Soon it was afternoon, and the final round of the loser's bracket was about to begin, with the Star Luo Royal Academy facing the Heaven Dou Royal Academy Shrek Team.
The crowd at the scene was buzzing with excitement. For so many years, the two empires had not been on friendly terms, and this battle could truly be described as a clash of titans.
After some consideration, Yu Xiaogang surprisingly continued to use the lineup that had faced the new Divine Wind Team, which was the defensive formation that Yang Xiong had devised.
Yang Xiong was speechless for a moment. This lineup might have been effective against the new Divine Wind Team because the new Divine Wind Team had strong explosive power and relatively poor stamina without top-tier support like Ning Rongrong and Ye Lingling.
But the Star Luo Royal Academy was the complete opposite. Not only was their attack powerful, but their formation was also very balanced. Even if it came down to a battle of attrition, they might not be afraid, as they had two Soul Masters above level forty-five.
The Shrek Team still consisted of Yang Xiong, Yu Tianheng, Tang San, Dai Mubai, Shi Mo, Shi Mo, and Ye Lingling.
The Star Luo Royal Academy, however, had made some adjustments to their formation.
Captain Dai Weisi, Martial Soul White Tiger, level forty-nine attack-type Soul Ancestor.
Vice-captain Zhu Zhuyun, Martial Soul Nether Cat, level forty-seven agility-type Soul Ancestor.
Team member Lin Yao, Martial Soul Flame Eagle, level thirty-nine agility-type Soul Grandmaster.
Team member Ying Wei, Martial Soul Bloated Water Buffalo, level forty-four attack-type Battle Soul Ancestor.
Team member Tang Hongning, Martial Soul Fierce Thunder Leopard, level forty-three agility-type Battle Soul Ancestor.
Team members Supreme Goodness is Like Water sisters, Martial Soul Supreme Goodness is Like Water, level forty support-type Battle Soul Ancestor.
Yang Xiong looked at the opposing lineup and was also a bit surprised. Normally, they would have another Soul Ancestor, but he didn't expect them to send out a fire-attribute Advanced Soul Grandmaster. It seemed they wanted to target something specifically.
Yang Xiong was speechless looking at the lineups of both sides. The opposing side had three agility-type Soul Masters, but not a single defense-type Soul Master.
In contrast, the Shrek Team didn't have a single agility-type Soul Master, with only Yang Xiong counting as half of one. The overall speed of their formation was too slow.
However, even so, the average soul power level of the Star Luo Royal Academy was still significantly higher than that of the Shrek Team, as Shrek had two Soul Grandmasters.
With the referee's command, everyone on both sides summoned their Martial Souls and Soul Rings, and the match officially began.
The Star Luo Royal Academy launched the first attack. Dai Weisi took the lead, pouncing like a giant fierce tiger, seemingly wanting to break through the Shrek Team's formation with his powerful strength.
Beside Dai Weisi was Ying Wei, a Soul Ancestor with the Bloated Water Buffalo Martial Soul, whose soul power had also reached level forty-four.
In addition to the two attackers, the team surprisingly launched a three-pronged attack simultaneously. The three agility-type Soul Masters were extremely fast and formed a pincer movement.
The Star Luo Royal Academy's tactics were very effective. Most teams would simply be unable to withstand this level of attack.
The Shrek Team, who had originally planned to adopt a defensive stance, saw Tang San's expression turn grim as he shouted, "*Scatter!*"
The group, who had been together, dispersed into a scattered formation. It seemed Tang San's reaction was quite fast. If they had truly maintained a solid defense, their formation would likely have been broken by the opposing side sooner or later.
The Shi family brothers reacted extremely quickly, rushing forward to deal with Dai Weisi and Ying Wei, the two Soul Ancestors. Yu Tianheng and Dai Mubai also reacted very quickly, on one hand protecting the Shi family brothers, and on the other hand dealing with the multiple agility-type Soul Masters. Only these two had very strong combat qualities and could engage in some combat with agility-type Soul Masters. Otherwise, with the Shi family brothers' flexibility, they would likely be easily bullied by agility-type Soul Masters.
Yang Xiong's speed was extremely fast, and he quickly rushed towards Zhu Zhuyun. With Zhu Zhuyun's level forty-seven strength, only Yang Xiong in the entire team could keep up with her speed.
