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"Uncle Wolf? What's this?" Ye Lan pretended not to know about the ten-thousand-year Illusory Domain Wisdom Head Bone.
Silver Wolf's eyes gleamed with excitement. "An unexpected windfall from Shi Nian's death—he actually had a ten-thousand-year head-type soul bone!"
Ye Lan was genuinely pleased by Silver Wolf's transparency.
"Uncle Wolf, keep it for yourself. I have no use for this soul bone," Ye Lan said.
"Listen to yourself! Xiao Lan, are you even human?!" Silver Wolf blurted, momentarily suspecting the boy wasn't, who turns their nose up at a ten-thousand-year soul bone?
Even though Ye Lan didn't need it, Silver Wolf tossed the soul bone to him anyway. "It's a gem-type soul bone, so it's not a fit for me. Give it to Rongrong."
Ye Lan weighed the skull in his hand. In a way, this could be considered "returning it to its rightful owner."
"Alright, I'll tell her it's a birthday present from you."
"You can arrange it however you see fit," Silver Wolf replied.
"Is Xiao Lan not here yet? Everyone, pass around tomorrow's intel on Elephant Armor Academy." Qin Ming distributed the compiled file to the group.
Elephant Armor Academy Roster:
Hu Yanli, Martial Soul: Diamond Mammoth — Rank 43, Defense-type Soul Ancestor.
Hu Yanba, Martial Soul: Diamond Mammoth — Rank 42, Defense-type Soul Ancestor.
Hu Yanshan, Martial Soul: Diamond Mammoth — Rank 41, Defense-type Soul Ancestor.
Hu Yanxi, Martial Soul: Diamond Mammoth — Rank 39, Defense-type Soul Elder.
Hu Yanqi, Martial Soul: Diamond Mammoth — Rank 38, Defense-type Soul Elder.
Hu Yangai, Martial Soul: Diamond Mammoth — Rank 38, Defense-type Soul Elder.
Hu Yanshi, Martial Soul: Diamond Mammoth — Rank 38, Defense-type Soul Elder.
Past Performances: …
Oslo skimmed a line and immediately lost interest. "Teacher Qin, Elephant Armor plays dirty, don't they? Fighting them must be torture. An entire team of defense types with 'Diamond Mammoth'?! A single match must drag on for hours."
Yu Tianheng chuckled. "But their weakness is obvious—they're just betting no one can break their defense."
The eyes of Shi Mo and Shi Mo lit with fighting spirit—they clearly wanted to pit their defense against the Diamond Mammoth's.
Just then, a meteor streaked across the sky and descended upon Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
Silver Wolf landed steadily with Ye Lan. The moment the group saw it was Ye Lan, they swarmed over.
"Teacher! You're just in time—we're in a meeting!" Zhu Zhuqing said brightly, handing Ye Lan the Elephant Armor file.
Ye Lan glanced over it. "Tomorrow's opponent looks pretty simple."
Qin Ming was puzzled. "Oh? Ye Lan, you have a tactic in mind? They're a full defense lineup; even if Tianheng goes all out, it would take a lot out of him. Are you planning to go all out? Or will you have Xiaoxue fight?"
Everyone turned to Ye Lan, wondering why he'd call Elephant Armor "simple."
Ye Lan spoke with confidence. "Since Elephant Armor's tactic is attrition and defense into counterattack, we will defeat them in their strongest area by grinding them down even harder. Only then will we live up to the Heaven Dou Royal Academy's name!"
Qin Ming's curiosity grew. "Alright. How will we arrange the lineup tomorrow?"
As he finished speaking, the Stone brothers stepped forward decisively. "Captain Ye, we want to fight tomorrow. We want to see whose martial soul is the continent's top defense—our Basalt Tortoise or their Diamond Mammoth!"
"There's no need for a comparison," Ye Lan stated matter-of-factly. "Your Basalt Tortoise is the continent's number one defense-type martial soul."
