated almost simultaneously, propelling him into his strongest state of the battle.
Facing the charging Beibei and Xu Sanshi, Zhu Ziyang slashed mercilessly with the golden scythe imbued with supreme light energy.
Beibei raised his dragon arm to block, but the power was overwhelming. He was knocked back over ten meters before he could stabilize. His right arm was visibly trembling from the force.
The scythe's momentum didn't stop—it grew even more fierce. Xu Sanshi, eyes wide with shock, immediately activated his second soul skill and conjured a wall of shields.
But those shields were like paper lanterns before a flame. In the blink of an eye, they were destroyed. The golden scythe slammed into Xu Sanshi's chest. Even though he managed to block with his martial soul, the force sent him flying more than 20 meters, landing heavily on the ground.
"Ugh… damn… that hurts!" Xu Sanshi struggled to rise, coughing repeatedly, his voice slightly shaky.
"Sanshi, are you okay? Can you keep fighting?" Beibei quickly rushed over to help him up.
"I'm fine, it's nothing," Xu Sanshi said, his face pale but his tone still strong.
"Good. Then let's go again!" Beibei smiled faintly, looking slightly better than Xu Sanshi.
The two stood back up, regrouping and preparing for another assault.
However, Zhu Ziyang didn't intend to give them another chance.
"It's over."