But Dai Weisi's strength was even more exaggerated than expected. He transformed into a giant White Tiger and slapped Shi Mo's Black Tortoise Turtle, sending Shi Mo several meters back. In terms of combat power and Martial Soul, Dai Weisi likely already had the combat power of a Soul King. His attack and defense should not be inferior to Yan of the Spirit Hall team.
Dai Mubai's figure shifted, and he immediately appeared in front of Dai Weisi. It was clear that Dai Mubai was filled with resentment towards Dai Weisi.
Dai Weisi smiled and said, "My good brother, you've been away from home for so many years. I'd like to see if you've made any progress during these years."
Both of them simultaneously used their third soul skill, White Tiger Vajra Transformation, and their figures instantly became incredibly imposing, their muscles starting to bulge.
But after just one exchange, Dai Weisi remained completely still, while Dai Mubai was forced back several meters. It seemed the gap between them was simply too large. In terms of pure strength, Dai Weisi was a full five levels higher than Feng Xiaotian, and significantly stronger in terms of power.
Ye Lingling reacted extremely quickly. Two rays of light from her Nine Star Begonia immediately injected into Dai Mubai and Shi Mo, and their conditions were instantly restored.
Compared to the fierce collision between Dai Mubai and Dai Weisi, Yang Xiong and Zhu Zhuyun displayed extreme speed. The Nether Cat truly lived up to its reputation as a top-tier agility-type Martial Soul. Its speed far surpassed any Soul Ancestor Yang Xiong had ever seen, and was even much faster than Feng Xiaotian.
But Yang Xiong was not afraid in the slightest. He also pushed his speed to the limit, his hands like silver claws reaching for Zhu Zhuyun.
However, Zhu Zhuyun's speed was even more exaggerated than Yang Xiong had imagined, and every movement was even more agile than expected. Her hands were actually like two sharp knives, directly striking Yang Xiong's hands. But before Yang Xiong could exert force, she instantly retreated, completely elusive.
Yang Xiong was also startled. What Zhu Zhuyun displayed was not just simple speed, but also keen combat ability, especially the exaggerated reaction speed of the Nether Cat.
Yang Xiong believed his speed was absolutely unique among Soul Ancestors, but this Zhu Zhuyun was somewhat slippery, basically pushing the combat prowess of an agility-type to the extreme. If an attack missed, she would immediately retreat, completely avoiding a head-on confrontation with Yang Xiong.
This actually piqued Yang Xiong's interest. Zhu Zhuyun's fighting style was somewhat similar to Tang San's elusive Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track. No wonder the Nether Cat was known as the Martial Soul with the fastest reaction speed.
Yang Xiong's speed increased again, and there was a certain footwork involved. This was a footwork developed based on years of fighting with Tang San and research into Tai Chi. Yang Xiong called it the Eight Trigrams Footwork, derived from Tai Chi.
As the saying goes, Tai Chi generates the Two Principles, the Two Principles generate the Four Phenomena, and the Four Phenomena generate the Eight Trigrams. The Eight Trigrams Footwork was gradually developed based on the Yin and Yang of Tai Chi. Although it might not achieve ultimate speed, every step contained the principles of the Eight Trigrams, encompassing everything.
Although Zhu Zhuyun's reaction speed was extremely fast, after attacking Yang Xiong multiple times consecutively, she wasn't so lucky. The moment she attacked, Yang Xiong's hands were actually placed flat in front of his chest, drawing a circular shape. Zhu Zhuyun felt as if she had hit cotton in that instant, and Yang Xiong's originally slow palms visibly became extremely fast, seemingly impossible to dodge, directly striking Zhu Zhuyun's abdomen with both palms, sending her flying.
Tai Chi is known for using softness to overcome hardness and slowness to control speed. In that instant, it seemed unavoidable.
Zhu Zhuyun was full of surprise and immediately activated her First Soul Skill: Nether Thrust. Her five fingers instantly extended sharp claws, and her attack speed actually doubled, a powerful close-range single-target attack skill.
Yang Xiong let out a cold snort. His entire body instantly hardened, as if wearing a thick layer of armor. This was his self-created defensive Soul Skill: Steel Tendons Iron Bones.
