Chapter 213: Total Defeat of the Tianjia Sect

"It is not too late for you to concede now. I do not wish to kill you, for you can be considered a qualified opponent."

Three blue sword shadows radiated a dazzling light around Jing Peng. With every step he took, the power of his Bright Light Flowing Cloud Break grew by a fraction. By the time he charged in front of Han Jian, the Level 7 Soul Guidance Heavy Sword in his hand was emitting bursts of trembling sounds, like iron being forged, continuously becoming tougher and purer.

A red and a blue light shadow met atop the Tianjia Shield, and in an instant, a violent explosion occurred.

"Boom—"

A ball of light mixed with red, blue, and black colors spread out like a tidal wave. The sturdy ground instantly shattered into countless cracks, finally emitting a sound of being unable to bear the burden, after which the ground collapsed over a large area.

The intense shockwave of the explosion scorched Han Jian black all over, slamming him fiercely against the soul guidance protective barrier of the competition stage. The Tianjia Shield in his hand was completely shattered, and he himself fell into a coma.

Although the Fifth Spirit Skill was powerful, it still did not withstand Jing Peng's Bright Light Flowing Cloud Break. Relying on the powerful offensive and defensive capabilities of his soul guidance heavy armor and heavy sword, Jing Peng had forcibly shattered Han Jian's Tianjia Shield—and that was the Tianjia Shield, a defense-type martial soul renowned for its defense!

If not for the fact that Han Jian had activated his First Spirit Skill at the final moment to neutralize a portion of the impact force, it is feared that Han Jian's injuries at this moment would have been even more severe, and it would not even have been impossible for him to be directly crippled.

The reason the referee did not step in to save Han Jian was that he knew this attack had not reached a level of lethality or permanent disability. Since Han Jian had not yet conceded, he could only let Han Jian endure it alone. If he were to forcibly intervene, it would be a disrespect to the competition rules, and likewise a disrespect to the winning side!

As the smoke cleared, a familiar protective barrier appeared around Jing Peng. Under the effect of this protective layer, he had not sustained much injury; apart from excessive soul power consumption and a somewhat pale complexion, he was basically uninjured.

But Han Jian was different. After this battle, without a month or so of recuperation, it was absolutely impossible for Han Jian to have the strength to fight again. In other words, regardless of how the subsequent matches went, the Tianjia Sect had completely lost the possibility of winning.

He was seen slowly putting away his soul guidance heavy armor and heavy sword, and after the referee announced the end of the match, he left the competition arena.

Five consecutive losses; after being swept four-to-zero by the opponent, their own captain had been defeated as well.

There was no need for the subsequent matches to continue. The Tianjia Sect knew that continuing to fight would only increase casualties in vain. Now, their only hope could only lie in the upcoming team match, but they could not even fight that team match at this moment: Han Yu was severely injured, Han Jian was severely injured, and the remaining three all had varying degrees of injuries.

"For the individual knockout tournament, we concede. We also forfeit the subsequent team match." After Han Jian fell, there would naturally be someone to take over his command.

They won.

They won just like that, without any suspense.

It was not just the individual knockout tournament; continuing further had no meaning for them anymore. They could not even assemble enough people for the team match. Basically, those who were severely injured had lost their combat capability. Having lost their two great Soul Kings, Captain Han Jian and Han Yu, once the subsequent team match began, it would be a one-sided slaughter.

Therefore, they simply chose to forfeit. There was no need for them to continue struggling through such pointless casualties.

Having lost their Seven-in-One Martial Soul Combination Skill, and also having lost two great Soul Kings, once the team faced the Sun Moon Battle Team, they would be fish on a chopping block. The Elder of the Tianjia Sect off-stage opened his mouth, but in the end, he silently closed it again.

"They seem to be stronger than we imagined. This Sun Moon Battle Team is too thorny..." Bei Bei said, looking thoughtfully at Luo Yu, who had remained motionless the entire time.

Huo Yu Hao also nodded and said, "Leiqier defeated Han Yu without even using many soul guidance devices, and subsequently showed the front-line combat capability to sweep four people. This is enough to glimpse the foundation of this Sun Moon Battle Team. Moreover, the even stronger Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen have yet to make a move, and there is also one we cannot see through: Luo Yu!"

From the beginning until now, Luo Yu had not made a single move in any of the matches. Even He Caitou, who was the only one with an impression of Luo Yu, could not gauge Luo Yu's bottom line because he hadn't seen him for several years and because the current Luo Yu had changed too much from the one back then.

Shrek Battle Team, Sun Moon Battle Team...

Both made Bei Bei and Huo Yu Hao feel immense pressure. He did not know if he could do what Su Yu did and turn the tide at the critical moment of victory. The responsibility and pressure of being a captain were too great—so great that even with Bei Bei and Huo Yu Hao sharing it, they felt the pressure was overwhelming.

As the competition continued, the subsequent matches were perhaps "inspired" by the Sun Moon Battle Team, starting to attack crazily without reservation during the individual knockout stage, all to reduce their combat power during the individual knockout stage and thereby increase the probability of winning later.

