Their target had changed, but Dai Huabin and Ning Tian still had to stay where they were and block Ji Siyuan.
They didn't need to defeat Ji Siyuan. They only had to keep him from helping Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong'er.
Defeating Huo Yuhao would prevent the Martial Soul Fusion Skill from appearing.
The Martial Soul Fusion Skill that had defeated Xu Sanshi that day had left a deep impression on Ning Tian.
"Xie Huanyue, Huang Chutian, I'm counting on you!"
Ji Siyuan said, "You two alone won't be enough. Get Xie Huanyue over here too!"
Three Flame Vortices shot out, pure Yang Fire bursting with explosive force.
Dai Huabin couldn't dodge in time and was struck by one of the Flame Vortices.
Ning Tian had no choice but to apply all three Soul Skills to Dai Huabin. Otherwise, Ji Siyuan would overwhelm them on every front.
Seeing this, Xie Huanyue knew he couldn't let Ji Siyuan break free, so he immediately joined the others in holding him back.
Wu Feng said, "Ning Tian, you still have me. I'll chase after Wang Dong'er and Huo Yuhao. You can count on me!"
With Huo Yuhao and Ji Siyuan separated, the battlefield split into three parts.
Three Soul Elders battled Ji Siyuan, while Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong'er dodged the attacks of Wu Feng, Nanmen Yun'er, and Huang Chutian.
If all four teams truly worked together, they could probably take down Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong'er.
Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo's Martial Soul Fusion Skill was highly effective.
But who would hand their trump card to a common enemy?
After all, defeating Ji Siyuan wouldn't mean the match was over. They would still have to fight among themselves afterward.
That was why Ning Tian hadn't sent Wu Feng out at the beginning. She had to leave her own team some hope.
"First Soul Skill, Wing Guillotine!"
The Light Goddess Butterfly beat its wings, their edges slicing toward the enemy like guillotine blades.
Wu Feng and Huang Chutian pressed Wang Dong'er hard, leaving her struggling to hold on.
Cui Yajie, the Control System Soul Master on Dai Huabin's team, activated Martial Soul Possession. The tails of the Nine-Tailed Fox swayed behind her. "First Soul Skill, Charm!"
But the target she chose was Huo Yuhao.
She hadn't been able to handle Huo Yuhao when he was only sixteen or seventeen Soul Power levels, let alone now, when he had reached level eighteen and all his attributes had improved.
Of course, the bigger problem was Cui Yajie herself. How had she managed to use the Nine-Tailed Fox Martial Soul like this?
It was clearly a high-level Martial Soul, yet her control was hardly control, and her offense was hardly offense.
Four teams against one should have given them the advantage, no matter how you looked at it.
Yet the three Soul Elders were the ones being pushed back.
Ji Siyuan didn't even need Soul Skills. The flames alone were more than the two of them could withstand.
And Ning Tian was saving Soul Power by not using her third Soul Skill.
But without the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda's support, Xie Huanyue and Dai Huabin were nothing but punching bags.
They had no choice but to drag over Huang Chutian, the unlucky level-twenty-nine Soul Master.
With a Power Attack System Soul Master so close to becoming a Soul Elder taken off his back, the pressure on Wang Dong'er eased sharply.
But less pressure on her didn't mean less pressure on Huo Yuhao.
With Spiritual Detection Sharing, Wang Dong'er spotted an Agility Attack System Soul Master keeping an eye on Huo Yuhao.
"First Soul Skill, Hell Stab!" Zhu Lu seized an opening and attacked Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao was the weak link in their team, as well as an indispensable accessory to the Martial Soul Fusion Skill.
When Ning Tian and the others had discussed their tactics, they'd naturally treated Huo Yuhao as their breakthrough point.
It was a perfectly reasonable decision.
Agility Attack System Soul Masters excelled at striking the back line, and Zhu Lu also had a cultivation advantage over him.
