Finals Begin, Trap Strategy

The Star Luo Empire, the Star Luo Royal Hunting Ground.

Forty-two teams, nearly three hundred of the Empire's most talented Soul Master, gathered in the huge square outside the hunting grounds. Each of them gazed eagerly at Star Luo Emperor Dai Yutian on the high platform.

Dressed in his magnificent robe adorned with Golden Patterned White Tiger Dragon Robe, Dai Yutian solemnly announced the opening ceremony of the finals.

When he mentioned the prize for the final round, everyone's eyes lit up.

"The top ten finalists of the competition will receive generous rewards, including but not limited to money, cultivation resources, fiefdoms, titles, and Spirit Bone..."

"Children, you are all the most outstanding geniuses of the younger generation in the empire. Whether you can receive the rewards and honors that belong to you depends on your individual abilities."

"After two days and one night, the ten geniuses who remain on the throne will be the champions of this competition."

"Now, I hereby declare the National Elite Spirit Master Soul Dueling Tournament Finals officially open!"

As the emperor's majestic voice fell, the massive gates of the royal hunting grounds behind nearly three hundred prodigies roared open.

The seven members of the Third Prince's Team, along with Baili Chiyan, Feng Qinglong, and Jin Chen, a total of ten people, stepped directly into the Royal Hunting Grounds.

The top ten Soul Master perform best in the Promotion Match and rank in the top ten can enter the arena 15 minutes earlier, which is one of their advantages.

The Third Prince's Team, with its seven members, doubled their points due to their winning streak, taking a commanding lead and setting a new record in the tournament. The entire team made it into the top ten.

After entering the hunting grounds, Ma Hongjun and his six companions exchanged glances but did not rush to find the throne. Instead, they turned their attention to Jin Chen and Feng Qinglong.

The positions of the five Prodigy Throne are random, and even many of the terrains and traps in the hunting grounds are random. Even Dai Mubai, who was once very familiar with the royal hunting grounds, now has to be very careful.

Because in addition to traps, the hunting grounds also contain powerful Soul Beast, including some terrifying beings that are 30,000 years old.

Without the referee's timely intervention, they might have even lost their lives.

This is where both opportunity and danger lie; to obtain what others cannot, one must pay the price others have not paid.

After Ma Hongjun and the others entered, a huge metal "eyeball" opened above the hunting grounds, and everything in the hunting grounds was clearly visible on the huge metal screen in the center of the square.

This is a treasure that the Star Luo Empire obtained from ancient ruins. Normally, this treasure monitors the Imperial Palace and can prevent 90% of assassinations. Now, however, it is being used in the Grand Finals.

The protectors and leaders of the various factions sat in the VIP seats, their eyes fixed intently on the large screen.

The remaining hundreds of talented Soul Master had entered the eight waiting areas and were unable to witness this scene.

At this moment, upon seeing what was happening on the screen, the high-ranking members of the Spirit Hall hidden in the VIP seats, as well as many powerful figures from the Wind God Valley, suddenly clenched their fists.

Just shortly after entering the hunting grounds, in an open area, the six members of the Third Prince's Team, excluding Ma Hongjun, led by Dai Mubai, directly attacked Jin Chen.

The rule for the final is that there are no rules. Either you stay on the throne or you eliminate everyone else!

Now that they have entered, eight of them are on the same side, making it the perfect time to eliminate Feng Qinglong and Jin Chen.

Jin Chen's face was gloomy. He had considered this possibility, so from the beginning he wanted to escape as quickly as possible. However, he was not good at speed, and with six people attacking him, he could only pray that the quarter of an hour would pass quickly.

Facing six opponents, including six prodigies, with Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing possessing the powerful Hell White Tiger Martial Soul Fusion Skill, Jin Chen had virtually no hope.

Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing exchanged a glance and immediately merged into the Hell White Tiger: "Take care of him in one minute, then quickly carry out the previous plan!"

Jin Chen knew he couldn't dodge it, so he unleashed all six of his Soul Skill and released the Torso Soul Bone skill, transforming into a ferocious Golden Crocodile to meet the Hell White Tiger.

In an instant, the Soul Ring shone brightly, and a fierce battle ensued.

On the other side, Ma Hongjun, who was using flames to accelerate his flight, chuckled at Baili Chiyan beside him, "Not bad, Baili. It seems you still keep your promise. I'll save you the spot you wanted!"

Baili Chiyan pretended not to hear Ma Hongjun's words and transformed into a streak of Crimson Flame, rushing towards Feng Qinglong.

Feng Qinglong pushed the Wind Element to its limit, unleashing all the acceleration Soul Skill of his Wind Spirit Dragon Martial Soul, hoping to escape the pursuit of these two.

If he were caught, he would have absolutely no chance of survival.