"Captain, are you trying to kill us with praise?" Shi Mo scratched his head.
"Of course not. What martial soul could possibly be tankier than a Basalt Tortoise?" Ye Lan said.
The twins thought Ye Lan's flattery meant they wouldn't be chosen. After all, while the Basalt Tortoise's defense was supreme, its offense wasn't renowned. In terms of raw striking power, it even lagged behind the Diamond Mammoth.
Just as they resigned themselves to sitting out, Ye Lan announced, "Tomorrow, the lineup will be me, Ye Lingling, Shi Mo, Shi Mo, and Dugu Yan—just the five of us."
Xiaoxue exclaimed, "Ye Lan, are you planning to fight one-versus-seven?!"
Qin Ming added, "Shi Mo and Shi Mo aren't known for their offense. Can you and Yan-yan break through seven Diamond Mammoths on your own?"
"Idol! My idol! Tomorrow, we'll smash their damn turtle formation together!" Dugu Yan cheered.
Two pairs of eyes shot over from the Stone brothers.
Pinned by their stares, Dugu Yan coughed awkwardly. "I didn't mean you two! I meant Elephant Armor!"
Ning Rongrong saw her embarrassment and couldn't stop laughing.
Ye Lan shook his head, amused. "I won't be going all out tomorrow. A seven-on-seven fight isn't my one-man show. If I—or Xiaoxue—went all out every match, it would get boring. The audience would get sick of it, and the rest of you wouldn't get a chance to showcase your strength."
"So tomorrow, I'm just support. The main attacker is Yan-yan."
Dugu Yan shot a smug look at Ning Rongrong. "I'm the main attacker tomorrow~"
"Hmph, you only get to be the main attacker because you're relying on Ye Lan's tactics," Ning Rongrong pouted.
Zhu Zhuqing's eyes widened. "Teacher, I'm not fighting tomorrow? Is it because I can't use 'Nightfall' in the tournament, so you think the Shadow Saint Cat's attack power is too low?"
Ye Lan ruffled her hair reassuringly. "Of course not. Even without 'Nightfall,' your attack power is exceptionally strong."
Reassured, Zhu Zhuqing relaxed.
"I can't wait to see how 'The Scholar' Ye Lan will deal with Elephant Armor so easily tomorrow," Xiaoxue said, buzzing with excitement.
In Xiaoxue's heart, Ye Lan was a one-of-a-kind existence on the entire Douluo Continent. If he said it would be simple, then it would be simple.
"I'm looking forward to it as well," Qin Ming said. "I bet that even if our Royal Academy were the weakest team overall, Ye Lan could devise tactics to defeat the Four Element Academies and Elephant Armor."
"Teacher Qin, if you keep praising me like that, I'll get embarrassed," Ye Lan said, rubbing his head.
"Oh, right, Rongrong—this is a birthday present for you from Uncle Wolf." A soul light flashed in Ye Lan's palm as he drew a seven-colored head bone from the "Nine-Star Linked Ring."
Ning Rongrong accepted the ten-thousand-year head-type soul bone with both hands, her face alight with joy. "Thank you, Uncle Wolf! And thank you, Ye Lan!"
"Why thank me?" Ye Lan asked, confused.
Ning Rongrong playfully stuck out her tongue and didn't answer. She didn't believe for a second that Uncle Wolf would give her a ten-thousand-year head-type soul bone for no reason. Such bones were treasured artifacts even for high-tier sects—and head bones were the rarest of all. If ten-thousand-year soul bones had a market price, a head bone would be worth at least three times more than any other part.
Yu Tianheng, Oslo, Yu Feng, and the others stared enviously at Ning Rongrong. Is our captain really this indulgent?
This was too much. A birthday present that starts with a ten-thousand-year head bone?!
"Captain! Is your sexual orientation normal? If not… how about me?" Oslo, ever the insensitive one, joked.
"Oslo, I never knew you were that kind of person! No wonder you always used to hug me when we slept!" Yu Feng laughed.
