Chapter 148: Countermeasures

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Wu Siduo and Mo Jue slowly ascended to the stage.

"Prepare, the match begins!" At Cai Yue'er's command, both sides activated their martial souls.

Around Wu Siduo's body, four purple soul rings rose.

Opposite her, Mo Jue also had four purple soul rings.

At this age, ten-thousand-year soul rings were extremely rare.

This wasn't just because ten-thousand-year spirit souls were scarce, but also because the conditions for bearing a ten-thousand-year spirit were stringent.

When the captain of the East Sea City Mecha Squad saw Wu Changkong's ten-thousand-year spirit, he was filled with dread, precisely because its implications had changed.

It was no longer as simple as needing to hunt a ten-thousand-year soul beast or having reached Level 50 in soul power.

To possess a ten-thousand-year spirit, one generally had to be at the Lingyuan Realm to even have a chance. Otherwise, unless one's first spirit was already a ten-thousand-year spirit, it would defy the natural progression of a soul master's cultivation, making it nearly impossible.

And the Lingyuan Realm signified truly stepping into the domain of powerhouses—possessing the qualifications to achieve the title of Title Douluo.

Even Shrek Academy didn't enforce the requirement of possessing a ten-thousand-year soul ring before entering the inner court—it was simply too demanding.

The requirement for a ten-thousand-year soul ring came after entering the inner court. Only when one elevated their second spirit to a ten-thousand-year level could they be considered a true inner court student, eligible to represent the inner court outside.

After passing the inner court assessment and entering the probationary period, only upon obtaining a ten-thousand-year soul ring would one become a full-fledged inner court student.

Xu Yuan was an anomaly; he couldn't be judged by normal standards. Reaching the Lingyuan Realm at thirteen was almost impossible to replicate.

As for Yuanen Yehui, her case was different—her ten-thousand-year soul ring came from a unique path.

Besides obtaining soul rings through spirits, there were also traditional methods.

For example, hunting soul beasts. Back then, during the Tianhai Grand Tournament, Yu Yuanfeng obtained his fourth soul ring by hunting a ten-thousand-year soul beast with the help of his family.

Yuanen Yehui's first three soul rings were similar, but not obtained through hunting soul beasts—they were generated by her martial soul itself. Her second martial soul, the Fallen Angel, was an anchor point from another demonic plane, quite peculiar in that it could autonomously generate soul rings.

For her, as long as her body could withstand it, obtaining a ten-thousand-year soul ring was no problem.

On the other hand, her primary martial soul couldn't obtain a ten-thousand-year soul ring—all four of its soul rings were purple. (A/N: Previously, I made a mistake here. Her Titan Ape still has four purple rings, and her second spirit, the Diamond Baboon, is close to ten thousand years. The original work doesn't delve deeply into this, but at least four purple rings are reasonable.)

Mo Jue's martial soul was the Black Swan. As her martial soul took form, black feathers appeared amidst her long hair, gradually spreading across her entire body.

Wu Siduo entered the state of the Netherworld Spirit Cat.

Mo Jue raised her right hand, and her first soul ring flashed. With a flick of her finger toward Wu Siduo, a massive black skull emerged, heading straight for her opponent.

Her first soul skill: Weakening Curse.

Once it hit, it would leave the target in a weakened state for at least ten seconds, suppressing their soul power by at least twenty percent. Of course, the stronger the enemy, the more soul power she would consume.

Wu Siduo's expression shifted.

Though she didn't know the exact effect of the black skull, she knew it couldn't be good. She immediately activated her first soul skill, Netherworld Shadow Dash, to evade it.

She rapidly darted to the side, attempting to dodge the skull. However, the curse locked onto its target, and no matter how Wu Siduo tried to evade, the skull streaked past as a black afterimage and merged into her body.

Wu Siduo's expression turned grim.

In an instant, she felt the effects of the soul skill.

Soul Power Suppression!

Her greatest weakness was her insufficient soul power. Performing a martial soul fusion technique on her own meant no one else could share the burden of soul power consumption. While this might improve after reaching the Soul Sage level, for now, she had to conserve her soul power as much as possible.

But now, just as the battle began, her soul power had been suppressed by twenty percent?

Though her opponent must have also consumed soul power, it was surely less than what Wu Siduo had expended.

Wu Siduo's expression fluctuated, but soon she realized that the energy from the black skull was limited.

"It's only temporary suppression!"

Thankfully.

Wu Siduo sighed in relief, but her gaze toward Mo Jue was now filled with caution.

This type of soul skill that suppressed an opponent's soul power was something she had never encountered before, and it was proving difficult to deal with.

No one could say for certain whether this soul skill, if developed to its peak, could maintain its effects for an extended period or even lie dormant within an enemy's body, activating suddenly when they tried to unleash their soul power.

If it could reach such a level, this soul skill would indeed be a sneaky and devastating tool.

"Hmph, so you're the elegant and aloof third-year vice-class president with high prestige? Who would've thought you'd have such a dirty trick up your sleeve!"

Mo Jue remained unaware that her soul skill had earned her criticism from Wu Siduo, who placed great importance on soul power. Seeing her soul skill take effect, she waved her hands, and her second soul ring lit up.

Two pitch-black orbs fused together in front of her, and a pair of black wings spread out behind her back. With a flap of her wings, she hovered in the air.

The moment the two black orbs merged, a dark green skull emerged, floating toward Wu Siduo.

Her second soul skill: Dark Magic Flame, capable of burning both the body and the soul, delivering both physical and spiritual damage. Its power was immense, making it particularly lethal against powerful offensive soul masters like Wu Siduo.

Offensive soul masters often specialized heavily in physical attacks and defenses while being relatively weak in spiritual strength. Even those few offensive soul masters with spiritual attributes faced difficulties in training their bodies due to the focus on mental fortitude.

Thus, this dual-burning ability of the Dark Magic Flame was exceptionally formidable and effective.

Having already been hit by the earlier skull, Wu Siduo was wary. She used her Netherworld Shadow Dash again to evade.

Fortunately, this attack could be dodged.

She breathed a sigh of relief but continued to regard Mo Jue with great seriousness.

The Dark Magic Flame that landed on the arena had displayed terrifying burning power, even damaging the internal structure of rare metals, showcasing its immense potency.

Calculating the remaining energy from the initial black skull inside her body, Wu Siduo estimated when the soul skill's effects would wear off.

Her Netherworld Shadow Dash flashed repeatedly as she now fought Mo Jue, an offensive soul master, using her agility-based techniques.

Under normal circumstances, agility-based soul masters could leverage their speed advantage to prolong fights against offensive soul masters, depleting their opponents' soul skills and soul power to secure victory.

At this moment, however, Wu Siduo wasn't counting on this strategy to drain Mo Jue's soul power completely. Instead, she was waiting for the suppression effect within her body to end.

Ten seconds.

With repeated uses of Netherworld Shadow Dash, Wu Siduo endured for ten seconds until the energy from the black skull inside her body was finally depleted.

But before she could feel relieved, she saw Mo Jue activate her first soul skill once again.

Wu Siduo's expression darkened.

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