The Dou Ling team's defense-type soul master, Chi Hengyu, released his gigantic Vajra Shield. From the looks of it, this Vajra Shield seemed to be more eye-catching than Xu Sanshi's Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle.
The upper part of the Vajra Shield was rectangular in shape, while the bottom part was triangular. The shield was over 2 meters tall, and around 1.5 meters wide. For such a giant shield, even Chi Hengyu had to bend his burly body to lift it off the ground.
After the Vajra Shield was released, Chi Hengyu's first action was to hardily stab the shield into the ground. Following that, his 5th soul ring lit up, and an intense white light flashed within the purple glow emanated by his 5th soul ring. The shield expanded from its already enormous size, doubling in number from 1 to 2, 2 to 4 and then 4 to 8. Almost instantaneously, it turned into a huge shield wall that blocked everything in front of it. Every face of this expanded shield was covered by a blinding white light. The tough feeling it gave off was superior to Xu Sanshi's shield.
This was Chi Hengyu's 5th soul skill, the Vajra Shield. It was a defense-type soul skill that was extremely strong and resilient.
At the same time, it wasn't only him that made a move. The control-type soul ancestor called Qing Feng and the auxiliary-type soul ancestor called Tang Niuniu both attacked too.
Tang Niuniu was extremely small in size. As her body swayed, her ears grew and twitched in a very cute manner, and her body became a little fatter. As her round lips clasped together, her 3rd soul ring lit up. A streak of straight green light shone on Qing Feng's body. Her martial soul was a pure auxiliary-type martial soul, a raccoon.
Qing Feng's 4th soul ring lit up. A layer of dirt-yellow radiance shone from beneath his legs. Soon after that, the entire competition stage started to shake tremendously. Following a loud, rumbling noise, a huge dirt wall swept in the direction of the 7 participants from Shrek Academy like a wave. That wasn't all; thorns appeared on Chi Hengyu's Vajra Shield, pointing outwards. Along with the help of the dirt wall, Chi Hengyu's defense was like a metal wall.
Huo Yuhao and the others had experienced a similar situation in the tournament before. Back then, they had been pitted against the Thousand Spirits Advanced Soul Academy. Their opponents had used 4 Spirit Rhinoceros Shields as their defense. Shen Ce had been supported by Fei Yuyan as they mounted an attack. However, they had been unsuccessful against Huo Yuhao's spiritual detection.
But right now, the Dou Ling team looked starkly different from the Thousand Spirits Advanced Soul Academy. Furthermore, they had not used such a strategy in the tournament yet, according to Wang Yan.
Of course, the defensive power of the Dou Ling team right now was far superior to the Thousand Spirit Advanced Soul Academy back then. The strong defensive line that they had left even the referee in awe, and he nodded slightly.
However, his nodding suddenly stopped. That was because the situation had suddenly changed.
The Dou Ling team had displayed such a formation right from the start. Their intentions were very obvious. They must possess some form of powerful, special offensive abilities that they needed to time to prepare. After that, they would tap into this offensive power to complete what they wanted to do. As for what this offensive ability was, no one knew as of now. But it was clear that this strategy had been prepared for Shrek Academy.
However, as the top academy on the continent, would Shrek Academy not do anything? Of course not. While their opponents had their strategy, they had their own strategy too.
On Shrek Academy's side, someone had released their soul skill while their opponents had been busy mounting their defense. It was neither Ma Xiaotao nor Dai Yueheng, the 2 soul emperors with the highest cultivation, nor was it Ling Luochen. Instead, it was Xu Sanshi. Just as the opponent was erecting their turtle shell formation, Ma Xiaotao shouted "action" over at her teammates from Shrek Academy.
Their original formation experienced rapid changes. Out of the 7 of them, 6 of them burst out and formed a circular formation, while Xu Sanshi stepped into the center of this new formation, and his 4th soul ring lit up with blinding radiance.
This change in Shrek Academy's formation was one beat slower than that of the Dou Ling team. When Xu Sanshi unleashed his soul skill, their opponents were more or less done mounting their defense. This was also the point when the referee nodded his head.
