One Man Suppresses the Entire Field! Forty Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts Descend!

Linhe City Martial Arena, Heaven Dou Empire Western Division.

This was the third round of the preliminaries.

The seven members of Heaven Dou Imperial Academy Southern Branch had already taken their positions, their formation as rigorous as a textbook illustration.

The four-ring Soul Ancestor leading them possessed the Iron-Armed Ape martial soul. His arms hung naturally at his sides, muscles bulging.

He was waiting.

Waiting for Sky Abyss Academy, the team that had been praised to mythical heights.

Footsteps sounded from the entrance tunnel.

There was no neat, uniform formation, no teacher leading the team with final instructions.

There was only a young man in a faded gray robe, his hands tucked into his sleeves as though he were strolling through his own backyard.

Su Chen.

He stood alone at the center of the arena.

The referee froze. He lowered his head to check the roster in his hand, then looked toward the completely empty passageway.

"Sky Abyss Academy, where are the rest of your team members?"

Su Chen tilted his head slightly and glanced toward the stands.

Chu Yao was cracking roasted chestnuts with loud crunches, while Jiang Tieyi had his legs propped on the back of the seat in front of him, fighting Ye Linglong beside him over half a bag of preserved plums.

"No need to wait."

Su Chen withdrew his gaze, his voice calm as still water.

"Just me is enough."

The Iron-Armed Ape Soul Ancestor across from him immediately flushed crimson.

"Arrogant!"

He took a fierce step forward, and fine cracks spread across the ground beneath his foot.

"Coming up alone? You're courting death!"

The referee hesitated no longer and sharply brought down the flag in his hand.

"Begin!"

The seven Southern Branch students instantly possessed their martial souls. The radiance of their Spirit Rings intertwined, illuminating more than half the arena.

At last, Su Chen drew his hands from his sleeves.

He raised his right hand, fingers spread slightly.

The void behind him collapsed without warning.

It was not the sound of soul power tearing through space, but a force from some higher dimension forcibly compressing the world's space.

The phantom of a towering throne emerged behind him, exuding an ancient aura so oppressive it stole one's breath.

Four Spirit Ring slots lit up simultaneously.

Black.

Profound.

They were four entire Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Rings.

The Iron-Armed Ape Soul Ancestor, who had been charging forward, forcibly halted.

His martial soul was screaming, wailing, commanding him to kneel at once.

"Iron Wall, come out and say hello."

Su Chen's voice was very soft.

Boom!

The first Dark Golden Terrorclaw Bear landed, instantly shattering the arena's stone floor.

Then came the second, the third...

Ten Dark Golden Terrorclaw Bears stood side by side, their golden fur gleaming beneath the sunlight with a cold metallic sheen.

But this was only the beginning.

Within the shadows, ten Nether Shadow Leopards silently emerged, their ghostly green pupils locking onto every opponent's throat.

In the sky, ten Purple Lightning Thunder Eagles circled down, arcs of lightning radiating from their wings with a pungent scorched smell.

Finally, ten Black Tortoises formed an impregnable ring-shaped fortress around Su Chen's feet.

Forty Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts.

A full forty terrifying auras, each capable of destroying an entire city, gathered into an invisible tidal wave.

The stone railings at the front of the stands could not withstand the pressure and let out teeth-grinding cracks.

The Southern Branch's support-type soul master had already collapsed to the ground, a wet stain spreading across his trouser legs.

The Iron-Armed Ape Soul Ancestor's arms shook violently. He wanted to raise his fists, but discovered that even standing steady had become a luxury.

Su Chen stood at the center, surrounded by the beasts.

He looked at his opponents and raised three fingers.

"Three."

The Purple Lightning Thunder Eagles dove.

"Two."

The Nether Shadow Leopards vanished from where they stood.

"One..."

"We surrender! We surrender!"

The Iron-Armed Ape Soul Ancestor practically screamed the words.

He could feel that if he were even one second later, those soul beasts would truly tear him to pieces.

The referee's flag hung in midair, his hand trembling like he had a seizure.

"Southern Branch surrenders... Sky Abyss Academy wins!"

The entire venue fell silent.

More than three thousand spectators seemed as though someone had collectively seized them by the throats.

With a casual wave of his hand, Su Chen turned the forty soul beasts into streams of light that filled the sky before they disappeared back into the void.

He walked off the arena and casually grabbed a handful of chestnuts from Chu Yao's arms.

"Let's go. Back to the hotel."

Three days later, at Shrek Academy's residence.

Yu Xiaogang pushed open Tang San's door, his expression grim.

"The results are out."

"Across three preliminary matches, he only made three moves in total."

Tang San set down the Blue Silver Grass in his hand, his gaze shifting slightly.

"What were the results?"

"Three complete victories, with a combined time of less than one minute."

Yu Xiaogang's voice carried a faint, barely perceptible tremor.

"By himself, he summoned forty Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts."

"One of them was a Dark Golden Terrorclaw Bear."

Tang San's fingers abruptly clenched, his knuckles turning pale from the force.

He recalled his first Spirit Ring and the Tang Sect Hidden Weapons he had painstakingly studied.

Before forty Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, those things seemed so pale and powerless.

"Forty..."

Tang San rose to his feet and walked to the window.

The afterglow of the setting sun stretched his shadow long.

"Teacher, the preliminary groups can't be changed, right?"

"They can't."

Tang San remained silent for a long time, his eyes fixed firmly on the distant horizon.

"Seven people against forty-seven combat units."

He turned around, his gaze carrying an almost crazed calmness.

"The Blue Silver Grass's control range is no longer enough. We need to scrap our tactics and start over."

The instant the door closed, Tang San's voice echoed through the cramped room.

"If it's a melee on that scale... I need more poison."