Chapter 176: Absolute Crush

"What?"

Xiong Hu was startled; Bear Valley's Spirit Armor Bear martial soul gave him defense not inferior to a Defense-type Soul Master, yet it was broken by a single hammer strike.

Thinking Bear Valley could block Tie Li's attack, Xiong Hu activated his First Soul Technique, slipped behind Bear Valley, and let him alone endure Tie Li's blow.

Puff—

Bear Valley spat out a mouthful of dark red blood, his form was flung backward, landing on the ground and rolling several times.

Xiong Hu hurriedly released his Fourth Soul Technique; his already burly body swelled again, and the black markings on his tiger skin glimmered with a violet sheen.

Fourth Soul Technique, Demon Tiger Shatter Strike!

Xiong Hu released his strongest soul technique; on his own he certainly could not eliminate Tie Li, the Soul King, but he had teammates.

You Lian and Yanxi's Fourth Soul Ring lit up.

"Boss, watch out for their Control-type Soul Masters," Tuo Yu warned from behind.

At the same time, he consecutively released three major soul techniques, and three Soul Beast shadow demons emerged from the shadow realm.

He controlled Ghost Vine shadow demons and Red Fire Thorn shadow demons, attacking Xiong Hu in succession, aiming to control Xiong Hu at the first moment; even if the opponent's Control-type Soul Master could control Tie Li, without Xiong Hu filling in the attack, effective damage could not be dealt.

Under Xiong Hu's burst, the hundred-year-old Ghost Vine shadow demon was unusually fragile, but the thousand-year-old Red Fire Thorn's resilience and attack surpassed the Ghost Vine; Xiong Hu couldn't break through the Red Fire Thorn instantly, giving Tie Li time.

Gu Qi and Zhang Xiaohe focused their attention on the opponent's Support-type Soul Master, but with the protection of two Defense-type Soul Masters, it was hard for them to injure the Support Soul Master.

In contrast, the Agile Attack-type Soul Master of the Juye Battle Team was a level‑44 Soul Ancestor; facing Mu Wei and Jue Dun, two three‑ring Defense-type Soul Elders, the pressure was less, yet he still couldn't break their defenses at once, and with the hundred‑year Diamond Bear constantly protecting from behind, it amounted to triple defense.

A dark prison cage materialized out of nowhere, trapping Tie Li inside; this was Yanxi's Fourth Soul Technique, an instant‑control skill that prevented Soul Masters from evading.

Around the dark prison cage dozens of Ghost Vines appeared, like blooming man‑eating flowers; each Ghost Vine had sharp reverse hooks that suddenly closed, frantically crushing Tie Li within.

Sss—

Boom—

With a booming roar, Tie Li swung the Thunder Dragon Hammer, unleashing a massive blast; his body protected by Lightning Armor, the Ghost Vine's hooks could not pierce the Lightning Armor's defense.

The Second Soul Technique while in First Soul Technique state is a pure single‑target attack, breaking through the two's Fourth Soul Techniques.

Xiong Hu shredded the Red Fire Thorn with a claw, and witnessed Tie Li breaking the dark prison cage and the Ghost Vine's crushing.

How did the Fourth Soul Techniques of the two Control-type Soul Masters become so fragile?

Xiong Hu's gaze narrowed; a black flash flickered at the corner of his eye, moving so fast that only an afterimage remained.

Too late to defend, he crossed his arms as much as possible in front of his body to block the attack.

Bang bang bang—

It was almost a three‑strike combo in an instant, each foot surpassing the previous, the force stacking, and the third foot's power reached the level of a Thousand-Year Soul Technique.

Whoosh—

The left foot served as the support for the three strikes, stacking triple force; his waist swung, and the left leg thrust sharply at Xiong Hu's chest.

The power of this leg far exceeded the previous, even the air emitted a huffing roar.

Bang—

Resisting this blow, Xiong Hu was blasted outward, his defensive arms both bent.

The left leg fused with a ten‑thousand‑year soul bone, its attributes greatly increased, giving Tie Li a deeper insight into his self‑created soul technique.

Having learned the true Chaos Cloak Hammer Method from the Titan, Tie Li placed greater emphasis on stacking power, and with his mastery of the Thunder Dragon's six tones, he controlled the frequency of lightning to stimulate his right leg, boosting its burst, making his self‑created soul technique's power and explosiveness far surpass previous ones.

Facing the re‑emerging Tie Li, Xiong Hu felt a chill of dread.

Boom—

Xiong Hu had no resistance before Tie Li, and was hammered out of the Soul Battle Platform.

Even their own Team Leader was eliminated, which greatly affected the morale of the Juye Battle Team.

Two more wailing cries sounded, from Gu Qi and Zhang Xiaohe; they were eliminated by You Lian cooperating with two Defense-type Soul Ancestors.

You Lian judged the situation excellently; upon noticing Xiong Hu's predicament, he immediately abandoned support for Xiong Hu, turning his focus toward Zhang Xiaohe and Gu Qi, who wanted to eliminate his team's Support Soul Master.

This made their positions extremely dangerous; the moment the Ghost Vines entangled the two, the outcome was sealed.

Zhang Xiaohe was eliminated first; Gu Qi, in order to rescue Zhang Xiaohe, fell into You Lian's trap, and thus the two were eliminated in succession.

Yanxi's First Soul Ring lit up, several black beams surged toward Tuo Yu and others, buying time for their Agile Attack-type Soul Ancestor, and they returned to the team.

Bang—

A muffled thud; the Spirit Armor Bear Soul Master, previously heavily wounded by Tie Li, was eliminated, and the Thunder Dragon Hammer hurled him out of the arena.

The black light released by Yanxi's First Soul Technique hadn't yet reached Tie Li when it was easily shattered by the dark prison.

"It's over."

Fourth Soul Technique, Thunder Rain!

The form of the Thunder Dragon Hammer expanded severalfold, as if entering its true artifact soul form, with a 300% attribute boost; the pressure it unleashed in an instant was terrifying, affecting even the audience seats, causing nearby spectators' legs to tremble unnaturally.

The massive Thunder Dragon Hammer crashed down onto the Juye Battle Team's position; unable to bear the immense pressure, You Lian immediately admitted defeat.

"We concede."

Tie Li's soul technique had already been released; forcibly retracting it would only harm himself, so instead he let the referee intervene.

As the referee of this Soul Battle, his complexion darkened, and he activated a Soul Ring Configuration of three Yellow, two Purple, and one Black; his martial soul was a silver‑white shield.

The referee stood before the Juye Battle Team; the Second and Third Soul Rings lit up, the silver‑white shield emitted dense white light, forming a protective barrier that shielded the Juye Battle Team inside.

Boom—

A violent collision sound; a protective shield released by a Six‑ring Soul Emperor developed cracks.

The cracks spread wildly outward, and in no time the shield shattered.

But it at least blocked the Thunder Rain.

Yet this scene, as seen by the Juye Battle Team members, was filled with disbelief.

Could the Soul King's attack break a Soul Emperor's defensive soul technique?

At the same time, he also felt relieved about the recent act of conceding, as even the Soul Emperor's defensive soul skill was broken through; had it fallen on them, the consequences would be beyond what they could bear.

The referee's eyes toward Tie Li changed noticeably, and as the one bearing the attack, he finally grasped the feeling of that instant.

Whether it was raw power or Black Thunder, both surpassed the normal limits of a Soul King, and especially after Black Thunder's attributes were amplified by three hundred percent within the thunderfall, the referee sensed, in the unseen, a trace of ultimate destruction.

With the referee's intervention, he also announced the result of this Soul Battle to the spectators.

(End of chapter)