Outside, all kinds of discussions rose and fell, while in the arena, the battle gradually grew more intense.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Soul Guidance rays continuously bombarded the ground, explosions kicking up vast clouds of dust.
Ye Luochen kept darting and weaving.
Though he still looked somewhat bedraggled, he had yet to be truly hit.
Meanwhile.
More and more Soul Tools appeared on Yang Ming's body.
Shoulder cannons, hand cannons, Soul Guidance shields, linked amplifiers...
All kinds of Soul Tools continuously unfolded.
From afar, he was almost no longer recognizable as human.
He had practically turned into a mobile artillery platform.
"It's over."
Seeing this scene, the students by the arena could not help shaking their heads.
"Yang Ming's artillery platform has already been assembled. The new student failed to find an opening during that time, so he'll never get another chance."
The people beside them nodded in agreement.
That was the most terrifying aspect of artillery-platform Soul Engineers. Once they took shape, they had almost no weaknesses.
Yet the voices outside the arena did not affect Ye Luochen in the slightest.
Seeing that his opponent had completed the artillery platform and transformed into a fortress standing firmly in the arena.
Ye Luochen finally stomped hard against the ground.
Rather than continuing to dodge blindly, he instantly charged toward Yang Ming.
"So you're finally ready to risk your life? Too bad it's already too late."
Yang Ming sneered.
With a movement of his arm, dozens of cannon barrels lit up at once.
Dense Soul Guidance rays poured forth!
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Yet Ye Luochen moved like a ghost, forcibly weaving through the dense, cloudlike barrage of Soul Guidance rays and closing the distance until he finally reached Yang Ming.
But just as everyone thought he would begin a head-on assault,
Ye Luochen merely condensed the Dark Iron Blade, then lightly thrust it toward the hulking figure that had become a metal fortress.
Crack!
A crisp sound rang out.
A metal component on Yang Ming's left side was detached with perfect precision.
Without pausing, Ye Luochen lightly tapped the ground, turned, and retreated.
"What the hell?"
Yang Ming froze for a moment.
Then he looked down at the component that had fallen to the ground, his face full of confusion.
No, seriously?
You charged through a hail of gunfire just to remove one of my parts?
This fortress of mine has dozens of Soul Tools. What's the point of taking off one?
Yang Ming was not the only one who failed to understand. The spectators were equally bewildered.
"What's he doing? Dismantling Soul Tools?"
"What's the point of that?"
"Don't tell me he's planning to dismantle every Soul Tool on Yang Ming's body?"
Everyone discussed it heatedly.
However, the battle continued.
Boom!
Another round of firepower blanketed the arena.
Ye Luochen kept dodging.
Searching for an opportunity.
A moment later, he once again passed through the barrage and closed in.
Crack!
Another Soul Tool component fell to the ground.
He immediately withdrew again.
The third time, the fourth time, the fifth time...
Every time Ye Luochen got close, he did only one thing.
He dismantled something.
Once he had removed it, he never lingered or continued fighting.
Gradually, subtle changes began to occur in Yang Ming's mindset.
"This guy is seriously disgusting!"
By now, he was already missing seven or eight components.
Most of them were not core parts, so the artillery platform as a whole had not been affected much. It could still withstand attacks and fire back.
But it was unbearably irritating!
Ye Luochen felt like a fly to him.
Every so often, he would come up and sting him once.
Could it do much damage?
Not really.
But when a fly kept buzzing over to sting you, and you could not hit it no matter what, who could stand that?
It was utterly infuriating!
"Ye Luochen!"
Yang Ming shouted angrily.
"Do you even know how to fight?"
The only response he received was the figure charging at him once more.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The Soul Guidance Cannons continued firing.
Ye Luochen endured the barrage and approached once again.
The Dark Iron Blade swept across with precision.
Crack!
Another Soul Tool fell to the ground.
Then he immediately retreated again.
Watching his Soul Guidance artillery platform get dismantled bit by bit, Yang Ming's expression was indescribably ugly.
Yet there was nothing he could do. He simply could not hit his opponent.
So irritating!
At the edge of the arena, Xiao Hongchen, who had been silently watching without saying a word, slightly raised his brows.
"Something's wrong."
Hearing this, Meng Hongchen spoke.
"What's wrong? He's just dismantling a few components. Yang Ming only needs to find an opportunity to install new ones."
Xiao Hongchen shook his head.
"How could it be that simple? Do you think Yang Ming doesn't want to replace them?
Besides, that isn't the point."
"Hm?"
Hearing her brother's words, Meng Hongchen voiced her confusion again.
She knew Xiao Hongchen's talent and ability with Soul Tools better than anyone.
What he could see was surely far more than what she could see.
"Then what is the point?"
Xiao Hongchen explained.
"A Soul Engineer who has just advanced to Rank Two can dismantle an artillery platform built by a Rank Four Soul Engineer this quickly, and every part he removes is a key node."
"Amplifier modules, power supply interfaces, linkage nodes... every one of them is perfectly precise."
"That is the key. His Soul Tool proficiency is likely far higher than what his badge suggests."
Meanwhile, in the arena.
As time passed.
Yang Ming's expression grew increasingly unpleasant.
Because as Ye Luochen kept dismantling his components, he discovered that his firepower was gradually declining.
The coordination efficiency between his Soul Tools had begun to decrease.
What had once operated as smoothly as flowing clouds and running water now faintly showed signs of sluggishness.
"Damn it!"
Yang Ming immediately took out new Soul Tools, intending to replace the missing parts.
However, before he could install them, Ye Luochen's figure drifted before him like a ghost.
Several Soul Guidance rays fired out at close range.
Their power was not particularly strong. Under normal circumstances, they would have posed no threat whatsoever to the artillery formation built by a dignified Rank Four Soul Engineer.
But the problem was that nearly half of the artillery formation had already been dismantled.
The external defensive Soul Tools had basically all ceased functioning, forcing him to defend himself personally.
But that also meant he no longer had any opportunity to repair the artillery platform.
Most outrageous of all, he could not replenish his equipment, yet Ye Luochen's actions did not stop either.
After firing a volley of Soul Guidance rays, he immediately started dismantling components again with several quick slashes.
Seeing the situation actually turn against him through such a disgusting method,
Yang Ming finally could not endure it any longer.
If this continued, he would eventually be ground to death.
"Enough!"
Boom!
With a low shout, Yang Ming stomped hard against the ground, and violent Soul Power suddenly erupted.
He simply abandoned the damaged artillery platform and charged directly at Ye Luochen.
Seeing this.
Xiao Hongchen immediately shook his head at the edge of the arena.
"It's over."
The instant those words fell.
Ye Luochen's eyes suddenly lit up in the arena.
Facing the punch his opponent threw with all his strength, he merely tapped the ground, turned, and shifted aside.
As he effortlessly dodged it, he extended his arm forward.
The Dark Iron Blade pressed precisely against Yang Ming's throat.
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