It wasn't that Ma Xiaotao was trying to cling to Zhou Sichen—there were simply very few people in the Inner Court who could spar with her. More importantly, she wanted Zhou Sichen to see just how strong she truly was.
She asked, "So, where are you headed now?"
Zhou Sichen thought for a moment and replied, "I've got nothing planned right now. I can head to the Soul Duel Arena."
Ma Xiaotao gave a satisfied wave. "Then let's go!"
The two headed off together to the arena. After three days of absence, Zhou Sichen's return immediately drew countless gazes.
There wasn't much change in Zhou Sichen himself—he was still calm and collected as always. The only difference was the girl walking beside him.
To outsiders, Du Gu Xianmeng hadn't been seen recently, and now it seemed Ma Xiaotao had taken her place, sticking close to Zhou Sichen.
Today was Tuesday—the designated day for Inner Court students to duel Zhou Sichen's contract soul beasts.
Standing on the arena platform, Xiong Da looked imposing and majestic. A Soul King-level student was giving it everything he had, trying to leave even a scratch.
But Xiong Da's hide was thick and its body tougher than steel. Even standing still, it remained untouched.
The moment Zhou Sichen entered the arena, Xiong Da sensed his arrival. The human in front of it kept yapping away, so it simply swatted him aside with a single paw.
Then it turned to Zhou Sichen, wagging its tail enthusiastically.
Seeing the battle end so abruptly, Zhou Sichen leapt lightly onto the platform and said casually, "I was caught up with something over the weekend—let's make up for it today."
No sooner had he spoken than Ma Xiaotao followed him up, her long crimson hair fluttering behind her. "I'll be your first match!"
Zhou Sichen smiled. "Sure."
With a hum, six soul rings appeared around Ma Xiaotao—two yellow, two purple, two black. Flames erupted from her body, and the scorching heat instantly raised the temperature across the entire arena.
Zhou Sichen calmly raised his right hand. The golden Book of Contracts slowly appeared in his palm, and three black ten-thousand-year soul rings rose from beneath his feet.
Xiong Da, being quite sensible, walked off the platform and returned to its custom-made sleeping quarters.
The second soul ring lit up, and Hellfire surged as a crimson aura merged into Zhou Sichen's body.
In the next instant, Phoenix Hellfire ignited across his body, as if it could burn souls themselves.
His black ponytail turned into long, flaming hair. Three flame patterns appeared on either side of his face, and a pair of fiery phoenix wings burst from his back—he looked like Ma Xiaotao's mirror image.
But Zhou Sichen's appearance radiated more power and grace, and the pressure he gave off far exceeded hers.
The Hell Phoenix was a soul beast as rare as the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear. Now that it had evolved past 15,000 years, its power alone was enough to suppress even a Level 64 Ma Xiaotao.
Combined with Zhou Sichen's naturally superior physique and spiritual power—already close to the Soul Emperor level—he wasn't at a disadvantage at all.
Even though he was only drawing on a single contract soul beast's power, Ma Xiaotao didn't dare underestimate him.
Her second and third soul rings lit up: the support-type skill Phoenix Rebirth and the flight skill Soaring Phoenix Wings activated instantly.
With a burst of flames, Ma Xiaotao spread her phoenix wings, locking eyes with Zhou Sichen in midair.
Zhou Sichen flapped his own wings and shot forward.
Fire condensed around his right arm, transforming into a blazing phoenix talon, aimed straight at Ma Xiaotao's face.
Unwilling to be outdone, Ma Xiaotao summoned a phoenix talon of her own, and the two clashed midair.
Boom!
Zhou Sichen's strength was overwhelming. His physical body was Soul Emperor-tier, and now, enhanced by Hellfire, his strike sent Ma Xiaotao flying backward.
With just one clash, Ma Xiaotao knew she was completely outmatched in raw strength.
She recovered mid-air, wings flapping to stabilize her, and her fourth soul ring lit up.
"Fourth Soul Skill: Phoenix Cry Skystrike!"
