"However, it's understandable. The strength of the Essence Sect ensures that even if they lose the team match now, the individual and two-three matches to follow are guaranteed victories."
Moreover, even without Long Aotian, the lineup of the Essence Sect is nothing short of luxurious.
Three Soul Emperors, four Soul Kings!
With the referee's signal, the match began, and both sides released their respective Soul Rings.
The Celestial Dragon Sect isn't particularly exclusive, but many of its disciples prefer pure Soul Master combat, let alone the Essence Sect.
So, this match is a true collision of pure Soul Master strength.
"The three of you should watch closely," Su Yu instructed Xiao Ping and the other two, then turned to the seven members of the reserve team, saying, "And you seven, barring any surprises, you should be the ones representing the Sun and Moon Royal Soul Guide Academy in the next Soul Fighting Competition."
The Essence Sect and Celestial Dragon Sect teams each released their Martial Souls.
The colorful glow of their Soul Rings illuminated the arena.
The Essence Sect fielded three Soul Emperors and four Soul Kings, all with the optimal Soul Ring configuration! Strictly speaking, it's four Soul Emperors because Vina also joined the match, but she released her first Martial Soul, Snow Lotus, serving as a healing support role.
The opposing Celestial Dragon Sect is equally formidable, also presenting three Soul Emperors and four Soul Kings, with the best Soul Ring configuration.
Star Flame, Martial Soul Red Dragon, Soul Power Level 64.
Jade Celestial Dragon, Martial Soul Blue Spot Tyrannosaurus, Soul Power Level 68!
As the battle began, Jade Celestial Dragon and Star Flame charged forward instantly.
Among them, Jade Celestial Dragon was slightly slower, coordinating with other teammates to hold the absolute center position.
Star Flame's combat style, however, was wildly fierce. After a loud dragon roar, his body expanded to twice its size, covering his robust frame in dragon scales.
Jade Celestial Dragon emitted thunderous cracklings as blue-purple electric arcs wrapped around him, his Martial Soul Attachment increasing his height steadily until he reached an imposing two and a half meters, his mighty arms covered in thick dragon scales.
The third Soul Emperor of the Celestial Dragon Sect was even more astonishing, his body expanding to a full three meters, with dense Earth Element Primordial Qi gathering around him, about to form a solid defensive shield.
The Essence Sect's Martial Soul Attachments weren't as visually dramatic, but their presence was evident.
The thick-legged Soul Emperor was even faster than Star Flame.
Within just one second after the match started, both collided in the center of the arena.
A claw and leg clash sent invisible waves rippling outward.
At the same time, another burly-armed Soul Emperor collided with Jade Celestial Dragon.
With the exception of Vina, the six other Essence Sect members engaged the seven from the Celestial Dragon Sect.
The thick-legged Soul Emperor immediately triggered his Martial Soul's second awakening, which reached the Bronze Level. Even though it wasn't overwhelmingly powerful, it was undoubtedly strong.
Combining the combat technique and Qi and Blood Power augmentation from the Essence Sect, along with Soul Skills, unleashed a furious assault on Star Flame, suppressing him.
Meanwhile, he blocked another Celestial Dragon Sect Soul King attempting to attack Vina.
Facing two opponents, although not dominating or evenly matched, he at least didn't fall behind.
Vina's fourth Soul Ring flashed.
Pure energy clusters gathered atop her Snow Lotus, emitting a rich vitality.
Beams of white light shot out, restoring the conditions of the Essence Sect's teammates.
Her Snow Lotus Martial Soul, from the start, was intended to amplify the Essence Sect's Soul Masters.
The essence of healing lies in Qi and Blood, restoring their Qi and Blood Power consumed during battle with Life Force.
...
The situation on the field appeared evenly matched, but victory for the Essence Sect was already assured.
After all, excluding Vina, the other six could perform a second awakening of their Martial Souls, essentially an additional amplification equivalent to a Ten-Thousand-Year level Soul Skill, amplifying comprehensively from the essence of the Martial Soul.
And the Qi and Blood Power augmentation to their attack and defense could be considered another Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Skill.
The Essence Sect's Soul Masters were generally powerful at their rank due to these two areas of amplification.
