Chapter 278: Old Rivals Reunite, Two Times Stalking
The preliminary matches were already past the halfway mark, and the competition was proceeding much more smoothly than before. Without keeping the audience waiting too long, the second match of the day, Elephant Armored Academy vs. Cang Hui Academy, was about to begin.
The crowd's cheers were thunderous, all directed at Cang Hui Academy's team members.
No one had expected that the once mediocre Cang Hui Academy, which had struggled in their previous matches, would completely crush an established powerhouse like Thunder Academy the day before. And their opponents had been utterly defenseless.
Now, they were up against another Elemental Academy Elephant Armored Academy.
This had the audience excited.
An underdog story was always thrilling in any competition.
People were eager to see if Cang Hui Academy could pull off another upset by defeating Elephant Armored Academy today.
Though yesterday's match had been bizarre and hard to comprehend, it didn't matter. The hype was real.
Amidst the roaring cheers, Cang Hui Academy's seven members stepped onto the stage, their faces brimming with excitement.
This was their moment of glory.
"Long live Teacher Shi Nian!"
Their confidence soared.
After today, they would march undefeated into the ranking matches.
Then
They saw seven hulking figures step onto the stage from the other side.
To be more precise, seven giant meatballs from Elephant Armored Academy stood there, smirking coldly at them.
For some reason… Cang Hui Academy's team felt uneasy.
With the referee's announcement, the match entered the preparation phase.
The members of Cang Hui Academy pushed aside their doubts.
They followed their pre match strategy, preparing to unleash Seven Asura Phantom.
No matter what tricks Elephant Armored Academy had prepared, they would crush them instantly at the start.
They couldn't abandon their planned tactics.
After all, they weren't about to go toe to toe in melee combat that was suicide.
The match began.
Without any hesitation, seven colored light exploded from Cang Hui Academy, instantly enveloping Elephant Armored Academy's team.
The dazzling colors created a mystical atmosphere.
The audience held their breath.
It was that move again.
"It won't work on me."
A sly grin appeared on Hu Yanli's face as he stepped forward.
Behind him, the other six members of Elephant Armored Academy quickly lined up, hiding behind him.
Yes they moved with shocking agility.
For such huge guys, they were unbelievably nimble.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, a diamond mammoth spirit projection emerged above Hu Yanli's head.
At the same time, a yellow helmet formed on his head, shimmering with earth elemental energy, directly facing the incoming rainbow light from Cang Hui Academy.
The collision of spirit power produced a thin transparent membrane, crackling with energy.
"A spirit bone?!"
Several well informed spirit masters in the crowd gasped in shock.
In the VIP stands, Hu Yanzhen noticed the countless eyes turning toward him.
Smiling, he cupped his hands modestly and said, "Just a stroke of luck, just a stroke of luck.".
Meanwhile, in the contestant stands, Huo Wushuang and Feng Xiaotian's expressions twisted.
"A spirit bone?! That bastard Hu Yanli's 'secret weapon' was a damn spirit bone?!"
They were filled with jealousy and frustration.
No wonder Han Li had said that their method was impossible to replicate.
A spirit bone, and a head spirit bone at that, perfectly compatible with his martial soul…
The quality must be top tier.
What's more it provided mental defense.
That was unbelievably overpowered.
They were so envious they wanted to scream.
None of them had even seen a spirit bone before, let alone own one.
In fact, one of their main reasons for competing in the Spirit Master Tournament was the chance to win a spirit bone as a prize.
"Han, great Holy Son, if we join Spirit Hall, do we get spirit bones too?"
The one who spoke was the captain of the Plant Academy.
He knew his limits he was decently talented, but compared to Feng Xiaotian and the others, he was still a bit behind.
Now that Hu Yanli already had a spirit bone, it was clear Spirit Hall's affiliated forces had massive advantages.
Han Li blinked in surprise.
He hadn't expected Hu Yanli to advertise for Spirit Hall like this.
The Plant Academy captain was an innate rank eight talent with a decent foundation, though his martial soul was lackluster.
But for him to straight up ask this question…
Han Li found it amusing.
"Hu Yanli's spirit bone was provided by the Elephant Armored Clan. I don't know where it came from."
"As for whether joining Spirit Hall guarantees a spirit bone… I can't promise that.
"But I can say this compared to other factions, your chances of obtaining a spirit bone in Spirit Hall are much, much higher."
Han Li answered truthfully.
Come on, spirit bones were rare for everyone.
There was no way they'd just hand them out to every recruit.
Of course, if Feng Xiaotian had asked, Spirit Hall might have considered it.
As for Huo Wu, who had figured out her own way to fuse rings, she had potential too but not as much as Feng Xiaotian.
Hearing Han Li's response, the Plant Academy captain awkwardly scratched his head and chuckled.
