The next day, the three Battle Teams with byes into the finals made their first appearance, drawing plenty of attention.
After all, in the first Soul Master Tournament, the Imperial Fighting Team had come unprepared and been eliminated in its very first match!
That was why the Star Luo Empire had tried to lord it over them when they entered the city.
The Imperial Fighting Team's disastrous mistake last time had dragged down every team from their region, leaving them all looked down upon!
Today's first match pitted the Imperial Fighting Team against the Blue Tyrant Team.
The spectators were eager to watch the Imperial Fighting Team. Of course, even more of them simply wanted to see another spectacle: the team losing its opening match again.
Qin Yuan had no intention of giving them what they wanted.
As the Battle Teams arrived one after another, the Referee sent Qin Yuan word: the match would begin in five minutes.
Qin Yuan looked toward Lei Meng and the others.
After two months of training before the tournament, Lei Meng and his teammates had grown steady enough that minor distractions would not affect their performance.
Still, making their debut in the second round of the finals put considerable pressure on them.
Unlike the preliminary round-robin, where a loss left room for error, one defeat in the finals meant their tournament was over.
Before the match, Qin Yuan encouraged them. "Don't overthink it. Believe in yourselves."
"Lei Meng, you've already grasped the basics of the Blade Technique. You just haven't realized it yet. Use it freely in the match. Your opponents won't be able to break through it."
It was not that Qin Yuan had boundless faith in the Blade Technique. In a match between Soul Elders and Soul Ancestors, a flawless blade technique truly could run wild, even if Lei Meng still had a few flaws in his execution.
Five minutes passed quickly. At the Referee's urging, Lei Meng and the others stepped onto the arena.
This was the finals; there was no point holding back trump cards. The Blue Tyrant Team fielded its full starting lineup, while the Imperial Fighting Team brought two reserves.
"Two newcomers?" Liu Erlong frowned in the Blue Tyrant Team's waiting area.
Her team's results had improved year after year. As principal, Liu Erlong naturally attended to cheer on the Battle Team.
Every Battle Team had received the Imperial Fighting Team's roster beforehand. Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling were new faces, and both looked exceptionally young. Perhaps the Imperial Fighting Team intended to give them experience.
But this was already the finals, and the Imperial Fighting Team had performed poorly in the previous tournament. Did they still dare hold back?
Even with two reserves, the Imperial Fighting Team had four Soul Ancestors—one more than Blue Tyrant Academy.
Liu Erlong had thought one win in the finals, a new team record, was enough to leave well enough alone. Who would have expected the Imperial Fighting Team to arrange its lineup like this?
Her mind began racing. "Use the third plan. We'll take another win!"
She spoke loudly enough for the other academy Battle Teams in the waiting area to hear, including the Imperial Fighting Team.
"Hmph. That's Blue Tyrant Academy for you!" one of the Imperial Fighting Team's teachers snorted angrily.
Liu Erlong had a fiery temper. Her example had rubbed off on the Blue Tyrant Team's teachers as well.
With the two sides on the verge of a shouting match, Qin Yuan cut in. "Strength decides a match. Trading words here means nothing. Let's settle it in the arena!"
As the Referee announced the start, the Imperial Fighting Team attacked while spreading into formation, just as Qin Yuan had taught them.
It was the Soul Hunting Squad's standard approach.
On the move, a Soul Hunting Squad stayed tightly grouped. Once it encountered an enemy, its formation spread from front to back and from the outside inward.
This approach suited real combat. Against academy Battle Teams accustomed to arena matches, it was almost unfairly powerful.
After all, by unwritten convention, both sides were usually given a dozen or so seconds to take their positions before fighting began in earnest.
The rules did not require it, of course. Each Battle Team could decide for itself.
The Imperial Fighting Team's attacks came one after another, while the Blue Tyrant Team was still arranging its formation.
Below the arena, Liu Erlong glared fiercely at the Imperial Fighting Team's waiting area. She seemed convinced they had deliberately targeted Blue Tyrant Academy's Battle Team.
The match had begun. However displeased she was, Liu Erlong could only trust her team.
Lei Meng led the charge. His Blade Technique favored practicality over empty flourishes.
There was no flashy display—just a single slash.
A thunderclap rang out above the arena. His Thunder Blade Martial Soul bathed in a sea of lightning, and every swing carried both the blade's own force and the destructive power of lightning.
After two slashes, the Blue Tyrant Team's captain struggled to defend himself and retreated step by step.
Their assigned positions seemed to hold some peculiar spell over them. While she was still unthreatened, the Blue Tyrant Team's Control System Soul Master preferred to run to her designated position and wait rather than use a control Soul Skill early to help her captain.
Even Lei Meng had not expected the Blue Tyrant Team to fold so easily!
Qin Yuan was right. Not every Battle Team was fit to challenge the Imperial Fighting Team!
The whole world was a giant makeshift troupe. Not every Battle Team in the finals had arrived through sheer strength. Many were weaklings pecking at one another who had simply been lucky enough to reach this stage.
Before the match, they had prepared plenty of countermeasures. Now it seemed they would not need them.
Lei Meng realized he had overestimated his opponents. He calmed himself and stopped letting nerves control him.
Still, he would not let his guard down.
While his opponents were still moving into position, he decisively activated his Third Soul Skill to press his advantage.
"Third Soul Skill: Thunder Flash!"
The Thunder Blade grew even more powerful. Each slash sent a Blade Aura condensed from lightning thundering outward.
The Blue Tyrant captain struggled to defend himself and unleashed his Fourth Soul Skill in a desperate bid to turn the tide. But Lei Meng drew out his attack with a feint, causing the Soul Skill to miss.
Lei Meng's real slash struck him, gravely wounding him in an instant.
If the Blue Tyrant Team's Support System Soul Master had not been able to heal him, their captain would already have been eliminated.
Less than ten seconds into the match, the Blue Tyrant Team's captain was badly wounded.
There was one piece of good news for the Blue Tyrant Team, though: its members had reached their assigned positions and could mount a counterattack.
"Heal me!"
The Blue Tyrant captain promptly commandeered his team's Support System Soul Master, intent on reclaiming his pride from Lei Meng.
Seen from above, the Blue Tyrant Team had lost more than half its room to maneuver. The Imperial Fighting Team, by contrast, moved with effortless composure, its formation steady and its members working in perfect sync.
The Blue Tyrant Team's Control System Soul Master's Climbing Ivy Martial Soul was an exceptionally troublesome plant.
Now that they had a chance to catch their breath, it was time for the Control System Soul Master to play her part.
Before you continue