But at this point, the situation experienced an earth-shattering change.
What was Xu Sanshi's 4th soul skill? Mysterious Underworld Displacement. While it seemed ordinary, it could be considered a divine skill for a defense-type soul master in a team battle. Furthermore, this was coupled with Huo Yuhao's spiritual detection sharing.
With Huo Yuhao around, there was no fear that a target couldn't be found. Just sensing them was enough. There's no need for Xu Sanshi to even use his eyes.
Hence, the confused and shocked team leader of the Dou Ling team, Gu Zhujian, instantly switched positions with Xu Sanshi. He appeared in the middle of Shrek Academy's formation, surrounded by the other 6.
"Damn it…" Gu Zhujian cursed, wide-eyed. Although he realized what had happened, his mood was still extremely unpleasant.
He seemed a little weird at this point. In both his hands, he held a metal circle that seemed like a millstone.
There were many holes on the surface of this metal millstone, and it was even carved with many magnificent, flowery patterns. There was concentrated lightning shining from it, and he was even down on one knee, as if he were presenting this slab of metal.
Bei Bei smiled and asked, "What is he giving us? Thanks!" As he said this, he slapped his Thunderous Dragon Claw down.
Dai Yueheng's 2nd soul skill, the White Tiger's Fierce Light Wave, and Ma Xiaotao's 1st soul skill, the Phoenix Fireline, were also unleashed at the same time. 3 assault-type soul masters all teamed up against one member of the opposing team. Among the 3 of them, there were even 2 soul emperors, whereas their opponent looked to be entirely unprepared.
This was Wang Yan's strategy. In reality, this strategy had been targeted towards Justsky Academy. However, they were fortunate not to have gotten involved in a team battle. Otherwise, Shrek Academy would have used this method to defeat Ye Wuqing, their team leader. While Ye Wuqing was very powerful, the ramifications of what would happen if he had to face the encirclement of an entire team under such a sudden change were clear!
In addition, the 3 assault-type soul masters were even supported by a control-type soul king. The staff in Ling Luochen's hand pointed out, and Gu Zhujian's legs were frozen on the spot.
If one phrase had to be used to describe Gu Zhujian's feelings now, it was grief and fury. In his mind, he thought that he was the most sorrowful leader in this entire tournament.
However, Gu Zhujian was not easy to deal with as the team leader of a team that had finished in the last 4 in the previous tournament. Facing the encirclement of Shrek Academy, a ball of golden light flashed in front of his chest. A coat of golden light covered his entire body.
The soul skill that Ling Luochen had used to freeze his legs started to take effect. However, the soul skills of the rest were being blocked outside of the golden light.
Huo Yuhao roared immediately, "Invincible Barrier, a soul tool that can only be used once.
He's a soul king. Thus, this shield can only survive for 3 seconds."
Soul tools that could only be used once usually had rather exceptional powers, and this Invincible Barrier was no exception. With these 3 seconds, Gu Zhujian could keep the huge slab of mysterious metal and unleash his martial soul. His 5th ten thousand year soul ring flashed with a light that tried to get him out of Shrek Academy's blockade.
On the other side, Xu Sanshi had already switched positions. Gu Zhujian had originally been standing at the center, at the back of the formation. However, all of his team members had been facing him. There were different slabs of metal of different shapes in all of their hands. Initially, they had been aimed at Gu Zhujian. But now, they were aimed at Xu Sanshi.
Xu Sanshi was not as unprepared as Gu Zhujian. The moment after the Mysterious Underworld Displacement was used, he released another soul skill. It was his 1st soul skill, the Mysterious Underworld Quake.
The Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle was smashed hard into the ground. A black glow instantly emanated from his shield and covered tens of square meters. It was like a canopy that stretched out. During this process, a loud, rumbling noise also followed. At this point, everyone from the Dou Ling team gathered within this area and were all affected. This was too sudden of an attack for them. As they were not prepared, they were jerked out of their senses.