"I'm not! I didn't! You dare slander your big bro Oslo like that, Yu Feng!"
"I'd better keep my distance from you, then," Yu Tianheng quipped. "No wonder you dress so flamboyantly—it's to attract men."
The Stone brothers quietly shuffled a few steps back.
"Get out of here, all of you!" Ye Lan waved them off, not taking Oslo's nonsense seriously.
Ye Lingling silently pulled Ye Lan behind her, creating distance from Oslo.
The girls felt no resentment about Ye Lan gifting the soul bone to Ning Rongrong through Uncle Wolf. It was a gem-type soul bone, incompatible with their martial souls. They believed that if a suitable soul bone appeared, Ye Lan would give it to them without hesitation.
As for Xiaoxue, she cared the least. She already possessed a 99,999-year soul bone, and her grandfather had promised her a full set once she reached Rank 90.
The Next Day — Heaven Dou City Great Spirit Arena
"Let us welcome Elephant Armor Academy! First up, Hu Yanli—Martial Soul: Diamond Mammoth—Rank 43, Defense-type Soul Ancestor!"
"Hu Yan—"
BOOM!!
All seven members of Elephant Armor Academy vaulted onto the fifty-meter-wide stage at once, and the entire platform shuddered under their combined weight.
Each of them stood over two and a half meters tall, their bodies like mountains of flesh weighing over five hundred jin each—a terrifying sight. Newcomers in the audience gasped at the display, already pitying whichever team had to face them.
"Ladies and gentlemen, next up is the team you've all been waiting for—Heaven Dou Royal Academy!"
"Today's Royal Academy will look very different from yesterday~"
"Please welcome their captain, 'Green Emperor' Ye Lan—Rank 38, Life-type Soul Elder!"
"Dugu Yan—Martial Soul: Jade Phosphor Dragon Emperor—Rank 48, Power-Attack type Soul Ancestor!"
"Shi Mo—"
"No wonder they call him the 'Green Emperor'! He's going five-on-seven today!"
"It'll be fun to watch them get ground into dust by Elephant Armor for their arrogance," a plain-looking, black-haired man muttered sourly.
The spectator beside him stared at him as if he were an idiot. "Doubt anyone you want, but don't you dare doubt the Green Emperor! He's the famous 'Scholar.' If he designed the tactic, it cannot fail!"
"Yeah! You think you know better than the continent's foremost theory master, 'The Scholar'?"
"What does he know? Is he some kind of Know-It-All King?"
"Him? He's just an attention-seeking clown."
Amid the jeers, an odd chill suddenly crept through the air. "Strange, why is it getting a bit cold this afternoon?"
The plain-looking man clenched his fists so tightly his knuckles turned white. If not for the tens of thousands of people watching, he would have shut them all up right then and there.
In the VIP box, Ning Fengzhi glanced with surprise at the mountain of flesh occupying a space wide enough for five people. He hadn't expected Elephant Armor Sect's Master, Hu Yanzhen, to attend the preliminaries in person—the man was famous for being a homebody.
"Sect Master Hu, what brings you to observe the preliminaries today?" Ning Fengzhi asked casually.
"Hehe, I came to see my grandson, of course. Sect Master Ning, help me judge—do you think my grandson has what it takes to become a Titled Douluo?" Hu Yanzhen laughed.
"For Hu Yanli to reach Rank 43 at his age, he certainly has the potential to become a Titled Douluo," Ning Fengzhi replied casually. Then, seeing that Royal Academy had only fielded five members, Hu Yanzhen's expression soured.
"Oh? Is the Royal Academy this arrogant? They're only sending five people? And one of them is just a Soul Elder?!"
Clearly, Hu Yanzhen was displeased by their "arrogance." It was as if they weren't taking his Elephant Armor Academy seriously at all.
Emperor Xue Ye chuckled. "Sect Master Hu, that 'mere Soul Elder' you mentioned happens to be the absolute core of the Heaven Dou Royal team."
