In that brief instant.
Tang San, Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ma Hongjun had formed up again, surrounding Su Zui on all sides.
Oscar was quite relaxed off to the side. He leaned unhurriedly against a nearby tree, created four Big Sausages, and tossed them to the others around him.
After all, the rules had been laid down before the match: support-system Soul Masters were not to be touched.
So Oscar was happy to take it easy now.
With the immediate crisis over, Tang San forcibly suppressed his shock. His mind raced, and in an instant, he laid out the safest team battle tactics.
Tang San called out in a low voice, "Fatty, lead the attack from a distance!"
"Zhu Zhuqing, you're the fastest. Interfere with Su Zui's movements."
"Got it!"
"Got it!"
At Tang San's command, Ma Hongjun and Zhu Zhuqing attacked simultaneously.
Tang San, the quickest to react on the team, had already seized the initiative, preparing to take control of the battle's pace.
Hum—
In an instant, the rock beneath Su Zui's feet cracked open with a crash. Countless strands of Blue Silver Grass burst from the earth, each racing to be first. Like pythons, they twisted wildly around one another, piled up, and contracted.
In the blink of an eye, a giant spherical cage of Blue Silver Grass took shape.
Rooted in the earth, the Blue Silver Grass formed an airtight prison, trapping Su Zui firmly inside.
This was the control skill Tang San had devised from his first Soul Skill—the Blue Silver Cage.
"First Soul Skill, Phoenix Fire Line!"
At that same moment, Ma Hongjun launched his attack.
A ray of purplish-red flame shot from his mouth, aimed straight at Su Zui below.
The Phoenix Fire Line's extreme heat warped even the surrounding air.
Zhu Zhuqing's voice also abruptly swooped down from the tree, her figure light and nimble, the sharp claws at her fingertips flashing with a chilling light as she lunged straight for Su Zui's side.
Xiao Wu followed close behind, ready to close in and finish him off.
It had to be said that the tactics Tang San had arranged were a textbook example of Soul Master combat.
First, a system Soul Master restrained the opponent, then a Power Attack System Soul Master launched a ranged attack.
After the two attacks, the two Agility Attack System Soul Masters were perfectly positioned to harass the opponent and finish him off.
As he watched his tactics unfold, a trace of certainty and confidence flashed in Tang San's eyes.
The tactics he had arranged meshed together as tightly as a machine.
Against this sequence, let alone Soul Masters his own age, even a veteran Soul Ancestor caught in it would be crushed in an instant.
Su Zui was strong, but Tang San did not believe he was strong enough to crush the group.
At the absolute most, he was a Soul Ancestor. He could not possibly be a Soul King.
Even if Su Zui had started cultivating in the womb, he could not have reached the Soul King level at twelve.
Unfortunately, that useless Dai Mubai had been eliminated too quickly.
Dai Mubai had looked so imposing, but who would have thought he was all show and no substance?
Then again, it made sense. That guy had freeloaded for years; his body had probably been hollowed out long ago. How much fighting strength could he have left?
If that useless fellow had not been eliminated early, the power of Tang San's combo could have risen even higher.
Before he knew it, Dai Mubai's standing in Tang San's eyes had begun to plummet.
Outside the battle, a sharp light flashed in Flender's eyes.
He could not help marveling inwardly.
Calm in the face of danger, able to stabilize the entire situation in an instant.
This Tang San was undoubtedly a born master of battlefield psychology.
Such terrifying teamwork, such meticulous psychological planning—he truly had inherited Xiaogang's teachings.
At such a young age, his mastery of tactics was already astonishing.
Ah, Xiaogang! Do you see? Your disciple hasn't disgraced you. He's a peerless genius!
But then a trace of doubt surfaced in Flender's mind.
What method would Su Zui use to break out of a situation like this, one that could be called a sure kill?
As things stood, Su Zui seemed to have been pushed to his limit.
Like Tang San, Flender did not believe Su Zui had reached the Soul King level. After all, the idea sounded utterly outrageous.
How could there possibly be a twelve-year-old Soul King in this world?
Beside him, Ning Rongrong clenched her little hands tightly, her fingertips turning slightly white. She could not help breaking out in a cold sweat for Su Zui.
Although he knew her Xiao Zui was very strong, the situation before them was far too dangerous.
Four combat Soul Masters were attacking Xiao Zui at once.
One control, one power attack, and two agility attackers.