Xu Sanshi grinned, and the black glow shone again. The Mysterious Underworld Displacement was summoned again. In the next instant, Ma Xiaotao, who unleashed burning flames from her body, replaced him. She appeared at the center of the Dou Ling team.
This series of changes was very dazzling. But the spectators who could see everything clearly also felt the same. Completely suppressed.
Right now, the Dou Ling team was at an absolute disadvantage. And what had caused this was not their powers, but the limitations of their strategy.
Without a doubt, this strategy from Shrek Academy could only achieve such an effect the first time it was used. Although no one knew what the Dou Ling team had been trying to form earlier, it was bound to be very powerful. Their initial plan had been to use their defenses to keep Shrek Academy out. On top of their powerful defensive soul skills, they would add the powers of 5 soul kings. As long as they could hold on until the mysterious metal item they had produced did its job, they should have been able to win this match.
But who knew that their team leader—who was holding the formation's core—would be switched out? The person who had switched with him had unleashed a crowd-control skill, and was a soul emperor. The mysterious slab of metal couldn't assemble to receive it, and there was only a head-on clash.
Ma Xiaotao was the only one who was aware of how dejected she felt. This was also her first time participating in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Soul Dueling Tournament. However, she had been hurt even before the tournament had started. 3 official team participants had been critically injured, and 1 other person had even been killed. As the team leader, she recognized the responsibility that she had to take. No matter how tough her personality was, she had been filled with torment after all of that was over.
She was resilient enough, however, and concealed this torment she felt in the depths of her heart. She had tried her best to heal this wound of hers, and hoped to turn her sorrow and fury into strength. She wanted to do her best for Shrek Academy in this tournament.
However, her injuries were far more serious than what she had imagined. She could only watch as the younger preparatory team members did their best in several rounds of the tournament. They even paid a heavy price as they sustained grave injuries.
Ma Xiaotao did not say anything, but the drive that she repressed in her heart left her feeling much more tormented than the time she was burnt by demonic fire.
It was finally her turn to compete today. Wang Yan wanted her to conserve her powers, but how could she suppress herself any further?
Thus, she was the one who was switched over by the Mysterious Underworld Displacement rather than Dai Yueheng. This was an opportunity that she had obtained by threatening Xu Sanshi.
"Grr—" A bright phoenix howl reverberated, and burning phoenix flames surged instantly. Huge, flaming wings flapped open following the flashing of her 3rd soul ring. A ring of intense, bright-red fire spread out from her. Her figure also jumped up as she flapped her flaming wings.
It was a pity that Team Dou Ling's defense was projected towards the front, but their opponent appeared in their core. They received Ma Xiaotao's attack before they had a chance to steady themselves, as they were still affected by the Mysterious Underworld Quake.
The Dou Ling team reacted quickly though. The remaining 6 divided into 2 groups of 3. Chi Hengyu, Qian Yuan and Han Ling'er were in front, while the other 3 were in the back. A yellowish-golden barrier of light lit up before the 3 in front. It was the Invincible Barrier, another soul tool that could only be expended once.
This Invincible Barrier was a soul tool that was developed from a very rare soul skill. It required a special golden crystal only produced by the Sun Moon Empire as an intermediary. The Invincible Barrier could unleash the powers of the golden crystal when initiated by the core formation, and produce a defensive barrier of immense strength.
Of course, invincibility was relative. The lowest class of the Invincible Barrier was a Class 5 soul tool. This also meant that at least a soul king was needed to use it. A Class 5 Invincible Barrier could resist any soul master below an eight-ringed Soul Douluo for 3 seconds. A Class 6 Invincible Barrier could even defend against a Titled Douluo for more than 3 seconds. Class 7 Invincible Barriers were extremely rare.
A soul tool like the Invincible Barrier could be a life-saving treasure at certain times. Hence, it was a soul master's favorite soul tool, along with the Milk Bottle. However, its demand was far greater than its supply.
But the Invincible Barrier had a flaw that was very obvious. Firstly, it was very costly. A Class 5 Invincible Barrier started out at 100,000 gold soul coins, but its true sale price was far above this figure. While it was not that difficult to produce it, there were very few golden crystals produced. The higher the class of the Invincible Barrier, the higher the quality of golden crystals it required.
