A Solution

All three of them charged toward Huo Yuhao. Bei Bei was in the lead, Xu Sanshi came second, and Tang Ya was last. Xu Sanshi could have stopped trying to save Huo Yuhao and turned to attack Tang Ya, catching her off guard and knocking her out of the fight. But he clearly didn't want to do that. He believed he couldn't abandon his teammates until the very last moment. Besides, without Huo Yuhao's support, how could he possibly win?

He couldn't stop for either reason, but that didn't change how dangerous Huo Yuhao's situation was. Bei Bei was naturally faster than Xu Sanshi. That was the advantage the Power Attack System had over the Defense System, and at their level, two equally talented fighters couldn't overcome that difference. On top of that, Tang Ya had given Bei Bei an initial burst of speed, so he easily overtook Xu Sanshi and reached Huo Yuhao. Huo Yuyao had no ability to fight back against him head-on.

Huo Yuyao had been able to defeat Dai Huabin partly because of his own strength, but more importantly because his Martial Soul and Soul Ring Configuration were exceptionally well-rounded. That could make him a first-rate fighter among his peers, but he had no chance of becoming the strongest. Only someone as talented as the Dai Clan's ancestor who had become a god could have a chance—and such a person would never be held back. It seemed that this generation had no such genius.

Bei Bei was different. His Martial Soul represented absolute power: one of the very best Beast Martial Souls. His three Soul Rings worked together to form a small system, combining single-target attacks, area attacks, and enhancement skills, all layered onto his offense. He pursued the highest level of attack power and damage output, sacrificing every margin for error because he believed he wouldn't make a mistake and give his opponent an opening. Of course, no one could avoid mistakes entirely, but his damage output was still terrifying. If an enemy couldn't defend against it in the short time they had, they would be defeated—or even killed.

Soul Skills like these gave opponents almost no chance to counterattack. Bei Bei could keep his peers from striking back. Anyone weaker than him could only accept defeat. His one small weakness was that his skills consumed a lot of energy, leaving him without much staying power. He wasn't suited to drawn-out battles. His earlier match against Xu Sanshi had been much the same.

Bei Bei had the chance and the ability to break through Xu Sanshi's defenses, but the cost would be too high. If he used up all his strength just to break through Xu Sanshi's defenses, with nothing left for a follow-up, he would lose. But once Xu Sanshi's defenses were broken, he would also be unable to counterattack. Facing Bei Bei's all-out assault, he couldn't afford to underestimate him; he had to devote all his strength to defense. The moment his defenses broke, he would lose. What use was a Defense System Soul Master whose defenses had been shattered?

Although the two of them had reached the same outcome in match after match, with both sides losing, neither considered anything short of victory acceptable. A draw was intolerable. Over time, though, they gradually came to accept the result. Those who knew the facts considered them evenly matched, with neither superior to the other. Bei Bei was quite happy with that assessment.

But Xu Sanshi knew in his heart that he had actually lost. Once a defensive Soul Master's defenses had been broken, he had no right to claim they were equally strong. Their goal was to win the competition, but it was a team competition. As a defensive Soul Master, his job was to keep every attack out. So what if he traded blows with the opposing Power Attack System fighter? His team would already have lost half its strength, and no one would be left who could go toe-to-toe with the enemy.

It was as if he had left his own defenseless teammates exposed right in front of the enemy, with the gates wide open. The other side might have lost one close-range attacker, but they still had plenty of damage output. Their entire system was built around overwhelming offense. What mattered was landing that damage on the opposing team. The Power Attack, Agility Attack, Control, and Defense Systems all had their own offensive abilities; in a one-on-one fight, it was anyone's guess who would win. Plenty of teams had been tripped up by an unconventional support fighter.

That was why defense could never be neglected. Even if the conditions for attacking were nowhere near as favorable as in a two-on-two match, losing was still losing. Xu Sanshi knew he wasn't as important as Bei Bei, and he felt guilty whenever people said otherwise. He comforted himself by thinking that he would never perform like this in a team battle. That was how he built up his confidence. In reality, his Martial Soul was currently inferior to Bei Bei's. Once it reached its complete form, Bei Bei definitely wouldn't be able to break through it.

But that was a distant, indefinite goal. This match had completely stripped away Xu Sanshi's excuses and forced him to face the truth: he was inferior to Bei Bei in both strength and strategy. Bei Bei had used a simple delaying tactic to lure him into a trap, leaving Huo Yuhao behind and letting the others attack him. That had been Xu Sanshi's mistake. He had made that decision.

A surge of fighting spirit rushed to Xu Sanshi's head, and he lost his temper. His fair face flushed red. If anyone had looked closely, they might even have noticed a slight change in his Martial Soul: its water content seemed to have increased. But no one saw it.

He suddenly sped up, overtaking Bei Bei. But it was already too late. Bei Bei had too great a head start; there was no way Xu Sanshi could catch him in such a short time. Bei Bei reached the distance he had in mind. He was now close enough to hit Huo Yuhao.

It was time to give this junior a little taste of what a close-range Power Attack fighter could do. A fragile opponent who let one get close was as good as dead. There were no exceptions among fighters of the same rank. The only ways out were cheating or making sure he couldn't land a hit.

After defeating Dai Huabin, Huo Yuhao had thought carefully about his victory and realized there was no way to repeat it. He couldn't recreate that day's win. If facing his opponent head-on wouldn't work, then perhaps he should try dodging.

Faced with Bei Bei's unstoppable attack, Huo Yuhao smiled at him. If I can't beat you, can't I at least dodge? Ha ha.

Bei Bei had already committed to his attack and couldn't stop. He activated his second Soul Skill, Thunderous Might. Lightning wrapped around his feet as he stamped hard on the ground. Electricity surged around Huo Yuhao. In theory, there was no way for him to dodge. Bei Bei had carefully considered this Soul Skill: an area attack would be most effective against Huo Yuhao. He had watched that match, too, but there was one detail he still couldn't understand: how had Huo Yuhao managed to avoid getting hit? He absolutely refused to believe that a student who had made it to the Shrek examination couldn't aim an attack properly. That meant the problem had to lie with Huo Yuhao.

To make sure he didn't waste his Fury of Thunder, he had played it safe and used an area attack to pin Huo Yuhao down. After that, it would be up to him how Huo Yuhao moved.

Wait! Bei Bei realized his calculations were off. Huo Yuhao hadn't entered the range of his attack. He had made the same mistake Dai Huabin had. He had been wrong: the idea of using an area attack was sound, but Bei Bei had forgotten the limits of its range. His experience had made him trust his eyes, and in the end, that had been his undoing.