When Yu Yan nodded, Azure-clad raised a hand and signaled to the squad, then surged forward in Martial Soul Possession.
Azure-clad's Spirit was the Azure Bird, a giant cyan avian with a three-meter wingspan.
Under Martial Soul Possession, Azure-clad took on traits of the bird, and the optimal ring configuration of yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black appeared around her.
The first yellow spirit ring flashed; azure wings unfurled behind her and she vaulted skyward.
While ascending she triggered her third Spirit Ability, wrapping herself in cyan spirit power reminiscent of a Super Saiyan burst.
At the apex, a deep-purple fourth spirit ring encircled her, and she shot down like a cyan meteor, smashing into the Frost Ash Remnant Dragon at terrifying speed.
All of this sounded complicated, yet took barely a second.
By the time the Frost Ash Remnant Dragon reacted, the cyan comet that was Azure-clad was already in its face.
Unable to dodge, the dragon was sent flying by the brutal impact.
While Azure-clad moved, the rest of the Azure Bird Soul Hunting Squad acted in concert.
Azure Profound and Qing Zishan completed their Martial Soul Possession, launched with their First Soul Skill, and took positions to form a triangle around the dragon, locking it in the center.
Of the four accompanying Spirit Ancestors, the shield-type Spirit Master stayed beside Yu Yan, summoning his Spirit to protect him, while the other three entered the fight.
The female Spirit Ancestor produced a huge drum; four rings—yellow, yellow, purple, purple—settled on it. She struck the drum five times, sending five beams of light onto the five combatants.
Empowered, Azure-clad displayed the might expected of an attack system Spirit King, charging the newly risen Frost Ash Remnant Dragon to finish it quickly.
Azure Profound and Qing Zishan released abilities similar to their big sister's and rushed alongside her.
The dragon roared, slammed the ground with its foreclaws, and conjured Profound Ice Chains that snatched at the three incoming figures.
The trio weaved mid-air, evading the grasping chains.
When dodging failed, Azure-clad shattered the chains with her fists; Azure Profound used a Teleportation-like move to slip past; Qing Zishan copied his big sister and broke them with punches.
From every detail, Qing Zishan was clearly imitating Azure-clad.
The two Spirit Ancestors boosted by the drum Spirit stood at a safe distance, wearing the enemy down with ranged Spirit abilities.
The Frost Ash Remnant Dragon unleashed draconic flames, frost shields, an ice-fire symphony, and blazing charges against the squad.
Yet before three Spirit Kings these techniques were useless, and the trio exploited openings to inflict heavy damage.
Even so, the dragon's power was evident—a normal Spirit Beast under five millennia would have been finished long ago.
After ten-odd minutes, thanks to an opening created by Azure Profound, Azure-clad and Qing Zishan became two cyan streaks that slammed the battered dragon to the ground.
The cyan glow faded; Azure-clad and Qing Zishan each pinned a wing, preventing the beast from rising.
"Little brother Yu Yan, the Frost Ash Remnant Dragon is down—come finish it!" Azure-clad shouted, one foot on its icy wing.
"Got it—coming!" Yu Yan circulated his spirit power, dashed over, and drove a dagger toward the blue-red reverse scale over the dragon's heart.
Blade met heart, and in its death throes the beast erupted with desperate strength, thrashing as if in a final burst.
Azure-clad and Qing Zishan poured in all their strength to hold it, keeping it from harming the nearby Yu Yan.
To end it faster, Yu Yan twisted the embedded blade; the dragon's struggles waned until it lay still.
Yu Yan stared into its one-blue-one-red eyes as the light faded from them.
A purple spirit ring then condensed and floated before him.
"Sorry for the trouble, Azure-clad."
———
Second Martial Soul Fusion Skill: Ice-Fire Profound Mystery – Infernal Prison Annihilation Flare
Fusion Basis: Use Ice Fish's Second Spirit Ability, Profound Ice Chain, as the framework, and inject the berserk energy of fire fish's Second Spirit Ability, Blazing Dragon Roar.
Activation Forms:
Ice-Base Cage: Ice Fish first triggers Profound Ice Chain, but not for simple binding. Thick, rune-veined deep-blue chains burst from the ground or sky, weaving into a huge, complex, bird-cage-like prison that completely seals the target (or area). The inner walls bristle with spikes that radiate Soul-freezing cold (Absolute Frigid Domain effect), while the chains tighten to drain spirit power and heat.
Kindling Ignition: fire fish's Blazing Dragon Roar energy is not sprayed outward; instead, it surges through every chain. Gold-white blazing flame floods the lattice like molten metal, turning the ice cage into a living furnace laced with lethal fuses.
Inferno Eruption – Instant Annihilation: When the twin-Spirit wielders' minds unite, they shout, "Inferno—Annihilate!" The fire energy, compressed within the sealed prison, detonates catastrophically.
Triple Destruction Shock:
Phase 1 – Frigid Shackling: On cage formation, powerful immobilization, crushing pressure, deep-freeze damage, and spirit power slowdown.
Phase 2 – Vein-Scorching Bone-Burn: As flame surges along the chains, scorching energy pours directly into the target, causing violent internal combustion and amplifying the agony of the freeze (extreme ice-to-fire shift).
Phase 3 – Obliteration Detonation: The core blast inside the sealed space unleashes annihilation. Physical shockwaves from the chain lattice, white-hot core flames, and razor-edged ice shrapnel (with lingering cold) strike simultaneously. Core temperatures can vaporize metal; the blast covers the entire cage and its surroundings.