Douluo Continent: Long Live the Spirit Hall

Yan chuckled and shook his head, then a strange smile crept across his lips. "Strategist, trying to play mind games with me, trying to outsmart me? You're not qualified. The rules are there, that's true, but they never said you can't exploit loopholes. Anyway, the final interpretation is mine..."

Yan's eyes gleamed with smugness, and in his excitement, his hands became much more nimble. Hu Liena and Qian Renxue, who had been stiff and awkward, blushed again, and the atmosphere in the room gradually became ambiguous.

……

The next morning, countless spectators gathered at the broadcast stations throughout Wuhun City, while the emcee took the stage at the main stadium in the city center to provide commentary on the match.

"Ladies and gentlemen, today I will be hosting the finals of the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament, the second round of the team competition, the first match of the points competition, between the Spirit Hall Advanced Soul Master Academy team and the Star Heaven Dou Royal Advanced Soul Master Academy team."

Now let's look at their draw results. Oh, this time the competition has been set in a forest environment. Judging from their previous performances, this isn't good news for the Martial Soul Team.

On the stage, the emcee gave a passionate introduction to the live broadcast, and the magnified broadcast footage clearly showed various perspectives from the scene.

At the competition venue, the two teams, led by the deacons of the Spirit Hall, arrived at the two designated entrances, waiting for the actual competition to begin.

As the Spirit Hall's Flying Soul Saint threw the red token into a spot in the center of the forest, seven figures from both teams simultaneously darted into the forest.

"Oh! Let's take a look at the personnel choices of the two teams this time. The Heavenly Battle Team has unusually used an all-Soul Sect lineup. It seems that they are going all out to win this time."

Alright, let's switch gears and take a look at the members of the Martial Soul Team. What a surprise! Our Holy Son has finally made it into the team competition.

It seems the Martial Soul Team is serious this time. Oh no, wait, what am I seeing? Why is the Martial Soul Team's lineup so strange this time? They don't have any support or control-type Soul Masters. They've chosen an all-offensive Soul Master lineup. This is completely illogical..."

Inside the audience hall, the emcee's commentary sparked a commotion. Meanwhile, on the off-stage screens, as the camera switched to the perspective of the Martial Soul Team, the spectators erupted in cheers.

What kind of lineup is this from the Martial Soul Team that doesn't include any support or control abilities? This lineup is completely illogical and doesn't comply with the competition rules.

In particular, teachers from the Heavenly Dou Royal Academy immediately went to the competition organizing committee to inquire whether this situation was reasonable. The well-prepared elite competition organizing committee laid out all the rules in front of them and said that as long as they could find any violations, they could appeal.

Qin Ming returned to the audience seats of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy with a belly full of unease and anger, and immediately a group of substitutes from various teams came over to inquire about the status of the appeal.

In the audience, Zhilin, the instructor of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, had also come to cheer for his grandson. When he saw Qin Ming return, he immediately asked, "Qin Ming, how did things go this time? What did the Spirit Hall say?"

"Committee member Zhilin, it's useless. The people from the Spirit Hall aren't even considered to be exploiting loopholes in the rules, because there are no restrictions or explicit provisions in the rules that require a seven-person team to be composed of spirit masters of different elements."

Qin Ming gave a wry smile and shook his head, saying, "Our current Soul Master team configuration is a simplified version of the complete configuration of existing excellent Soul Hunter teams. It's a convention and doesn't have any binding force."

The Spirit Hall team has completely abandoned support and control this time, going all-out on offense to launch a surprise attack, preventing us from utilizing our advantages at all. Now we can only pray that the strategist and his team can react in time, otherwise... sigh...

Qin Ming let out a long sigh, secretly praying that Zhiduoxing and the others could defend against the Wuhun team's surprise attack and turn the tide of battle. However, he already had a very bad feeling that they were going to lose badly this time.

……

At this moment, inside the forest arena, the seven members of the Spirit Hall team, led by Yan, shot straight towards the center like a sharp arrow. They had roughly locked onto the location of the Heaven Dou team and were about to completely crush them as quickly as possible.

This round of the Martial Soul Team consists of seven members: Yan, Xie Yue, Tuoba Hong, Lu Ping, She Meng, Yang Feng, and Kelvin. Among them, five are strong attackers and two are agile attackers. There are no defenders, controllers, or healers, because they did not intend to prolong the game.

This time, Yan's strategy was no strategy at all. He wanted to take the central army head-on with brute force, tear everything apart with unimaginable speed and absolute strength, and render the strategist's many schemes useless.

