Just as the other academies were struggling, the Emperor Battle Team was having a very easy time. Although the Battle Axe Soul Sage's attacks were incredibly powerful, his weaknesses were also obvious.
Aside from his seventh soul skill, Martial Soul True Body, all of his first to sixth soul skills were single-target attacks. Their attack range was too narrow and the speed was not fast enough, so he simply couldn't hit any of the Emperor Battle Team members.
The three brothers were supposed to work as a team, with the Painting Scroll Soul Sage controlling the opponents, and after restraining them, relying on the Battle Axe Soul Sage's overwhelming attack power to finish them off.
The Snow Wolf Soul Sage was an agility attacker, mainly responsible for sneak attacks. Unfortunately, now one brother had died in battle, and the other was being tightly held up by Qin Ming.
Although the Snow Wolf Soul Sage was at a higher level than Qin Ming, he was completely countered by Qin Ming's Inferno Grey Wolf. If not for his Martial Soul True Body, he would probably have already been defeated.
"Haha, Xiao Tian, this is too much fun. I've never toyed with a Soul Sage like this before," Yu Tianheng laughed as he ran.
"What can we do? Who told this guy to be so dumb? He picked such extreme soul rings that, once separated from his big brother, he's no different from trash."
Hearing Tian Lin and Yu Tianheng's mocking taunts, the Battle Axe Soul Sage became furious. "Go to hell! Fifth Soul Skill—Fatal Flying Axe!"
This was the Battle Axe Soul Sage's only ranged attack and the only skill that could threaten them.
"Gu Ran, make your move!" Tian Lin commanded.
Gu Ran immediately responded, "Understood, boss! Fifth Soul Skill—Bones of the Demon God, Gather!"
From the start, he changed up his Bones of the Demon God, transforming it into a massive skeletal Death Tyrannosaurus Rex, which took the flying axe attack on behalf of the team.
But since it wasn't alive to begin with, even when it was scattered, Gu Ran could quickly re-condense it with soul power, and the ferocious bone dragon roared as it charged at the Battle Axe Soul Sage.
"Yan, let's attack too!" Yu Tianheng, ever eager to steal the final blow, joined in enthusiastically.
He joined hands with Dugu Yan, and the Ice-Fire Jade Scaled Jiao and Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon intertwined and fused into one. This was the Martial Soul Fusion Skill they'd mastered after years of hard training: the Ice-Fire Thunder Dragon.
"Fourth Soul Skill—Glimmering Immortal-Slaying Slash!"
The three strongest attackers of the Emperor Battle Team formed a triangle and surrounded the Battle Axe Soul Sage. He had no way to dodge, and he'd already overdrawn his soul power. Even his Martial Soul True Body was on the verge of collapsing.
With a loud "Boom!", a huge cloud of dust rose in the valley.
When the dust cleared, they could see what had happened. The Battle Axe Soul Sage's arm holding the axe had been bitten off by the bone dragon.
A thunder dragon claw had pierced his chest, and a sword had run through his abdomen.
"Damn it… Do you dare kill me? Do you even know who I am?" The Battle Axe Soul Sage, holding onto his last breath, snarled viciously.
Tian Lin smiled faintly. "Of course, we know. Aren't you just a mountain bandit? Or are you saying you're a righteous member of the Spirit Hall?"
"You!" The Battle Axe Soul Sage pointed at Tian Lin in shock—he realized Tian Lin had already guessed their true identities, yet still dared to kill them.
If you want to conceal your identity, then it's reasonable for us to not know. Killing a bandit is an act of justice for the people. Would Spirit Hall punish us for that?
With overwhelming resentment, the Battle Axe Soul Sage breathed his last.
Looking at the corpse, Tian Lin felt nothing. Although he planned to help Qian Renxue in the future, that would only happen if she rose to power. As long as Bibi Dong remained the Pope, Tian Lin would never let his guard down against Spirit Hall. He wouldn't show any mercy to those from Spirit Hall who attacked him.
After all, he wouldn't dare bet on whether Bibi Dong was crazy or not—working with her would be like bargaining with a tiger.
Among the dozens of black-clad attackers, except for the Snow Wolf Soul Sage, all were wiped out by the Emperor Battle Team. This was probably the quickest battle of any front.
The Snow Wolf Soul Sage, sensing the outcome, was so furious his snow wolf almost turned into a fire wolf. He wanted revenge, but he couldn't even handle Qin Ming, let alone the others.
Now, he was in danger. The Emperor Battle Team was freed up and would come to help their teacher. His fate wouldn't be any better than the other two Soul Sages.
His rage turned to fear—all he wanted now was to escape.
Seizing the moment before his Martial Soul True Body faded, the Snow Wolf Soul Sage used his strongest soul skill to push Qin Ming back and fled rapidly.
"Trying to run? Not that easy. Teleport!" Tian Lin instantly appeared in his escape path. "Second Soul Skill—Ice Fire God Seal!"
"Jun Tianlin, get out of my way! Fourth Soul Skill—Snow Wolf Claw!"
The two clashed mid-air. Against a full-power Soul Sage in Martial Soul True Body, Tian Lin was at a disadvantage, but his physique was strong enough to avoid injury.
But after that attack, the Snow Wolf Soul Sage's Martial Soul True Body was forcibly dispelled—not because he ran out of soul power, but because it was instantly sealed.
"After being hit by my Ice Fire God Seal, you dropped back to Soul Emperor, right?" Tian Lin could sense that the Snow Wolf Soul Sage's soul power had dropped to about sixty-eight, and his seventh soul ring was sealed, making Martial Soul True Body impossible.
Even if he was sixty-nine point nine, as long as he wasn't seventy, he couldn't use his True Body. He was finished.
Qin Ming was already ready in the rear with his strongest soul skill.
"Sixth Soul Skill—Explosive Flames!"
Qin Ming poured all his soul power into an all-out attack. As a burst-type soul master, this strike rivaled Soul Sage's. With attribute restraint, the Snow Wolf Soul Sage, now without his Martial Soul True Body, was hit and instantly exploded apart.
"Haha…!" Finally victorious, Qin Ming dropped to one knee, gasping for breath.
Burst-type soul masters have terrifying attack power, but a glaring weakness: poor sustained combat ability, since each strike consumes a massive amount of soul power.
After the grueling fight with the Snow Wolf Soul Sage, Qin Ming's soul power and stamina were both depleted.
"Teacher Qin, quickly take this and meditate to recover your soul power." Tian Lin handed him a pill, and Qin Ming took it without hesitation.
There might be more attackers coming, so they needed to recover quickly.
The rest of the Emperor Battle Team also took pills and sat down to recover, as the black-clad attackers here had all been dealt with.
But they didn't dare rest too long. Qin Ming stood up again after recovering only thirty to forty percent of his soul power.