For Shrek Academy's strongest contestant, how could the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy possibly have no preparations?
Seeing that ball of firelight approaching closer and closer, blue-purple light simultaneously flared on Ma Rulong, Mi Jia, and Lin Xi.
In the next instant, the three beams of light converged into a single massive net that enveloped Ma Xiaotao.
Ma Xiaotao's expression hardened. A line of fire shot from her mouth straight toward the net.
Yet though it looked like a net, it was actually a soul tool. Ma Xiaotao's attack only paused it in midair for a moment; under the control of Ma Rulong's trio, it still solidly trapped her inside.
The exchange between contestants happened in a flash, while the self-propelled soul guide cannons in the arena never ceased firing for even a second.
When Ma Xiaotao was still present, Dai Yaoheng could cooperate with her to barely intercept those attacks. Now left alone, his White Tiger Meteor Shower was merely a millennium-level soul skill; facing the dense barrage before him, even if he wanted to block it, he was powerless.
Seeing countless attacks raining down, an ice wall condensed and formed, blocking the attacks' path, but it lasted only a few breaths before being shattered by the overwhelming firepower.
Below the arena, Wang Yan watched what was happening on stage and faintly sensed something amiss. Suddenly, as if realizing something, he whipped around to look at Huo Yuhao.
"Yuhao, is there a type of soul tool that can launch attacks without consuming the soul mentor's soul power?"
Though Wang Yan had deep knowledge of martial souls, his understanding of soul tools was still limited.
Yet Huo Yuhao was only a second-level soul mentor and had never heard of such a soul tool before; he could only lightly shake his head.
Even without a positive answer from Huo Yuhao, Wang Yan had guessed something.
Shrek Academy being suppressed had been within Wang Yan's expectations. After all, in battles between mid-to-low-tier soul masters and soul mentors, soul mentors could dominate from a distance.
Moreover, four reserve members from Shrek Academy were on the field; their soul power ranks were lower than the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy's, making it even harder to breach their firepower.
But in Wang Yan's projections, the Sun Moon team's fire-coverage tactic would also consume considerable soul power. As long as Ma Xiaotao broke through to their front, those attacks would inevitably be disrupted.
Yet now, Ma Rulong's trio had trapped Ma Xiaotao, and the soul guide cannons' barrage was completely unaffected; after such prolonged firing, their firepower showed no sign of weakening.
On the contrary, Shrek's remaining members had lower cultivation to begin with. Without the defense-system soul master Xu Sanshi, blocking the soul guide cannons became even more difficult.
Something was wrong; they couldn't continue like this.
Wang Yan quickly reacted. His team-battle tactic had utterly failed—not only had it failed to drain the Sun Moon team, but it had also even cost Xu Sanshi.
If they kept stalemating, the side consuming more soul power would be theirs.
"Yuhao, have them forfeit."
"Teacher Wang?" Huo Yuhao finally opened his eyes; milky-white light flashed within as he looked at Wang Yan in confusion.
"The Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy hasn't taken the initiative to attack even now; clearly, they plan to drag this out. We're already short on numbers—continuing like this will only waste our soul power for nothing."
"Understood."
Huo Yuhao nodded. The next moment, Ma Xiaotao's voice rang out in the arena, declaring a forfeit.
"Continental Advanced Soul Master & Soul Engineering Academy Soul Dueling Tournament Final—Team Battle: Sun Moon Empire Royal Soul Engineering Academy is victorious!"
"Individual elimination round begins in one minute."
Huang Jinxu's voice carried far. Star Luo Plaza fell silent for a moment, then erupted into an uproar.
Shrek Academy, champions for consecutive tournaments, had actually lost just like that?
All the way here, Shrek had advanced to the finals with only three main members. Though everyone knew the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy was strong, they had still hoped for a miracle.
Yet now, in their eyes, Shrek's team battle had been utterly lackluster—almost ugly—easily crushed under the Sun Moon team's firepower and defeated without resistance.
Below the stage, Wang Yan's arms trembled slightly. His tactics had failed to materialize, and he could no longer predict the outcome of the next two rounds.
Was Shrek Academy's glory truly going to end in his hands?
"The academy already has arrangements. Just do your best," Elder Xuan seemed to sense Wang Yan's thoughts. He shoved another mouthful of food in and mumbled, "It's fine."
"Elder Xuan?" Wang Yan turned slightly.
"Do your best. This tournament's outcome isn't important. Five years from now will be their true stage."
"Mm." Wang Yan nodded, his mood gradually calming.
On the other side, Ma Rulong's group and Xiao Hongchen—who had been carried off the arena early—had returned to the rest area.
Lin Xiao glanced at Xiao Hongchen with faint surprise. He had actually been a little worried, afraid that with Xiao Hongchen's personality, he wouldn't easily forfeit.
Yet he had been so decisive. It seemed that after that incident, he was no longer the same as in Lin Xiao's memories.
"Senior, how should we field players next?" Even the usually steady captain Ma Rulong showed excitement on his face. They were only one step away from the Soul Dueling Tournament championship.
Even Ma Rulong's Grandfather didn't speak first; he turned and looked toward Lin Xiao as well.
Though he said nothing, his gaze had softened considerably, quietly waiting for Lin Xiao to assign the lineup.
Lin Xiao glanced toward Shrek Academy, then quickly withdrew his eyes. "The team battle victory was beautiful, but Shrek still has two Soul Emperors on the field. In the coming individual elimination round, we actually don't hold the advantage."
"So…" Lin Xiao paused. "Let Meng Hongchen go first."
"Me?" Meng Hongchen, suddenly called by name, blinked in surprise.
"Yes, you." Lin Xiao smiled. "We already hold one victory. In the individual round, they'll go all out. Those two Soul Emperors expended a lot in the team battle, so Shrek will give them time to recover soul power."
"As for the others, none should be your match. Same advice as before: once you're up, conserve your condition, don't attack proactively. Just make sure they can't participate in the following 2-2-3."
Lin Xiao turned to Meng Hongchen. "As for the specifics—you're far better at it than I am."
Meng Hongchen blinked, instantly understanding Lin Xiao's meaning.
To soul masters, "poison" might not be the strongest attribute, but it was absolutely one of the most difficult to deal with.
On the side, Xiao Hongchen shot Lin Xiao a slightly suspicious glance.
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