Chapter 446: The Battle Begins

"I'm fine. In fact, I feel great!" Xu Xiaoyan said with barely-contained excitement.

Li Zhilong was astonished as well. With his familiarity of the observatory, he knew that stellar energy was only effective on flying-type soul masters. After all, the foundation of Skyorder Star Ocean Academy was this observatory!

Battles fought within this space strengthened the soul power of flying-types and significantly improved their recovery speed.

How can that girl from Shrek also be affected by stellar energy? What's her martial soul?

Every person absorbed stellar energy at different speeds based on how compatible they were with the energy. The golden aura Tang Wulin saw around their opponents was the effect of the stellar energy. Only a few students in all of Skyorder Star Ocean Academy could harness stellar energy to the point that it was visible as a golden glow.

The golden mist surrounding Xu Xiaoyan was so thick that it was nearly tangible. Li Zhilong couldn't comprehend how this could be possible.

"Start!" Li Zhilong shouted.

The three frontliners of Shrek Academy's team immediately rushed forward. Tang Wulin quickly overtook the others, stomping the ground and shooting towards their opponents like a missile. As he did, three purple soul rings materialized around him and bluesilver grass swarmed out of the ground

His bluesilver grass looked nothing like its namesake anymore. Each strand was now sparkling blue, golden veins running throughout the vine and tiny patches of scales barely discernible to the eye littered along its length.

Ye Xinglan and Xie Xie were right behind Tang Wulin. Xie Xie's movements were akin to a wraith, his eerie yet graceful speed different from Tang Wulin's brutish charge. Ye Xinglan kept pace as well, moving so fast her limbs were blurs. Three rings appeared behind them both too, and together with Tang Wulin they advanced in a triangle formation.

Their opponents all jumped into the air at once.

Xiao Tiantian hunched over as a crimson aura burst from his body and his eyes took on the same hue. An enormous pair of bat wings unfurled from his back, while four purple soul rings rose up behind him. He flapped his wings, kicking up a gust of wind as he soared into the air.

What martial soul is that? Tang Wulin wondered.

Ye Zishu's brought his hands together in front of him and summoned a bamboo branch into his hands. The moment his second soul ring lit up, bamboo leaves erupted from the ground. They swirled in the air, trembling before flying over to form a pair of wings on his back. Pushing off with his pole, he leaped into the air and hovered gracefully as if he were as light as a feather. He didn't seem to be truly flying, but simply floating.

A pair of wings unfurled from Gu Tianming as he threw his head back and let out a sharp eagle's cry, while his hair transformed into feathers He flapped his wings and ascended as well. His martial soul was the soaring eagle!

A pair of wings formed behind Zhang Xining as well but compared to Gu Tianming's, they were much smaller and nimbler. The wings were pure white. A single flap later and he was positioned behind Gu Tianming, as if he was a startled chick.

Tang Wulin's jaw nearly dropped when Li Yaoyao summoned her martial soul. Her entire body burst into flames when she soared into the air. Her skin took on a charcoal shade and her arms transformed into giant rocks. The flames acted like jets, constantly propelling her into the air. Though they all took off at the same time, she was the fastest of them all.

What kind of martial soul is that? As expected of an academy specializing in flying-types! I can't even imagine what soul she has!

Han Yuchang had the most normal martial soul of them all. Butterfly wings sprouted from her back and she flew into the air.

They really are all flying-types!

Three ringed soul masters could close a gap of one hundred meters in mere seconds. At the fifty meter mark, Tang Wulin paused, rooting himself in this position. He grabbed the strand of bluesilver grass connecting him and Xu Lizhi and began to spin in place. Once he had enough momentum, he threw Xu Lizhi into the air! Then he did the same with Xie Xie and Ye Xinglan. He sent all three of them straight for their opponents!

Since none of them could fly, they had no way to stop their opponents from taking to the sky. The only thing they could do was ground them before they rose too high.

Xu Lizhi curled into himself, turning into a giant meat cannonball that shot straight toward Gu Tianming and Zhang Xining!

Tang Wulin firmly believed that control-types were more troublesome than assault-types, so he wanted to eliminate the opposing control-types first.

Xie Xie flew toward Han Yuchang and Ye Xinglan went straight for their captain, Xiao Tiantian.

The fact that Tang Wulin could accurately throw his teammates at their targets was testament to his strength and control.

Even as they soared through the air, they were still anchored to Tang Wulin with strands of bluesilver grass wrapped around their waist.

Gu Yue shot fireballs about a foot in diameter at Ye Zishu and Li Yaoyao and let the fireballs explode in their proximity, suppressing them and ensuring they stay in place.

Tang Wulin's plan was simple. They would disrupt their opponents in the opening act of battle, then Gu Yue and Xu Xiaoyan would provide long-ranged fire support while he positioned himself to take advantage of any openings.

He didn't expect to instantly wipe out their opponents, but he wanted to take care of at least one of them. If his team could do that, then they could take their time taking down the rest. Although flying-types had a clear advantage against grounded opponents, that came at the cost of high soul power consumption. He wasn't afraid their opponents would fly beyond their reach.

Being the first team member that Tang Wulin threw, Xu Lizhi was also the first to engage his targets. His immense mass, combined with Tang Wulin's arm strength, made him a high-speed projectile.

Just as Gu Tianming reached a suitable altitude, he found a giant ball of meat flying toward him. Zhang Xining, who hid behind him, used his first soul skill and let out a melodious cry. His martial soul was the skylark.

Although he could fly, he relied on his voice to control his enemies. His first soul skill slowed and weakened his target.

However, this had no effect on Xu Lizhi. He wasn't flying thing the air with his own power! He had been thrown by Tang Wulin!

Gu Tianming eyes widened. Isn't this fatty a food-type? Is he being used as cannon fodder? He snapped out of his daze. Lighting up his first soul ring, he beat his wings towards Xu Lizhi and unleashed ten feather arrows.

Long-ranged attacks were crucial for aerial battles since it was easy for either party to open up distance.

The feathers pierced through the air in succession.

Unfortunately for Gu Tianming, Xu Lizhi was a disciple of the Tang Sect, a sect that specialized in hidden weapons!

Xu Lizhi straightened from his ball form and thrust out his hands. Despite facing danger, he still wore his usual silly smile. His palms shone like jade as he moved them in circles, sucking in the arrows as if they were invisible whirlpools.