"Oh?" Hu Yanzhen was extremely puzzled.
"His Majesty is correct," Ning Fengzhi affirmed. "If Ye Lan were to go all out, I doubt your grandson could last for very long."
Hu Yanzhen thumped his chest, sending ripples through his flesh. "I refuse to believe a Soul Elder can break the Diamond Mammoth's absolute defense!" he said, fully confident in his clan's martial soul.
"Then let us wait and see, Sect Master Hu. I, for one, am very much looking forward to seeing what tactic Ye Lan will use against Elephant Armor Academy," Ning Fengzhi said.
On the stage, aside from the Stone brothers—whose two-meter frames could barely compare to the two-and-a-half-meter mountains across from them—the other three looked tiny before Elephant Armor's seven.
Ye Lan studied the seven mountains of flesh before him as if they were prized specimens. If these guys were on Earth, they could all become sumo gods in Japan.
Hu Yanli was uncomfortable under Ye Lan's assessing gaze. "Ye Lan, you will pay the price for your arrogance!" he said, displeased.
"Why did you send seven members against Blazing Academy yesterday, but only five against us?"
Ye Lan waved a hand dismissively. "I have my reasons for this arrangement. You'll understand soon enough."
"Fine, fine! When you regret it later, I'll still allow you to bring on two more members, so no one can say our Elephant Armor Academy won unfairly," Hu Yanli said, cracking his knuckles.
Seeing both sides in position, the referee excitedly shouted, "Preliminary Tournament, Third Sector, Third Stage, Afternoon Match! Heaven Dou Royal Academy versus Elephant Armor Academy! Begin!"
As he finished, twelve figures on the stage instantly lit up with the light of their soul rings as they summoned or fused with their martial souls.
The seven from Elephant Armor simultaneously tore off their brown team uniforms, revealing bodies of quivering flesh. The audience gasped, stunned by the sight of the seven human mountains. Before they could react, a brilliant light erupted from them.
As they fused with their Diamond Mammoth martial souls, their immense bodies of fat rapidly transformed into exaggerated muscle. A dark-yellow, horny layer formed on their skin, shimmering with a diamond-like luster. Their noses elongated, two diamond-like tusks sprouted from their mouths, and their faces morphed completely into the heads of mammoths.
Once their transformations were complete, the seven of them leaped high into the air.
The audience's gaze followed them up, and then down.
BOOM!!!
With a tremendous crash, the stage was instantly spiderwebbed with fine cracks.
Spectators swallowed hard in astonishment. So this is one of the continent's top-tier martial souls, the Diamond Mammoth? No wonder it was called the "Continent's Number One Defense-Type Beast Soul." Its sheer tonnage was unbelievable; they wondered if the stage could even withstand the abuse.
Three of the seven had a soul ring configuration of two yellow and two purple, while the other four had two yellow and one purple.
Lined up in a row, the Diamond Mammoths stood ready, waiting for their opponents to attack.
On Heaven Dou Royal Academy's side, the Stone brothers fused with their Basalt Tortoise martial souls, black carapaces gleaming as they took the lead position. Dugu Yan, fused with her Jade Phosphor Dragon Emperor—sporting golden dragon horns, jade scales, violet talons, and a jade tail—stood with Ye Lan at the rear, with Ye Lingling protected between them.
Although Ye Lan's Life Link didn't strictly require a formation, the damage taken by the shared life pool was related to the defense of the linked member being attacked. Ye Lingling's defense was the weakest, so she was placed in the center.
"Yan-yan, your 'Toxic Dragon War Armor' consumes a lot of soul power. Save it for last!" Ye Lan instructed.
"Okay! I'll do whatever you say, Idol!" Dugu Yan replied obediently.
"Captain, should we charge forward?" Shi Mo asked.
The seven Diamond Mammoths stood ready, clearly waiting for them to attack.
