Absolute Suppression!

The First Soul Tool Proving Ground held two teams in distant confrontation, the atmosphere taut as a drawn bowstring.

On the left stood Lin Xi, Mika, Chen Fei, and four other senior students in official team uniforms.

Their expressions were relaxed, even carrying a hint of casual indifference.

In their eyes, this so-called spar was nothing more than a guided practice session to play along with these juniors.

After all, this official team had been assembled by Dean of Students Lin Jiayi months ago, selecting the best from the upper grades per academy tradition to prepare for the upcoming tournament.

In terms of Soul Power, they averaged five to ten levels ahead of the Reserve Team.

In terms of experience, they had participated in countless real combat drills.

Across from them, that "ragtag squad" pulled together by Gu Yuejin—aside from Xiao Hongchen, his sister, and Ma Rulong being familiar faces—the rest were either only at three rings or support-class "Accessories."

How could they lose? Even a flying dragon riding their faces would win!

"Juniors, watch out—your seniors won't go easy on you."

Lin Xi waved his folding fan Soul Tool, a mocking smile tugging at his lips, his gaze lingering deliberately on Meng Hongchen and Xu Tianzhen for a few extra seconds.

"Especially you pretty junior girls—if you can't take it, surrender early, so you don't ruin those lovely faces. Your senior would hate to see that~"

"Hmph, smooth talker."

Xu Tianzhen frowned in disgust, a ball of golden-red light flickering in her hand. "I'll blow you to pieces first, this Princess!"

Facing Lin Xi's provocation, the rest of the Reserve Team had no idle chatter.

They simply stood there, eyes cold, bodies slightly tensed, like a pack of wolves gathering strength before the hunt.

Gu Yuejin did not step onto the field.

Though his age just barely fit the tournament's twenty-year limit, making him fully eligible to compete, there was no need.

He crossed his arms, leaning against the railing at the edge of the arena.

"Ready?"

Gu Yuejin spoke calmly, his voice soft yet clear in everyone's ears.

"Don't forget what I taught you."

"A lion hunting a rabbit still uses its full strength. If you lose..."

He made a throat-slitting gesture, and the Reserve Team members all shuddered, their faint tension instantly turning into desperate resolve.

Losing meant extra training—a torture worse than death!

"Begin!"

At the referee's command.

Boom—!

The seven official team members tried to spread into their standard formation, but found in terror that the world before them had changed.

"Spiritual Detection Share, full coverage."

Huo Yuhao stood at the very center of the team, purple-gold light blazing in his eyes, the phantom of Ice Empress flickering behind him and vanishing.

Hum—

An invisible Spiritual Network instantly unfurled, tightly linking the seven Reserve Team members together.

It was a god's-eye view!

In Huo Yuhao's vision, every official team member's Soul Power flow, muscle contraction, even subconscious eye shifts, were parsed into precise data, transmitted as 3D stereoscopic images to each teammate in real time.

This feeling was like having a full-map cheat on!

"Lin Xi, turn thirty degrees left, prepare to release Invincible Shield, weak point at the side waist."

"Chen Fei, right flank advance, concentrate Soul Power in your legs, intercept by prediction!"

Huo Yuhao's voice was as cold as a machine, exploding directly in his teammates' minds through the Spiritual Network.

At the same time, his hands flew, tossing several oddly shaped Soul Tools radiating strange fluctuations into the air.

Zzzzz—!

Piercing high-frequency noise and chaotic Soul Power ripples instantly engulfed the official team's half of the field.

These were interference Soul Tools he had crafted himself based on Gu Yuejin's theories—"Mental Shock Thunder" and "Soul Power Interference Field."

"Damn! Why is my Soul Power Circulation sluggish?!"

Chen Fei, an Agility Attack System Soul King who had been about to exploit his speed advantage, paled drastically, his body jerking to a halt like a race car suddenly stomping on the brakes—nauseatingly uncomfortable.

And in that brief moment of stiffness.

"At this range, you're already dead."

Xiao Hongchen's cold voice rang out.

"Boom—!!!"

A torrential storm of metal and Soul Tool Rays, as if guided by eyes, precisely predicted every landing point Chen Fei could take, engulfing him completely.

"Xiao Hongchen, don't let up on the fire suppression!"

"Ma Rulong, take Xiaoya and cut in from the left flank!"

Under Huo Yuhao's command, the Reserve Team's coordination flowed with such seamless precision it was almost terrifying.

Xiao Hongchen transformed into a mobile artillery platform, each Soul Tool cannon shot landing precisely at the awkward moment when the enemy's old strength had faded but their new power had yet to emerge, forcing them onto the defensive.

