Chapter 144

Early the next morning, Shilake Academy's participating team members all followed Wang Yan to Star Net Plaza, preparing to participate in the first elimination match after the round-robin tournament ended.

The knockout stage differs from the previous round-robin stage; the knockout stage needs to be held over two days, with team matches on the first day and individual knockout matches on the second day.

Winning the team match does not mean resting easy; if the losers of the team match can defeat the opposing seven with just three people on the second day, they can turn defeat into victory.

First up is the team match against Zhengtian Academy.

As soon as Shilake Academy entered Star Net Plaza, everyone's curious gazes gathered on the team leader, Dai Yaoheng.

A few days ago, Ling Luochen had already recovered her strength and represented Shilake Academy in the battle; her genuine Soul King-level power left a deep impression, and seeing Shilake gain another new member, the audience felt some anticipation.

At a glance, Dai Yaoheng looks like a twenty-year-old starting team member; his strength certainly won't be weak, and judging by Ling Luochen's situation, he at least possesses Soul King-level strength.

Meanwhile, the gazes of some academies that have studied Shilake Academy to a certain extent have begun to turn solemn.

They clearly remember that in the previous competition, Dai Yaoheng appeared as the captain of Shilake Academy's reserve team; in other words, barring any surprise, his strength is definitely higher than Ling Luochen's, making his information the most important now.

Xu Jiawei watched the leading Dai Yaoheng, a smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

Sure enough, it would still be wise to recall Dai Hao for the finals to take a look.

Since there was no need to decide the match format by drawing lots again, the members of Shilake Academy and Zhengtian Academy went together onto the competition field.

From their expressions, it's clear that the members of Zhengtian Academy are generally in a very bad mood now.

Earlier, in the round-robin stage's individual knockout matches, they were taken out one-by-four by Huo Yutong; even without Dai Yaoheng and Ling Luochen, they didn't think they could gain any advantage, and the recovery of injuries to these two starting team members completely crushed their last sliver of a chance to win.

But the problem is, this is the knockout stage, not the round-robin; if they lose this match, Zhengtian Academy's proper path in this tournament will be completely over—they won't even make the top eight and will be eliminated, which they obviously cannot accept, so no matter how difficult, they can only give it their all.

The participants for Shilake Academy in this match are Dai Yaoheng, Ling Luochen, Bei Bei, He Caitou, Xu San Shi, Tang Wulin, and Huo Yutong.

This lineup is no surprise to the other academies; it's obvious that Wang Dong and Zhou Sichen's cultivation and strength are far inferior to the others', and now, in this crucial knockout stage, even a slight mistake could lead to eternal regret, so Shilake Academy, no matter how confident, could not possibly field them at this time.

As for Zhengtian Academy's lineup, there's no need to think further; facing such a strong opponent as Shilake Academy, they must and can only field their strongest starting team: Ye Wuqing, Tang Xiaolei, Yu Mengdi, Yan'er, Shangguan Can, Blood Wolf, and Yang Yifan.

After confirming both sides were ready, the referee nodded and shouted, 'Match start!'

The moment his words fell, a wave of cheers rose from Star Net Plaza.

This cheer was clearly not for him, but for Dai Yaoheng standing at the forefront of Shilake Academy.

At this moment, Dai Yaoheng had completed the White Tiger martial soul attachment; six soul rings—two yellow, two purple, two black—rippled around him, announcing his Soul Emperor status.

He is the third Soul Emperor to appear in this year's Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament, following Huo Yutong and Ma Long.

Unlike the questionable Huo Yutong and the six-level soul engineer Ma Long, Dai Yaoheng counts as the first legitimate Soul Emperor-level soul master to appear in this tournament.

If the complexion of Zhengtian Academy's people was merely somewhat dark before, now it has turned somewhat green.

What a joke, a Soul Emperor?! A suspected Soul Emperor Huo Yutong almost slaughtered them, and now a genuine Soul Emperor shows up—how are they supposed to fight? They cursed inwardly, yet couldn't stop the match from continuing, so they all released their martial souls. As Shilake Academy's captain and strongest member, Dai Yaoheng unhesitatingly led the charge, rushing forward.

On the contrary, Tang Wulin unusually slowed his pace, holding Huo Yutong's hand and standing at the rear of the formation.

Ye Wuqing's first and third soul rings lit up, and more than ten golden leaves appeared in his hand, shooting toward the Shilake group.

Boom—boom—boom—boom—

However, his golden leaves hadn't flown very far before they were all shot apart in midair.

Previously, Bei Bei and Tang Wulin could knock down his golden leaves with Tang Sect hidden-weapon techniques alone; now, with He Caitou bolstered by Huo Yutong's spiritual detection, there's no need to even mention it.

Ye Wuqing's golden leaves simply cannot be shot beyond a ten-meter range in front of him.

Ye Wuqing's expression darkened instantly, and he lowly shouted, 'Tang Xiaolei!'

Yes!

Take care of that soul engineer.

Understood!

Tang Xiaolei nocked an arrow and began aiming at He Caitou.

He didn't notice Huo Yutong tightly gripping Tang Wulin's small hand, a faint smile on her face as she looked his way.

Just as Tang Xiaolei was about to transform his soul rings into arrows, he suddenly felt a sharp headache, his head snapping back as if struck by a blunt instrument, blood gushing from his mouth, his whole body kneeling on the ground—clearly unable to act again in the short term.

Tang Wulin broke through the fourth seal; the enhancement applied not only to himself but also to his martial soul fusion with Huo Yutong, and in this fused state, Huo Yutong's cultivation has begun to approach the Soul Emperor level.

This soul impact she unleashed was still holding back; otherwise, if she went all out, Tang Xiaolei would likely have his head blown apart.

Meanwhile, Dai Yaoheng had already come into contact with Yu Mengdi.

As the only one among Zhengtian Academy's three Soul Kings who is relatively skilled in close combat—a strong-attack Soul King—the task of withstanding Dai Yaoheng's pressure undoubtedly falls to her; no matter how much she curses inwardly, this is an unchangeable fact.

She consecutively used her first and second soul skills, a massive Holy Radiance Cross Slash swinging toward Dai Yaoheng in an attempt to drag down his steps.

However, Dai Yaoheng merely gave a cold smile, his first, third, and fifth soul rings lighting up simultaneously, completely ignoring Yu Mengdi's attack as he sought to eliminate her outright.

As a Soul Emperor-level captain, Dai Yaoheng differs greatly from Ma Long in that he doesn't need to conceal himself much.

It's not that he doesn't want to hide; rather, the White Tiger lineage's soul skills are basically fixed, and anyone with a little knowledge knows this full well.

Therefore, Wang Yan's order to him for this match is simple: go all out and secure a quick victory.

(End of chapter)