Chapter 45: Spirit Guidance Master (I)

"A team battle? Just what I wanted!"

Ma Xiaotao's gaze clashed fiercely with Dai Yueheng's in mid-air, and the entire Spirit Dueling Arena seemed to resound with the roars of a tiger and the cries of a phoenix.

She conveyed her intentions to Dai Yueheng in the most straightforward way: the captain's position was hers to claim!

While admiring her long, emerald-green nails, Du Weilun said leisurely, "I'll join if Ling Bai does."

"Hmm?"

Everyone's expressions turned strange. They tilted their heads in unison, as if to say, 'Something is going on between you two.'

Ling Bai looked helplessly at Du Weilun and said, "I don't mind, as long as you're not afraid of revealing your trump cards early."

"Afraid of what!"

Tai Xing pounded his chest with a thunderous sound and said in a gruff voice, "Let's fight them first and talk later!"

Chu Qingtian, Zhou Sen, and Pan Tao also agreed to the team battle, not at all intimidated by the current Shrek Seven Monsters whose average spirit power was six ranks higher than theirs!

Whether they won or lost the team battle, they would get to see the combat habits and spirit skills of the current Shrek Seven Monsters and make full use of the next six months to tailor their training accordingly.

The seven challengers were united in thought, and the current Seven Monsters were even more prepared. This team battle didn't need a referee. The fourteen people on both sides assumed their stances, cracking their knuckles and flexing their muscles, ready to begin!

"Brothers, charge!"

A tiger's roar erupted from Dai Yueheng's mouth as a surge of inspiring and somewhat scorching aura burst forth. Accompanied by the popping sound of cracking bones, his muscles began to swell in an instant. Sharp claws extended from his tiger paws, and six spirit rings—two yellow, two purple, and two black—rose around him. His gaze, sharp as a blade, was filled with wild ferocity!

Martial Spirit Manifestation: White Tiger!

Target locked: Ma Xiaotao!

"Bring it on!"

Ma Xiaotao's beautiful pink eyes suddenly erupted with blazing light. The scorching heat of her Phoenix flames formed waves of high-temperature fire. From a distance, the surrounding air appeared distorted. Her Phoenix wings unfolded, and six optimally configured spirit rings rose beneath her feet. She shot forward like a flaming meteor, drawing a straight line as she charged directly at Dai Yueheng!

Following Ma Xiaotao, the second challenger to act was Chu Qingtian. He and Xi Xi transformed into two intertwining bolts of lightning. The Berserk Lightning Leopard and Lightning Leopard both happened to be agility attack-type Beast Martial Spirits specializing in speed. One could see the electric afterimages left by their clashes throughout the arena!

Zhou Sen's palms surged with countless vines. He teamed up with Pan Tao to face Gongyang Mo and Yao Haoxuan. At some point, his first spirit ring quietly lit up. The Ghost Vines rapidly grew and extended, their thick, agile tendrils resembling giant pythons as they wrapped from all directions around Yao Haoxuan, who had assumed a gigantic form through Martial Spirit Manifestation!

On the other side, Chen Zifeng summoned his Soulchasing Sword. Seeing two figures rushing toward him, one from the sky and one from the ground, he couldn't help but feel depressed. "No way, do I look that easy to bully?"

The Seraphim and the Vigorous Orangutan were both power attack-type Martial Spirits, so Ling Bai and Tai Xing had coincidentally chosen to attack Chen Zifeng!

Question: If one day you were besieged by a Seraphim and a Vigorous Orangutan, what would you do?

Chen Zifeng's approach was very simple. He took a deep breath, filling his lungs to capacity, and then shouted to the sky:

"Help! Someone come quick! They have no martial ethics, ganging up to bully a defenseless lone guy like me!"

"..."

Tai Xing stumbled and almost fell, while Ling Bai was stunned for half a second, feeling both amused and exasperated by this oddball. The wise adapt to circumstances, and Chen Zifeng's speed in conceding was incredibly swift indeed!

The squeaky wheel gets the grease. Chen Zifeng's shout indeed drew assistance. Snowflakes fluttered down from the sky, and a thick layer of solid ice formed on the ground. The high temperature brought by Ma Xiaotao's Phoenix flames plummeted at an astonishing rate.

Ice Element, Ling Luochen!

Ling Luochen held an ice staff and wore ice armor. She stood gracefully in the world of ice and snow, her expression cold and her features like jade, resembling a sacred and inviolable Ice Goddess. As her fourth purple spirit ring flickered, she pointed her ice staff forward, and the ice elements transformed into a ferocious ice dragon that lunged toward Ling Bai!

"I've told you before, the Ice Element doesn't work on me."

