After the boost from his three soul skills, Bull Warrior was filled with unshakable confidence in both his defense and strength. He ignored the Ghost Shadow Soldiers appearing from the east, west, and south, disregarding any potential threat they posed. With full force, he continued charging forward, more imposing than ever.
At that moment, the black mist coiling around Lü Buliang condensed in his hands into two black, shuriken-like energy blades. His first soul skill, Shadow Lock, targeted Bull Warrior's shadow. With a flick of his wrists, the two black shurikens shot out, flying directly toward Bull Warrior's head.
At the same time, the Ghost Shadow Soldiers from the east, west, and south mirrored his movement—each conjuring a pair of black shurikens and throwing them at Bull Warrior's shadow.
Bull Warrior caught the strange attacks from the corner of his eye. Yet, even as he saw the same eerie attacks coming at him from three different directions, he showed no fear. Ignoring them completely, he kept charging straight toward Lü Buliang, intending to rely on his impervious body to tank the incoming attacks and then deliver a crushing blow to defeat Lü Buliang.
Watching Bull Warrior rush toward him like a mad bull, Lü Buliang grinned coldly. The black shuriken attacks unleashed by him and the three Ghost Shadow Soldiers weren't meant to deal damage—they were too weak for that. Their purpose was never offense, but control.
These shurikens, formed from black energy, were imbued with the effect of his third soul skill, Shadow Control. Their target wasn't the body, but the shadow beneath it. Once a shuriken struck a target's shadow, the shadow would be pinned down—rendering the owner of that shadow paralyzed.
The number of shurikens that hit the same shadow determined how many times the binding effect stacked. And from all four directions—north, east, south, and west—eight black shurikens spun through the air, trailing afterimages as they howled through the wind, reaching Bull Warrior in an instant.
Bull Warrior crossed his arms over his head, preparing to use his toughened body to block the shurikens flying in from all four sides. But unexpectedly, all eight shurikens made sharp turns in mid-air, precisely striking his shadow instead.
"Missed?" Bull Warrior looked down at his feet and saw all of Lü Buliang's attacks had hit the ground. He couldn't help but chuckle. Looking up at Lü Buliang's mismatched eyes, he sneered, "Looks like your aim's off."
"Is that so?" Lü Buliang replied coolly. "Then let me offer you a single truth: the ignorant are doomed."
Bull Warrior's smile froze. He glanced again at his shadow—now pierced by eight black shurikens like nails. Strangely, even though he was mid-charge, his body had suddenly stopped. He couldn't move.
Behind the mask, a flicker of panic crossed Bull Warrior's face. He hadn't even realized when he stopped moving. Now, his whole body was immobilized, no matter how hard he struggled. Could it be—his shadow had been pinned, and he was trapped because of it?
Though physically built, Bull Warrior wasn't lacking in brains. Unfortunately, he'd figured it out too late.
Being hit by eight shurikens meant his shadow was under eight overlapping Shadow Control effects. Escaping that level of control required the strength of at least a Soul Ancestor.
But Bull Warrior was merely a rank 35 Soul Elder—nowhere near strong enough to break free.
With the enemy fully immobilized, Lü Buliang was now ready to unleash his ultimate move: Abyssal Shadow Kill Array. This custom soul skill targeted shadows directly, bypassing all shield-type defenses to strike the body directly. Its hit rate, once the shadow was bound, was guaranteed.
Suddenly, a sinister black wind swept across the Soul Arena, bringing with it an unnatural mix of searing heat and freezing cold. Darkness shrouded the platform.
Self-created soul skill—Abyssal Shadow Kill Array—activated.
Lü Buliang and his three Ghost Shadow Soldiers simultaneously blurred, becoming semi-transparent like spirits—unselectable and ghost-like.
In that instant, Lü Buliang activated his second soul skill, Shadow Assault, enhancing his attack and speed by 50%. The black mist around him concentrated at his fingertips, forming a foot-long black blade.
Simultaneously, the three Ghost Shadow Soldiers also used Shadow Assualt, each forming black blades with their hands.
Once again, the first soul skill Shadow Lock targeted Bull Warrior's shadow. Lü Buliang stepped back with his right foot and then launched forward like a gust of wind—his form turning into a dark blur as he charged the immobilized Bull Warrior at lightning speed, leaving only a fading trail of shadow behind him.
The Ghost Shadow Soldiers did the same, raising their dual blades and charging in from three directions.
In the blink of an eye, four black shadows closed in. Bull Warrior only felt four gusts of chilling wind strike him simultaneously from the front, back, and both sides. In his panic, he was overwhelmed by waves of intense pain—his supposedly impenetrable body felt as though it had been struck by terrifying force four times in a row. Blood sprayed from his mouth, and his entire body experienced alternating extremes of heat and cold.
The four shadows flashed past and vanished. The next moment, Bull Warrior was frozen stiff, collapsing to his knees. His eyes rolled back, and he fell unconscious.
The four shadows converged into one and reformed into Lü Buliang, who stood silently atop the Great Spirit Arena.
The announcer, just getting ready to energize the audience despite it being the lowest-tier newcomer division, was caught off guard. Before he could even begin his enthusiastic commentary, Bull Warrior had already collapsed—unconscious and back to normal as his tripled muscle mass faded and his Raging Bull Possession ended.
"Con-congratulations to Shadow Monarch—victorious in his debut match! Current record: one win, zero losses!"
The announcer cheered loudly. The stunned crowd slowly came to their senses and began applauding. Some spectators, scouting for promising new Soul Masters, were especially thrilled to see Lü Buliang summon three Ghost Shadow Soldiers to attack in unison. To them, he looked like a walking goldmine.
Having concluded his first Soul Duel, Lü Buliang jumped off the stage. His current record was 1–0, earning him 1 point.
To advance from an Iron Badge to a Bronze Badge, he still needed 99 more points.
He couldn't compete in another one-on-one match today, so his only options were two-on-two duels or team battles.
Unfortunately, due to the large point gap, he couldn't partner with any of the seven members of Yu Tianheng's team. For now, his best bet was to team up with another newcomer for a two-on-two duel.
Alternatively, he could consider joining Yu Tianheng's team for a group battle.
Group Soul Battles didn't have strict individual ranking restrictions. The Royal Battle Team had just registered and held an Iron-level team badge with a 0–0 record.
So regardless of his personal duel level, Lü Buliang could legally join Yu Tianheng and the others for a group match.
…
In the audience area near the Soul Elder-level one-on-one arena, Lü Buliang spotted Yu Tianheng, Dugu Yan, and Oslo engaged in their respective matches.
Their opponents were rank 39, rank 38, and rank 36 respectively—all one level higher than each of them.
However, Yu Tianheng, Dugu Yan, and Oslo all possessed strong Martial Souls, giving them the advantage in battles against opponents of the same tier.
As expected, the results were in: all three had won.
After their matches, Ye Lingling used her Nine-Heart Begonia Martial Soul to heal their injuries and fatigue. They had only consumed about a third of their soul power and could still handle one or two more matches.
Lü Buliang approached the rest area and suggested taking a break before signing up for a group battle.
The others agreed. But a problem soon presented itself—
Official group battles only allowed seven participants.
If Lü Buliang wanted to participate, then one of the seven would have to be benched.
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