A Flawless First Victory, Yu Xiaogang's Analysis

The arena was a standard circular venue, fifty paces in diameter. Its floor was polished from a single slab of Cyan Steel Rock, covered in marks of varying depths left behind by years of soul fights. The spectator stands rose in tiers around it, with roughly thirty to forty percent of the seats occupied.

Iron Soul-level team battles usually did not draw many spectators, but today was different. The Scarlet Team had been last month's Iron Soul monthly champions, and quite a few people had bought tickets specifically to watch them.

The referee was a Soul Master in his fifties. His voice was booming as he stood in the center of the arena and announced the rules with vigor. "Team battle rules: the match ends when one side is entirely down or surrenders. You may not attack opponents who have fallen and cannot continue fighting. Forbidden items are prohibited. Both sides, create distance and prepare!"

The seven members of the Ji Ni Tai Mei Team and the seven members of the Scarlet Team each retreated to opposite ends of the arena.

The Scarlet Team's captain stood at the very front. He was powerfully built and dressed in a scarlet combat uniform. His Martial Soul was a Flame Lion, and he was a level thirty-five assault-type Soul Elder. Behind him stood two secondary attackers: one with a Gale Wolf Martial Soul, a level thirty-one agility-attack type, and the other with an Iron Arm Bear Martial Soul, a level thirty defense type.

Behind them were two control types and two support types. Every member was a Soul Elder, and most of their soul rings were two yellow and one purple. A team like this was already considered a top-tier lineup among Iron Soul-level team battles.

"Martial Soul Possession!" the referee ordered.

Soul rings lit up across the arena at once. On the Scarlet Team's side, the Flame Lion captain was the first to complete his possession, three soul rings pulsing up and down around him. The teammates behind him released their Martial Souls one by one, and phantom beast Martial Souls rose and fell across the arena.

On the Ji Ni Tai Mei Team's side, Yu Tianxin stood at the front as the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon appeared behind him. Bright blue arcs of electricity coiled around its scales. Two soul rings lit up, revealing only two yellow rings as I had instructed beforehand.

Lei Dong's Thunder Spider spread out on the right, blue lightning dancing over its spider legs. Lei Li held his Thunder Turtle Shield before him, lightning flowing through the cracked patterns across its surface.

Lei Jiu set the Thunder Drum at his side. Yu Xiaolou and Qing Luo stood at either side of the rear line, revealing their true strength as instructed, while I did not release my Martial Soul.

"Begin!"

The Flame Lion captain charged out first, his Flame Lion Martial Soul trailing a crimson blaze behind him as he sprinted.

The Gale Wolf Soul Master stayed close to his right flank, moving half a beat faster. Green light wrapped around his wolf claws, clearly taking the high-speed assault route of an agility-attack type.

The Iron Arm Bear Soul Master followed half a step behind, his arms swelling to twice their original thickness. Iron-gray Soul Power covered his entire forearms. His task was to block the first wave of concentrated attacks.

The two control-type Soul Masters followed close behind. One had a plant-type vine Martial Soul, while the other had an elemental Martial Soul with slowing soul skills. The two support-type Soul Masters remained in the back row, both wielding enhancement battle flag Martial Souls. They had already boosted the attack power of the three people in front.

"Lei Li, engage them head-on. Lei Jiu, buff Tianxin and Lei Dong."

The instant my command left my mouth, Lei Li stepped forward and slammed the Thunder Turtle Shield down before him. The shield abruptly expanded, sealing off the entire frontal area.

Lei Jiu struck the Thunder Drum twice in rapid succession. Two muffled thunderous booms exploded, and blue lightning simultaneously rose around Yu Tianxin and Lei Dong.

The Flame Lion captain's first attack slammed directly into the Thunder Turtle Shield. The Flame Lion claws collided with the lightning-covered shield, erupting in a dull, thunderous crash.

Flames were ripped apart by lightning, scattering sparks everywhere. The Iron Arm Bear followed close behind, smashing both fists against the shield like iron hammers. Lei Li did not budge an inch. Thunder Turtle Shell Counter triggered automatically, sending two bolts of lightning back through the Iron Arm Bear's arms and forcing him to stagger back two steps.

But the Gale Wolf had already gone around the shield wall.