It had been a heat of the moment question, and he already knew the answer before Han Li even spoke.
"Then again… maybe it's not impossible. Who knows? You might get lucky."
Han Li added cryptically.
Han Li added another thought perhaps he could experiment with spirit bone alchemy, using the bones of deceased spirit beasts to create artificial spirit bones. The effects might not be as powerful, but for some people, they'd be more than enough.
The others chuckled, assuming Han Li was simply consoling them.
On the battlefield, the stalemate continued.
Cang Hui Academy had pushed their offensive to the limit, but Elephant Armored Academy focused purely on defense.
Hu Yanli, despite blocking the mental assault with his spirit bone, was struggling. His soul power consumption was immense his spirit bone provided mixed defense, not pure mental defense, and its effectiveness was only at the level of a newly advanced Spirit Saint's barrier.
He was burning too much soul power and couldn't hold out for long.
If this dragged on, despite Cang Hui's weaker individual strength, they had seven members Hu Yanli couldn't afford to be drained dry.
"Xiao, tell Jia to activate all his spirit abilities and throw him at them. Crush them."
Hu Yanli, exhausted, gave orders to the heaviest of his teammates.
Hu Yanxiao didn't hesitate.
He turned to Hu Yanjia, their largest teammate.
Hu Yanjia grinned, activated all his defensive skills, and wordlessly let his teammates hoist him up.
Then
They hurled him forward.
"What the hell?!"
Cang Hui Academy's captain wanted to curse out loud.
But there was nothing he could do.
Once their ultimate technique was activated, they couldn't move until the opponent collapsed.
As Hu Yanjia flew toward them, he was instantly ensnared in Seven Asura Phantom.
However
His defensive skills remained active.
The captain watched in horror as Hu Yanjia crashed into him.
The impact swept up two other teammates.
He saw nothing but stars as his vision blacked out.
The link severed.
Seven Asura Phantom shattered.
The remaining four Cang Hui members blinked in confusion
Only to see six Elephant Armored Academy members grinning menacingly at them.
The result?
A brutal beatdown.
Four against six.
With no fusion ability left, Cang Hui Academy was outmatched.
They were mercilessly thrashed and left the stage black and blue.
Thus, despite yesterday's stunning victory, Cang Hui Academy's dream of an undefeated streak ended abruptly.
Spirit bones had changed the game.
Off stage, Shi Nian exhaled deeply.
Seeing his battered students, he said nothing just gestured for them to return to the academy.
His mood was sour.
He needed a drink.
Seven Asura Phantom his proudest invention, refined through years of research and his own head spirit bone had been cracked in its first major appearance.
Even if it took another spirit bone to do so, he was still frustrated.
Still at least their name had spread.
Against weaker teams, they could still dominate.
"I can still make a name for myself," Shi Nian consoled himself as he walked away.
Not long after…
As Shi Nian exited the arena, he ran into Heaven Dou Imperial Academy Team 2.
"Tang San, after seeing Elephant Armored Academy's strategy, do you think "
Yu Xiaogang's words cut off mid sentence.
His face stiffened.
His eyes landed on Shi Nian.
Yu Xiaogang knew him well.
He had clashed with him before, back when he was still wandering with Flender.
And he knew Shi Nian held grudges.
He wisely shut his mouth.
"I have some ideas, but nothing concrete. I need more certainty."
Tang San, unaware of Shi Nian's presence, continued his train of thought.
He stepped forward, only to finally notice the man.
Cang Hui Academy's students had already mentioned this was Shi Nian's invention.
Suddenly the air grew tense.
But Tang San quickly adjusted.
They were rivals.
Trying to counter a competitor's technique was fair game.
His eyes locked onto Shi Nian's.
Shi Nian held his gaze for a moment then looked away.
He had been warned by the Heaven Dou Empire.
Tang San was under high level protection.
Shi Nian couldn't afford to make a move.
So he simply continued walking.
But just as he reached the exit, he paused.
He couldn't let this slide entirely.
His students were off limits…
But Yu Xiaogang?
That useless waste of space?
Shi Nian's soul power subtly pulsed.
A faint glow flickered around his head.
A stealthy tendril of mental energy drifted toward Yu Xiaogang.
"A spirit bone? A head spirit bone?"
In the shadows, a mysterious figure cloaked in black watched closely.
Their eyes glanced at the unsuspecting members of Heaven Dou Team 2.
Then they turned to follow Shi Nian.
At that moment
Han Li and his group stepped out of the arena.
As they rounded a corner
They saw everything.
Han Li's lips curved into a smirk.
He leaned over to Dugu Yan and the others, whispering a few words.
Then his figure vanished.
He silently followed the black cloaked figure.
(End of Chapter)
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