Familiarity

Yesterday, Tie Li had given the cafeteria uncle a pound of Thunder Python flesh and blood to prepare for breakfast.

Tie Li went to the counter and paid an additional five Copper Soul Coins, then accepted the Thunder Python stew from the cafeteria uncle. It was a full pot, with mushrooms and other ingredients added for flavor.

Carrying the large pot, he sat beside Dolangbu. The team members had all gathered together, so there was probably something going on.

"After breakfast, we'll rest and digest for a while, then head to the training grounds. We need to get familiar with each other as teammates. What do you think?

Tomorrow night, Supervisor Fu arranged a team spirit battle for us at the Great Soul Arena," Dolangbu said.

"Sure," Tie Li replied as he chewed on a mouthful of meat.

Watching Tie Li alternate between meat and soup, the other six could not help turning their heads away.

He made eating look far too delicious!

After eating and drinking their fill, they rested at their seats for a while before the seven of them headed to the training grounds together.

"There are seven of us. Let's have a three-versus-three team spirit battle. Cai Xin is a support Soul Master, so she can watch from the side. What do you think?"

Dolangbu's suggestion was excellent. This was the fastest way for a team to become familiar with one another.

No one objected, and they nodded in agreement with Dolangbu's proposal.

"I prepared six paper balls. Three have writing on them, and three are blank. I think you all understand what I mean."

Dolangbu mixed up the paper balls and placed them on the ground for the other five to draw first.

The final result was: Tie Li, Zong Hao, who possessed the Mountain Turtle Martial Soul, and Yang Xiaoyun formed the First Team; Dolangbu, Bai Jiao, and Daisi formed the other team.

Tie Li glanced at his team's Soul Master lineup. They had one assault-type, one agility-type, and one defense-type Soul Master. They were somewhat weaker than their opponents on paper, but that was only the apparent gap. The actual result would depend on the spirit battle.

The two teams separated, while Cai Xin was responsible for announcing the start of the spirit battle.

"Xiaoyun, you're responsible for disrupting the captain. You don't necessarily have to eliminate him directly," Tie Li said.

Yang Xiaoyun let out a breath of relief. She was the team's agility-type attack Soul Master, and she had been afraid Tie Li would ask her to eliminate the captain. She knew Dolangbu's strength very well.

If she only had to interfere with him, it would not be much of a problem.

"Don't worry. No problem."

"Zong Hao, attack with me."

"Alright."

Zong Hao was powerfully built and looked fierce and difficult to get along with, but after a simple exchange, one would discover that he was rather simple-minded.

Dolangbu's side briefly discussed their tactics. With a control-type Soul Master, their strategy could be more flexible.

Once both sides had arranged their formations, Cai Xin announced the start of the spirit battle.

They immediately summoned their Martial Souls and Soul Rings.

On Tie Li's side, apart from Tie Li's optimal Soul Ring configuration, Zong Hao and Yang Xiaoyun both had one white and one yellow Soul Ring.

Yang Xiaoyun's Martial Soul was the Spirit Cat. As an agility-type attack Soul Master, she swiftly left the frontal field of vision and charged toward Dolangbu from the side.

Dolangbu's Martial Soul was a type of vine. Two yellow Soul Rings emerged beneath him, and his Soul Ring configuration was equally impressive.

Daisi and Bai Jiao, meanwhile, had the standard configuration of one white and one yellow Soul Ring.

From the corner of his eye, Dolangbu noticed Yang Xiaoyun attempting to attack from the side, but he chose to ignore her.

His First Soul Ring lit up. Two vines as thick as bowls surged from the ground toward Tie Li and Zong Hao. Bai Jiao, already in Martial Soul Possession, followed closely behind the vines, ready to launch an attack at any moment.

"Xiaoyun, my speed isn't any slower than yours." A familiar voice sounded beside Yang Xiaoyun. Daisi was right next to her.

Daisi possessed the Lightning Leopard Martial Soul. Though he was an assault-type Soul Master, his speed was no weaker than Yang Xiaoyun's.

Seeing Daisi's upturned lips, Yang Xiaoyun seemed to have guessed her fate.

On the frontal battlefield, Zong Hao's First Soul Ring lit up. The turtle shell in his hand was enveloped in a white glow and transformed into a massive shield two meters tall.

Zong Hao stood in front of Tie Li, intending to use his defense to block the enemy's frontal assault.

The seemingly ferocious vines suddenly changed direction, splitting left and right to avoid Zong Hao's defense. Bai Jiao, following close behind, stepped onto the shield and used the momentum to leap upward.

From the very beginning, their target had been to eliminate Tie Li.

Bai Jiao alone was naturally not enough, but with Dolangbu's vines assisting his attack, they believed they had at least a sixty percent chance of eliminating Tie Li.

Dolangbu's Second Soul Ring lit up. The thick vines suddenly began to split, instantly turning into dozens of thin tendrils that attacked Tie Li from every direction, leaving him no chance to escape.

Once he was trapped, Bai Jiao, boosted by two Soul Skills, would be able to eliminate Tie Li with ease.

To a certain extent, Dolangbu's Martial Soul could counter Tie Li's. Flexibility was the best defense against blunt-force attacks, while the vines themselves could offset lightning. Together, they perfectly restricted Tie Li.

But that was only if their strength was roughly equal.

When the force wielding a blunt weapon exceeded the limits of flexibility, it could still break through the defense. When violent lightning possessed terrifying destructive power, it could not be neutralized.

Tie Li happened to possess both.

First Soul Skill, Thunder Hammer!

When Dolangbu saw lightning bloom from Tie Li's Martial Soul, he wore an expression of absolute confidence. Everything was proceeding according to his calculations.

The thin vines formed a great net, about to trap Tie Li within.

When Tie Li swung the Thunder Hammer at the vines, Dolangbu merely thought he was wasting his effort.

But when he felt the vines snapping one after another, and the violent lightning wantonly destroying their vitality, his expression changed drastically.

His Martial Soul might only be ordinary vines, but with the support of two Hundred-Year Soul Rings, they should not have been so fragile.

Yet under Tie Li's attacks, the vines' toughness seemed immature.

If his vines had not split apart and had instead remained gathered together, they might have caused Tie Li some trouble.

Bai Jiao's expression changed. Why had the captain's vines become so fragile?

No, it was not that the captain's Martial Soul had weakened. The opponent's lightning was simply too powerful.

Dolangbu quickly adjusted his mindset and decisively abandoned the split vines. He controlled the remaining unsplit vines to wrap around Bai Jiao's waist and pulled him back.

"Alright, I think that's enough. There's no need to continue," Dolangbu said after a pause, replacing his expression with a confident smile.

At the side, Yang Xiaoyun had already been eliminated by Daisi. If he joined the frontal battlefield, would it change the situation?

Cai Xin, watching from the side, silently wondered.

When Dolangbu spoke, everyone put away their Martial Souls.

"Since we understand each other well enough now, let's discuss some tactics. This is the information Supervisor Fu gave us about our opponents."

Dolangbu took out the information Supervisor Fu had given him. It recorded the Soul Master team they would face tomorrow night.

This Soul Master team had been assembled by a great noble of Dragon Prosperity City. Relying on this team, that noble had won quite a few Gold Soul Coins at the Great Soul Arena.