It was precisely because of this that the subsequent matches became exceptionally tragic; there were severely injured, crippled, and even participating personnel who died...

"Captain, I have not failed your mission; I won." Leiqier exhaled, standing before Luo Yu with a sense of relief.

Jing Peng also stood before Luo Yu with a sense of relief and slowly said, "Captain, we won."

"Let's go back; there is no need to watch the subsequent matches." Luo Yu looked at the schedule and said to his team members.

"Is it really unnecessary to watch anymore? We..." Lu Jiuyu said with some surprise, timidly.

Xiao Hongchen shook his head and said, "We actually don't need to keep watching, because our true opponents have never been these people, but the Shrek and Tang Sect Battle Teams. Apart from them, no one is our opponent."

Although Xiao Hongchen was not the captain, before Luo Yu took over the team, Xiao Hongchen was the previous captain. His strength among his peers was the strongest after Luo Yu, and he was also the grandson of the Hall Master, so no one dared to question him.

"Let's go. Wait until there is a match involving the Shrek and Tang Sect Battle Teams to come and watch. Xiao Hongchen is right; your only opponents are the Shrek and Tang Sect Battle Teams."

After returning to the hotel, everyone dispersed. As for Luo Yu, he returned to Mingde Hall.

"Hall Master, I have returned."

Looking at the youth before him, even Jing Hongchen, as the Hall Master of Mingde Hall, could not help but feel a bit surprised, though there was more pride.

This is the disciple I, Jing Hongchen, have cultivated. Even if I, Jing Hongchen, pass away in the future, my Hongchen Family will still not decline, because I still have Luo Yu.

"Are you confident about the subsequent matches?" Jing Hongchen asked tentatively.

Luo Yu nodded and said, "Having observed for so many days, I have gained some understanding of the Shrek and Tang Sect teams. However, I am not certain whether we can win. It would be best to meet them privately. By seeing the small, one can perceive the large; only after seeing the people can one understand their personalities and habits, as well as... their flaws..."

Upon hearing this, Jing Hongchen was delighted; it seemed this disciple of his had become a bit different. "Just don't go too far, after all, this is still during the grand competition. But I heard you met with Su Yu?"

"That's right. Su Yu indicated that he would not provide any help to Shrek or the Tang Sect during this competition. Moreover, he is currently in seclusion at an academy within the city. As for the Su Family, it is temporarily stable, but the Holy Spirit Cult is hard to say. Su Yu said that the Holy Spirit Cult might use his family as a threat to coerce him into joining the Holy Spirit Cult. Hall Master, if the Holy Spirit Cult really does this, it will do us more harm than good."

These words were, of course, true, though they carried a bit of Su Yu's own personal thoughts. However, Jing Hongchen would not doubt his own disciple. This was also Su Yu's plan: to use Jing Hongchen's hand to restrain the Holy Spirit Cult. As long as the Holy Spirit Cult had not torn off their mask, they would be restrained by the local power of the Sun Moon Empire.

"I know; I will pay attention to this. With you presiding over Number Two, the progress there has almost completed the current experimental schedule. However, when will we be able to fully complete the experimental progress of Number Two?" Jing Hongchen agreed, but now he was more concerned about the matter of Number Two.

Ever since Number One was stolen, they had to enable the backup plan, Number Two. The research on Number Two lagged far behind Number One. If it hadn't been for Luo Yu later using various unique methods to break through their research bottlenecks, they would barely have caught up to the previous experimental plan of Number One. However, the time required to fully put Number Two into official use was still unknown.

"Teacher, I have something I don't know whether I should say or not..." Looking at Jing Hongchen's expectant appearance, Luo Yu said in a low voice.

Hearing these words from Luo Yu, Jing Hongchen naturally knew what he wanted to say. Although some things were not exactly treasonous content, he still worried that walls have ears.

Arriving at the secret chamber exclusive to Jing Hongchen, Jing Hongchen looked at Luo Yu and said, "Speak, what exactly is the problem with Number Two?"

"Actually, it is not a problem with Number Two; it mainly lies in the problem of the experimental personnel. The progress of Number Two is indeed good, one could even say the progress is rapid. If we follow the current plan, in at most twenty to twenty-five years, we could have a powerful combat force that surpasses a Super Douluo. However, the shortcomings of the Number Two experimental subject are still very obvious, because our research direction is wrong. Continuing to research this way will only waste time."

Luo Yu could not help but recall the meeting in the research lab for the Number Two experimental subject, where a group of Level 8 Soul Engineers were arguing incessantly. If it hadn't been for a Level 9 Soul Engineer there to suppress the scene, they would have started fighting long ago.

Although Luo Yu was only a Level 7 Soul Engineer in the laboratory, his status was extremely high. It was not because of his identity—everyone present was a top-tier Soul Engineer of the Sun Moon Empire, and some were even collateral bloodlines of the royal family. Luo Yu's brilliance lay in his ideas and trains of thought, as well as his different research insights.

That the Number Two experimental subject could progress rapidly, Luo Yu had an inseparable connection to it, or rather, credit.