Chapter 239: Holding
Ning Fengzhi and Chen Xin returned to the VIP seats with smiles on their faces.
The gloom on their faces had significantly lifted at this moment.
Salas and Xue Ye were slightly puzzled by this, but they didn't ask directly.
Zhongli sipped his tea quietly. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at Ning Fengzhi, seemingly lost in thought.
"Zhongli, try this!"
Suddenly, Paimon's voice rang out, pulling Zhongli out of his thoughts.
"This tastes amazing!"
Zhongli glanced at Paimon. She was holding a piece of osmanthus cake, her eyes wide with surprise, as if utterly astonished by how delicious it was.
"Paimon, I got that for you, and yet you're only inviting our esteemed guest to try it. What about me?"
"Xue Qinghe" teased Paimon with a faint smile on his face.
Anyone with keen eyes could tell that the crown prince, Xue Qinghe, was joking with Paimon.
The ability to make such jokes showed that they were very close.
Come to think of it, that made sense.
If they weren't on such good terms, why would Zhongli have entrusted Xue Qinghe to take care of Paimon while he was away?
"Well…"
Paimon awkwardly said, "Qinghe, there's only one piece left…"
Hearing this, Xue Qinghe was momentarily stunned. She had merely been joking to strengthen her bond with Paimon.
She hadn't expected Paimon to actually consider sharing with her, even though there wasn't enough to go around.
"Paimon, why don't you share it with Qinghe? I'm not hungry right now."
Zhongli waved his hand and said calmly.
Hearing this, Paimon hesitated. The osmanthus cake was truly delicious—one of the best she had ever tasted.
Something this delicious should naturally be shared with Zhongli, especially since Zhongli was known to have a refined palate when it came to food.
After a moment of thought, Paimon split the osmanthus cake into two pieces and handed one to Zhongli and the other to Xue Qinghe.
"Paimon is so smart! Now there are two pieces!"
Paimon said proudly, her face beaming with satisfaction.
Xue Qinghe's heart skipped a beat at this and she couldn't help but glance at Paimon a few more times.
Was she really sharing one piece of osmanthus cake between herself and Zhongli?
Swallowing nervously, Xue Qinghe subconsciously accepted the half-piece of osmanthus cake, sneaking a discreet glance at Zhongli.
Zhongli, however, didn't overthink it. This was Paimon's "thoughtful gesture," and it was rare for her to be clever, so he decided not to let her effort go to waste.
Taking the half-piece of osmanthus cake, he began to savor it at his usual leisurely pace.
Seeing this, Xue Qinghe also started tasting her portion.
"How strange... Why does this osmanthus cake taste so sweet?"
Xue Qinghe pondered in confusion.
Meanwhile, on the tournament stage:
The teams from Skywater Academy and Shrek Academy stood locked in a standoff.
If looks could kill, both sides would have perished countless times by now.
"Fatty, your martial soul is the Dark Phoenix, and Shui Bing'er's is the Ice Phoenix. Can you take her on?"
Dai Mubai asked Ma Hongjun beside him.
His question had a hidden motive—to test whether Ma Hongjun was still mentally stable after the events of the previous day.
After all, Ma Hongjun had been the only one to "accidentally" attack him during training yesterday. Whether it had been intentional remained unclear.
"If I were a Soul Ancestor and it was one-on-one, she probably wouldn't stand a chance against me," Ma Hongjun said, glancing at the Skywater team.
By now, everyone's "background information" had long since ceased to be a secret after so many days of competition.
"And now?"
"I'll do my best to hold her off…"
Ma Hongjun's response was modest and not boastful.
"Let the match begin!"
At the referee's signal, both sides immediately released their martial souls.
"Dark Phoenix, possess me!"
"White Tiger, possess me!"
In an instant, the stage was filled with the glow of yellow and purple soul rings.
Unlike yesterday, Ma Hongjun remained lucid after activating his martial soul. He soared into the sky and instinctively triggered his first soul ring, sending two dark flames flying toward Shui Bing'er.
Shui Bing'er was the core of the Skywater team, just as Tang San was for the Shrek team.
Only by defeating or restraining the core could there be any hope of victory.
As soon as the Skywater team activated their martial souls, they began using their soul skills to alter the battlefield environment.
The arena wasn't a sea or an icy landscape, so if they wanted to enhance their combat abilities, they had to first transform the environment.
The arena wasn't large, so it wasn't too difficult for them to accomplish this.
"This chubby guy is quite decisive!"
Shui Bing'er muttered before taking action.
Before the flames could reach her, the arena floor beneath her feet was already covered in ice.
With a graceful slide, she moved like a snow fairy, effortlessly dodging the dark flames.
Although the attack didn't harm Shui Bing'er, it successfully restrained her, leaving her unable to focus on assisting her teammates.
"First Soul Skill: Blue Silver Entanglement!"
Tang San's voice rang out as vines of Blue Silver Grass shot out from his hands, spreading toward the Tianshui team.
"Freeze!"
Shui Bing'er's first soul ring flashed repeatedly as she used her instant-cast freezing technique to immobilize both the airborne Ma Hongjun and the charging Dai Mubai.
As for Tang San, being further away, only his Blue Silver Grass vines were frozen.
"Girls, this is our chance!"
Shui Yue'er, full of confidence, dashed toward Xiao Wu, who had been turned into an ice sculpture.
Seeing this, Tang San's third soul ring instantly lit up.
Tang San's third soul skill was also an instant-cast technique that required no preparation.
Thanks to it being a thousand-year soul ring, however, it consumed a significant amount of energy, making it less efficient than Shui Bing'er's first skill.
"Third Soul Skill: Spider Web Restraint!"
A large net woven from Blue Silver Grass flew from Tang San's hands, accurately ensnaring Shui Yue'er.
"Yue'er!"
Shui Bing'er called out instinctively, her expression darkening.
In the blink of an eye, Ma Hongjun broke free from the ice and soared back into the sky.
At the same time, Dai Mubai and the others also shattered the ice trapping them.
Huang Yuan and Jing Ling shivered as they broke free, their faces pale.
They had managed to escape Shui Bing'er's ice because it was only a century-level instant-cast soul skill.
In the contestants' rest area:
Spectators exchanged glances.
"Shrek's members are neither weak nor particularly strong. They can actually hold their own against Shui Bing'er and her team."
"Still, they're not exactly dominating either."
"Are you seriously questioning Shrek's strength? Even now, their overall power isn't low."
Shrek's team included two full-fledged Soul Ancestors, after all.
Although the other members' soul power levels were somewhat lower, they were still decent overall.
"Hold their own?"
Feng Xiaotian rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"If they can't establish a clear advantage within five minutes, they're going to lose for sure."
"Why are you so certain, Xiaotian?"
"Because when we faced Skywater Academy, we barely managed to blow them off the stage quickly enough…"
Feng Xiaotian's expression grew serious as he explained.