Heart Separation Control?

After several matches, their opponents had long since figured out Yue Ling's team's tactics.

Everyone knew one thing: he was a Power Attack Type Spirit Master, not a Control Type, so his moves were especially tricky.

He excelled at using petal blades to ambush the back line. From the front, he seemed rather unremarkable, but if they let their guard down in the rear, the Support Type Spirit Master could easily be taken out in an instant.

As soon as this match began, the opposing team's tactics were clearly aimed straight at him.

One of their Power Attack Type Spirit Masters charged straight at Yue Ling and kept him tied up. Another stayed beside their Support Type Spirit Master, guarding against ambushes from Yue Ling's Flower Blades while taking the chance to recover Soul Power.

By the time the freshman assessment reached the round-robin stage, every team had already been worn down considerably. Several more matches remained, and no one wanted to waste Soul Power needlessly. They all tried to conserve their strength and preserve their condition.

Yue Ling immediately grew alert.

The ambush tactics that had worked so well for him before had now completely failed.

He had used them too many times, and every opponent was prepared.

But he wasn't the least bit flustered.

In the end, tactics were only supplementary. The real difference came down to raw strength.

What was more, Ma Xiaotao and Gongyang Mo were watching from the sidelines, holding the line for him. He was full of confidence.

The Power Attack Type Spirit Master charging from the front had already closed in, and he immediately raised his hand to engage Yue Ling in close combat.

Others only knew that he relied on Flower Blades to defeat enemies from a distance. They didn't know that his close-combat skills were just as solid.

The longer they fought, the more alarmed his opponent became. With every exchange, he felt more and more how difficult Yue Ling was to deal with, especially with so many Flower Blades harrying him from all around.

After dodging Yue Ling's palm strike with a sidestep, a ruthless glint flashed through his eyes. He stopped insisting on a direct confrontation.

If he couldn't break through from the front, then he'd ambush the back line!

He released his first Soul Skill in an instant, sending his Soul Power straight toward Gongyang Mo, who was watching from outside the arena.

It was a perfect plan, but reality gave him no chance to carry it out.

Ma Xiaotao, standing nearby, had been watching his every move.

Before his Soul Skill could reach its target, Ma Xiaotao abruptly released her first Soul Skill. A crimson Phoenix Fireline burst forth, precisely canceling out his attack.

The ambush was thoroughly exposed.

The Power Attack Type Spirit Master's expression changed. Daring not to linger, he immediately retreated, hoping to find another opening.

How could Yue Ling possibly give him a chance to catch his breath?

"Second Soul Skill, Falling Blossom Storm!"

Hundreds of sharp golden Flower Blades burst from his body and split into two. The two streams of blades struck in different directions: one pursued the retreating Power Attack Type Spirit Master, while the other shot straight toward the opposing team's Support Type Spirit Master in the back line.

But the other team had been prepared.

Their teammate on guard immediately stepped in front of the Support Type Spirit Master, fiercely shielding the back line. At the front, their Power Attack Type Spirit Master charged in again with renewed ferocity, bolstered by his Soul Skill.

The three worked together with perfect coordination. It was obvious they had specifically studied Yue Ling's tactics beforehand.

Throughout the battle, Yue Ling hadn't expended much Soul Power.

His second Soul Skill was versatile. He kept using the petal blades to pull back and forth, applying pressure on two fronts.

What he was truly expending was his mental strength.

But for him, this was actually a good thing. He could use the high-intensity battle to train his control over his mind.

In his current condition, releasing Monarch Descends Upon the World reliably was still a struggle.

If he was lucky, he could manage it. If not, he would fail to release it and waste both Soul Power and the opportunity.

To release it with perfect precision every time, he had to hone his mental control until it was flawless.

So he planned to use this match to explore the techniques of Heart Separation Control as well.

He knew that the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's Heart Separation Control was a sect secret that outsiders simply couldn't learn.

That meant he could only explore and practice it on his own.

During his breaks, he would repeatedly practice moving his hands in opposite, uncoordinated ways: turning one clockwise and the other counterclockwise, forcing his mind to learn how to control two things at once.

His strange behavior had once piqued Gongyang Mo's curiosity. But Gongyang Mo had only been interested for a little while. After trying it a few times and finding it boring, he'd gone back to reading.

With no one to help and no one to guide him, Yue Ling could only keep honing his skills little by little on his own.

And today's arena was the perfect training ground.

At that moment, he controlled two streams of Flower Blades at once, constantly harrying the enemy in front while gradually tightening the encirclement and limiting the back-line Support Type Spirit Master's movements.

Controlling two fronts at once was extremely difficult. His mental strength was draining rapidly, but his ability to maintain control was genuinely improving.

Gongyang Mo spotted the right moment from the sidelines and promptly bolstered Yue Ling with his first Soul Skill, further increasing his combat strength.

Even so, fighting three opponents alone was still quite a strain.

His opponents gradually learned the rhythm of his attacks. Once they had steadied their formation, they launched a second encirclement.

Yue Ling immediately adjusted his tactics, gathering most of his Flower Blades together to focus their pressure on the Power Attack Type Spirit Master charging from the front.

Seeing this, the enemy in the back line immediately moved to provide support, but Phoenix Firelines repeatedly spat out by Ma Xiaotao blocked him completely. He couldn't advance a single step.

The advantage in the battle slowly shifted toward Yue Ling's side.

The constant harassment from two fronts and the tightening encirclement became too much for the Power Attack Type Spirit Master at the front.

He had used up more than half his Soul Power, and his stamina was nearly depleted.

Considering the matches still to come, he couldn't afford to exhaust himself here. In the end, he gritted his teeth and reluctantly chose to surrender.

Seeing that the team leader who had been taking the brunt of the pressure had surrendered, the two remaining teammates had no desire to keep fighting either.

They had to guard against ambushes while desperately defending themselves. It was a waste of effort, and continuing would only leave them injured for nothing.

They simply surrendered as well.

After winning that match, the remaining rounds became a complete rout.

Every team had figured out how strong the three of them were, and no one wanted to clash with them head-on.

After all, the difference in Soul Power was plain to see. If it weren't for the tournament, they would have been more than happy to test themselves against such strong opponents.

So when they faced Yue Ling's team, they deliberately conserved their Soul Power, hoping only to bring the match to a quick end and save their strength for the opponents who came after.

They won the next three matches with extraordinary ease.

By the time the fourth match began, Ma Xiaotao's Soul Power had fully recovered.

When the match started and her four purple Spirit Rings lit up, the aura unique to a Soul Elder pressed down on the opposing team, leaving them too intimidated to fight back. They put up a token resistance before immediately admitting defeat.

By the end of the Freshman Round-Robin Tournament, Yue Ling's team had achieved a perfect record, winning every single match.

Under Zhou Yi's approving gaze, the three said their goodbyes to her and left the arena.

The tournament wasn't entirely over, but at least they had a few days to relax.

As usual, they went to their regular Barbecue Restaurant.

The only difference from last time was that Ma Xiaotao had joined them.

"Let's drink to celebrate our perfect record!"

"Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

The three poured themselves a little soda and drank it. [Underage drinking is prohibited.]

"Ah, that hits the spot! We wouldn't have gotten such a perfect record without you two."

"Not at all."

"Oh, stop being so polite. Hurry up and eat, or it'll get cold!"

At the Barbecue Restaurant, Yue Ling, Gongyang Mo, and Ma Xiaotao chatted as they ate with gusto, giving themselves a proper reward for all their hard-fought battles in recent days.