The Gale Wolf Soul Master truly was fast. His green wolf silhouette carved an arc along the edge of the arena, bypassing Lei Li's frontal defense and lunging straight for Lei Jiu in the rear.

His judgment was precise. Support-type Soul Masters were usually the weakest link in a team. Taking out the support first before dealing with the control types was the standard way to break through in a team battle.

"Qing Luo, left flank. Lei Dong, seal off the right."

Qing Luo's Dragon Scale Tulip Vine had been waiting all along. Two dark-gold vines silently spread out from beneath her feet, suddenly springing up midway through the Gale Wolf Soul Master's advance.

Her first soul skill, Thorn Bind, activated. The vines wrapped around the Gale Wolf Soul Master's ankles, injecting dragon-breath toxin through them. The paralysis took effect immediately, cutting his speed in half in an instant.

The Gale Wolf Soul Master let out a low roar and slashed through two vines with his wolf claws, but more vines surged in from every direction and firmly trapped him in place.

Lei Dong's Thunder Spider Silk spread out on the right. Following the tactic I had arranged, he laid three strands of Thunder Spider Silk along the right edge of Lei Li's shield wall. The threads were incredibly thin, nearly invisible on the arena floor.

Just as the Flame Lion captain prepared to charge the shield wall again, his toe touched one of the Thunder Spider Silk strands. Lightning exploded, and intense paralysis spread from his leg through his entire body, forcibly interrupting his second attack.

The Gale Wolf Soul Master finally broke free from Qing Luo's vines, only to trigger the Thunder Spider Silk beneath his feet the moment he landed. Electricity locked his entire body stiff, and he dropped to one knee.

"Tianxin, finish them."

Yu Tianxin had been waiting for exactly this moment. His figure flashed across the arena like a bolt of blue lightning. Without a single flashy movement, he sent the Flame Lion captain flying with one dragon claw strike.

At the same time, Yu Tianxin punched the Iron Arm Bear back five steps. The Iron Arm Bear only barely stopped after his back slammed into the railing at the edge of the arena.

The Flame Lion captain was still trying to adjust his posture and counterattack while flying through the air, but after being paralyzed by Lei Dong's spider silk, his Soul Power circulation had slowed by far more than half a beat. Yu Tianxin's Thunder Dragon Claw tore directly through the gap in his chest defense and blasted his entire body beyond the arena boundary.

"Captain!" one of the Scarlet Team's support Soul Masters cried out. The enhancement light on his battle flag flickered frantically as he tried to restore the remaining teammates' buffs.

"Yu Xiaolou, take the back line. Don't let the support renew their buffs."

"Got it!" Yu Xiaolou shot out from the flank, the Blue Lightning Dog trailing a thin arc of electricity as he sprinted. His first soul skill, Thunder Tooth Thrust, activated, and his Martial Soul transformed into a streak of lightning that pierced toward the Scarlet Team's rear line. The support battle flag Soul Master did not even have time to shield himself before Yu Xiaolou's thrust knocked the battle flag from his hand.

The battle flag flew free, and the enhancement effect instantly broke. The remaining Iron Arm Bear and three control-type Soul Masters in the front line all felt the strengthening power vanish from their bodies, their expressions changing in unison.

I remained slightly ahead of the center of the arena without making a move. Embers from the Flame Lion captain's flames blew to my feet, and I crushed them out beneath my shoe.

The Gale Wolf Soul Master had been wrapped into a dumpling by Qing Luo's vines. After struggling twice and discovering that the more he struggled, the tighter the vines became, he simply gave up.

The control-type Soul Masters' soul skills had almost all struck Lei Li's shield wall. The earth-type slowing effect was blocked by the Thunder Turtle Formation Wall, while the plant-type vines fared even worse. The moment they emerged, Qing Luo's Dragon Scale Tulip Vine suppressed them with vines against vines.

By this point, the Scarlet Team's remaining members exchanged glances and raised their hands to surrender together.

The referee raised a hand. "The Scarlet Team has lost all ability to fight. The Ji Ni Tai Mei Team wins!"

Every member of the Ji Ni Tai Mei Team stopped at once.

The spectator stands fell silent for a moment before erupting into overlapping discussions. A newly formed team had defeated last month's champions in its debut match, and from beginning to end, the new team had held the initiative firmly in its hands.