Constantly augmented by two Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Skills, who could withstand that?
Even a Titled Douluo typically has only five Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Rings, and the difference between five and seven is significant.
Not to mention, the Essence Sect's seven Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Skills have a more formidable configuration.
The extra two Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Skills, with one boosting Qi and Blood for self-enhancement, can be seen as augmenting their Martial Soul, and one second awakening of the Martial Soul, further strengthening it.
Adding the True Form of the Martial Soul and other amplifying Soul Skills they possess.
It's almost like another version of Su Yu.
Continuously fortifying the Martial Soul's strength, and using combat techniques to unleash damage.
How similar it is to Su Yu!
...
Yet, despite knowing the battle would end in victory, the process remained thrilling.
The pure clash of Martial Souls between the two sides opened Su Yu's eyes.
"Apart from Celestial Dragon Sect's over-reliance on Soul Ring Soul Skills, there's little to criticize."
The Essence Sect relies on combat techniques, with their power boosted by Soul Skills and combat techniques, acting as an extension rather than a limitation to the Soul Skills themselves.
The Celestial Dragon Sect falls slightly short, too dependent on the Soul Rings despite having numerous Secret Techniques, these merely dig into the abilities granted by their Soul Rings, lacking in expansion and innovation.
Su Yu's insight left little impression on Xiao Ping and the others, but Xiao Fan nodded, his eyes flickering with realization.
From Su Yu's words, Xiao Fan learned that one shouldn't be too dependent on Soul Skills.
"My Soul Skills, unlike traditional Soul Guides, are not Soul Power Amplifications, yet one shouldn't rely too deeply on them. According to Senior's idea, one shouldn't only delve into current Soul Skills but also pay attention to their expansion and extension..."
Xiao Fan began contemplating how to cultivate his Soul Skills.
Drawing from this battle, along with many other matches he observed, Xiao Fan gradually found a direction.
"Next up is Tang Sect versus Mingdu Soul Guide Academy!"
"Please have a representative from each team draw lots for the match order."
Two figures emerged from the preparation area, one from the Tang Sect was Wang Dong, and the other was a youth from Mingdu Soul Guide Academy.
The drawing results were soon announced.
"The first match, individual challenge."
"The second match, two-three battle."
"The third match, team battle."
"Each side has three minutes to prepare and select the first contestant."
"Tang Sect, Dai Huabin."
"Mingdu Soul Guide Academy, Lu Jun."
"Let the battle begin!"
Dai Huabin roared, instantly activating his Martial Soul attachment, his body swelling, and two yellow, two purple, and one black Soul Rings appeared around him.
"Third Soul Skill, White Tiger Vajra Transformation!"
His form expanded further, and as he stomped down hard, visible dents appeared in the metallic arena floor as he charged out.
Lu Jun, in contrast, revealed a pair of Soul-guiding Device wings on his back, with four beams of energy shooting out from behind those wings.
No matter how fast Dai Huabin was, he still had to cross a hundred-meter distance, and as he neared, Lu Jun had already ascended nearly forty meters off the ground.
Lu Jun held two relatively lightweight Soul-guided Cannons in his hands.
Two beams of light flashed, shooting towards Dai Huabin.
"Second Soul Skill, White Tiger Fierce Light Wave!"
A beam of energy erupted from Dai Huabin's mouth, colliding with the two incoming beams.
Boom!
A loud explosion echoed.
Blast Bombs.
They specialized in high damage.
The explosion's effects lingered, and as Dai Huabin lost sight of Lu Jun, Lu Jun was already maneuvering his wings to circle around the explosion's center, producing a Soul-guided Beam Cannon.
The referee, observing Lu Jun's Soul-guided Beam Cannon, was impressed by the innovative design.
Three cannon muzzles rotated to emit Soul-guided Beams in turn, allowing one cannon to fire multiple energy rays in a short period.
A flurry of beams cut through the air, aiming at Dai Huabin.
"First Soul Skill, White Tiger Protective Shield!"
"Third Soul Skill, White Tiger Vajra Transformation!"
Dai Huabin had no choice but to go on full defense.
The Soul Guide's air superiority over his ground-bound attacks greatly limited his abilities.