Ye Lan said with a dark smile, "Let's play a game of statues with them. Let's see how long they can last. Why do they always want to hide in a turtle formation?"
"Huh? Captain, is it really a good idea to play games in a match like this?" Shi Mo asked blankly.
"It's fine. Shi Mo, what do you want for dinner tonight?" Ye Lan asked, standing his ground and chatting, showing no intention of attacking the Diamond Mammoths.
"Is elephant meat on the menu?" Shi Mo asked with morbid curiosity.
After fusing with their martial souls, the twelve competitors just stood there on the stage, each waiting for the other to attack.
Seeing the five opponents laughing and chatting as if they weren't there, the veins on the seven members of Elephant Armor bulged under their thick, brown, muscular armor.
"Young Master, what's the deal with Heaven Dou Royal Academy? Why aren't they attacking? Are they waiting for us to attack?" Hu Yanba grumbled.
Hu Yanli looked at Ye Lan's group with a strange expression, clearly not expecting the battle to start this way. In the past, their Elephant Armor Academy always waited for the opponent to attack first, draining their soul power before launching a counterattack. By the time they counterattacked, their own soul power was mostly conserved, while their opponents were heavily drained. This way, the enemy could never withstand the charge of their seven members. But now, the other side was also using a turtle formation with their Basalt Tortoises?
How were they supposed to fight this?
Heaven Dou Royal Academy's refusal to attack left the seven members of Elephant Armor at a loss, unsure of what to do next. The Sect Master had never taught them what to do if the opponent didn't attack!
"Young Master, maybe we should attack first?" Hu Yanshan hesitated.
"No," Hu Yanli said decisively. "Grandfather's tactic has always been to defend and counterattack. If we attack first, we'll be the first to run out of soul power!"
A long time passed. Both teams remained motionless.
Dugu Yan and Ye Lan chatted until their eyes curved into crescents. The seven rough men on the other side, with no one to banter with, had it much worse. They just stood there in a line, looking at each other blankly.
Seeing this from the corner of his eye, Ye Lan's lips curved into a slight smirk. Let's see who's better at this waiting game.
The audience couldn't take it anymore and started shouting:
"@#￥, you seven, just attack already! Are you scared to fight five-on-seven?!"
"Yeah, yeah! Those seven are all show and no go! They don't even dare to attack in a seven-on-five fight!"
"I thought the so-called 'Continent's Number One Defense-Type Beast Soul' was something special, but it looks like the 'Diamond Mammoth' is just a coward's martial soul!"
The plain-looking, black-haired man weakly interjected, "But Heaven Dou Royal Academy isn't attacking either, are they?"
Suddenly, countless eyes locked onto him. Sweat beaded on the man's forehead, and his words died in his throat. He clearly hadn't realized that the arena was now the Green Emperor's home turf. If you weren't cheering for Heaven Dou Royal Academy, and were even thinking of badmouthing them, were you tired of living?
After the man fell silent, the crowd turned their attention back to the stage, cheering for Heaven Dou Royal Academy and continuing to mock Elephant Armor Academy.
"Actually, it's nice just to quietly watch the Green Emperor. He's so handsome! The longer this battle goes, the more I get my money's worth!" a girl with hearts in her eyes exclaimed.
"Exactly! If only I could get the Green Emperor's autograph!"
In the VIP box, Ning Fengzhi watched the standoff with a smile. "Sect Master Hu, don't tell me you never taught your grandson how to attack?" he teased.
"Hmph! Heaven Dou Royal Academy isn't attacking either, so why single out my grandson? My grandson has his own tactics," Hu Yanzhen retorted, though he was muttering to himself, I did only teach Ali to defend and counterattack, but that foolish boy isn't really going to stand there all afternoon, is he?
On the stage, hearing countless spectators call them cowards and dare them to attack, the faces of the seven Diamond Mammoth members grew darker and darker.
"Young Master, I can't take it anymore! Why is everyone only blaming us? Those 'Basalt Tortoises' on the other side aren't moving either!" Hu Yanba said angrily.