This guy is far from being able to play mind games with him. He probably never dreamed that someone would play chess with him like this, directly using absolute strength to overturn the chessboard and leave him with no chance to play.

Chapter 207 Fifteen Minutes

On the commentary platform at the Wuhun City competition venue, the emcee passionately introduced the situation at the broadcast site, and the broadcast screen, magnified many times, clearly reflected various perspectives of the scene.

"As you can see, under the leadership of His Highness the Holy Son, the Martial Soul Team has crossed most of the forest and ambushed the Heaven Dou Team in front of them. At this time, the Heaven Dou Team has not even covered half the distance."

In our matches these past few days, it's considered fast if both teams can cover half the distance within ten minutes. There have been encounters with Dian Wei, but those were mostly ambush attacks by agility-type Soul Masters.

It's extremely rare for a large-scale group encounter to erupt in less than five minutes like this. It seems the Martial Soul Team is prepared; the ambush is in place. The Heaven Dou Team is in danger. Let's pray for them, hoping they can escape the sneak attack…”

As the emcee explained, countless people stared intently at the scene above, all secretly anticipating the moment when the team battle would erupt and the Tian Dou team would be stunned.

Through the change of perspective on the screen, everyone can clearly see that Wuhun Academy is well prepared. As for their "breaking the rules" by not using the standard team configuration, after the rules are explained, no one feels that there is anything unreasonable about it.

The Martial Soul Team did indeed exploit a loophole this time, but this loophole wasn't even a rule loophole; rather, it was a loophole in everyone's thinking.

The conventional image of a team is that it must have Soul Masters of various types, such as support, control, and defense, to enrich the means of encountering enemies and enable the team to better exert its combat power.

However, the reality is that most Soul Hunting teams outside of major academies simply cannot assemble such a complete Soul Master configuration. The scarcity of support-type Soul Masters is one aspect, but there are other reasons as well.

In reality, most Soul Hunter teams don't have the same fully equipped lineups as the teams from various academies. Although Yan's lineup arrangement is unreasonable, it is quite reasonable and even common in reality, so everyone is looking forward to the outbreak of this battle.

"Everyone be careful. At this time, the faster agile Soul Masters have already crossed most of the area's restrictions. It's very likely that the Spirit Hall has already prepared an ambush. We haven't figured out the Spirit Hall's lineup yet, so we must be extra cautious from now on."

In a corner of the forest, within the Tiandou team, the team's third-in-command, Zhiduoxing, was coordinating and arranging the team's movements. After calculating the approximate time, he reminded everyone that an assassination attempt might occur around this time.

The person in charge of the Tian Dou team named Zhiduoxing is clearly a calculating individual. Through the integration of various data and the timing of the initial encounters over the past few days, he has basically calculated the various timings of the first encounter in this mode.

In this new mode, because each team's location is different and they enter from different directions each time, everyone is extremely cautious when probing, even though they can roughly estimate the opponent's location.

Because the area is quite large, even agility-type Soul Masters would need time to traverse it quickly; five minutes is considered relatively fast.

Having watched so many matches, he's seen plenty of assassins using ambush tactics and deadly moves, but very few are able to prepare everything and launch a successful sneak attack within five minutes.

On the other hand, if both sides are traveling at full speed, the two teams should arrive at the middle of the competition field in about ten minutes.

This time is basically when the first major battle breaks out. In fact, in all the battles he has witnessed, the first full-scale encounter has never lasted less than ten minutes.

This time, his opponent was the Spirit Hall, so after entering the arena, Zhiduoxing kept his mind constantly active, simulating the battle scenario in his mind. He cautiously issued warnings at every possible moment when a major battle might break out.

At this moment, a nimble young man came to the wise man's side and asked, "Third brother, why don't you let Mo Jian and me go around the field to ambush them? I've noticed that the Martial Soul Team's performance these days is quite average, and their teamwork is nowhere near as good as ours."

Another young man, who also had a somewhat shrewd and capable air about him, said, "Yeah, yeah, with my Shadow Cat and Brother Xu's Wind Chaser Eagle, we can sneak over in five minutes at most. Wouldn't it be better to ambush them?"

“Mo Xu, Mo Jian, I know you’ve gotten used to this mode of combat these past few days, and even think that directly ambushing us would be more effective, but our opponent this time is the Martial Soul Team, so we must remain absolutely vigilant.”

The strategist shook his head. If it were an ordinary opponent, he might have sent them to launch a sneak attack, but this time the opponent was the Martial Soul Team.

Although watching their battles in recent days reveals some issues with team coordination and adaptation, one has to admire the sheer size and tenacity of their team.

