Chapter 30: Breaking the Stalemate

"You should be eliminated." Yanfei's eyes showed a feral glint.

But at that moment, Tie Li turned to look at him, his eyes filled with blue‑white lightning light.

Xia's First Soul Technique dazzles the eyes; when her First Soul Technique landed on herself, the thunder power inside surged uncontrollably, condensing over her eyes.

"You…"

Yanfei was startled for a moment, sensing something ominous, but he did not cease his assault. Even if you're stronger, you're just like me, a Second Ring Great Soul Master—could you really eliminate me outright?

Yanfei did not think Tie Li could achieve that.

First Soul Technique, Lightning Hammer!

The Forging Hammer transformed into a Lightning Hammer, and a layer of Lightning Armor crawled from the hammer's handle up Tie Li's right arm.

Lightning Light surged, and Tie Li stared at the approaching Yanfei, concentrating his power onto his right arm.

"Boom—"

Timing it perfectly, the Lightning Hammer slammed toward Yanfei's wings; the blade‑like wings clashed with the hammer, emitting a distinct metallic clang.

Yanfei felt the immense force tearing his feathers, while the raging Lightning Light ravaged indiscriminately.

"Bang—"

With his wings broken, Yanfei flailed like a deflated balloon, being slammed hard, rolling across the ground until he came to a halt at the edge of the Soul Battle Platform, almost being eliminated.

The disheveled Yanfei tried to rise, but his body was severely damaged and could no longer maintain even the most basic stance.

"Bang—"

A deafening boom echoed on the Soul Battle Platform as Tie Li crouched, gathering power, then leapt, launching an offensive toward the Control-type Soul Master of the Juya Team.

"I'll take it!"

The Defense-type Soul Master of the Juya Team instantly stepped in front of Xia, raising his shield, and released both his First Soul Technique and Second Soul Technique simultaneously.

The shield towered over three meters, its white sheen flashing across it; an energy barrier emerged behind the shield, enveloping both Xia and the Defense-type Soul Master.

"Rumble—"

The Lightning Hammer struck the shield, producing a thundering sound; the Defense-type Soul Master's breath stalled, panic flashing in his eyes, as he sensed the force behind Tie Li's hammer.

"Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!"

One strike after another pounded the shield, each collision's sound sending a tingling sensation up the scalp.

Blood welled at the corner of the Defense-type Soul Master's mouth, and he coughed up a mouthful of clotted blood. Clearly, stubbornly resisting Tie Li's assault left him seriously wounded.

Xia felt some fear, but she knew she could not simply wait for death.

The Second Soul Ring on her body lit up.

Second Soul Technique, Ghostly Mirror Image!

On the surface of the Ghostly Mirror, a silhouette of Tie Li appeared; the next second, a phantom resembling Tie Li by eighty percent stepped out from the mirror.

In that instant, Xia's complexion turned ghastly; over ninety percent of her soul power was consumed.

The stronger the mirrored Soul Master, the more soul power it consumes; Xia had never before expended ninety percent of her soul power.

Even the Three Ring Soul Honorable she once faced only drained up to seventy percent of her soul power.

He… Xia's eyes toward Tie Li were filled with disbelief.

When Tie Li's mirror image appeared, everyone instantly sensed trouble.

But upon closer thought, the mirror image possessed only fifty percent of the original's combat power, not unbeatable.

Moreover, the mirror must first face its original!

Yang Xiaoyun, while protecting Duolangbu, was just eliminated by Sheya; a feral wound scarred his abdomen, inflicted by Sheya's Dagger First Soul Technique, a surprise attack.

Xia's First Soul Technique earlier prevented Baijiao and Daise from eliminating the Juya Team's two Agile Attack-type Soul Masters; now they, cooperating with Sheya, are causing considerable trouble for Duolangbu and others.

Sheya glanced toward his team's direction; the opponent was just one, and Xia had also used the Second Soul Technique, so they were sure they could hold out.

As long as he dealt with the opponent's Control-type Soul Master, everything would become simple.

"Boom—"

Another booming sound made Sheya feel uneasy, prompting him to glance backward.

The Soul Master mirror that Xia summoned was shattered by a single hammer strike; the defending Defense-type Soul Master, unable to withstand Tie Li's attack, collapsed helplessly, losing his combat ability.

A Second Soul Technique used while the First Soul Technique is active is a pure single‑target assault, absolutely formidable; unless facing a top‑tier defensive martial soul like Huyan Hao, virtually no Soul Master of the same level can endure it.

Even her own mirror turned to ash under the thunder strike.

At this moment, before Tie Li stood only a Control-type Soul Master with barely any soul power left and a Support-type Soul Master.

Sheya, still yearning for a desperate showdown, suddenly realized his amplification effect had vanished.

His four teammates had already been thrown off the Soul Battle Platform by Tie Li.

And he had only managed to eliminate one Agile Attack-type Soul Master from the opponent.

Tie Li deliberately hammered the ground, creating a noise to disrupt them.

With teammates thrown off the Soul Battle Platform, the three had long lost their fighting spirit, and each deliberate ground slam by Tie Li further tormented them psychologically.

The outcome of this Soul Battle was already decided; after a bit more time, Sheya and his three were sequentially eliminated.

In the Gui Bin Bao Xiang, Fu Zhuguan saw his team win and a faint smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

"A fine Soul Master; even though he wears a mask, you can tell he's very young."

"Indeed, he is only eleven this year."

The booth fell silent for three seconds before the elder spoke.

"Very good, he has the qualification for us to train."

Conversely, another Gui Bin Bao Xiang was filled with a barrage of insults.

"Useless, you're all a bunch of useless!"

After the referee announced the Soul Battle results, Tie Li and the others returned to the lounge.

"I'll first take you to the infirmary for a simple treatment," Duolangbu said.

He only expended a lot of soul power and wasn't injured, but the condition of Baijiao and the others wasn't optimistic, especially Zonghao, who blocked Sheya for Duolangbu, yet he stubbornly resisted Sheya's attack.

After they left, only Tie Li and Caixin remained in the lounge.

Caixin still wanted to use the chance to say a few more words to Tie Li, but saw Tie Li packing up and leaving the lounge.

Leaving the main Soul Battle arena, he went straight back to his dorm.

It's not that Tie Li is unsociable; he just feels they lack common topics.

Simply put, they're not on the same path.

Fu Zhuguan's requirement for combat is to participate in a Team Soul Battle once every three days, with opponents arranged by him, and the rest of the time freely scheduled.

The venue has dedicated training equipment; during regular hours, besides meditation cultivation, one can also work out the body.

A Soul Master must possess good physical condition.

Having just finished a Team Soul Battle, Tie Li has three days of free time, which he spends on cultivation and training, except that on the fourth afternoon he will use the time to discuss tactics.

In the following six months, Tie Li spent his time like this.

The team participated in nearly fifty Team Soul Battle matches within six months, maintaining roughly an eighty percent win rate.

Yan Team has already become a Level 20 copper Team Soul Battle, and its reputation in the main Soul Battle arena is considerable; but nothing is more captivating than Tie Li's stunning performance when he appears, breaking through the opponent's defenses with absolutely formidable strength.

Many factions have tried to recruit Tie Li privately, but each was rejected one by one.

(End of chapter)