Chapter 174

Unexpectedly, at the moment the match began, both sides' formations changed simultaneously, becoming identical, with everyone standing in a single line.

However, on Shilake Academy's side, the one at the very front of the formation was Xu San Shi, while on the Sun Moon Royal Soul Tool Academy's side, the one at the very front was Lin Xi, who, while standing at the front, also raised a huge soul tool shield.

At the same time the formation was adjusted, the seven members of Shilake Academy, led by Xu San Shi, charged together toward the opposite side of the competition platform.

The Sun Moon Royal Soul Tool Academy, meanwhile, had all its members stand in place and unleash their soul tools.

Instantly, countless soul tools burst forth like a peacock spreading its tail, and dozens of soul tool cannonballs flew together toward the Shilake Academy members.

The audience instantly understood the significance of both sides switching formations.

The reason the Sun Moon Royal Soul Tool Academy stood in a line is something anyone who has watched Shilake Academy's previous matches can guess: it was to guard against Xu San Shi's Profound Ice Displacement.

This soul skill is truly disgusting; when used properly it can be marvelously versatile—whether Xu San Shi swaps out the main force or brings a Shilake member over, it will greatly disrupt the battle rhythm of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Tool Academy.

As for why Shilake Academy stood in a line, the scene before us makes the answer obvious: they were preparing to resist the Sun Moon Royal Soul Tool Academy's soul tool artillery barrage tactic.

This tactic had just been used by the Sun Moon Royal Soul Tool Academy in their previous match against Di Ao Academy; it is not complicated, even somewhat overly simple, but when combined with their luxurious lineup it becomes extremely difficult to counter.

Seeing the rain of soul tool cannonballs from the Sun Moon side about to fall, dozens of meteors suddenly appeared in the sky above Shilake Academy.

White Tiger Meteor Shower— to counter the Sun Moon side's powerful assault, Dai Yaoheng took action.

Dozens of meteors fell from the sky, and under the guidance of Huo Yutong's spiritual detection they struck the incoming soul tool cannonballs with great precision, blocking all of them in midair; moreover, a few meteors went on to crash into the Sun Moon Royal Soul Tool Academy's formation, forcing them to deploy soul tool shields for defense.

However, it was obvious that a single White Tiger Meteor Shower could not stop these genius soul tool masters of the Sun Moon side; soon a blinding light flared, and the second volley of soul tool cannonballs was fired in unison.

But this time, the one intercepting was no longer Dai Yaoheng, but someone nobody could have anticipated.

He Caitou's body rang with metallic clangs as soul tool cannonballs shot out from him one after another, meeting the enemy's attack.

Has Shilake gone mad? Countless people thought this; He Caitou is certainly outstanding among fourth-rank soul tool masters, but he is ultimately only a fourth-rank soul tool master—how could he possibly block the Sun Moon side's salvo?

The answer was soon revealed, as a violent explosion rang out; the Shilake Academy members passed through the smoke from the blast and continued advancing toward the Sun Moon Royal Soul Tool Academy's formation.

He Caitou indeed could not block all the cannonballs, but he did not need to block that many.

At the instant the Sun Moon side released the second volley of soul tool cannonballs, they all felt a wave of mental dizziness, and simultaneously an intangible chill spread to their hearts, making their thoughts become sluggish.

The combination of spiritual interference and the snow concept—these two soul skills together are enough to counter the vast majority of long-range attack-type soul tool masters; under their influence, of the soul tool cannonballs fired at Shilake Academy, only a few retained any threat, a number that He Caitou could easily handle.

And at the moment the Sun Moon Royal Soul Tool Academy finished firing the second volley of soul tool cannonballs, a figure suddenly shot out from behind Xu San Shi, approaching the Sun Moon side at a speed far beyond everyone's expectations.

The one daring enough to charge alone into the Sun Moon formation was undoubtedly Dai Yaoheng; although the Sun Moon Royal Soul Tool Academy had not failed to consider this possibility beforehand, they could not help but be startled now, simply because his speed was too great.

As for Dai Yaoheng's combat ability, after watching so many matches the Sun Moon side already knew his limits roughly, but the speed he now displayed far exceeded their expectations.

This of course did not rely on his own strength; he relied on a soul tool, namely a soul tool thruster.

After learning of Wang Yan's plan, Tang Wulin proactively handed the soul tool thruster to Dai Yaoheng, believing that Dai Yaoheng wielding it would pose a greater threat to the Sun Moon side.

The fact proves that Tang Wulin's move really helped a great deal—soul tool cannonballs exploded behind Dai Yaoheng, yet they could not hit him; instead, he forced them to detonate right before his eyes.

This was not only due to Huo Yutong's spiritual interference, but also because Dai Yaoheng's sudden increase in speed exceeded their expectations.

Lin Xi was startled; he had not expected to face pressure from a Soul Emperor so soon, and hastily pulled out two gun barrels, aiming them at Dai Yaoheng in preparation to fire.

At that moment, a powerful mental force suddenly surged toward his forehead; he spat out a mouthful of blood from his mouth—let alone the gun barrels, he could not even hold onto the shield in his hand, staggering and nearly falling over.

This opening proved truly fatal in a fight against a Soul Emperor; Dai Yaoheng struck down with a claw, and effortlessly forced out his invincible shield.

As soon as the light of the invincible shield appeared, Dai Yaoheng made a snap decision, no longer paying attention to Lin Xi, and rushed past him to attack those behind in the Sun Moon formation.

During the activation of the invincible shield, Lin Xi was as hard as an iron tortoise harder than Xu San Shi—only a fool would waste time on him.

The members of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Tool Academy clearly had not expected Dai Yaoheng to break into their formation so easily, and for a moment they were all in a fluster.

They suddenly realized they had probably underestimated Dai Yaoheng; this White Tiger Soul Emperor's explosive power far surpassed their imagination.

What they did not know was that their assumption was wrong—wrong to an absurd degree.

The Sun Moon side's earlier evaluation of Dai Yaoheng was certainly not an overestimate, nor had they underestimated him; their assessment was actually quite close to the reality.

What truly drove the situation toward an outcome the Sun Moon side had not anticipated was Huo Yutong's intangible control.

Because Huo Yutong's performance in previous battles left too deep an impression, many people mistakenly believed she was a soul master specializing in fierce attacks.

But in fact they were wrong; Huo Yutong's primary development direction has always been control.

The reason they previously relied on fierce attacks against the enemy was mainly because, aside from her, Shilake Academy had few others who could be depended upon as strong attackers, so they had to rely on her to break through defenses.

But now things are different; Shilake Academy now has Dai Yaoheng and Tang Wulin as two strong attackers, so they no longer need her to be the main attacker, and thus she can calmly take on the role of chief controller, silently influencing the entire battle.

(End of chapter)