Now, even the second reserve team of the Martial Soul Team is a full lineup of Soul Masters. Therefore, every time they go on the field, they are all Soul Masters, and each time they are different. He has no way to deduce their tactics and can only deal with them on the spot.

On the other hand, before going on stage this time, he seemed to have seen the Holy Son of the Spirit Hall in the Spirit Team. He dared not be careless in the slightest against this number one young person of the continent who easily won the individual competition.

While Zhiduoxing was pondering the problem, he put himself in Yan's shoes and tried to deduce the personnel arrangements based on the various Soul Masters who had appeared in the Martial Soul Team. However, he quickly gave up because there were too many choices, and he couldn't be sure at all. Thinking too much would only confuse his own mind.

"Mo Xu, Mo Jian, you two can go now. Spy around us and detect any unusual activity within a hundred meters. If anything happens, send a signal immediately."

The Tian Dou team sped up, and Zhi Duoxing issued an order. Zhui Fengying Moxu and Ta Yinglingmao Mojian also set out to search in all directions, trying to find any possible assassins from the opposing team.

The strategist's arrangement was calculated. At this point in time, if the enemy's agility-based attackers were fast enough, they would have already set up an ambush to slow them down. The reason they hadn't sent anyone before was because the time hadn't come yet, but now it was just right to send someone out to spy.

"What's going on? Something happened so quickly?"

As Zhiduoxing continued his journey with the main force, a series of whistling winds suddenly came from ahead, and the sky was filled with azure soul light. This was the signal from Chasing Wind Eagle Mo Xu; he had made a significant discovery.

The wise man's doubts were soon answered, but the answer only confused him more, because Mo Xu discovered that the Holy Son of the Spirit Hall was walking towards them alone, seemingly preparing to block their group by himself.

“The Holy Son of the Spirit Hall has the cultivation of a Soul King. His speed when he unleashes his full power is faster than that of an ordinary agility-type Soul Master. It is unreasonable for him to come and ambush us at this time, but it is also possible.”

While the strategist was analyzing the situation, Yu Xiaoxuan and Ning Tianlei were eager to try. Yu Xiaoxuan wanted revenge, while Ning Tianlei was purely out of curiosity. Even the other members of the Heavenly Battle Team were looking forward to fighting against this Holy Son.

"We must not let our guard down. Now that the Holy Son of the Spirit Hall has arrived, his agility-based spirit masters may have come along as well. We must be careful of surprise attacks."

While directing the team to flank the enemy, the strategist analyzed the situation for everyone: "The enemy has likely split their forces, so this battle must be quick. If we cannot defeat them in a short time, we will abandon the battle and continue on our way."

The Tian Dou team made arrangements to flank Yan, who was traveling alone. Meanwhile, Yan, with his eyes slightly narrowed, used his mental power to sense the opponent's location. Upon noticing the opponent's actions, a playful smile appeared on his lips.

"Yu Xiaoxuan, we meet again. Now you actually dare to stop me. Looks like you've gotten bolder with your teammates by your side."

Yan took a few more steps and then saw the main members of the Tian Dou team who were preparing to deal with him: Yu Xiaoxuan (level 47), Ning Tianlei (level 46), Zhiduoxing (level 45), Shijia Xiong Jiang Xin (level 44), and Tiejialong Li Hao (level 43).

As for the remaining two agility-based attackers, they are trying to locate the agility-based assassins of the Martial Soul Team to prevent their support from being eliminated.

"The Seven Treasures are transformed into Glazed Glass. The Seven Treasures have names: First: Strength... Second: Speed... Third: Soul... Fourth: Control."

Four spirit rings rose up, and a dazzling seven-colored light was released from Ning Tianlei's body. A seven-colored pagoda more than a foot tall appeared in his right palm. It was shimmering with precious light and exuded a noble aura. This was the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, the most famous auxiliary spirit on the continent.

Ning Tianlei is a core member of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School. With his cultivation at the fourth level of Soul Master, he has already learned the technique of controlling distraction. At this moment, he decisively took action, bestowing strands of soul light upon suitable teammates to the greatest extent possible.

For a Soul Master with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Martial Soul, each upgrade of a Soul Ring not only increases one more attribute but also increases the attribute amplification effect of all previous Soul Rings by 10%.

Ning Tianlei, a Soul Master with four rings, can provide teammates with a 50% boost to four attributes, which is almost equivalent to increasing their combat power by more than half. This greatly helps his teammates, and with his help, Yu Xiaoxuan has the confidence to challenge Yan again.

"What are you all hesitating for? Come at me all at once!"