A combination like that was simply too dangerous.
As the saying went, two fists were no match for four hands. Could Xiao Zui really win?
Everyone present held their breath and watched intently, convinced that Su Zui had been trapped in a stalemate.
Yet Su Zui, surrounded as he was, smiled and shook his head.
His expression was calm and composed, without the slightest sign of panic.
Sunlight streamed through the Blue Silver Grass vines, falling across Su Zui's cool profile.
He shook his head gently, his tone flat. "I have to say, you're far too slow! I stood here and waited for you for half a second, and I didn't expect... your attacks still haven't landed on me."
"If this were a battlefield, all four of you would be dead."
The instant Su Zui finished speaking.
His presence underwent an earth-shaking transformation.
If Su Zui had previously resembled a gentle big brother from next door, he was now like a long sword soaring into the heavens.
He did not even use a Soul Skill. He merely let the origin Sword Qi attached to the Great Luo Sword Embryo tremble slightly...
Hiss...
The Blue Silver Cage, once incomparably tough, was now like thin paper, sliced apart and crushed layer by layer by the Sword Qi.
Then, under Tang San's stunned gaze, Su Zui's figure vanished once again.
As Su Zui disappeared, the Phoenix Fire Line Ma Hongjun had charged up missed instantly, crashing straight into the ground and blasting the soil black.
Zhu Zhuqing also froze on the spot, her pupils contracting, her face filled with disbelief.
As an Agility Attack System Soul Master, Zhu Zhuqing naturally understood how terrifying the speed Su Zui had just displayed was.
Zhu Zhuqing had seen an Agility Attack System Soul Saint from her own family fight with her own eyes.
But Zhu Zhuqing could say with certainty that even that Soul Saint-level Agility Attack System Soul Master was nowhere near as impossibly fast as Su Zui.
Tang San swallowed, feeling as though his entire understanding of the world had been shattered. "What... how is this possible?!"
No one knew the toughness of his Blue Silver Grass better than Tang San.
Even level thirty-seven Dai Mubai had only escaped its restraints after using his third Soul Skill.
Yet Su Zui had cut through his Blue Silver Grass without even using a Soul Skill, relying solely on the Sword Qi attached to his Martial Soul!
Just how high was the quality of his Martial Soul?
But Tang San did not even have time to despair, because Su Zui had already appeared behind him.
A bone-chilling blast of wind suddenly swept over Tang San from behind. The threat of death left his entire body stiff, unable to move.
"Damn it! Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track—argh!"
Tang San poured all his Soul Power into activating Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, throwing caution to the wind.
I absolutely can't let Su Zui touch me, or I'll lose!
But before he could take a step, Su Zui struck him unconscious with the sword hilt, knocking him to the ground.
"Tang San!"
"Tang San."
"Little San!"
"Third Brother!"
Seeing Tang San lulled to sleep, Xiao Wu, Oscar, and the other two cried out in alarm.
But the battle would not be declared over just because Tang San had lost consciousness.
Where Tang San had stood, Su Zui stood amid a sky full of shredded leaves, his white robes fluttering, his bearing upright as a pine and his figure unrestrained.
At some point, a giant wine gourd had appeared in his right hand.
Su Zui was now taking great gulps of the fine wine inside the gourd.
Zhu Zhuqing and the other two exchanged glances, the Soul Power around their bodies beginning to stir.
They were preparing to rush him together while he drank, catching him off guard.
But before they could move, Su Zui suddenly raised the Great Luo Sword Embryo in his hand, its tip pointing sharply at the sky.
The next second, the shadows beneath Zhu Zhuqing and the other three suddenly churned, and three strands of intensely condensed Sword Qi shot out of the darkness.
Like meteors streaking past, the three strands of Sword Qi skimmed the four people's cheeks and shot into the sky.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Three crisp sounds of air being pierced rang out in succession.
With those sounds, three locks of hair drifted gently down and slowly settled on the ground.
The Sword Qi was sharp and bone-chilling, yet it had not scratched a single person's skin.
In the gentlest yet most overbearing way, Su Zui had decisively announced his crushing victory.
Feeling the Sword Qi skim past their cheeks, Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ma Hongjun all went rigid.
The wind did not blow, the flowers did not fall, and no one spoke.
Flender was clearly stunned by the sight before him.
He was so frightened that he bellowed, "Stop! All of you, stop! This battle is over. Su Zui's team wins!"