Chapter 153: Profound Netherworld Substitution

On the other side, Mo Xiaowei, who was also a captain like Dai Yaoheng and had been switched to the center of the enemy formation, found himself in a completely different situation.

His lack of Dai Yaoheng's overwhelming strength was one reason, but more importantly, he had no mental preparation at all for this move by Shilake Academy.

His mind had just grasped what was happening when Bei Bei's Thunder Dragon Claw, Huo Yutong's Imperial Sword, He Caitou's cannon fire, and Tang Wulin's Golden Dragon Claw were already before him, forcing out his Invincible Shield.

Mo Xiaowei was dumbfounded, hastily putting on a pair of wolf claws on his hands, his fifth soul skill lighting up as he prepared to break out of Shilake Academy's encirclement.

As the captain of Mingdu Soul Engineer Academy, Mo Xiaowei was actually a soul engineer who mainly relied on close combat, and his fighting style was even closer to that of a traditional soul master than to that of a typical soul engineer.

But before he could take a step forward, an Ice Prison enveloped him.

Mo Xiaowei's fifth soul skill, used for breaking out, immediately clashed violently with the Ice Prison, a green light flickering within it.

The Ice Prison was Ling Luochen's third soul skill, and she, like Mo Xiaowei, was a Soul King; logically, she should not have been able to block his fifth soul skill.

Yet, to Mo Xiaowei's surprise, his fifth soul skill gained no advantage in its clash with Ling Luochen's Ice Prison; after the skill ended, although the Ice Prison was covered in cracks, it still had blocked his advance.

A faint smile appeared on Ling Luochen's usually expressionless face.

Controlling the Ultimate Ice felt wonderful.

The moment Huo Yutong saw the Invincible Shield's light flare up, she realized that further pursuit was pointless; the most urgent task was to block Mo Xiaowei's next move.

She therefore wasted no time, bringing Tang Wulin to Ling Luochen's back and placing her hand on Ling Luochen's back.

That Huo Yutong possessed the Ultimate Ice Martial Soul was no secret on Shilake's side; the two had tried coordinating in private, so Ling Luochen instantly understood what Huo Yutong wanted her to do and immediately threw out an Ice Prison.

As the Ice Prison shattered, her third soul skill had fulfilled its purpose, for Mo Xiaowei's Invincible Shield had already vanished.

What he now faced was a full-force assault from Shilake Academy's four main attackers.

He still wanted to struggle a bit, but Huo Yutong didn't even leave him that last chance; an ice-blue light shot from her eyes, and Mo Xiaowei's spirit froze under the effect of soul impact and snow intent.

After that, things were simple; following a fierce melee, the referee pulled Mo Xiaowei out, and he also lost his eligibility to continue the match.

Seeing the opponent defeated, the Shilake team had no hesitation, instantly turning and sprinting wildly toward the enemy camp.

Dai Yaoheng was ultimately not invincible; facing a siege by six Soul Kings, he was clearly at a disadvantage.

Even so, being at a disadvantage was fine; he had held out until his teammates arrived.

A terrifying blizzard swept across the field, and the members of Mingdu Soul Engineer Academy instantly lost their target.

This was Huo Yutong's first use of her domain skill in a group battle, and only by experiencing it could one grasp how abnormal the Snow Dance Extreme Ice Domain is. The lineup of Mingdu Soul Engineer Academy's contestants had already been forcibly disrupted by Dai Yaoheng, and now they were forced to fight individually.

And in a situation where they were already outnumbered and had to fight individually, there was no need to wonder how things would develop.

Ten seconds later, the blizzard subsided, and at that point only three people from Mingdu Soul Engineer Academy could still stand.

The other three were: one taken out by a single White Tiger Annihilation Kill from Dai Yaoheng, one felled by a single Imperial Palm from Huo Yutong, and one knocked unconscious by a single punch from Tang Wulin.

The remaining three could only tremble with fear as they watched the Shilake team.

Three versus seven—no matter how you look at it, there was no chance of victory.

But they could not give up, for losing the team battle essentially meant defeat in this match, and they would once again miss the semifinals.

Furthermore, the opponents might not all be at full strength; Dai Yaoheng had expended considerable soul power just to hold out for his teammates, Huo Yutong might have drained her own soul power, and if the enemy's two strongest had little combat left, they could still barely fight.

That's all they could think of now.

But reality was cruel; under the seven‑person melee from Shilake Academy, the remaining three couldn't last even a minute before being hastily cleared from the field.

The spectators in Star Net Square instantly erupted in an uproar.

I don't even know how many times Shilake has won a quick victory in this tournament; the opponents keep getting stronger, yet they seem impossible to gauge a limit for, each time giving the audience something new.

Without a doubt, the biggest contributor to this battle was Xu San Shi; with a single Profound Netherworld Substitution he completely scrambled Mingdu Soul Engineer Academy's entire setup and directly caused the elimination of the starting team's captain, Mo Xiaowei; without him, Shilake Academy might not have won so easily.

In previous matches, Xu San Shi had remained unremarkable; needless to say, Dai Yaoheng and Ling Luochen were also like that, while Huo Yutong and Tang Wulin could each burst forth with Soul Emperor‑ and Soul King‑level strength, Bei Bei had briefly entered the Soul King realm by awakening her Holy Dragon Bright Bloodline technique, and only He Caitou and Xu San Shi had performed mediocrely, their combination even losing to the Dou Ling Royal Advanced Soul Master Academy when they faced it.

The spectators naturally understood as well: two Soul Ancestors managing to knock down a Soul King and then force another Soul Ancestor to rely only on an Invincible Shield to win was utterly absurd, but people ultimately care more about victory or defeat, and having lost, their impression naturally paled compared to the others.

Especially Xu San Shi—while He Caitou had at times displayed Soul King‑level attack power, Xu San Shi's performance had always been mediocre, to the point that among Shilake's many outstanding members he consistently appeared quite ordinary.

But after this battle, their evaluation of Xu San Shi was completely refreshed; by himself he could alter the situation, and relying solely on his fourth soul skill, his contribution in a group battle would be no less than that of a Soul King, and under special circumstances could even exceed that of a Soul Emperor.

The members of Shilake Academy then walked off the stage with relaxed expressions, the team battle over, and they had absolute confidence in the next day's individual elimination tournament.

Seven against three, and the opposing side didn't even have a single Soul Emperor; if they could still lose under those circumstances, Dai Yaoheng, as a Soul Emperor‑level captain, might as well apologize with his death.

(End of chapter)