"Dammit, I can't take it either! Brothers, let's go!" Hu Yanli roared.
The first and second soul rings of the seven members instantly lit up.
They shouted in unison: "Iron Wall!"
The brown, horny layer of the Diamond Mammoths instantly turned metallic, greatly increasing their defense and slightly increasing their strength. After activating their first soul skill, they all charged toward Ye Lan's group.
Mid-charge, their second soul rings lit up again, and they shouted, "Mammoth Charge!"
The speed of the Diamond Mammoths increased again, reaching that of a normal power-attack type soul master's charge. But this was the charge of seven mountain-sized Diamond Mammoths!
THUD! THUD! THUD!
The seven of them were like seven bulldozers, crazily charging toward their opponents. For a moment, the stage shook, and countless people in the audience felt the immense tremor. The tens of thousands of spectators cheered for the Diamond Mammoths' charge, as this was exactly the kind of awe-inspiring scene they wanted to see.
Sensing the seven Diamond Mammoths charging toward them, Ye Lan smiled. "How boring. They couldn't hold back this quickly? I thought their turtle formation would last longer! It seems even the masters of attrition tactics can't stand being worn down themselves."
"Idol, you're so mean!" Dugu Yan laughed.
When Elephant Armor Academy was halfway through their charge, Ye Lan gave a decisive command. "Shi Mo, Shi Mo, activate your defensive skills! Don't let them knock you out of the ring!"
"Yes!" The first soul rings on Shi Mo and Shi Mo instantly lit up. "Tortoise's Shield!"
The turtle shells on their backs grew even brighter, increasing the defense of the Basalt Tortoise Shell by thirty percent and making it immune to forty percent of energy damage. Then, their fourth soul rings lit up again.
"Basalt Rock Shield!"
"Basalt Water Shield!"
Shi Mo's entire body turned brownish-yellow, and his turtle shell was covered by a thick layer of brown armor, increasing his defense by one hundred percent and his strength by seventy percent. A semi-circular Basalt Water Shield appeared in front of the other Shi Mo, directly weakening any attack that passed through it by forty percent.
Two seconds before the Diamond Mammoths were about to collide with the Basalt Tortoises, Ye Lan quickly said, "Yan-yan, release the Jade Phosphor Violet Toxin!"
"Jade Phosphor Violet Toxin!" Dugu Yan instantly opened her mouth and spat out a thick cloud of poisonous fog at the seven charging Diamond Mammoths. The fog instantly enveloped all twelve people.
BOOM!!!
The moment Hu Yanli and Hu Yanba collided with Shi Mo and Shi Mo, they were immediately knocked back nearly ten meters by the recoil. The Basalt Tortoises, on the other hand, only retreated one or two meters before charging forward again to meet the other Diamond Mammoths.
BOOM!!!
BOOM!!! BOOM!!!
For a moment, relying on their absolute soul power advantage and the damage transfer of 'Life Link,' Shi Mo and Shi Mo forcefully pushed back all seven Diamond Mammoths by more than ten meters.
The fact that the seven Diamond Mammoths were only lightly injured by the recoil was a minor issue. The biggest problem was the purple poisonous fog released by the Jade Phosphor Dragon Emperor. Although they had subconsciously held their breath the moment they saw the Jade Phosphor Dragon Emperor release the fog, they couldn't stop their charge and had to collide with the Basalt Tortoises. The moment they collided, they were inevitably shaken, and they gasped, inhaling the poisonous fog.
While Ye Lan's main goal in not attacking was to wear down the seven's patience, if he had commanded Dugu Yan to release the poison from the start, Elephant Armor Academy would have consciously held their breath and used their soul power to resist. In that case, the time it would have taken would not have been any less than Ye Lan's non-aggression tactic.