While fleeing, Feng Qinglong pleaded, "Brothers, I was wrong. It wasn't my intention to say those harsh words during the Promotion Match. We're so strong, we can definitely win the championship if we join forces. There's no need for us to kill each other!"

Ma Hongjun immediately used his Second Spirit Ability, Phoenix Bathed in Fire Reborn in Flames, and the flames propelled him to increase his speed once again, allowing him to quickly pursue Feng Qinglong.

"Okay, stop for now, let's talk slowly."

How could Feng Qinglong dare to stop? "Big brother, if you don't chase me, I'll stop!"

"If you stop, I won't chase you!"

"Stop chasing me if you don't!"

"If you stop, I won't chase you!"

Even though Feng Qinglong's speed was unparalleled, he still needed to avoid countless obstacles in the hunting grounds, and even guard against unknown traps, so Ma Hongjun and Baili Chiyan were getting closer and closer to him.

Feng Qinglong knew that continuing to run away like this was not a solution, so he made up his mind and said, "Brother, I Spirit Oath, we will cooperate! We really will cooperate!"

Upon hearing this, Ma Hongjun and Baili Chiyan exchanged a glance, and Ma Hongjun smiled slightly, "In that case, welcome to join us."

Feng Qinglong stopped, his face darkening, and gave Ma Hongjun and Baili Chiyan a high-five. "Hey, I told you it wouldn't be that bad. We're all top-tier experts in the competition. If we join forces, the championship will be a piece of cake!"

Ma Hongjun chuckled, "Of course we should join forces, but there are too many opponents. Others will definitely join forces to deal with us first."

"Given the huge disparity in numbers, even I can't guarantee a complete victory, so let's do it this way first... and then this way..."

After hearing Ma Hongjun's plan, Feng Qinglong's expression changed slightly. "This... this is not good, is it? If I do this, Yun Yi will kill me."

Ma Hongjun glared at him. "Do you want to win or not? This is the Spirit Master World, not child's play. If you want to win, you have to make sacrifices. If your team members are reliable, you can openly tell them your plan. I believe they will understand you."

Feng Qinglong's expression was still somewhat conflicted, Baili Chiyan said directly, "I'll listen to my elder brother."

Feng Qinglong looked at Baili Chiyan with disbelief. "Wow, you call him 'Big Brother' so naturally? No wonder they say you're the Young Sect Master!"

Baili Chiyan remained calm. "A bet is a bet, and besides, I truly admire your strength, brother."

Ma Hongjun chuckled, "Don't worry, I definitely won't treat you unfairly. After the competition, I'll give you a huge surprise!"

Baili Chiyan didn't respond. The three of them separated according to their agreed plan and each flew off in a different direction.

In the square, the people of Wind God Valley had strange expressions when they saw this scene. They felt a sense of joy that their Young Sect Master had escaped a calamity, as well as a sense of pleasure.

Although there was no sound on the screen, it was obvious to anyone with eyes that they had formed an alliance.

Forming an alliance with the strongest Ma Hongjun is undoubtedly the closest thing to getting to the throne.

The protectors of the Divine Fire Gate looked at their Young Sect Master, unsure whether to be happy or troubled.

The Young Sect Master is determined to fulfill the bet, and no amount of persuasion can dissuade him. Although they have already sent a letter to the sect leader, he has not yet replied.

It's been over a month. The sect leader must have received their joint letter, but why hasn't he replied? Not even a single word.

Was it tacit agreement, or something else? Compared to their distress and joy, the faces of the First Prince's supporters and the high-ranking officials of the Spirit Hall were completely ashen.

No matter what Jin Chen said, they wouldn't listen; the Hell White Tiger was beating Jin Chen to death.

War Dragon Halberd, with Lion King Armor providing support from the side, and Heavenly Machine Lock binding him, along with Zhao Lan's full support, Jin Chen couldn't even last a minute before collapsing from serious injury and being carried away by the referee.

Jin Chen's competition ended almost as soon as it began. If the Second Brother and Third Brother knew what had happened to their eldest brother, they probably wouldn't want a spot in the top ten at all.

After dealing with Jin Chen, Dai Mubai and the others did not go directly to find the throne, but split up and headed at full speed toward the nearest entrances.

There are a total of eight entrances to the entire hunting grounds, seven of which are excluding the one that Dai Mubai and the others just entered.

During this process, Zhao Lan and Li Sheng stayed where they were and took out a lot of dark things from their Soul Tool, which they then placed around the entrance.

Not only them, but the three of them, including Ma Hongjun, who had separated, also took out some dark objects from their Soul Engineer and set them up as they walked.

And the direction they headed towards also led to three entrances.

Everyone in the square who witnessed this scene wore strange expressions. Although there were indeed no rules in place, this was still...

