Douluo Dalu 2: Reincarnated as the Auspicious Beast

The sharp dragon claw carried a scorching wind as it struck straight at Wang Rui's face.

Under the possession of her Red Dragon Martial Soul, the eleven-year-old girl appeared far more mature, looking like a fifteen or sixteen-year-old teenager. Her overwhelming aura, fierce and unstoppable, made her seem like a Valkyrie descending upon the mortal world.

In an instant, the searing wind stirred by the dark red dragon claw had already brushed against Wang Rui's red bangs. Yet, he showed no intention of dodging. His golden eyes remained calm, void of any ripple of emotion, as he simply watched Wu Feng's attack approach.

On the contrary, it was Wu Feng who began to hesitate.

No matter how jealous or unconvinced she felt, deep down, she still regarded Wang Rui as a friend. She had only challenged him to see the gap between them, not because she truly wanted to hurt him.

But if he didn't dodge, he would definitely be hit.

And she had gone all out in this attack, fueled by frustration at Wang Rui's indifference. Even though Wang Rui was a Soul Elder, if he took this strike head-on, it wouldn't end well for him.

However, it was already too late to pull back—once the bowstring is drawn, there is no turning back!

Wu Feng's mind raced, a trace of panic surfacing in her eyes as she watched the flames surrounding her rush toward Wang Rui—

Yet, suddenly, the flames extinguished.

The dark red Dragon's Fire vanished soundlessly, as if it had never existed—like a thin layer of snow under the scorching summer sun, disappearing without a trace.

At the same time, the crimson dragon scales covering Wu Feng's body dulled significantly. The dazzling red faded in an instant, making her seem like she had been forcibly transformed from a mighty Fire Dragon into a dusty Earth Dragon.

Wu Feng still maintained her forward momentum, but now her face was filled with a mix of shock and bewilderment.

Wang Rui sighed.

Though suppressing an opponent without even activating his Martial Soul could be quite discouraging for them, if he had actually unleashed his Martial Soul, Wu Feng would probably be kneeling on the ground, unable to stand.

After all, even though the Flame King Dragon Martial Soul he simulated in human form was not a creature that truly existed in this world, the Dragon's Might inherited from the Golden Dragon King and the extreme fire attribute were both absolutely real.

Wu Feng was only at Rank 25 right now—how could she possibly withstand such a dual suppression?

With a light step to the side, Wang Rui caught Wu Feng's arm to dissolve her forward force, then gently pushed her toward Ning Tian.

Wu Feng staggered before steadying herself. Though her face still carried traces of shock and confusion, in the end, those emotions were replaced by a defiant unwillingness to accept defeat.

Wang Rui smiled in satisfaction.

This girl had a strong spirit—there was no need for him to say anything more.

"It looks like getting first place in the assessment won't be a problem for you. But if you fail to secure first place for the Young Master… I won't let you off easily!" Wu Feng glared fiercely at Wang Rui. "I'm going back to train with my team. I won't let us fall too far behind you all!"

With that, she shot Huo Yuqing a complicated look before turning and walking away without looking back.

"Feng is maturing." Ning Tian watched Wu Feng's retreating figure with gratification, sighing. "With her usual temperament, she would have made a huge scene… Maybe it's because of the sect's influence. Feng has always been too attached to me, so let me apologize on her behalf."

Huo Yuqing carefully observed Ning Tian's expression, noticing a hint of trouble and helplessness in her demeanor. She couldn't help but feel a little worried for Wu Feng, who had an obvious but unrecognized crush on Ning Tian.

Hmm… Those two might have a tough road ahead.

Oh well, instead of worrying about others, she might as well worry about the trouble looming over her own head.

After all, wasn't there a huge issue between her and Wang Rui as well?

It was this whole gender situation… Wu Feng seemed to have misunderstood her and Wang Rui as… uh.

Honestly, Huo Yuqing didn't have a strong obsession with presenting as a boy. She had only dressed as one for safety reasons during her travels. Even after arriving at Shrek Academy, she had kept up the disguise most of the time using her Mimicry Soul Skill.

Speaking of which, the Mimicry Soul Skill granted by the Tianmeng Iceworm was truly formidable. Even with how close she and Wang Rui were, he had never noticed her secret or suspected anything.

But now, she was in a completely safe environment—she had a teacher, good friends, and people to protect her. At this point, revealing her real identity didn't seem to matter much anymore.

The problem was, she didn't know how to bring it up. She was afraid Wang Rui would be angry about being deceived… And if she revealed she was a girl, would she still be able to share a dorm with him?

The more important Wang Rui became to her, the more anxious she felt about telling him the truth.

If only some accident could expose her identity naturally—then she wouldn't have to struggle so much over it. Huo Yuqing sighed in frustration.

"Even though our group is strong, we should still practice working together to avoid any slip-ups during the match," Ning Tian suggested. "I'll go first… Though, the abilities of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Martial Soul aren't exactly a secret. Right now, I have three soul skills: speed amplification, negative effect removal, and attribute enhancement. Each additional soul ring adds a ten percent boost to the enhancement, and with the Martial Soul's inherent ten percent, I can currently increase your speed and attributes by forty percent."

Attribute enhancement… Now that was an interesting skill.

In the original novel, Ning Tian's third soul skill was inconsistent due to retcons, but now it wasn't any of the ones mentioned in the source material.

"Attribute enhancement?" Huo Yuqing was puzzled.

"Yes, it enhances the strongest attribute of a Soul Master," Ning Tian explained. "For example, Feng's strongest attribute is fire, so I can increase the temperature of her flames by forty percent."

This was similar to the ability of Ning Rongrong, the ancestor of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, whose sixth soul skill also enhanced attributes.

For Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Soul Masters, this was an incredibly flexible skill. Rather than boosting a fixed stats like attack or defense, it directly strengthened a person's most prominent trait, making it highly adaptable and practical.

"For instance, you," Ning Tian turned to Huo Yuqing. "You're a spiritual-type Soul Master, right? If I apply my third skill to you, it will directly boost your spiritual power by forty percent."

Huo Yuqing sucked in a sharp breath.

A forty percent increase—nearly half!

Wasn't her main problem the lack of intensity in her Soul Shock attack?

If she combined her Soul Power Fusion with Wang Rui and then received Ning Tian's forty percent boost… her Soul Shock might even be strong enough to defeat Dai Huabin!

And the best part—Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda's buffs had no side effects!

"It really deserves to be called the strongest auxiliary Martial Soul on the continent…" Huo Yuqing murmured in awe, instinctively glancing at Wang Rui.

But to her surprise, Wang Rui was frowning.

"No matter how dire the situation in the match gets, do not use your third skill on me."