Chapter 348: Match Delayed

In an instant, Long Aotian's huge body was flung backward.

Besides him flying out, there were also endless flames; the frenzied, surging flames gave off astonishing heat, making the already chaotic match field even more ruined.

Long Aotian kept flying until he reached the edge of the match platform before stopping; after landing, his originally huge body quickly shrank, returning to his original appearance.

The plaza fell silent for a moment, then a thunderous cheer burst forth.

That cheer, which seemed to shake the clouds in the sky, might make an uninformed listener think that the team from the Ri Yue Di Guo had won.

People are emotional; this battle was so exciting that all the spectators couldn't help forgetting their respective positions and cheered for this splendid match.

Tang Wulin shook his hand, seeing that Long Aotian had lost his fighting ability, and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The final move he just used was a soul bone skill attached to the Fire Dragon King's left arm bone, called the Fire God Annihilation Kill.

The effect of this soul skill is simple: it mobilizes a huge amount of fire element, forcibly condenses it at a point, and then releases it.

It sounds simple and not that strong, but the problem is the amount of fire element this soul skill can mobilize is truly enormous.

Thus, even Tang Wulin with little remaining soul power could rely on this move to instantly blast away a formidable enemy like Long Aotian.

Tang Wulin glanced at the match platform reduced to ruins, and helplessly said to Zheng Zhan:

"Referee, look at the state of the match platform—how can we continue the match? Why not spend some time repairing it?"

Looking at the culprit who had turned the match platform into this, Zheng Zhan couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.

How could he fail to see Tang Wulin's little trick? This guy obviously expended a lot of soul power, hoping to recover his strength while the match platform is being repaired.

Zheng Zhan could see it, and others could too; in the Snow Devil Sect's athlete section, Wei Na suddenly stood up and said to Zheng Zhan, "Senior Unbroken Douluo, according to the rules, individual elimination matches should proceed continuously. Tang Sect's Tang Wulin has just won; I hope this doesn't delay the match."

Looking at Long Aotian lying on the ground, Wei Na felt intense heartache.

Long Aotian had paid a huge price to bring them a chance at victory; she didn't want his effort to go to waste.

Unfortunately, her words were clearly not heard by Zheng Zhan.

He snorted and said:

"The match field is severely damaged; the upcoming battles will inevitably be affected. In my capacity as referee, I announce that the next match will be postponed, delayed by two shichen, during which all personnel related to the tournament will fully repair the match field."

Before coming to host today's match, Xu Tianran had specifically sought him out and given him many instructions.

This included letting him favor the Tang Sect as much as possible.

By now, anyone who isn't blind or foolish can see that the Snow Devil Sect's true identity is the True Body Sect.

Moreover, many members of the Tang Sect are former participants from the previous Shilake Academy tournament—an open secret—and combined with their performance in the round-robin, where they directly forfeited against Shilake Academy, people have also figured out the relationship between the Tang Sect and Shilake Academy.

In other words, today's match is essentially Shilake Academy versus the True Body Sect.

Compared to the two, Xu Tianran still prefers Shilake Academy a bit more.

To him, Shilake Academy is the Mainland First Academy, the aspiration of all soul masters; he once aspired to study there as a child, and even if he someday unifies the continent, he would not destroy Shilake Academy but would take it for himself, making it his possession.

As for the True Body Sect, they are completely a band of lawless terrorists; regardless of whether Xu Tianran unifies the continent, he will have to painstakingly deal with them.

With Xu Tianran's direction, Zheng Zhan naturally would not side wrongly at this moment; without hesitation he chose the handling favorable to the Tang Sect.

Wei Na's expression instantly turned extremely ugly, but she could do nothing about it, since Zheng Zhan's handling wasn't really wrong—the match platform truly cannot be used normally in the short term.

Tang Wulin stepped down from the platform, greeted by his teammates' looks as if he were a monster. Xu San Shi couldn't help but say:

"You brat, just how many moves are you hiding unused?"

Usually, when Tang Wulin spars with them, he doesn't go all out, so this is the first time they've seen him use his soul skill at full power.

Tang Wulin gave a slight smile.

"Really, there's not much; the attack I just used basically counts as my strongest soul skill."

Nan Qiuqiu said in a tone that even a ghost wouldn't believe.

"Really?"

"Really."

Tang Wulin showed a very sunny smile.

He indeed wasn't lying; speaking solely of soul skills, he currently has none whose direct attack power can surpass the one he just unleashed.

Unfortunately, for him, soul skills only serve as auxiliaries; close-quarters physical combat is his true forte.

Without using physical strength, he could at most fight Long Aotian to the same extent as just now; but if he draws on the power of the Golden Dragon King, the battle's duration will likely not exceed one minute.

Seeing his sunny smile, Xu San Shi immediately understood.

"I get it; whenever you put on that expression, there's definitely a hidden meaning. You brat are becoming more and more like that old schemer Bei Bei."

"......"

Tang Wulin's sunny smile instantly stiffened.

Then his smile became even more radiant.

"Senior Brother Three, I recently want to test the limit of my attack power; could you spar with me?"

Xu San Shi's eyes suddenly widened.

"Junior Brother, you can't be serious! It's just a joke, is it necessary?!"

Bei Bei nodded in deep agreement.

"Wulin, San Shi is right; when the time comes, just let me know and I'll join you."

"Not like that!"

Xu San Shi's anguished cry made the Tang Sect members burst into laughter.

Unlike the Tang Sect's cheerful atmosphere, the Snow Devil Sect's mood can only be described as oppressive.

Tang Wulin's strength demonstrated in the recent battle was clear—even the metal match platform couldn't withstand his attack, let alone their flesh-and-blood bodies.

Most importantly, Long Aotian's defeat means they have completely lost the means to restrain Tang Wulin; once the match platform is repaired and the match resumes, they will face a Tang Wulin restored to full condition.

Judging from just that match, Tang Wulin could single-handedly defeat their remaining six opponents and it would be trivial.

By the way, paying tribute to the legendary spirit of Shilake Academy's Xu Tianran, I really find his attitude toward Shilake infuriating each time I see it.

(End of chapter)