More importantly, the Invincible Barrier could only be expended once, no matter its class. The golden crystal within each Invincible Barrier would blow apart upon use, and the Invincible Barrier itself would also be damaged. It was not something that could be used by any ordinary soul master. Soul engineers who owned golden crystals were all wealthy too.
If the Sun Moon Empire did not restrict the export of soul tools, the empire would have been even wealthier.
The current situation was very obvious. All of Team Dou Ling's soul kings were equipped with the Invincible Barrier. This was a frightening investment they had made! Not all academies were as wealthy as Shrek Academy and the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.
The Invincible Barrier granted the Dou Ling team some time by blocking the flames from Ma Xiaotao's phoenix wings.
As the main control-type soul master, Xiao Feng lifted his head towards Ma Xiaotao, then flew up and forsook the huge slab of metal in his hand. His hands formed a heart-like shape, and a white pearl that released a dim purplish fog appeared above his palms.
His thousand year 4th soul ring flashed, and that pearl emanated a layer of thick purplish light. Team Dou Ling's remaining 6 members and the surrounding region were all engulfed within this purplish light. Within the boundary of this purplish light, everything became illusory and less clear. There were even varying undulations of soul power that appeared at every corner.
This was the Maze Pearl, Xiao Feng's martial soul. He was a rare spiritual control-type soul master just like Huo Yuhao. But his was not a body soul. Rather, he used the Maze Pearl to release different forms of hypnotic illusions to protect and aid his team members. At the same time, he also used them to trick his opponents.
If Ma Xiaotao were to look down, she would only see a purplish patch of blurriness, wherein the Dou Ling team's 6 members were shifting positions quickly and unleashing different types of soul skills targeted towards her.
However, Ma Xiaotao revealed a smile on her face right now. She thought to herself, "It feels good to completely suppress them."
Ma Xiaotao dived down without hesitation as she was watched by the Dou Ling team's 6 remaining members. Her 2nd, 3rd and 4th soul rings flashed with a bright radiance at the same time. Her body was blazing with flames right now, and she looked like a true fire phoenix. Half of the competition stage was lit with a red glow because of the phoenix flames on her body.
Chi Hengyu had already retracted his Vajra Shield, and there was no doubt that he had to resist the attack using his shield. As a defense-type soul king, he blocked the attack without any misgivings. The Vajra Shield was lifted horizontally, and was rapidly shifted to the position where Ma Xiaotao was striking using the Maze Pearl's purplish fog.
Qian Yuan also inched closer to Chi Hengyu rapidly. As long as Chi Hengyu blocked Ma Xiaotao's attack, he would retaliate with all his might.
Qian Yuan's height had reached above 3 meters after he released his martial soul. His immense build was shocking, and there were 5 enormous, sharp claws that reached over half a meter long at the ends of his thick arms. He had to bend slightly to be engulfed by the Maze Pearl's illusions.
Han Ling'er was concealed somewhere further away. She was an agility-type soul king. Her style was to await her opportunity to strike precisely.
Tang Niuniu's auxiliary-type soul skill landed on Chi Hengyu. Her aim was very simple – increase Chi Hengyu's defensive strength. As long as he could withstand Ma Xiaotao's attack, it would be their turn to retaliate against her.
Qing Feng was the only one who did not join in to attack Ma Xiaotao. He continued to face the others from Shrek Academy. His Earthen Wave had almost reached his opponents, and he was about to get Gu Zhujian back.
"Boom—"
A loud, booming sound resonated from both sides at the same time. The Vajra Shield's defensive strength could not be doubted. As a soul king, he was able to resist a soul emperor's attack, much more with the aid of his comrades. But the problem was that Ma Xiaotao's attack had to strike above his shield before he could resist it.
Ma Xiaotao dove down extremely quickly, as if she were staking everything on this attack of hers.
She was landing at the correct time too. It was at the exact instant when 3 of the Dou Ling team's Invincible Barriers disappeared. Ma Xiaotao had already arrived just when their Invincible Barriers were starting to crack.
