Chapter 103 – Phoenix Azure Flame! Entering the Core Zone!

A quarter of an hour later—

Zhu Lie was the first to complete his soul ring absorption, officially becoming a Soul Emperor. Though the Diamond Rhino soul ring neared twenty thousand years, it posed little challenge for someone like Zhu Lie, whose martial soul was the Mountain-Splitting Boar. If not for how rare such soul beasts were, he would've preferred a thirty-thousand-year ring.

"Congratulations," Zhang Lexuan said on behalf of the team.

"Heh, it's all thanks to Senior Sister, Sister Ruoruo, and everyone else," Zhu Lie replied, scratching his head with a sheepish smile. "Once we get back, I'll cook something delicious for you all."

"Great!" Su Meng was the first to clap in agreement.

Everyone laughed good-naturedly.

Zhang Lexuan smiled, but her eyes shifted to Ma Xiaotao, who was still absorbing her soul ring. Her brow furrowed slightly as she murmured, "Let's hope Xiaotao can complete her absorption safely."

Ma Xiaotao was still immersed in the process. Her body trembled as she absorbed the Fire Spirit Tiger's ring, her brow tightly furrowed. Gentle yet overwhelming soul power poured into her, repeatedly battering her meridians and flesh. But she gritted her teeth, enduring the intense pain to fully absorb every drop.

Time ticked by.

Suddenly—

A clear phoenix cry rang out.

Ma Xiaotao leapt to her feet, five soul rings shining behind her—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black—alongside a crimson phoenix shadow. She had succeeded.

Retracting her martial soul and soul rings, she became a blur of motion and flung herself toward Zhu Ziyang, throwing her arms around him in an emotional embrace. Her reaction said it all: Zhu Ziyang had been right.

Zhang Lexuan and the other girls shared smiles of relief. They were close to Ma Xiaotao and sincerely hoped the flaw in her martial soul could be cured.

"Xiaotao… I can't breathe!" Zhu Ziyang's face was pressed firmly into her soft chest, nose and mouth completely blocked. His muffled voice was barely audible, but his flailing arms were enough to get her attention.

Startled, Ma Xiaotao immediately let go. Her eyes sparkled with gratitude as she looked at him.

"Ziyang, thank you—truly!"

"Did your martial soul flaw disappear?" Wu Ming asked quickly.

"Not completely," Ma Xiaotao replied honestly. "But the evil fire's influence has weakened a lot. At the very least, I don't have to worry about losing control during battle anymore!"

She turned and threw her arms around Zhu Ziyang again.

"This is all thanks to you! If there's anything you ever need, just ask—your big sister will make it happen!"

"It's nothing, Xiaotao," Zhu Ziyang said modestly. "We're family, aren't we?"

He referred to their teacher-disciple lineage, but Wu Ming and the others interpreted it quite differently. The looks they gave the two were loaded with mischief, and several boys were ready to start whistling.

"So the flaw isn't entirely resolved?" Zhang Lexuan interjected, stopping the teasing.

"No, but I now know there's a way forward. With a few more soul rings like this one, I should be able to fix it, right Ziyang?" Ma Xiaotao said hopefully.

Zhu Ziyang gave a wry smile.

"If only it were that easy. Fire Spirit Tigers are rare. And even if you found more, the effect would be minimal. The evil fire within you is demonic—it won't respond to ordinary purifying flames more than once. To truly fix it, you'd need a celestial treasure like your ancestor Ma Hongjun once used."

"Oh…" Ma Xiaotao's excitement dimmed a little, but she smiled anyway. "Still, this is already a big improvement."

Lexuan stepped forward to offer comfort, but Ma Xiaotao shook her head. "I'm fine, Lexuan. Let's move on."

"…Alright," Zhang Lexuan nodded. She turned to the group. "Everyone, pack up—we move out."

They reorganized and resumed their search.

Watching silently from above, Elder Xuan sighed.

"If celestial treasures were easy to find, would that girl still be suffering like this?"

Over the next several days, the team trekked through miles of terrain, entering and exiting multiple zones, tirelessly scouting and fighting.

Thankfully, their efforts were not in vain—nearly everyone had found the soul rings they needed. Only Zhang Lexuan, Zhu Ziyang, and Wu Ming remained without suitable beasts.

Not for long, though.

Right now, Ma Xiaotao, Wu Ming, Luo Wei, Wanwan, and Long Yu were fighting a powerful fire-type soul beast—Earthfire Scorpion King, a vicious and aggressive species, highly territorial and deadly. Though they hadn't planned to engage it, the beast attacked them first.

Following Zhu Ziyang's recommendation, they had decided this would become Wu Ming's sixth soul ring.

"Phoenix Azure Flame!"

Ma Xiaotao activated her fifth ring. A phoenix formed from blue fire erupted from her back, diving at the scorpion below, which was still restrained by Wanwan's skill.

The Phoenix Azure Flame was a powerful fire-based soul skill with a purification effect. It caused immense damage and dispelled all negative effects on the user.

The Earthfire Scorpion King took a direct hit and was left barely alive. Wu Ming stepped in, landed the final blow, and claimed the soul ring.

As always, the team circled her protectively while she absorbed it.

"Ziyang, was my fifth soul skill awesome or what?" Ma Xiaotao asked as she sat beside him, grinning smugly.

"Very impressive," Zhu Ziyang smiled.

"Hehe, I knew it!" she giggled, nudging him with her shoulder. She seemed incapable of keeping her hands—or body—still.

Half an hour later, Wu Ming completed the absorption and advanced to Soul Emperor.

"Alright, now that we're down to just two without rings—Ziyang and myself—should we continue deeper, or stay here to search?" Zhang Lexuan asked the team.

"Sister Lexuan, Ziyang doesn't need to worry—plenty of soul beasts around here could suit him. But your eighth ring is another matter," Zhang Weiwei said, her voice cold but logical. "There's no way the right soul beast for you is in this area. We should go deeper. Once you find your ring, we'll come back for Ziyang's."

"But going deeper means entering the Core Zone," Lexuan hesitated. As team leader, she didn't want to risk everyone's safety. Yet the eighth ring was crucial—it could determine whether she ever became a Title Douluo. Settling wasn't an option.

"It's alright, Lexuan," Han Ruoruo said. "We started with one Contra, four Soul Sages, four Soul Emperors, and three Soul Kings. Now we're even stronger. As long as we don't face a hundred-thousand-year soul beast, we can handle it."

"Still…" Zhang Lexuan remained uncertain.

"How about we vote?" Cheng Hui suggested. "Who wants to go deeper?"

Every hand went up—including Zhu Ziyang's.

Lexuan was touched.

"…Alright. But only one thousand meters. We stay for one day. If I haven't found a suitable soul beast by then, we retreat immediately."

"Yes, ma'am!" everyone agreed.

Just then, Elder Xuan appeared beside them.

"You can stay longer," he said. "With me here, there's no need to worry. Lexuan, don't hold back."

"Thank you, Elder Xuan!" Zhang Lexuan's face lit up with relief and gratitude.

With a Rank 98 Super Douluo watching over them, even a hundred-thousand-year soul beast wouldn't be a death sentence.

The team's morale surged.