Chapter 177

On the battlefield, the competition entered a tense stage.

Ma Long was tightly held by Tang Wulin and Huo Yutong; although they didn't use a Soul Fusion Technique, they frustrated him with illusions and mental interference, leaving him helpless and annoyed.

Dai Yaoheng fought the ten-thousand-year soul beast thrown by Ma Long, unable to break free for a moment.

Bei Bei, He Caitou, and Xu San Shi each held an opponent, while Ling Luochen assisted them from behind.

For a while neither side could gain the upper hand, yet both were looking for an opportunity to break the deadlock.

And this turning point arrived soon.

He Caitou, who had been restraining Meng Hongchen, grew increasingly pale and finally collapsed, unable to hold on.

"Caitou!"

Not far away, Bei Bei and Xu San Shi were both shocked, while Meng Hongchen seized the moment to charge at them.

At the same time, Mika, who was facing off against Xu San Shi, suddenly erupted, terrifying lightning raging as it attacked Xu San Shi.

Naturally, their teammates knew Meng Hongchen's abilities best; without her antidote, anyone she defeated could not appear again in the subsequent individual elimination matches.

In Mika's view, Meng Hongchen's target Bei Bei was as good as dead; if he could handle Xu San Shi, the gap with Shrek could be closed in one fell swoop.

Facing his attack, the light of Xuanming Shift flashed again, and Tang Wulin's figure suddenly appeared where Xu San Shi had been.

Then, accompanied by a resonant dragon roar, the Golden Dragon Body and Golden Dragon Tyrant Body were unleashed together; surging qi and blood burst from within, striking Mika and forcing him to deploy his invincible barrier.

And after completing the position swap with Tang Wulin, Xu San Shi shouted without hesitation:

"I surrender!"

Events proved his judgment correct; the very next second after he spoke, a scorching beam shot from Ma Long's shoulder-mounted cannon, blocked by Huang Zongxu.

At the instant he had just been swapped in, Huo Yutong's mimicry could not cover him; that brief moment was enough for Ma Long to lock onto him, and if he had surrendered half a second later, he would have been pierced by that seventh-rank soul ray.

Seeing Tang Wulin swapped in, Bei Bei's lightning turned gold across his body, the Holy Light Dragon bloodline awakening again; he enunciated each word: "Overlord Thunder Domain!"

A ring of angry, wave-like golden light burst forth; the light consisted of streaks of lightning, and wherever it passed, gold suffused the air, covering a diameter of twenty meters.

The sudden eruption caught Meng Hongchen and Lin Xi off guard; a layer of gold appeared on them, forcing their invincible barriers to manifest.

No one expected Bei Bei's burst power to be so strong that a single skill could restrain two fifth-rank soul engineers.

Yet Bei Bei didn't even glance at them; relying on Ghost Shadow Wandering Step, his form turned illusory instantly, quickly distancing himself from the two fifth-rank soul engineers and drawing near Tang Wulin.

By then Mika's invincible barrier had expired; Bei Bei hesitated not, and all four of his soul rings lit up.

Thunderous Fury, Thunder Dragon Head, Thunder Dragon Claw, Thunderous Might!

Under the blessing of the Holy Light Dragon bloodline, the lightning entwined with these four soul skills turned golden, exuding a formidable aura.

With the Holy Light Dragon bloodline awakened, Bei Bei's strength was already on par with an ordinary Soul King; facing his full-force burst, Mika was no different from confronting a Soul King's full-force burst.

Lightning spread over his body, Mika spasmed uncontrollably, while Tang Wulin showed no mercy, raising his Golden Dragon Claw high, ready to strike down.

At the critical moment, a yellow light flashed and Mika's figure vanished from the arena; Huang Zongxu pulled him off the platform. Meanwhile, with a wail, the giant ape that Ma Long had brought onto the stage was torn in two by Dai Yaoheng, blood-soaked, and he immediately prepared to join Huo Yutong in dealing with Ma Long.

However, at this moment Bei Bei suddenly shouted:

"Referee, we forfeit!"

Hearing his voice, not only did the students of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Institute freeze, but Dai Yaoheng also stumbled, turning back and shouting from halfway across the arena: "What are you doing? I can still fight! We haven't lost!"

Bei Bei shook his head.

"Senior, have you forgotten what the teacher told us before the match?"

"——"

Dai Yaoheng's body stiffened.

He actually understood Bei Bei's meaning; surrendering now was the best opportunity, as the mutual losses made clear.

On Shrek's side, Xu San Shi was out, He Caitou appeared poisoned, Bei Bei's soul power was exhausted, Tang Wulin's soul power nearly depleted, Huo Yutong's soul power was more than half gone, he had also suffered minor injuries, leaving only Ling Luochen in relatively good condition.

And what about the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Institute side? Ma Long's ten-thousand-year soul beast was slain by Dai Yaoheng, Xiao Hongchen was eliminated, Ma Long's soul power consumption unknown, Lin Xi and Meng Hongchen remained unharmed, Mika was gravely wounded, Chen Fei and Xia Xiaofeng were frozen by Huo Yutong; aside from Xiao Hongchen, all eliminated opponents lost combat ability, while the few remaining on the field were generally in decent shape.

By comparison, although Shrek had fewer eliminations, their conditions were poor; furthermore, they still couldn't gauge Meng Hongchen's ability, and continuing would incur heavy losses even if they won the team fight, so it was better to withdraw now.

Wang Yan had warned them before the match: in team battles, don't get entrenched; focus on draining the opponent's strength, and merely narrowing the gap in hard power counts as success.

Undoubtedly, Bei Bei's move was correct; his judgment aligned even more closely with Wang Yan's tactical deployment, while Dai Yaoheng remained too impulsive.

After realizing this, Dai Yaoheng took a deep breath, retracted the tiger fur on his body, approached Bei Bei, and spoke in a low voice:

"Sorry, I was just overexcited; you were right."

Bei Bei smiled gently.

"It's fine; I know you're under great pressure, senior, and you'll have a chance to shine in the upcoming individual elimination matches."

Saying that, Bei Bei glanced at Dai Hao on the city wall.

On his way here he had noticed Dai Yaoheng's frequent glances toward Dai Hao, filled with admiration; the sharp-minded Bei Bei had already guessed Dai Hao's identity and thus understood Dai Yaoheng's current impulsiveness.

On the city wall, Xu Jiawei asked Dai Hao with a chuckle:

"Worthy brother, how do you evaluate this match?"

Dai Hao answered without hesitation:

"Tactics varied, strategy decisive; whether it's Bei Bei, the reserve team captain, or Huo Yutong, the main controller soul master, both performed well, whereas my own good-for-nothing son acted overly impulsive."

As an outstanding commander of the Star Luo Empire, he instantly saw the crux of this match.

(End of chapter)