Xie Yue and Yan Join Forces to Attack, Di Yao Suppresses Both Powerhouses Alone!

Di Yao had originally thought no one would waste his time again before the mission.

But early the next morning, the moment he arrived at the training grounds, he saw Xie Yue and Yan standing on the arena.

Hu Liena stood to the side, her expression somewhat complicated.

Di Yao paused.

"Something wrong?"

Yan rolled his wrists, his eyes still carrying the anger that had not faded since last night.

"Another match."

Di Yao looked at Xie Yue.

"You too?"

Xie Yue nodded.

"I want to see your combat logic."

Di Yao said, "Just say you want to probe my trump cards."

Xie Yue was not embarrassed either.

"More or less."

Yan snorted. "Enough nonsense. Do you dare?"

Di Yao glanced at the sky.

"Half an incense stick."

Yan frowned.

"What do you mean, half an incense stick?"

"It will be over within half an incense stick."

Di Yao stepped onto the arena.

"I still have to leave the city to investigate a case."

Yan's face darkened.

"You really think you're guaranteed to win?"

Di Yao did not answer.

He merely released his martial soul.

The Dark Gold Sun emerged.

Two Soul Rings slowly rose.

Xie Yue released his martial soul as well.

Two crescent-shaped Moon Blades appeared in his hands, their cold gleam flowing.

His gaze was very calm.

Unlike Yan, he was not so easily led around by his emotions.

Di Yao gave him another look.

Xie Yue was more troublesome than Yan.

Not because his martial soul was stronger.

But because he knew better how to wait for an opportunity.

Yan released his Flame Lord martial soul, and scarlet flames burst forth.

He was clearly holding back a breath of resentment.

Hu Liena stood at the edge of the arena and did not join them.

This was a joint attack by Xie Yue and Yan.

She also wanted to see just how far Di Yao could go.

At some point, Yue Guan had appeared in the stands, smiling as he held a chrysanthemum.

Gui Mei stood in the shadows, as if he had no presence at all.

But everyone knew they were watching.

The referee lowered his hand.

"Begin!"

Yan was the first to charge out.

Possessed by the Flame Lord, scarlet flames covered the path ahead.

He knew the Great Sun Golden Flame could suppress his own fire, so this time, he did not simply compete with flames.

He wanted to use the flames to block Di Yao's vision.

The true killing move was Xie Yue on the flank.

Xie Yue's figure flickered, slipping in almost along the edge of the firelight.

His two Moon Blades sliced through the air soundlessly at an extremely tricky angle.

Di Yao stood where he was without moving.

A glimmer of dark gold firelight flashed in his eyes.

Within his mind, a vague pattern emerged.

The embryonic form of the Hetu Luoshu.

It was still far from complete.

It could not form an array out of thin air.

Nor could it deduce heaven and earth.

But to assist him in battle, it was enough to let Di Yao catch even half-step flaws.

The direction of the flames.

Xie Yue's footwork.

The center of gravity behind Yan's charge.

The three intertwined into lines within his mind.

Di Yao suddenly raised his hand.

The Great Sun Golden Flame did not charge directly at Yan.

Instead, it slashed diagonally into the side of the flames Yan had spread out.

Boom!

The scarlet flames were forcibly dragged aside by the dark gold flames.

The curtain of fire tilted.

Xie Yue's hidden route was instantly exposed.

Xie Yue's eyes narrowed.

His Moon Blades had already nearly reached Di Yao's side.

But once his route was exposed, this ambush lost its greatest value.

Di Yao shifted aside, evading the first Moon Blade.

At the same time, he raised his hand, and golden flames swept along the ground toward Xie Yue's ankles.

Xie Yue immediately retreated.

Yan seized the chance and threw a punch at Di Yao's front.

"Let's see how you dodge this time!"

Di Yao did not dodge far away.

His feet slid, and his body shifted half a step aside along the wind of Yan's fist.

Yan's attack brushed past his shoulder.

Di Yao raised his hand, and golden flame struck toward Yan's ribs.

Yan's expression changed, and his Flame Armor immediately thickened.

"Trying the same move again?"

Di Yao said blandly, "You reacted too slowly."

The moment he finished speaking, the Second Soul Ring beneath his feet lit up.

"Ten Thousand Demon Edict."

The Flame Lord phantom behind Yan slowed once more.

This time, Yan had been prepared, and the delay was slightly shorter than last time.

But it was still there.

Di Yao's golden flame struck the Soul Power node at Yan's ribs.

Yan groaned and staggered back two steps.

But Xie Yue had already circled behind Di Yao once more.

The Moon Blades crossed as they slashed down.

The angle perfectly caught the moment when Di Yao's old force had faded and his new force had yet to arise.

Hu Liena's eyes tightened.

"Brother's timing is so precise."

It was as if Di Yao had eyes in the back of his head.

He did not turn around. Instead, his right foot stepped onto the edge of a line of fire on the ground.

It was the trail left behind by the Great Sun Golden Flame earlier.

Golden flames curled back along the ground.

Whoosh!

Dark gold flames shot up beneath Xie Yue's feet.

Xie Yue had no choice but to withdraw his blades and retreat.

At that moment, the look in his eyes changed completely.

Di Yao was not reacting on the spot.

Every point where he had dropped his flames earlier had been laying the groundwork for his next move.

Yan roared and erupted with Soul Power again.

"Di Yao!"

"Stop dodging!"

Di Yao glanced at him.

"You're too loud."

Yan nearly exploded with rage.

