Chapter 139: The Attack of the Spirit Hall
Under the escort of the Heaven Dou Royal Knights, no foolish bandits dared to come and rob them.
To ensure that the participating team members could rest well along the way, the Heaven Dou Empire had specially prepared fifteen luxurious, giant carriages. Each carriage had an area exceeding fifty square meters and was pulled by sixteen tall, strong horses, specifically designed for the contestants to rest comfortably during their journey.
As the first-place team from the qualifying competition, the carriage of the Nine Stars Academy was positioned in the middle of the convoy and was the key protection target of the Royal Knights.
Inside the carriage, Xiao Yu rested with his eyes closed, his head pillowed on Huo Wu's long, slender thighs, while Ye Lingling, sitting on the other side, gently massaged Xiao Yu's calves.
This idyllic life drew countless envious and jealous glances.
Although Xiao Yu knew that the Spirit Hall would ambush them not far ahead, he showed no signs of panic.
To prevent Bibi Dong from killing two birds with one stone—eliminating Tang San while taking him out as well—Xiao Yu had ensured his entourage was formidable, comprising six titled Douluo. Besides the ever-present Milo and Aiolia, he had Shura, Camus, Aldebaran, and the strongest, Saga. Only Mu and Huohuo remained at the Nine Stars Hall headquarters to guard it.
If the Spirit Hall only targeted Tang San, Xiao Yu was happy to stay on the sidelines. With the Shura God backing him, it was likely that even the Spirit Hall wouldn't be able to kill Tang San, the fabricated child of destiny.
However, if the maniac Bibi Dong decided to target him too, Xiao Yu wouldn't hesitate to show the Spirit Hall his strength.
Xiao Yu even looked forward to revealing some of his hidden cards to the Spirit Hall. Despite forming an alliance with Qian Renxue, over the years, Qian Daoliu and the other high-level worshippers had never made an appearance.
Why?
Ultimately, it was because those in the Hall of Worship never saw the Nine Stars Hall as being on an equal footing with them.
"They're here!"
Suddenly, while enjoying the massage, Xiao Yu's eyes snapped open, and he whispered.
At the same time, the captain of the Heaven Dou Royal Knights, responsible for their escort, sensed the danger as well. He immediately raised his spear and shouted to his subordinates behind him, "Everyone, be on guard! Something's happening!"
Before the words had fully left his mouth, countless rocks began to tumble down from the hills on both sides like a rainstorm.
"Form up and block! Caravans, move quickly through!"
With the captain's order, the Royal Knights swiftly formed a defensive formation, raising their spears to meet the falling rocks.
Simultaneously, the coachmen whipped their horses to speed up the carriages, aiming to pass through the narrow valley as fast as possible.
But the Spirit Hall had been planning this for a long time. There was no way they would let the participating teams pass through easily. Almost a hundred black-clad soul masters suddenly appeared in the sky, all possessing flying-type martial souls. With purple and black spirit rings flickering, the powerful wind generated accelerated the speed of the falling rocks, quickly breaching the Royal Knights' defenses.
The Royal Knights were not escorting defenseless nobles but highly talented soul master academy students, many of whom were accompanied by instructors of Soul Emperor, Soul Sage, or even Soul Douluo level. The Spirit Hall's ambush was not meant to kill them all with the rockfall but to use it as a means to block the road and separate the teams.
Over the years, the influence of the Spirit Hall had expanded greatly, and among these fifteen teams, there were even academies supported by the Spirit Hall. An indiscriminate attack could end up killing their own people as well as those they intended to target.
Every team in the soul master tournament was naturally a competitor. The elders of the Spirit Hall had already determined when planning this ambush that once the academies were separated, they would prioritize their own survival and not assist others.
As the rockfall attack subsided, a whistle sounded. Thousands of black-clad figures suddenly appeared on the hilltops on both sides, rushing down at full speed toward the convoy below.
"Prepare for battle!"
The road was blocked, and the carriages could no longer pass. Contestants from various academies disembarked, preparing for battle under the guidance of their instructors. Martial souls were released, and soul rings shone brightly, with yellow, purple, and even black lights crisscrossing in a dazzling display.
"Where did these reckless bandits come from, daring to rob us?"
The team from Xinghua Academy, a kingdom representative, launched the first offensive against the black-clad attackers under the command of their instructor, a Level 68 Soul Emperor.
This team comprised seven primary members and five substitutes, twelve participants in total, all at the Soul Elder level. Under the leadership of their instructor, their momentum surged, and confident, feral smiles crossed their faces as they anticipated charging into the fray to wreak havoc.
But brutal reality quickly struck them down. To their shock, they discovered that the black-clad attackers were not only numerous but consisted of a significant number of soul masters working in tightly coordinated groups of three to five. The Xinghua Academy team and their Soul Emperor instructor were overrun in less than three minutes. If they had been the target of this ambush, they would have likely ended up as corpses.
This sudden, harsh lesson made the instructors of the various academies realize that this was no bandit ambush but an organized, premeditated strike.
For someone to plan and execute an ambush against the academy teams participating in the soul master tournament, the power behind this assault must be far beyond their expectations. A heavy sense of foreboding weighed on the instructors as they quietly urged their students not to act recklessly.
"Stay vigilant, respond cautiously, and conserve your soul power!"
Xiao Yu, who had been aware of the attackers' identities from the start, remained calm. He directed the Nine Stars team to form a defensive formation, awaiting the enemy's approach.
There were about 1,500 black-clad attackers in total. Five hundred focused on holding back the Royal Knights, while the remaining 1,000 bypassed the knights and charged directly at the academy teams.
The allocation of attackers was not uniform; weaker academies or those with ties to the Spirit Hall were only besieged by groups of thirty to forty, meant to merely delay them.
However, Shrek Academy and Nine Stars Academy, considered key targets, faced nearly 200 attackers each, including formidable experts.
Among those attacking Shrek Academy were two powerful Soul Sages. One, with a winged tiger martial soul, clashed with Flender, while the other, with a tortoise-shell martial soul, fought against Liu Erlong.
Meanwhile, at Nine Stars Academy, as the black-clad Spirit Hall attackers charged, they were met not by traditional soul skills but by red beams of light radiating danger. These beams fell among the attackers and erupted in powerful explosions, with a force comparable to an attack from a Level 70 Soul Sage. Caught off guard, the attackers suffered heavy casualties within moments.
(End of Chapter)
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