Ma Rulong, once the main team's captain, had now become the most fearsome "bulldozer."

With one hand hefting that massive Soul Tool heavy cannon and the other dragging the petite Support Class junior sister "Xiaoya," an "Energy Gathering Meatbun" freshly stuffed into his pouch by Dazhuang, he charged into the enemy formation with a savage grin.

"Come on! Let's hurt each other!"

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The main team's attacks landed on him but vanished like mud thrown into the sea.

Connected by Xiaoya's "Life Chain," the damage Ma Rulong took was evenly distributed across all seven team members, and with Dazhuang's recovery buns, he was practically an undying God of War!

The main team members felt like bugs caught in a spiderweb—no matter how they struggled, every step seemed to land on a trap.

"What kind of freak tactic is this?!"

Lin Xi tried to release an Invincible Shield to save himself, but Huo Yuhao's precise "Mental Confusion" forcibly interrupted him for half a second, and then Meng Hongchen's Ice Poison Mist slapped him right in the face.

"Ah—! My eyes! So cold!"

"Don't panic! Form up! Form up!"

The main team's command system had completely collapsed, leaving them to fight individually, carved apart by the Reserve Team's meticulous tactics and picked off one by one.

"It's over."

At the edge of the field, Gu Yuejin watched the one-sided situation and uttered three words flatly, his gaze utterly unruffled.

Less than the time it takes to burn an incense stick.

"Blow it up for This Princess!"

With Xu Tianzhen's excited, crisp shout, a fully charged "Solar Flare" detonated at the center of the enemy formation, sending a golden-red mushroom cloud soaring into the air.

All seven members of the main team were down.

Some were blasted out of bounds, some frozen into ice sculptures, some unconscious—their Soul Guide Shields all shattered.

And on the Reserve Team's side...

Aside from heavy soul power consumption and everyone panting heavily, not a single person was seriously injured!

Even Ma Rulong, who had taken the brunt of the damage, only suffered minor scrapes thanks to the Life Chain's distribution. He was grinning, flashing a mouthful of white teeth, beaming with unrestrained joy.

"Awesome! That was way too awesome!"

Ma Rulong pumped his fist. "Before, I had to be so careful fighting them, but today we just steamrolled them!"

The entire venue fell silent.

All the watching students had their mouths hanging open, as if they'd seen a ghost.

This was the main team! The squad representing the academy's strongest combat power!

And they'd been steamrolled by a bunch of "juniors"? No, it was practically a massacre!

Just then, the Training Ground's doors pushed open.

Jing Hongchen walked in with his hands behind his back, followed by a hurried Lin Jiayi.

They had timed their arrival, expecting the battle to be in full swing, and came specifically to check the situation and offer some psychological counseling to the Reserve Team's losers, so as not to crush the kids' confidence.

"Brother Gu Yue, how's the battle going?"

Jing Hongchen asked with a smile, his eyes still scanning around. "Those little brats didn't embarrass you, did they? If they lost too badly, Old Man will have to give them a good scolding. Young people, a little setback is good for them..."

Lin Jiayi chimed in, "Right, right. After all, the level gap is there. Holding out for an incense stick is already decent. As long as they showed some fighting spirit..."

Gu Yuejin turned around, facing these two big shots who had arrived fashionably late, and a signature "nuclear-friendly" smile spread across his face.

He stepped aside and pointed behind him at the main team members lying scattered all over the ground, not yet carried away, his tone as casual as if he were saying "what's for dinner tonight."

"Hall Master, Director Lin, you're too late."

"The battle... is already over."

"What?!"

Jing Hongchen and Lin Jiayi followed his pointing finger.

When they clearly saw that the ones lying on the ground were all those familiar main team faces, while the Reserve Team's seven members stood neatly in a row—somewhat battered but with spirits high, lined up in formation—

The expressions of these two academy big shots instantly froze, as colorful as a dye shop exploding.

"This... the main team lost?!"

Lin Jiayi rubbed his eyes, even suspecting he'd fallen under an illusion. "Am I seeing things? How are Lin Xi and the others the ones on the ground?"

"Not just lost—it was a crushing defeat."

Gu Yuejin shrugged, casually waved his hand, and called out to the Healing System teacher who had been waiting at the sidelines, equally stunned:

"What are you standing around for? Take them away."

"This batch of official candidates... is finished."

Gu Yuejin turned his head to look at Jing Hongchen, his eyes flashing with undisguised ambition and sharpness:

"Hall Master, it seems the slots to represent the Sun Moon Empire..."

"will have to change hands."