Ye Wen shrugged indifferently, signaling his agreement.
After all, he had never been someone overly ambitious. If his fiancées wanted to show off a little, so be it. He was perfectly content to take it easy and enjoy the ride.
However, Hu Liena and her team were far from pleased. Every soul master who had reached this level had an exceptionally sharp and heightened sense of awareness. Hu Liena immediately spoke up:
"Tian Dou team, do you even know who we are? We're the strongest dark horse of this year's Spirit Hall Tournament. There's a limit to how much you can look down on us!"
Ye Wen merely glanced at Hu Liena, the lowest-ranked member among the "Spirit Hall Three Fools," before looking away.
Talking to fools might make one foolish too, and Ye Wen wasn't about to risk it. Instead, he turned to the referee and asked:
"Can we start now, referee?"
Though the referee, as a member of the Spirit Hall, found this somewhat humiliating, as an impartial arbiter, he still called out loudly:
"Both teams have one minute to prepare. Begin by introducing yourselves!"
Ye Wen found this process tedious, but formal competitions were always strict. After summoning their martial souls (though not their soul rings), Ye Wen and his team began their introductions:
Captain: Ye Wen, martial soul Nana, 56th-level control-type battle soul king.
Vice-captain: Huo Yu'er, martial soul Spiritual Eye, 45th-level control-type battle soul ancestor.
Xiao Wu, martial soul Soft Bone Rabbit, 48th-level power-type battle soul ancestor.
Dugu Yan, martial soul Jade Phosphorous Serpent, 46th-level control-type battle soul ancestor.
Ye Lingling, martial soul Nine-Heart Begonia, 42nd-level healing-type soul ancestor.
Ning Rongrong, martial soul Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda, 38th-level auxiliary-type soul master.
Bai Ling'er, martial soul Sacred White Tiger, 47th-level power-type battle soul ancestor.
Seeing that Ye Wen's team completely ignored them, Hu Liena took a deep breath to calm herself, suppressing her inner agitation before introducing her own team:
Hu Liena, hailed as part of the Spirit Hall's "Golden Generation," was the captain but had the lowest cultivation level at 51st-level control-type battle soul king.
Her brother Xie Yue and Yan were both 52nd-level soul kings.
As for the remaining four team members, though they were mostly cannon fodder, their average cultivation levels reached the soul ancestor stage.
Even with this lineup, the Spirit Hall team didn't dare underestimate Ye Wen's group.
After all, even Ning Rongrong, the weakest in terms of cultivation, was nearing the 40th-level threshold despite her young age and difficult-to-master auxiliary system. Meanwhile, Ye Wen, their captain, hadn't even lifted a finger yet, and both his age and soul power surpassed Hu Liena's trio.
Moreover, two members of Ye Wen's team already possessed overpowered soul ring configurations, making them even more formidable opponents.
The referee checked the time, glanced at everyone present, then raised his right hand before swinging it down sharply.
"Begin!"
The moment the words left his lips, Xiao Wu pushed off the ground with tremendous force, charging toward the Spirit Hall team alongside Bai Ling'er.
Though Ye Wen's side was strong, he never underestimated any opponent. To prevent his fiancées from getting injured or losing unexpectedly, he always devised strategies when facing powerful enemies.
Ye Wen remembered that in the novel version, Hu Liena and Xie Yue had a Spirit Fusion Technique called "Yao Mei."
In the manga adaptation, this was changed to a three-person Spirit Fusion Technique, replacing the original concept.
But this so-called "Golden Generation" still retained a two-person Spirit Fusion Technique between Xie Yue and Yan.
Its name? —— Evil Blade Lord!
To avoid complications, Ye Wen instructed Xiao Wu and Bai Ling'er to take down Xie Yue immediately at the start of the match.
Since Xie Yue was a weapon-type soul master, his defense was weak. As for Yan, whose elemental-type martial soul made him susceptible to self-inflicted flame damage, he could wait until later.
Xiao Wu: "Self-created soul skill – Meteor Bunny Shockwave!"
Bai Ling'er: "Fourth soul skill – Sacred Roar Cannon!"
At this moment, both girls unleashed their fastest speeds and strongest attack-type soul skills, launching a devastating assault on Xie Yue.
The approaching members of the Spirit Hall team quickly realized Ye Wen's strategy. Hu Liena panicked and shouted in the middle: "Brother! Be careful!"
Ye Wen's lips twitched slightly. He couldn't help but wonder how Bibi Dong had trained her. With such poor combat aptitude, how could she possibly serve as the Holy Maiden? Without others to rely on, her seduction-based soul skills would've gotten her killed long ago.
Meanwhile, Ye Wen, bored out of his mind, couldn't help but question how Hu Liena had survived and cleared Slaughter City. It simply didn't add up.
After all, soul skills couldn't be used there, and she faced murderous evil soul masters who slaughtered people like pigs. How could she possibly have cleared it with just two swords?
Thinking about this, Ye Wen narrowed his eyes slightly. It seemed the waters of Slaughter City ran deeper than he thought. But that was fine—he had no intention of entering it anyway.
Unless one cleared the city, there was no way to leave. And even if one did leave, the domain gained came with a catch—it was akin to having a nail planted by the Asura God. Ye Wen despised anyone tampering with him, so Slaughter City was out of the question.
On the other side, Yan, the power-type soul king, reacted swiftly. His second soul ring lit up as he stomped hard on the ground.
"Second soul skill – Granite Pillar!"
An instant later, the ground trembled, and a granite pillar erupted in front of Xie Yue, attempting to shield him.
In Yan's eyes, he had successfully protected his brother-in-law. However, at that moment, Xie Yue's familiar voice cried out in pain.
Having read Ye Wen's team's intelligence, Hu Liena instantly realized what was happening. She hurriedly activated her first soul skill, "Fox Charm," and a faint red mist spread over the Spirit Hall members, attempting to counteract Huo Yu'er's illusion-inducing soul skill as she shouted:
"Everyone, stay within my mental protection! The enemy has soul skills that can confuse your vision!"
Ye Wen and Huo Yu'er exchanged glances, surprised. This trick had worked countless times without fail, yet someone had finally managed to counter it head-on.
Still, Huo Yu'er's first soul skill was just a minor gimmick, and there were many ways to break it—it only worked well on first encounters.
Hu Liena's method involved using her own spiritual-type soul skill to override Huo Yu'er's effects. However, once outside her protective range, her teammates would fall victim to Huo Yu'er's illusions again.
Down below, Tang San watched this scene with flickering eyes, silently realizing that there was indeed a way to counter such techniques.
Then he felt a headache coming on. Originally, his imagined rival had been Ye Wen's team from the Tian Dou Imperial Academy. To prepare, he had spent a great deal of time teaching his team how to identify positions through sound alone. Now, it seemed all that effort had been wasted.
After all, his teacher had gone through great lengths to recruit a powerful individual for him—one possessing a soul bone skill. The effect of that soul bone skill? Manipulating large-scale spiritual phenomena.
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