In that instant, Zhu Zhuyun felt as if she had struck steel, and her fingers were unable to advance an inch.
But before she could react, Yang Xiong's hands were as fast as lightning, grabbing onto Zhu Zhuyun's body. Five long bloody gashes were instantly torn into her body, and even her clothes were ripped apart in a large section.
Zhu Zhuyun roared in anger, "Pervert!"
Zhu Zhuyun desperately attacked Yang Xiong again, her speed increasing by a few points. Yang Xiong was speechless. He was just participating in a Soul Duel Competition, how did he become a pervert? Did these female Soul Masters not have this awareness when they got on the stage?
Compared to Yang Xiong being able to suppress Zhu Zhuyun in terms of speed, the situation for the others was not as good.
Dai Mubai was clearly no match for Dai Weisi, and Yu Tianheng was also unable to suppress Ying Wei, because after all, a level 44 Bloated Water Buffalo Martial Soul was still decent. The slow characteristics of the Shi Mo and Shi Mo brothers also gradually became apparent. With three agility-type Soul Masters on the opposing side, they were somewhat struggling to cope.
Tang San directed his Blue Silver Grass to control the entire field, but the Star Luo Royal Academy team was clearly prepared. The Soul Ancestor with the Flame Eagle Martial Soul was specifically targeting Tang San's Blue Silver Grass. This person was extremely fast and didn't attack others, focusing solely on the Blue Silver Grass.
The Flame Eagle was also a top-tier Martial Soul. Not only was it extremely fast, but it could also fly, and its strength was quite good. Although Lin Yao was only a Soul Ancestor, he held an absolute advantage in the air, and the Shrek team had no way to deal with him.
As time passed, both sides fell into a war of attrition, just like the Shrek versus Divine Wind Academy match. However, Shrek was clearly gradually falling into a disadvantage. The Star Luo Royal Academy's attacks were more fierce and more overbearing, especially since they had two excellent support Soul Masters.
The Supreme Goodness is Like Water sisters were named Dong Hui and Yang Mingxi. They were the two supports of the Star Luo Royal Academy. Their Martial Soul, Supreme Goodness is Like Water, was very good at healing and boosting various aspects, a top-tier water-attribute Martial Soul.
However, compared to the others, Zhu Zhuyun might be having a tougher time. She couldn't match Yang Xiong in speed, and the difference in strength was even greater. After being continuously attacked by Yang Xiong, she already had multiple injuries on her body, appearing completely suppressed by Yang Xiong. If it weren't for her extreme speed, she would have probably been knocked off the stage by Yang Xiong long ago.
The Supreme Goodness is Like Water sisters also quickly healed Zhu Zhuyun. The healing effect was indeed very exaggerated. Yang Xiong even wondered if the combined effect of two healing-type Soul Masters would be greater than one plus one.
Seeing Zhu Zhuyun continuously getting injured, Dai Weisi directly activated his Second Soul Skill, White Tiger Light Wave. Dai Mubai also unleashed his White Tiger Light Wave, but he was completely suppressed and forced back several meters.
Dai Weisi's figure changed, and his White Tiger Light Wave suddenly transformed, becoming like a fast cutting beam of light, cutting directly towards Yang Xiong. It seemed to have considerable power.
Moreover, Zhu Zhuyun and Dai Weisi seemed to have a tacit understanding. Zhu Zhuyun activated her Second Soul Skill, Nether Hundred Claws, to attack Yang Xiong at the same moment. The two seemed to be coordinating their attacks, making it impossible for Yang Xiong to dodge.
But Yang Xiong just let out a cold laugh. His hands were like silver dragon claws. His left hand directly grabbed towards Dai Weisi's White Tiger Light Wave, and his right hand grabbed towards Zhu Zhuyun's countless claw attacks.
With his mind split, both the White Tiger Light Wave and the Nether Hundred Claws were shattered in that instant. Zhu Zhuyun was once again sent flying several meters.
With Yang Xiong's current strength, he wasn't afraid of Zhu Zhuyun attacking; he was only somewhat wary of her relying on her powerful speed and agility to evade. At the very least, he couldn't let her attack their other teammates.
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