This was impossible!
Almost the same thought rose in the minds of everyone from the Dou Ling team.
It was almost impossible to accurately pinpoint this flaw using her naked eyes. What's more was that Xiao Feng had used his 4th soul skill, the Purple Illusory Domain.
However, this was a fact. It wasn't projected by someone using his will. Amidst that booming sound, an intense, bright-red fog covered the Dou Ling team once again. However, it no longer produced the same might as Xu Sanshi's Mysterious Underworld Quake.
Chi Hengyu and Qian Yuan were struck the heaviest, as they were the closest. The two of them only felt a wave of heat sweeping across their bodies. The soul power in their bodies seemed to be on fire, and their developing soul skills were degraded in an instant. At the same time, their bodies turned stiff.
The rest were roughly affected the in the same manner, although the degree of their injuries was lower.
Phoenix Skywhistle, a very powerful crowd-control soul skill that could be use to attack and defend. It was Ma Xiaotao's 4th soul skill. Enhanced by the Phoenix Baptism and Soaring Phoenix, its might was definitely not inferior to any ten thousand year soul skill.
Tang Niuniu's auxiliary-type soul skill and Xiao Feng's Maze Pearl were all instantly burned away by the Phoenix Skywhistle as it struck.
There was no longer any suspense for the rest of the battle after the involvement of Ma Xiaotao's Phoenix Skywhistle. Ma Xiaotao snorted, and her pitch-black, 6th soul ring flashed with a bright radiance. At the same time, the defensive barrier surrounding the competition stage that was formed by 108 soul masters started to jerk tremendously. Large patches of red solidified within the defense barrier, and the temperature above the competition stage soared.
Ma Xiaotao's strongest offensive soul skill, the Phoenix Meteor Shower, was already incubating. After they were affected by the Phoenix Skywhistle, the Dou Ling team was no longer capable of avoiding or resisting any further attacks.
Was she really a soul emperor? This was what every spectator thought. She was also the first soul emperor to appear in this tournament.
Many of the spectators raved in their hearts. This was the power that Shrek Academy was supposed to have!
At this moment, the battle on the other side had already concluded.
Qing Feng's Earthen Wave still managed to achieve a certain effect. However, it was a pity that he had met Xu Sanshi, who possessed the strongest defense among soul ancestors.
Shield of the Xuanwu Turtle, Shield Wall. The Earthen Wave was blocked out by Xu Sanshi's Mysterious Underworld Displacement, and did not fulfil the desired effect of coming to Gu Zhujian's aid.
Meanwhile, Gu Zhujian had managed to hang on for 3 seconds with the help of his Invincible Barrier, and he also unleashed his 5th soul skill.
The Purplebrilliant Bamboo was around 3 meters in length, and shone with a purple glow. There were subtle streaks and patterns of golden light on it. Gu Zhujian utilized the protection of the Invincible Barrier, and stabbed his Purplebrilliant Bamboo into the ground before him. He released this 5th soul skill the instant his Invincible Barrier went down.
His purpose was very simple: He was looking for an opportunity to escape.
It was a pity that he was up against 5 people from Shrek Academy!
A form-fitting Ice Prison engulfed Gu Zhujian precisely at the moment his Invincible Barrier disappeared. Furthermore, this Ice Prison was entirely flawless.
Hence, Gu Zhujian's 5th soul skill that he had prepared for so long collided intensely with the Ice Prison.
The Ice Prison was Ling Luochen's 3rd soul skill. Furthermore, it was only a thousand year soul skill. With her cultivation as a soul king that was similar to Gu Zhujian's, she should logically be unable to resist Gu Zhujian's attack.
However, Ling Luochen was not the only person fighting! Under the combined injection of Haodong Power by Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, they increased her ice element to the level of ultimate ice, and even added a streak of Wang Dong's light aura. Hence, the Ice Prison became nearly indestructible.
Everyone could only see the Ice Prison turn purple. After tiny cracks started to appear, the purple color turned dim.