Dai Yutian couldn't help but twitch his lips; this was the first time such a scene had occurred since the National Tournament began.

Because in the past, the top ten powerhouses would never bother to do such a thing. In one instance, the entire top ten formed an alliance and directly gambled on people at each entrance.

Each one exudes unparalleled domineering power, showcasing the demeanor of a strong person.

Now? The Third Prince is leading the way in underhanded tactics? That dark object is definitely not something good.

They set a trap right from the start.

Those self-proclaimed powerful geniuses couldn't wait to enter, only to walk right into a trap meticulously set by others.

When setting the trap, Zhu Zhuqing turned into a shadow and disappeared, almost missing even the giant metal "eyeball" above.

If it weren't for Zhu Zhuqing's occasional appearances to set traps, she would probably be a real ghost.

Seeing this, Netherworld Duke couldn't help but raise an eyebrow; his little daughter had brought him so many surprises.

Such terrifying control over shadow attributes makes him a born top-tier assassin.

A quarter of an hour finally passed, and everyone in the square watched the big screen intently.

Everyone's expressions became incredibly interesting. Apart from Jin Chen, who had already been eliminated, the other nine top ten geniuses had set up traps at every single entrance!

They weren't just setting up traps at the entrance; they were setting them up as they walked, showing they weren't worried about their teammates falling into them at all! This scene was absolutely spectacular, setting a new high for the competition. Although we don't know how powerful those traps are, it will definitely be a thrilling sight when the other participants enter.

Inside the preparation zone, there were more than 30 people in each zone. The moment the eight huge valves at the eight entrances were opened, almost everyone jumped out instantly.

None of them attacked each other; their goal was clear: to eliminate the top ten first, otherwise they wouldn't be able to stay until the end.

Even the Divine Fire Gate, under the leadership of Baili Chiling, did not spare the elder brother and directly formed an alliance with others.

The group from Wind God Valley were besieged as soon as they entered, because their captain had already entered the area long ago.

Unfortunately, the people of Wind God Valley could all fly. With the combined efforts of the six, they transformed into a hurricane, soared into the sky, and then scattered and disappeared.

Dai Weisi and his group were not attacked, perhaps because their overall strength was too great, or perhaps because of his status as the First Prince.

Dai Weisi led his teammates into the area first, but then noticed something was wrong.

Shaking his head, Dai Weisi didn't think too much about it and led his men directly into the area. However, as soon as they entered the hunting grounds, it was as if they had stepped on some kind of mechanism. Suddenly, countless small black balls popped out from a series of dark boxes.

Dai Mubai and the others instantly released their Martial Soul to defend themselves, and various Soul Skill flew out.

However, when those small iron balls were attacked by the Soul Skill, they exploded directly, and countless tiny Steel Needle and purplish-black poison gas instantly spread out.

Everyone realized something was wrong and immediately held their breath, trying to get through the area as quickly as possible.

However, some people were unable to defend themselves in time and were directly pierced by the Steel Needle, then fell straight down, foaming at the mouth.

People who inhale the toxic gas immediately feel dizzy and their bodies start to itch, and other unusual symptoms appear.

"Damn it! How can these referees be so unethical? They haven't even entered the hunting grounds yet! Ugh..."

"It itches... it itches so much..."

"Holy crap, what is this? It looks like a toad! Oh my god, don't touch me, it's broken! It's broken!"

"Vomit..."

These scenes took place at the eight entrances. The purplish-black gas wasn't extremely poisonous, but it was certainly disgusting enough.

Those hit by the Steel Needle immediately fainted, and those nearby secretly followed up with additional blows, leaving marks of their attacks, since this also counted as performance points.

Seeing that most of the people were about to lose their fighting ability, Dai Weisi and Zhu Zhuyun transformed into Hell White Tiger and blocked the people coming out from outside the poisonous fog.

Since we've already fallen into the trap, we might as well take this opportunity to make a name for ourselves.

Almost every exit witnessed the same scene: the clever ones simply scavenged for points in the poisonous fog traps, while the weaker ones, after escaping the traps, plunged headlong into the hunting grounds to flee for their lives, caring nothing for their teammates. In the plaza, this group of powerful figures, at least Soul Saint level or high-ranking officials of the empire, all wore cold and stern expressions.

They've become somewhat indifferent to whether they can win the championship; they just hope their star players don't suffer any irreversible damage.

The Soul Master acting as referees all had very strange expressions. As soon as the competition began, they carried away the eliminated prodigies like worker ants.

The Titled Douluo in charge of the overall situation was speechless. This wasn't the first time he had hosted a competition, but this was the first time he had seen something like this.

A two-day, one-night tournament, at the current pace, will probably be over in half a day at most...

P. S.: Typos will be corrected first and then fixed later.