Terrifying flames gathered as she switched tactics—abandoning close combat for long-range explosive magic.
This soul skill came in two stages: first, a blast of phoenix fire; second, three seconds later, a pillar of flames erupted from the ground.
If the second hit landed, most Soul Masters of the same level would be done for.
Why? Because the second hit forcibly stunned the target for two seconds—more than enough time for Ma Xiaotao to unleash another wave of devastating attacks.
Unlike their first fight, Ma Xiaotao wasn't holding anything back now.
In fact, by the time she activated the skill, a pillar of fire was already surging upward beneath Zhou Sichen.
His expression twitched slightly. Wait, where was the wind-up? What happened to the "Phoenix Cry Skystrike" animation?
Still, Zhou Sichen's reflexes were sharp. His flaming phoenix talon clenched into a fist, Hellfire surging violently.
He swung—forming a massive fiery claw that reached downward, gripping at the rising flame pillar.
Clash head-on!
At the same time, Zhou Sichen opened his mouth and breathed out a stream of terrifying Phoenix Hellfire, countering Ma Xiaotao's frontal strike.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
His flaming claw slammed the fire pillar back down, while the breath of Hellfire neutralized her main blast.
Then, with a powerful flap of his wings, Zhou Sichen launched toward her again.
Ma Xiaotao, unfazed, had almost expected him to block it.
Soul power surged around her legs, and her speed suddenly spiked—far beyond what most agility-type Soul Emperors could manage.
Her twin leg bones, both from the same flame-type soul beast, gave her explosive mobility—she looked like she had flame boosters on her thighs as she blasted away from Zhou Sichen.
Meanwhile, her fifth soul ring lit up, and a giant phoenix projection silently took shape, diving straight at Zhou Sichen.
"Fifth Soul Skill: Phoenix Cloudpiercer Strike!"
Zhou Sichen's expression didn't change. His phoenix wings flared up, and his right arm's flame talon extended outward—growing over five meters in length.
It resembled the claw of death, stretching out to meet the incoming phoenix head-on.
"Phoenix Nine Forms — Exploding Phoenix Talon!"
This was a self-created soul skill—an advanced attack formed by Zhou Sichen using Hellfire after its evolution. It was a true combat technique of his own design.
The flaming talon, formed from pure Phoenix Hellfire, collided head-on with Ma Xiaotao's fiery phoenix. The resulting explosion of heat and pressure rocked the entire arena.
Fortunately, the spectators were all at least Soul Ancestor level, capable of circulating soul power to resist the blazing shockwaves. Otherwise, they might've been injured just by standing too close.
With her soul bones enhancing speed, Ma Xiaotao held a clear edge in mobility. Unable to close the distance, both fighters shifted to ranged combat.
Although Zhou Sichen blocked all of her attacks, he couldn't land a hit on her either.
The two remained locked in a stalemate midair—until Ma Xiaotao's sixth soul ring lit up.
Above, the sky darkened as flaming meteors began to fall, all aimed directly at Zhou Sichen.
"Sixth Soul Skill: Phoenix Meteor Shower!"
Faced with the blazing downpour, Zhou Sichen's lips curved into a smirk. "Meteor Shower, huh? I've got one too."
His body ignited with Hellfire, forming a burning sea of flames. Within that firestorm, flaming meteors—each one just as powerful as Ma Xiaotao's—began to take shape.
With a wave of his talons, Zhou Sichen launched a counter-barrage.
"Phoenix Nine Forms — Phoenix Meteor Shower!"
This technique could only be unleashed after Hellfire evolved to the ten-thousand-year level. Before that, even with fusion, Zhou Sichen couldn't muster the power needed for such a massive area attack.
Now, two raging meteor storms lit up the sky.
When they collided, the entire arena exploded in light—like a festival of fireworks.
Flaming embers rained down, forcing the spectators below to defend themselves with martial souls or soul tools to avoid being burned.
But none of them looked away.
They were witnessing a battle between two monsters—and it was only just getting started.
****
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