Facing the five members of the Tian Dou team, Yan stood with his hands behind his back, relaxed and at ease. This demeanor made Yu Xiaoxuan and the others wary and even angrier. After exchanging glances, Yu Xiaoxuan, Li Hao, and Jiang Xin charged at Yan at the same time.

The three powerful martial souls—Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus, Ironclad Dragon, and Stone Armored Bear—were able to put some pressure on Yan when they joined forces with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. However, when the three of them rushed in front of Yan, they were met with a raging sea of ​​fire.

When Yan released his martial spirit, an extremely high temperature swept around, and the surrounding withered branches and leaves quickly ignited into thick smoke, filling the forest with acrid smoke.

Thick, grayish-white smoke billowed, inevitably affecting the vision of Zhiduoxing and Ning Tianlei. Just then, two gusts of wind suddenly rang out in the sky. They looked up at the same time and saw a large patch of black fog rapidly spreading and enveloping the entire area.

"Oh no! This is the Dark Mist of the Dark Raven, an agile attacker, and the Storm ability of the Azure Shadow Divine Wind Eagle. The opponent has two agile attackers, and both of them are flying-type. Mo Xu, land quickly."

After realizing that there were two flying soul masters on the other side, Zhiduoxing felt a sense of foreboding and quickly reminded his teammates to descend and gather. At the same time, another teammate, Mo Jian, also quickly returned to their side.

Just as they were preparing to change tactics, the ground suddenly trembled violently, and with a flash of earthy yellow light, four figures burst out of the ground, launching a deadly attack from four directions in mid-air.

"We've fallen for their trap. The other side doesn't have any support or crowd control abilities."

When the strategist saw the four people clearly, his mind went blank, and the overwhelming sense of defeat left him powerless to resist.

Because of his fear of the Holy Son's powerful combat strength, he and Ning Tianlei, whose attributes were countered and who were easily killed by surprise attacks, did not join the three main forces in attacking Yan from the outer perimeter of about twenty meters away. However, they did not expect that this decision would lead them to defeat.

At first, the separation of the two agility-based attackers wasn't a problem; agility-based attackers are extremely fast, and even if things went wrong, they could pull themselves back to their teammates. But now, because the battlefield is divided, they have completely lost any hope of turning the tide.

Even if Yu Xiaoxuan and his two companions sensed something was wrong behind them immediately, it would still take them at least three minutes to get back. In those three minutes, with one controller, one support, and one agile attacker facing the full force of four powerful attackers, they wouldn't even last two minutes.

In fact, Zhiduoxing overestimated their situation. Even though he and Mojian released all their skills to try to counterattack, they were like a mantis trying to stop a chariot when faced with four powerful close-range ultimate attacks.

The first to be eliminated was naturally Mo Jian, an agility-based attacker. Tuoba Hong's Human Boulder attack sent him flying, and Xie Yue's finishing blow rendered this defenseless agility-based attacker unable to fight.

Zhiduoxing was indeed very strong, but he was facing Lu Ping and She Meng, two powerful close-range attackers with strong weapon spirits. His Heavenly Azure Vine Net was no match for them at all, and it was completely torn apart by the powerful attack of the two people's eight spirit skills.

He and Ning Tianlei were also defeated by Mo Jian's two evil moon slashes. With the victory of the rear attack below, the battle between the three flying soul masters in the sky also came to an end.

No matter how much Chasing Eagle Mo Xu struggled, he had no chance against two flying soul masters of the same level. He could only watch helplessly as his three teammates were taken down, and in his panic, he was caught out and eliminated.

Less than five minutes into the battle, four key members of the Tian Dou team were eliminated, leaving only three who had gone to besiege Yan. At this moment, they were also fighting like cornered beasts, launching a frantic attack in an attempt to inflict injury on Yan and salvage something.

"You guys continue, I'm not playing with you anymore."

Yan used his Golden Dragon Flame to blast the three away, then leaped onto a tree branch and came to the rear. Yu Xiaoxuan and the other two were still preparing to give chase when they were suddenly surrounded by six shadows from five directions: front, back, left, right, and sky. Two fists could not fight four hands, and the Tian Dou team was defeated just like that.

At this point, less than fifteen minutes had passed since both sides entered the arena. The fact that the battle ended so quickly led many viewers to curse Tiandou as a waste of talent. They were not only angry at their lack of competitiveness, but many more were heartbroken because of the money involved.

Chapter 208 Seven-in-One: A Land of Ice and Snow

"We lost."

In the audience seats of the team finals, the main players of the Tiandou team returned in a sorry state. Looking at Grandpa Zhilin sitting in the audience, Zhiduoxing's mouth moved, but in the end he only said these four words.