The Canghui Academy team had now shown enough strength to be considered part of the first tier. They had crushed Blazing Academy, one of the Five Elemental Academies, in an overwhelming fashion. From today onward, Canghui Academy's name would be on everyone's lips.
Some even predicted that Canghui Academy might become the next Shrek Academy. The reason it would be the "next" is that they had previously forfeited when facing Shrek.
Shrek Academy, with Dai Mubai, a level fifty-five Soul King, plus Tang San and Xiao Wu displaying terrifying power, had gone from inexperienced newcomers to the biggest dark horse in the Heaven Dou competition zone.
In their next five matches, Canghui Academy did not face any of the other Five Elemental Academies, nor did they use their trump card, the Seven Asura Illusion, again. That technique was reserved for strong opponents like the Five Elemental Academies.
A trump card that is fully revealed is no longer a trump card.
Shrek Academy also faced no strong opponents in their next five matches. Three opponents directly forfeited, and they won the other two matches in crushing fashion. Dai Mubai, the Soul King, did not even need to take the field.
But Shrek Academy's luck seemed to have run out, because on the nineteenth day their opponent was Godwind Academy, one of the Five Elemental Academies.
During these days, Dai Mubai, Tang San, and the others had already run into Godwind Academy's captain, Feng Xiaotian, several times.
For some reason, ever since they defeated Blazing Academy, Feng Xiaotian had been visiting the Shrek team frequently, cheering them on like some kind of overexcited cat.
Although Shrek Academy was now widely recognized as the strongest in the Heaven Dou competition zone, the other Five Elemental Academies were still formidable opponents.
Thunderclap Academy, Tianshui Academy, and Godwind Academy had not yet revealed their true strength.
Today, in addition to Shrek vs. Godwind, Thunderclap and Tianshui would also face off.
The Shrek vs. Godwind match would take place in the morning, and the Thunderclap vs. Tianshui match would be held in the afternoon.
With two such exciting matches on the schedule, today was destined to be a fiery day.
After receiving information on Godwind Academy, Tang San studied it carefully. Of their seven members, three were Soul Sects. The strongest was the level forty-four assault-type battle soul master Feng Xiaotian, whose martial soul was a rare wind-type variant soul: the Gale Two-Headed Wolf.
The other two Soul Sects were both level forty-two, with martial souls of Gale Mantises, powerful agility-attack martial souls.
The remaining four were Soul Elders: one level thirty-eight Wind Bird, one level thirty-eight Gale Crane, and two level thirty-seven Wind Bells.
The two Wind Bell Soul Elders had not appeared before, but judging by the name of their martial souls, they likely did not have the ability to fly and were probably support-type soul masters.
These two were probably similar to the support soul masters with Fire Star martial souls from Blazing Academy, able to greatly amplify the team's overall strength.
Faced with such a strong opponent, Tang San switched out Huang Yuan. Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing would both take the field.
The lineup was:
- Dai Mubai, Martial Soul: White Tiger, Level 55 Assault-type Battle Soul King.
- Zhu Zhuqing, Martial Soul: Hell Civet, Level 45 Agility-attack Soul Sect.
- Tang San, Martial Soul: Blue Silver Emperor, Level 44 Control-type Soul Sect.
- Xiao Wu, Martial Soul: Soft Bone Rabbit, Level 43 Assault-type Soul Sect.
- Tai Long, Martial Soul: Vigorous Orangutan, Level 39 Assault-type Soul Elder.
- Jing Ling, Martial Soul: Skeleton, Level 36 Agility-attack Soul Elder.
- Jiang Zhu, Martial Soul: Healing Scepter, Level 35 Support-type Soul Elder.
The reason Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing were both fielded was because Tang San's fourth soul skill had already been revealed. Without the element of surprise, the enemy would surely develop tactics specifically targeting him.
But if Godwind focused on Tang San and Dai Mubai, Zhu Zhuqing and Xiao Wu could break the deadlock and deliver explosive attacks.
Amid cheers from tens of thousands of spectators, the fourteen members of both teams walked onto the central arena.
The host introduced each team member's information one by one.
When Godwind Academy saw Shrek's lineup, even Feng Xiaotian's expression grew serious.
Shrek's formation was incredibly solid. Even with a Soul King like Dai Mubai, they had still fielded three Soul Sects.
Feng Xiaotian might be able to hold off Dai Mubai alone, but that was likely the limit of what he could do.
If no one on Godwind could restrain Shrek's three Soul Sects, then Shrek still had a very high chance of victory.
In the VIP seats, Emperor Xue Ye looked at Shrek's lineup and said to Ning Fengzhi beside him, "It seems Shrek has brought out their strongest lineup today , one Soul King and three Soul Sects. I wonder how Godwind plans to respond."
Ning Fengzhi smiled slightly. "If Shrek is taking them this seriously, Godwind must have a powerful trump card. Wasn't Canghui Academy a perfect example?"
Emperor Xue Ye nodded, smiling as he turned his gaze back to the arena. No matter who won, these young talents were still treasures of his empire.
Both teams lined up at the referee's signal. Feng Xiaotian met Dai Mubai's gaze and said calmly, "You are the opponent I have long awaited. You will be the one I give my all against. This battle will make the name of Godwind Academy resound across the continent."
Hearing his confident words, Dai Mubai began to understand why Feng Xiaotian had been visiting them. Perhaps it was so he could defeat Shrek with his own hands and use that to make his name known.
But would things really go the way Feng Xiaotian imagined? In all of Dai Mubai's matches so far, he had at most used his first three soul skills, and that had already demonstrated overwhelming control over the battlefield.