Ye Lan's tactic of only sending five people was the perfect counter to the turtle formation: the Shield-Poison-Heal strategy. Ye Lan provided the life link, Shi Mo and Shi Mo stood at the front, Dugu Yan released the poison, and Ye Lingling was in charge of healing. For a team like Elephant Armor Academy, with extremely high defense and extremely low attack, this was a nightmare tactic. The turtle strategy was completely countered by the Shield-Poison-Heal system!
Shi Mo and Shi Mo had already built up their poison resistance during their daily training with the help of Ye Lingling's Nine-Heart Begonia. As for Ye Lingling and Ye Lan, their ultimate life attributes made them immune to poison. Therefore, the Jade Phosphor Dragon Emperor's poison could harm the enemy without affecting their own side, not to mention that both Ye Lan and Dugu Yan could cure the poison.
"Young Master, what do we do?!" Hu Yanba's face turned ugly. At this point, the entire fifty-meter square stage was enveloped in the Jade Phosphor Violet Toxin.
"We've been tricked! I didn't expect them to be so disgusting! Now, we can only go all out and see this through to the end! Before we're too poisoned to resist, we have to eliminate all of them!"
"Right now, the poison hasn't set in too deep. We have to act fast!" Hu Yanli gritted his teeth.
"Yes, Young Master!"
The seven Diamond Mammoths charged toward the Basalt Tortoises again, but this time was different. A purple glow flashed from their bodies, and their third soul rings lit up simultaneously. "Crushing Press!"
The seven giant Diamond Mammoths leaped high into the air, concentrating their entire weight into their fourteen giant elephant legs.
"Shi Mo, Shi Mo, hold on!" Ye Lan encouraged. "You can definitely hold on! Our Basalt Tortoise is the number one defense-type martial soul in the continent!"
THUD!
THUD!
THUD!
THUD!
After seven thuds, the stage shook seven times, but the Basalt Tortoises still stood tall!
"Impossible! Our Diamond Mammoth's Crushing Press can't have done zero damage!" Hu Yanli shouted.
Ye Lan glanced at the health bar above his head. Hmm, it dropped by a sixth. He had to admit, the Basalt Tortoise was really tanky! After being filtered through the Basalt Tortoise's defense, the shared total health bar had barely dropped.
"Nine-Heart Begonia, Fourth Skill!" Ye Lingling murmured. A shower of white and pink petals floated into their bodies, and the shared health bar was full again.
"Haven't you guys eaten? Put some strength into it!" Ye Lan said.
"You!! Ugh!!" Hu Yanli spat out a mouthful of blood, which was somewhat dark. Hu Yanba and Hu Yanshan did the same. The other Soul Elders were even worse off, spitting out purple blood, clearly in a state of deep poisoning.
Seeing his teammates poisoned one after another, Hu Yanli suppressed the panic in his heart. He knew that the more anxious he was, the deeper the poison would set in! The soul bone on his head lit up, increasing his defense by another eighty percent. "Elephant Sphere!"
Hu Yanli's fourth soul ring lit up, and his entire body turned as brilliant as a diamond. Then, he curled his body into a diamond sphere and began to rotate at high speed in mid-air. As the 'Diamond Sphere' spun faster and faster, the moment it landed, with a loud bang, it instantly shot toward Ye Lan.
"I won't let you pass! You'll have to get through me first!" one of the Stone brothers immediately stood in front of Ye Lan.
BANG!!
The moment the turtle and the elephant collided, the marble stage under Shi Mo's feet instantly shattered! After shattering several meters of the marble stage floor, he finally stopped his momentum.
As Ye Lan watched the health bar above his head decrease at an extremely slow rate, a petal landed on his shoulder. The shared health bar was full again!
Ye Lan thought to himself: If Hu Yanli knew that after all their efforts, they hadn't even made Heaven Dou Royal Academy lose a single drop of blood, how would he feel? Would he die from coughing up blood in anger?
"Yan-yan, it's time for you to clear the field!" Ye Lan said, seeing that the members of Elephant Armor Academy were struggling with the poison.