Even though Huo Yuhao had learned Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track directly from Ji Siyuan, he was still no match for Zhu Lu.
And Zhu Lu had a second Soul Skill, too.
"Ji Siyuan, you're going down!" Dai Huabin cried excitedly. The situation on the field was crystal clear.
The four of them would hold Ji Siyuan back, while everyone else dealt with Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong'er.
There shouldn't have been any problem.
Four teams, twelve people. The four strongest were dealing with Ji Siyuan, and the remaining eight could handle Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong'er even if they held back.
But they seemed to have forgotten that this wasn't a melee between five teams. It was a contest between six.
"Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron, Cauldron Tremor!"
Xiao Xiao's Soul Skill slammed down around Huo Yuhao, knocking Zhu Lu back.
"Thanks, Xiao Xiao."
"We're classmates. Helping each other is only right."
Ning Tian and the other three were all momentarily stunned by the sudden turn of events.
They'd assumed all along that Xiao Xiao's team had advanced through luck rather than ability.
After all, the team had only one Soul Grandmaster with two rings. Even though she possessed Twin Martial Souls, her Soul Power was only level twenty-two, and the others were nothing to worry about.
So they'd ignored that team. But now, they had turned the tide.
The sudden change threw the four teams, who had been following their plan, into disarray.
There wasn't just one Control System Soul Master among the remaining eight. They all wanted to take charge of directing the chaos.
This melee had never been just about how the teams ranked. Individual performance mattered, too.
Taking command of so many people would earn someone a much higher evaluation.
By contrast, Xiao Xiao had no such problems after helping Huo Yuhao. With Spiritual Detection Sharing, it was only natural for Huo Yuhao to take command.
He smoothly took charge of the five of them.
As for Ji Siyuan, Huo Yuhao couldn't direct him. The gap in strength was simply too great.
The battle would go beyond what Huo Yuhao could predict.
With Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao controlling the field together, the situation stabilized for a time.
After all, Wang Dong'er was a real powerhouse among them.
Wu Feng cried furiously, "Are you really going to watch two teams fight the four of us? Stop holding back! I'll go first—Second Soul Skill, Dragon's Fury!"
Her offense and defense both rose sharply. Ning Tian had originally told her to save it as a trump card against Dai Huabin.
But now, she had no choice.
Watching Wu Feng unleash her power, Ning Tian knew it would be difficult to win the championship this time.
Still, spurred on by Wu Feng, the others also used their second Soul Skills.
That was the difference between them and the remaining five.
After all, only two of the five had two rings.
Huang Chutian's team, on the other hand, had five or six Soul Masters with two rings.
The situation reversed in an instant.
Even if no one was eliminated, no one could call the fight dull.
Those who needed to hold back did so; those who needed to fight still fought.
Wang Dong'er called, "Xiao Xiao, help me trap Wu Feng! Huo Yuhao!"
"Got it!"
Everyone on the field could hear Wang Dong'er's voice, including Huang Chutian himself.
He didn't care—and there was nothing he could do about it.
Wang Dong'er was incredibly strong. Only Wu Feng could stand against her, so Wu Feng had to face her head-on.
That made it easy for Xiao Xiao to control Wu Feng.
"Damn it, I can't just let myself be controlled!"
Wu Feng immediately fixed her sights on the Soul Masters from Xie Huanyue's team, hoping to use them as shields against Xiao Xiao's control.
Once Xiao Xiao had her under control, Wang Dong'er would definitely use her second Soul Skill. There was no way she could withstand that thousand-year Soul Skill.
Just as she shifted her feet, her mind suddenly went blank, and she stumbled.
Huo Yuhao's Mental Shock was carefully controlled in strength. He only needed to create an opening for Xiao Xiao.
"Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron, Cauldron Shock!"
With Mental Sharing, the control chained together flawlessly.
"Second Soul Skill, Butterfly Goddess Light!"
A figure flashed past. "Wu Feng, eliminated."