Even against Godwind, Dai Mubai had no intention of going all out , after all, Shrek still had three Soul Sects. Perhaps there would be no need for Dai Mubai to exert his full power.
"Then let's wait and see whether it is your name that resounds across the continent or Shrek's winning streak that continues." Dai Mubai smiled slightly as he replied.
"Both sides, release your martial souls."
At the referee's command, the fourteen fighters returned to their formations. Martial soul possession, weapon summons , yellow, purple, and even black soul rings rose one after another.
From the number and quality of soul rings, Shrek clearly held an absolute advantage. But Godwind, with their uniform green aura, dyed half the arena emerald and did not seem to lose much momentum.
"The nineteenth round of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament, first match , begin!"
As the referee's voice rang out, everyone from Godwind except Feng Xiaotian and the two support soul masters simultaneously took flight as their soul rings glowed.
On Shrek's side, Dai Mubai and Tai Long charged forward, aiming straight for Feng Xiaotian and the two supports he was guarding.
Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing also dashed forward, but were intercepted by the two level forty-two Gale Mantis Soul Sects.
Tai Long was blocked by the Gale Crane, and Jing Ling was intercepted by the Wind Bird.
In an instant, Tang San was seemingly ignored. But the corner of his lips curled upward , if no one was there to restrict him, his fourth soul skill would turn him into a turret providing constant fire support.
The battle erupted. Radiant soul power filled the arena as Godwind's two Wind Bell support soul masters activated their first soul skills.
Ten streaks of green light flew from their bells, two each landing on their five teammates.
With the green light entering their bodies, the already airborne Godwind members' speed increased by nearly a third.
What frustrated Zhu Zhuqing and the others most was that Godwind did not seem eager to attack, merely to keep them occupied.
Whenever Shrek tried to break through, the enemy struck from above, while Shrek could not deal meaningful damage in return.
Feng Xiaotian acted the same way. After a few exchanges with Dai Mubai without using soul skills, he realized he was outmatched in raw strength and then activated his third soul skill to take to the skies.
His martial soul, the Gale Two-Headed Wolf, was a very strong variant, but it could not fly by itself. His third soul skill, Gale Wings, granted him flight.
Once in the air, Dai Mubai's superior physical strength was almost useless. His White Tiger Light Wave, while powerful, could be dodged with speed boosts and flight.
The battle reached an eerie stalemate as Godwind relied on their flight to exhaust Shrek's soul power.
If this continued, even though Shrek had a higher soul power level overall, their consumption rate would be faster, putting them at a disadvantage.
Then, for the first time in this match, a purple soul ring shone. Tang San activated his fourth soul skill.
Tang San's fourth skill had already made waves against Blazing Academy, turning him into a deadly throwing-knife turret with terrifying firepower.
According to the two level thirty-nine Fire Crane Soul Elders from Blazing Academy, Tang San's throwing knives might be small, but their penetration and power were terrifying , unless one was a defense-type soul master, few could withstand his barrage.
"Fourth soul skill , Flying Flower, Plucking Leaves!"
Crystal-like blades shaped like Blue Silver Grass leaves appeared in Tang San's hands. His pupils glowed with a purple sheen as his gaze swept across the seven members of Godwind.
A moment later, his wrists flicked and dozens of knives shot toward them at once.
The Godwind members immediately flew higher. The two support soul masters activated their second soul skills, summoning whirlwinds around them.
Tang San's knives were not blocked, but their trajectories were subtly shifted, narrowly missing their targets.
Tang San's knives, enhanced by Xuan Tian Gong and his unique throwing method, could pierce even defense-type martial souls , but the two supports were clearly confident that their second skill could counter this attack, standing calmly in place while continuing to buff their allies.
Tang San noted this but showed no change of expression, as if he had anticipated it.
These two supports might be safe, but the others were not.
Ignoring the supports, Tang San continued his relentless barrage, targeting all seven members.
The two supports might block his attacks for a while, but they could not maintain their second skills forever.
The others, meanwhile, had to dodge his knives and watch for attacks from the rest of Shrek's team.
In this way, Tang San alone reversed the flow of battle.
Godwind, who had been draining Shrek's soul power, now had to spend more of their own.
Maintaining his fourth soul skill consumed a lot of energy, but Jiang Zhu's second soul skill restored Tang San's soul power continuously.
Though not enough to fully offset the cost, it was enough to sustain him for a long while.
During this time, only Tang San was consuming soul power heavily on Shrek's side, while Godwind's entire team of seven was burning soul power together.
In an open battlefield, Godwind could simply fly out of range, but in the tournament arena, the flight ceiling was thirty meters , well within Tang San's range.
Right now, they could still hold out by dodging and blocking, but eventually they would fall behind.
They also did not dare to be cut by Tang San's knives.
According to Blazing Academy's Huoyun and Huoyu, Tang San's knives not only dealt great damage but also carried a numbing toxin.
It could be resisted with soul power at first, but over time it would severely weaken their performance.
So they had no choice but to spend more soul power to block or dodge.
With his Purple Demon Eye active, Tang San's knives flew out like endless rain. He still had not managed to wound the fliers, but his suppressive power was immense.
Then Tang San noticed something about Feng Xiaotian. Instead of dodging, Feng used his wing blades to cut through the knives.
That alone would not have caught Tang San's attention, but under the Purple Demon Eye he could see that Feng's wing blades grew stronger with every cut.
At first they could cleave three knives at once, now they could cut five, and their power was still increasing.
Noticing this, Tang San kept throwing knives but also quietly extended several Blue Silver Emperor vines, wrapping them around his teammates' waists.
He did not know what Feng Xiaotian was about to do, but he was already preparing his defense.
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