"Alright, let Rongrong admire my heroic posture!" Dugu Yan said excitedly.
"Toxic Dragon War Armor!"
As Dugu Yan's fourth purple soul ring lit up, a jade-green light flashed. A set of fully covering dragon-shaped armor appeared on Dugu Yan's body. On the helmet, two sharp purple dragon horns pointed toward the sky, and below the horns were two huge green gemstone dragon eyes! The entire dragon armor was composed of pieces of hard, jade-green dragon scales of varying sizes, arranged tightly to form a perfect defensive layer. The chest piece was a fierce dragon emperor's head, and sharp, round purple bone spurs grew from the joints of the entire armor. A long, green dragon tail swayed continuously. The entire dragon armor fit perfectly on Dugu Yan's body, exquisitely outlining her curves, showcasing both feminine beauty and the power of a dragon emperor.
The debut of the Toxic Dragon War Armor instantly dazzled the audience. The Jade Phosphor Dragon Emperor was simply too cool!
The Toxic Dragon War Armor instantly increased the Jade Phosphor Dragon Emperor's defense and strength by one hundred percent, and her soul power by thirty percent. With this surge in power, Dugu Yan transformed into a humanoid tyrannosaurus.
In a flash, she kicked the slowing 'Diamond Sphere.'
BOOM!!
After being poisoned, Hu Yanli had to use most of his soul power to resist the Jade Phosphor Violet Toxin, which greatly reduced his defense. He was instantly kicked back more than ten meters by Dugu Yan!
Before Hu Yanli could land, the jade-green dragon knight once again charged toward Hu Yanba at an extremely fast speed! With just one punch, she sent the defenseless Hu Yanba flying!
It wasn't over yet!
Within a few seconds, the jade-green dragon knight flashed, delivering a claw strike, a tail whip, a kick, and a headbutt. The jade-green dragon knight moved as if in a slideshow, each of her seven different instantaneous attacks a gorgeous and aggressive pose. With each gorgeous pose, a 'mountain of flesh' flew backward like a kite with a cut string.
Before Hu Yanli landed, all seven of them had been sent flying by the Jade Phosphor Dragon Emperor.
THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD!
The seven mountains of flesh instantly stacked into a true conical 'human mountain of flesh'!
"Jade Phosphor Dragon Emperor!"
"Jade Phosphor Dragon Emperor!"
"Jade Phosphor Dragon Emperor!"
"Jade Phosphor Dragon Emperor!"
The audience cheered wildly for the Jade Phosphor Dragon Emperor, simply because she was too cool!
The plain-looking, black-haired man left the audience seats with an ugly expression on his face. Heaven Dou Royal Academy's perfect tactic had slapped him so hard his face was numb. He had truly become the clown everyone said he was.
Ning Fengzhi smiled. "Truly worthy of being Ye Lan. To be able to come up with such a wildly imaginative tactic. The Basalt Tortoise at the front, the Nine-Heart Begonia healing the Basalt Tortoise, and the Jade Phosphor Dragon Emperor releasing the poisonous fog."
"In this way, Elephant Armor Academy's turtle formation was forced into a rushdown style."
Emperor Xue Ye went for the jugular. "Sect Master Hu, your Diamond Mammoth's rushdown style isn't very good, is it?"
"It's not a turtle formation! It's defense and counterattack!" Hu Yanzhen snapped.
"Oh? So it's defense and counterattack. Then why didn't you defend?" Emperor Xue Ye laughed heartily.
Defend my ass! If they only defended and didn't attack, they would have been poisoned to death by the Jade Phosphor Violet Toxin!
Hu Yanzhen snorted coldly, flicked his sleeve, and left!
Watching Hu Yanzhen's retreating back, Emperor Xue Ye laughed even more wantonly. His appreciation for the 'Royal First Team' grew even stronger, and he was already thinking about how to reward Ye Lan and the Royal First Team after the ranking tournament.
(End of Chapter)