The Flame Lord expanded again, and scarlet waves of fire pressed down on Di Yao.

Xie Yue no longer held back either, and the speed of his Moon Blades abruptly increased.

One attacked from the front and the other from the side, their coordination clearly tighter than before.

Yan was responsible for suppressing space.

Xie Yue was responsible for finding openings.

This fighting style was effective against most Soul Masters their age.

But Di Yao refused to follow their rhythm.

He did not try to withstand the two of them head-on.

Instead, he constantly used the Great Sun Golden Flame to alter the fire field.

The greater Yan's flames became, the easier they were for Di Yao to turn to his advantage.

The scarlet flames were drawn by the dark gold flames, changing direction from time to time.

Several times, Xie Yue tried to use the curtain of fire to slip in, only to be forced to change his route.

The students at the side of the arena were dazzled.

"What's going on?"

"Yan's fire is obviously stronger. Why does it look like he's helping Di Yao set up the field?"

"Xie Yue is being restricted too."

"The two of them joined forces, yet they still can't suppress Di Yao?"

Hu Liena saw it most clearly.

What was truly terrifying about Di Yao was not the strength of his soul skills.

It was that every move he made had a purpose.

Suppress Yan.

Force Xie Yue back.

Alter the fire lines.

Leave contingencies.

He was not responding passively.

He was using the two of them to refine his own combat system.

At that thought, Hu Liena's heart jolted.

From the very beginning, this guy had never treated this battle as a life-and-death contest.

He was gathering data.

Yan had clearly realized it as well.

His face grew darker and darker.

"You're using us to practice?"

Di Yao said, "What else?"

Yan's fury exploded completely.

"Bastard!"

His Soul Power suddenly erupted, and his second soul skill intensified once more.

The Flame Lord's phantom let out an angry roar.

Di Yao's gaze turned cold.

"Your emotions are unstable."

The Second Soul Ring lit up.

The Ten Thousand Demon Edict descended once more.

Yan's martial soul slowed.

This time, because his emotions were stirred, his Soul Power circulated even more unsteadily, making the sluggishness more obvious than before.

Xie Yue immediately seized that instant.

He did not save Yan. Instead, he accelerated in the opposite direction and went straight for Di Yao's back.

His judgment was cold.

And precise.

If Di Yao took the chance to suppress Yan, Xie Yue's Moon Blade could force him to pull back.

But Di Yao seemed to have known he would choose this.

He did not pursue Yan.

Instead, he swung his hand back.

His first soul skill, Great Sun Golden Flame, formed an arc that sealed off Xie Yue's route in.

Xie Yue's pupils contracted.

He had been predicted.

Di Yao turned on his heel and slipped through the gap between the two attackers.

At the same time, his left hand pressed toward Yan while the golden flame in his right forced Xie Yue back.

Yan's Soul Power shook within his chest.

Xie Yue was forced to retreat.

The two stopped at the same time.

Half an incense stick had not yet burned out.

But the situation was already clear.

Di Yao had not thoroughly defeated the two of them.

Yet with less Soul Power, he had restrained both Xie Yue and Yan at once.

Their combined attack had never truly taken shape.

That was more frustrating than simply losing a match.

Yan panted, his expression ugly.

Xie Yue put away his Moon Blade and said in a low voice, "Enough."

Yan still wanted to say something.

Xie Yue glanced at him.

"If we keep fighting, we still won't be able to force out any more of his trump cards."

"And he is in a hurry."

Yan's face reddened from holding it in.

But he knew Xie Yue was speaking the truth.

Di Yao withdrew his soul rings.

"Your entry was good."

He looked at Xie Yue.

"But you rely too much on Yan to create cover."

Xie Yue's gaze shifted slightly.

Di Yao then looked at Yan.

"Your flames are still too scattered."

Yan gritted his teeth.

"Can't you say something else?"

Di Yao thought for a moment.

"You're too impatient, too."

Yan: "..."

Hu Liena nearly laughed out loud, then forcibly held it back.

Yue Guan's shoulders shook with laughter from the stands.

Gui Mei said quietly, "Sharp tongue."

Yue Guan laughed. "But he is right."

Just then, a Deacon from the Pope Palace hurried into the training ground.

"Lord Di Yao."

"An order has come from His Holiness the Pope."

"The Elder Palace has proposed opening the Newcomer Ranking early."

"All young soul masters from the Pope Palace and Elder Palace may register to challenge."

The atmosphere in the training ground changed instantly.

Xie Yue frowned.

Hu Liena's expression turned cold as well.

Yan cursed outright, "Isn't this clearly aimed at Di Yao?"

The Deacon lowered his head without speaking.

Di Yao, however, was not surprised.

He had just fought Yan.

Then he had restrained Xie Yue and Yan working together.

It would have been strange if the Elder Palace could still sit still after that.

Hu Liena looked at Di Yao.

"What do you think?"

Di Yao picked up the Mission Token from the table.

"Investigate the case first."

"When is the Newcomer Ranking?"

The Deacon replied, "Three days from now."

Di Yao nodded.

"Enough time."

Yan frowned.

"You really plan to go?"

Di Yao looked at him.

"They're delivering resources and status to my door. Why wouldn't I go?"

Xie Yue said solemnly, "They won't just let you win a few matches."

"Of course."

"They want me to lose."

He stepped down from the arena, his tone calm.

"Then they should prepare to pay the price."

Watching his back, Hu Liena suddenly felt that the Elder Palace might not get its wish this time.

Because Di Yao was best at turning other people's schemes against him into stepping stones.