The Ice Prison was cracked open as Ling Luochen retracted her own soul skill. Following that, before Gu Zhujian had a chance to catch his breath, he was faced with an attack from Dai Yueheng, who had used all three of his 3 strengthening skills, the White Tiger's Shield, White Tiger's Vajra Transformation and White Tiger's Devilgod Transformation.
Therefore, the remaining process could only be described by the word 'devastation'. A devastation caused by a soul emperor attacking a soul king.
The fight was ending much faster than everyone had expected. Ma Xiaotao's Phoenix Meteor Shower did not fall in the end, as the referee stopped her soul skill. Shrek Academy's complete suppression of the Dou Ling team helped them attain victory in this team competition.
Gu Zhujian was the most pathetic. As they still had an individual competition the day after tomorrow, the refereehad stopped Ma Xiaotao. But the sly Dai Yueheng did not go easy on Gu Zhujian; his attack had crushed his limbs. Of course, he could recover, but not within such a short period of time.
When the referee rushed over to pull Gu Zhujian out, he seemed to imply the ruthlessness of Shrek Academy's members with his look.
Dai Yueheng claimed innocence, as if he wasn't the one who laid that heavy blow on Gu Zhujian. Gu Zhujian was already very fortunate that Dai Yueheng did not break his '5th limb'!
Ma Xiaotao had been restraining herself greatly, and so did he. This was also due to the fact that he had greatly suppressed the violent instincts within him.
The members of the Dou Ling team appeared very furious as they looked at those from Shrek Academy.
Ma Xiaotao snapped at them, "What are all of you looking at? Would you have held back if you were in our position?"
Out of humanitarianism, Dai Yueheng had knocked Gu Zhujian out first before breaking his limbs. Thus, the leadership of the Dou Ling team passed to Xiao Feng, who was their vice team leader.
Xiao Feng lifted his hands to stop his team members, who wanted to dash forward, and said to Ma Xiaotao in a low voice, "How did you see through our illusory world? Don't tell me that was luck."
Ma Xiaotao pursed her lips. "Can't I be gifted? If you want to take revenge, we'll meet at the individual competition." As she spoke, she gestured and led the members of Shrek Academy down from the competition stage with the flair of a female mob boss.
How did she see past their illusory world? Was there even a need to ask? With the spiritual detection sharing that could completely suppress their opponents, did she still need to see?
While they might have seemed to win this round of the competition easily, they had actually exerted perfect control of time every time they had struck, and that was all because of Huo Yuhao.
Rather than saying Ling Luochen was the main control-type soul master, it was better to claim that Huo Yuhao was the main control-type soul master instead. It's just that no one else knew. Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng's limelight masked the rest.
"This is Shrek. This is Shrek at its best. However, the Dou Ling team wasn't bad either. It's a pity that they met the wrong opponent." The Star Luo Emperor commented.
Sun Moon Empire Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.
It was rare that Xiao Hongchen did not show his arrogant side. One had to wonder whether he had been provoked by Wang Dong. He stood beside Ma Rulong and said softly, "Team leader, what did you see? The Dou Ling team was not simple! They were only unfortunate."
Ma Rulong nodded his head slightly. "No wonder they forsook first place. It's because they had such a plan. If I'm not wrong, they must have planned to group together and release the large version of the Gigantic Lightning Cannon. The question is, how did they get the blueprint to build a Gigantic Lightning Cannon?"
Xiao Hongchen creased her brows and said in a low voice, "If I'm not wrong, their Gigant Lightning Cannon must be a replica of our Illustrious Virtue Hall's model. It's just that they can't replicate the craftsmanship of our Gigant Lightning Cannon, thus they enlarged it. This makes it easier to produce the cannon, which requires 7 of them to operate too."
Ma Rulong nodded and said, "This must be the case. It seems like that the Dou Ling Empire has made significant improvements in the production of soul tools. But they must not have expected to meet Shrek Academy so early on, and their strategy was curbed. If it were some other team, their defense would not have collapsed so quickly. 5 of them had the protection of Invincible Barriers. Along with their combined defense and illusory world, it can only be attributed to luck that they lost, and not because of a lack of abilities."
