Chapter 123

The next day, Wang Yan led the crowd who had already finished equipping the newly purchased soul tools from last night out of the Star Emperor Grand Hotel, heading straight for Star Net Plaza.

He had already distributed the more than ten soul tools bought yesterday among the participating team members, and he personally helped fill that fourth-level Milk Bottle with energy and gave it to Huo Yutong; one could say he had equipped everyone as much as possible, and now it's just a matter of how they perform today.

Today's opponents had already been decided yesterday, but the exact competition format still had to be determined by drawing lots on site.

However, Wang Yan wasn't overly worried, after all this opponent's strength was clearly lacking compared to Correct Heaven Academy from the previous match, and there was only one Soul King among them; he wasn't afraid of any of the three competition formats.

But personally, he still preferred to draw the individual elimination match, because only this format could make the most of Huo Yutong's terrifying combat power while still concealing Shilake Academy's current situation; the other two formats were very likely to fully expose Shilake Academy's present predicament.

However, things did not go as wished; upon arriving at Star Net Plaza and seeing the slip marked 'group battle' in his hand, Wang Yan couldn't help but reveal a bitter expression.

He looked at Tang Wulin and Huo Yutong and asked, 'Huo Yutong, Tang Wulin, can you still use Myriad Spirit Forest to defeat the opponents as you did in the first match?'

Tang Wulin and Huo Yutong exchanged a glance and shook their heads together.

'No, Teacher, the strength of Myriad Spirit Forest lies in its area of effect; it's actually not suitable for seven-person matches. Bullying those weak teams from the past few days that barely had any Soul Ancestors would be fine, but once facing a Soul King or even a Soul Ancestor, their weakness would be instantly exposed.'

Mu En's evaluation of Myriad Spirit Forest was that it was a battlefield divine technique, capable of producing extraordinarily powerful effects on the battlefield, with greater numbers yielding stronger effects; its battlefield impact was truly overwhelming.

However, the upper limit on the number of opponents in student matches is usually only seven, which is clearly insufficient for Myriad Spirit Forest to exert its full power.

Rather than letting them become unable to fight normally due to using Myriad Spirit Forest, it would be better to let them fight normally with the aid of their Soul Fusion Technique.

Actually, by rights, their other Soul Fusion Technique, a group attack-type skill formed by the fusion of Ice Sky Snow Girl and Blue Silver Emperor, would be more suitable for the match, and its effect could be enormous.

But precisely because its effect was truly too great, Mu En strictly prohibited it.

That technique belongs to the type where if it's blocked, it's fine, but if it isn't blocked, it's very likely to cause fatalities; when Huo Yutong and Tang Wulin use it on the field, the issue isn't whether they win or lose the match, but how many opponents can survive.

Wang Yan sighed helplessly.

'I understand; then in this match, do your best. You must try to conceal our current situation as much as possible, but even if you can't hide it, it doesn't matter—your safety is the most important.'

The opponents in this match are six Soul Ancestors and one Soul King, while on our side, Shilake Academy's reserve team has three Soul Ancestors, three Soul Elders, and one Senior Soul Master.

Judging by rank alone, the situation is almost despair-inducing, but with Huo Yutong and Tang Wulin present, Wang Yan isn't worried about losing; he worries about the others, especially Wang Dong and Zhou Sichen having their strength exposed.

As for this, all we can do is pray to heaven.

Soon, amid the referee's calls, the competitors from both sides stepped onto the match stage.

Huo Yutong and Tang Wulin, walking at the very front of the Shilake team, instantly drew everyone's attention; these two undoubtedly left a deep impression in the first two matches.

In the first match, they used a wide-ranging outrageous Soul Fusion Technique to control the entire field, almost directly causing Shilake Academy to form a complete domination.

The second match was even more bizarre: this pair who used a Soul Fusion Technique, one displayed an unprecedented six blood‑red soul rings and, with an overwhelming posture, achieved a splendid result of defeating four opponents; the other revealed just a single soul ring—the lowest number in the history of this tournament—and defeated Ye Wuqing, the strongest of Zhengtian Academy, whose cultivation neared that of a Soul Emperor.

【25) They all greatly hoped that these two children would bring them some surprise in this match.

They were all eagerly looking forward to what surprise these two children would bring them in this competition.

Shilake Academy's opponent this time is Wan Guang Academy, which entered the top sixteen in the previous match but ultimately lost to the Star Net National Academy.

They naturally lack the strength of the top eight, but among the top sixteen they are considered relatively strong; as their captain Zheng Rongxian has a Soul Power Level as high as fifty‑five, their goal in this competition is to push into the top eight.

Both sides stepped onto the stage, facing each other from a distance.

Tang Wulin's mind instantly conjured Wang Yan's introduction of this team from last night.

Each Academy fields both a main team and a reserve team; generally, this year's reserve team will serve as the main team in the next tournament unless special circumstances arise, which is the consensus among all teams in the competition.

Thus Wang Yan could roughly estimate the abilities of Wan Guang Academy's main team members this time based on data passed down from the previous tournament, and the facts proved that his analysis was largely without major error.

At the head of Wan Guang Academy stood a slender youth, with a sturdy man on each of his left and right sides, making him appear somewhat frail, yet no one from Shilake Academy dared to underestimate him, for he was Zheng Rongxian, captain of Wan Guang Academy, a fifty‑five‑level assault‑system Soul King, whose martial soul is the Soul‑Rending Sword.

The burly man on his left had a head of lush green hair; his name is Xiang Jisheng. Though he looks mighty, one might initially assume he is an assault or defense specialist, but he is actually a forty‑eight‑level control‑system Soul Ancestor, serving as Wan Guang Academy's primary control soul master.

The burly man on Zheng Rongxian's right matched his appearance; his name is Qiao Zihe, a forty‑six‑level defense‑system Soul Ancestor, whose martial soul is the Giant Shell Snail.

Behind the three stood a gloomy youth and three female teammates.

The gloomy youth is named Luo Fu, a forty‑four‑level support‑system Tool Soul Ancestor.

These three female members exactly encompassed the mature woman, young girl, and loli body types; their names are Yan Rilan, Jian Qiu, and Nangong Yabin respectively.

Their martial souls were also different: one is an assault‑system, another a control‑system, and the third an agility‑attack system.

Undoubtedly, this is a team with exceptionally balanced composition; in fact, they defeated their opponents yesterday with little effort, and so far they have revealed little information, which is one of the reasons Wang Yan feels uneasy, for after all, the unknown is always the most frightening.

However, it is clear that although Wang Yan feels nervous, what he fears even more are the people of Wan Guang Academy.

After all, their opponent is Shilake Academy, the top academy for ten thousand years; in the first two matches they have defeated their opponents with overwhelming dominance, and Wan Guang Academy lacks confidence that they could be stronger than Shilake Academy's previous opponent, Zhengtian Academy.

(End of Chapter)