Several spectators in the front rows who had bet on the Scarlet Team were already tearing up their betting slips. Paper scraps drifted down from the stands and landed along the edge of the arena.

Above the eastern spectator stands, in an inconspicuous corner.

Yu Xiaogang set down his teacup, its base tapping lightly against the stone table. Beside him, the Shrek group leaned over the railing to watch below, each wearing a different expression.

Flender sat at the far end with a ledger in hand. His gaze passed over his lenses as he stared thoughtfully at the arena. Zhao Wuji stood against the wall with his arms crossed, his brows slightly furrowed.

Dai Mubai stood at the very front of the railing. His golden hair was especially conspicuous beneath the Soul Fighting Arena's lights, and his sharp gaze was fixed on a figure in the arena.

"The person standing at the very front, could his Martial Soul be the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon?" Dai Mubai asked in a low voice, his eyes locked on Yu Tianxin.

"The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon?"

Oscar leaned over and said, "That's one of the continent's top beast Martial Souls. I've heard the people from that sect are all incredibly formidable."

"The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, a top-tier beast Martial Soul." As a prince of the Star Luo Empire, Dai Mubai knew the Martial Soul traits of all the major clans like the back of his hand.

"The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon's attack power is almost unrivaled among opponents of the same level. Its lightning attribute's paralysis makes it especially terrifying in prolonged battles. Members of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan rarely appear in the Soul Fighting Arena. I didn't expect to encounter one here."

Yu Xiaogang nodded. His gaze moved away from Yu Tianxin and swept over the other Martial Souls in the arena. "That's right. That person's Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon is of excellent quality. With his Soul Power and two yellow, one purple soul rings, he is nearly unmatched among those of the same rank. However, the other members of this team also possess quite extraordinary Martial Souls."

He pointed at Lei Dong, who was retracting his spider silk. "That control-type Soul Master's Martial Soul is a Thunder Spider. Its web carries lightning-based paralysis. Watch the replay of the battle just now. He deployed his web formation very quickly, and his control range covered the entire right flank. A Martial Soul like that is extremely dangerous in confined terrain."

Then he pointed to Lei Jiu and Lei Li. "The support-type Thunder Drum has an attack enhancement effect of at least twenty percent. The defense-type Thunder Turtle possesses shield defense strong enough to withstand a frontal strike from an assault-type Soul Master four or five levels higher. Both Martial Souls are relatively rare support and defense variants among lightning-attribute Martial Souls. Gathering four high-quality lightning-attribute Martial Souls in one team does not seem like a coincidence. It is more likely a lineup someone deliberately selected."

He paused, his gaze falling on Yu Xiaolou. "Except for that little fat boy. His Martial Soul is not particularly strong. With Soul Power in the twenties and two yellow soul rings, he is indeed the weakest person on this team. However, his combat position was arranged very reasonably, and his timing in attacking the back line was precise, making up for his lack of strength."

Xiao Wu leaned over the railing, her scorpion braid hanging from her shoulder and swaying slightly. After watching for a while, she suddenly raised a hand and pointed toward the center of the arena. "What about the person standing in the middle? He never made a move from start to finish. He didn't even release his Martial Soul."

Yu Xiaogang fell silent for a long while. His gaze rested on me as he examined me repeatedly. The Withered Wood Mask covered the upper half of my face, obscuring my expression and eyes.

I simply stood in the center of the arena. I was not particularly tall or imposing and did not stand out among my teammates, yet throughout the entire battle, I had never moved from my position or made a single attack.

"This person... I can't see through him either," Yu Xiaogang finally said, with a rare hint of hesitation in his voice.

"He has not revealed his Martial Soul or soul rings, and even his Soul Power fluctuations are extremely restrained. I cannot judge his strength from his outward display."

Dai Mubai frowned slightly. "Even you can't see through him, Master? Could he be this team's captain?"

"Judging from his position and his teammates' coordination, he should be the captain."

Yu Xiaogang withdrew his gaze from me, his tone returning to its usual steadiness. "However, he may be the weakest member of the entire team, protected in the center of the formation to confuse their opponents. Or he may be the strongest, so strong that he can control the entire field without needing to act. It is hard to say. I will observe several more of their matches, and I should have an answer. If a new team can keep winning, they will eventually encounter a truly powerful opponent. When that happens, he will have no choice but to make a move."