Xiao Hongchen was a little irritated as he said, "Shrek Academy is a little too lucky. They can only use such a strategy once, and they used it on their most suitable opponent. Otherwise, they would be unable to resist the powerful offensive strength of a Class 7 soul tool even with two soul emperors."
Ma Rulong smiled and said, "This is not a bad thing either. At least we can see the full prowess of Shrek Academy, right?"
Xiao Hongchen nodded his head and replied, "Yes."
Ma Rulong twisted his head to look at him and said seriously, "Xiao, you are indeed more talented than me. In our empire, probably no one can match up to you. However, you are too short-tempered because of your talent. If you don't change, you will not have it well in the future."
Xiao Hongchen was stunned for a moment, "Team leader, I…"
Ma Rulong lifted his hand to stop him from speaking any further. "I hope that you become powerful for the empire, Illustrious Virtue Hall and our academy. I don't want you to disappoint those who have high hopes and have sacrificed unselfishly for you. You're almost 15 too. It's time to grow up."
Xiao Hongchen looked a little unhappy, but he didn't argue against Ma Rulong. He slowly walked back to his position and sat down. He seemed to be thinking of something.
It's not only the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy that had keen eyes. Wang Yan and the rest who were watching the competition were also shocked.
When Gu Zhujian was switched over, and was holding the mysterious slab of metal, he had already known what their opponents' strategy was. It was no longer just a scheme. It was very easy for everyone to see what they were doing. Even if he knew what they were going to do, he couldn't do anything about it either.
All 5 soul kings had been equipped with Invincible Barriers, and they had also had sufficiently strong defense-type soul skills. All this had been prepared beforehand, and not targeted towards Shrek Academy. It could even be said to have been prepared for the finale of this tournament. Such a brand-new strategy had been sparked from the powerful soul tools they had at their disposal.
On the way back to the Grand Star Imperial Hotel, Dai Yueheng said, "I shall go first in the individual round the day after tomorrow."
Ma Xiaotao stared at him before saying, "What right do you have to go first?"
Dai Yueheng smiled and replied, "Because I hurt their team leader today. If they see me again, their emotions will be unstable. It's best if I go first."
Ma Xiaotao snorted and said, "Against an absolute power, what's the use of such little schemes and tricks?"
Wang Yan opened his mouth suddenly and said, "Xiaotao, let's talk back at the hotel."
Ma Xiaotao brow creased, but didn't make a sound.
Very soon, everyone returned to the hotel. Wang Yan instructed the rest to cultivate and rest back in their rooms, while he brought Ma Xiaotao into the meeting room.
After closing the door, Wang Yan did not rush to say anything. He poured a glass of water for Ma Xiaotao first.
Looking at the glass of water in front of her, Ma Xiaotao lifted her head to look at Wang Yan and said, "Teacher Wang, I know what you're going to say. Is it that I didn't follow your strategy today in the competition? The result would have been the same no matter whether it was Yueheng or I that changed over."
Wang Yan sat opposite Ma Xiaotao and looked at her calmly.
"Xiaotao, you are the team leader of Team Shrek in this tournament, right?"
"Of course." Ma Xiaotao said subconsciously.
Wang Yan said, "Then let me ask you, what's your greatest responsibility as the team leader? Are you supposed to vent your emotions, or are you supposed to be working towards being the championship by leading your team with all your might?"
Ma Xiaotao was in a daze. She was a clever person. Although she was normally a short-tempered person, she was an intelligent person. She could tell what Wang Yan was implying.
Wang Yan gazed at her deeply, and said in a low voice, "Among the 10 people who came, the most suited to be the team leader is Bei Bei, not you. Even Dai Yueheng is stronger than you. I think Huo Yuhao is even more suitable as the team leader compared to you."
"You!" Ma Xiaotao stared furiously at Wang Yan.
Wang Yan's eyes were filled with relentlessness, "Are you feeling indignant? Then, tell me, what have you been doing in this tournament? You were injured and couldn't participate, but no one is blaming you. However, what have you done in this competition since you've recovered?"