The ice dragon, snowflakes, and frost mist—all were shattered by the Evil-Banishing Slash unleashed by the Angel Sword. Dazzling golden eyes shone amidst the swirling ice and snow. Ling Bai looked down from above at the stubborn-faced girl on the ground. With a powerful flap of his angelic wings, it seemed the scene of the previous day's instant defeat in the Spirit Dueling Arena was about to be reenacted.

"Stop!"

A thunderous shout rang out from somewhere in the arena, followed by two intense beams of blinding white light!

The Spider Emperor Sense's mental network pinpointed the locations. One beam aimed at Ling Bai's sword-wielding right hand, while the other targeted his projected landing spot two seconds later after his rapid movement!

Whoever fired the beams was highly skilled but seemed to have no intention of causing serious harm. Otherwise, they would have aimed at vital points like the chest or head!

Theoretically, the safest way for Ling Bai to handle the situation was to halt his advance, dodge the second beam, and focus on deflecting the first one. However, his choice was...

Evil-Banishing Twin Blade Slash!

Boom! Boom!

The sword energy split into two and accurately struck the two beams as if guided by auto-aim. After the explosions, ripples of white energy waves echoed outward.

The tower-like, burly Qian Fufu slowly emerged as the residual waves dissipated. The small and exquisite Spirit Guidance Device on his wrist emitted white smoke from spirit power overload.

"Bullying a girl is no feat of strength. Face me instead!"

A hero stepping forward to save a damsel in distress—it should have been a classic scene, but Ling Luochen angrily shouted, "Qian Fufu!"

Qian Fufu's eyes widened like brass bells the moment Ling Luochen spoke. He perked up his ears, not willing to miss a single word from his goddess.

"What's wrong with you? What gives you the right to interfere in my battle with him?!"

Boom—

Ling Bai watched as the light in Qian Fufu's eyes extinguished. If this were an anime, he would have appeared to petrify from head to toe before crumbling apart. The once mighty and imposing man now wore an expression as fragile as a child's.

"S-sorry, Luochen, I..."

Qian Fufu stammered, his voice dry and strained.

"My name is Ling Luochen!"

Ling Luochen coldly interrupted him and swung her ice staff, causing the innocent bystander Dugu Lin, who had been quietly watching the drama unfold, to suffer an unwarranted disaster!

Ling Bai's pitying gaze fell on Qian Fufu. This brother's EQ was too low. No wonder all his simping efforts amounted to nothing. He hadn't even noticed that the originally agreed-upon team battle had been tacitly divided into several one-on-one and two-on-two duels by both groups.

Ma Xiaotao versus Dai Yueheng: the two power attack types battling to determine the team captain.

Chu Qingtian versus Xi Xi: the only agility attack types in their respective teams engaged in a fierce duel.

Zhou Sen and Pan Tao versus Yao Haoxuan and Gongyang Mo: the auxiliary-type members formed two-person teams to compete.

Tai Xing versus Chen Zifeng: another intense battle between power attack types.

The target of Dugu Lin's challenge was Ling Luochen. Since Ling Luochen had stepped in to shield Chen Zifeng from Ling Bai, she hadn't had a chance to join the battle. Now, she finally got her wish, and the Jade Phosphor Serpent Poison was gradually corroding the ice elements.

Strangely, even though the rules stated that everyone in the Seven Monsters Challenge had the right to challenge the Spirit Guidance Master Qian Fufu, he was being intentionally or unintentionally overlooked, leaving Ling Bai and Qian Fufu staring at each other.

Suddenly, Ling Bai spoke, "To be honest, I've never fought against a Spirit Guidance Master before."

According to the rules, the current Seven Monsters Ling Bai could challenge one-on-one were Dai Yueheng, Chen Zifeng, and Qian Fufu. Since Dai and Chen had already been engaged by Ma Xiaotao and Tai Xing, he didn't mind giving Qian Fufu the honor of being his first Spirit Guidance Master opponent!

Qian Fufu's ability to stand out among the many Spirit Guidance Department students and secure the sole Spirit Guidance Master spot among the Shrek Seven Monsters, all while bearing immense pressure from the Martial Spirit Department, proved he was no ordinary individual.

In terms of sheer combat strength, this adopted son of Dean Qian Duoduo and the Inner Courtyard's top Class 5 Spirit Guidance Master surpassed even Ling Luochen!

When Qian Fufu heard Ling Bai's words, he immediately understood. He took a deep breath and said in a deep voice:

"I won't disappoint you."

With that said, he began to retreat slowly. Spirit Guidance Masters generally had low Martial Spirit talent, and their spirit skills mainly focused on amplifying their spirit power. Thus, the most critical aspect of a battle between a Spirit Guidance Master and a Spirit Master was distance.

Maintain a certain distance, prevent the Spirit Master from closing in, and bombard them with artillery fire. That was the ultimate truth!