Tactical Arrangements: Su Chen VS Tang San

The iron railings outside Linhe City Arena groaned under the strain.

Less than fifteen minutes after the quarterfinal bracket was posted, news of Sky Abyss Academy facing Shrek Academy swept through the city like a plague.

At the betting houses, Shrek Academy stood at 1.2 to 1, while Sky Abyss stood at 1.8 to 1.

This numerical tilt was not a slight against Sky Abyss, but reverence for the foundation of that long-established powerhouse.

"Shrek Academy's Blue Silver Grass is the natural bane of summoned creatures."

"Su Chen's forty-seven-second slaughter is probably going to hit an iron wall against Tang San."

The gamblers' clamor was shut out by the night.

In the rear courtyard of Sky Abyss Academy's lodgings, seven messy outlines had been drawn in the mud.

Holding a wooden stick, Su Chen precisely jabbed it into one of the circles.

"Dai Mubai. White Tiger Martial Soul. A typical assault-type Soul Master."

"His explosive power is indeed astonishing, but after activating his third soul skill, White Tiger Vajra Transformation, the excessive exertion leaves a 0.3-second defensive gap beneath his left ribs."

The wooden stick moved to the second figure.

"Ma Hongjun. Evil Fire Phoenix. Flight is both his advantage and his target."

"Before every diving attack, the amplitude of his right wing is five percent higher than that of his left. That is a lingering consequence of his unstable control over his evil fire."

"Oscar provides endurance with his sausage support. He must be cut off immediately."

Su Chen forcefully drew an X over Ning Rongrong's name.

"This girl is Shrek Academy's heart."

"The Seven Treasure Glazed Tower's boosts can instantly erase the difference in soul power levels. Kill her first, and Shrek Academy's combat strength will collapse by thirty percent."

Chu Yao sat atop a stone table, a wisp of poisonous smoke curled around her fingertips.

"What about Tang San? You actually didn't list him as the primary target."

The wooden stick in Su Chen's hand stopped over Tang San's outline.

"He has two weapons."

The courtyard fell instantly silent.

Yan Wuji's pupils abruptly contracted.

"Twin martial souls?"

"There are thick calluses in the web of his left hand, marks left by long-term use of heavy equipment. Blue Silver Grass could never cause them."

Su Chen's tone was calm, as though he were merely stating an established fact.

"He only used Blue Silver Grass during the preliminaries, which means he has been hiding something."

"But such concealment is meaningless before absolute power."

Mo Qianye raised his head from the shadows.

"What is your plan?"

Su Chen tossed aside the wooden stick and swept his foot across the ground, erasing all the outlines.

"Don't dismantle Tang San."

"I want him to watch his teammates fall one by one while he remains powerless to do anything."

"Jiang Tieyi, use your gravity field to lock down Dai Mubai. You do not need to defeat him. You only need to make him roar like a beast trapped in a swamp."

"Linglong, keep your Eye of Fear fixed only on Ning Rongrong. I want her unable to finish even a soul incantation."

"Chu Yao, keep your poison domain contained. Release it only through the gaps in Ling Shuang's vines."

Su Chen looked at Mo Qianye.

"You wait for Tang San to save someone."

"Whoever he saves, kill the person beside them."

"I want this favored son of heaven's sense of responsibility to become the blade that personally sends his teammates to their graves."

The cold wind swept through the rear courtyard, and Chu Yao shivered.

This tactic was not meant merely to win, but to utterly destroy the opponent's spirit.

Three streets away, at Shrek Academy's lodgings.

The lamplight flickered.

The master looked at the intelligence on the table, his hands folded before his chest, his knuckles white from the force of his grip.

"Forty ten-thousand-year summoned creatures. That is only the tip of the iceberg of what Su Chen has revealed."

"Gravity, vines, deadly poison, frost, fear, harvesting."

"These six people have not formed a team. They are a flawlessly constructed execution rack."

The master looked at Tang San, unprecedented gravity in his eyes.

"Little San, Su Chen is not a Soul Master. He is a general."

"He has turned the arena into a battlefield. Every inch of ground lies within his calculations."

Dai Mubai suddenly slammed his fist onto the table.

"So what? My White Tiger Vajra Transformation can tear apart any suppression!"

"You can't tear through it."

Tang San interrupted him, his voice unusually calm.

"Jiang Tieyi's gravity field is not a contest of strength. It is suppression by law."

"The harder you exert yourself, the heavier the gravity beneath your feet becomes."

Tang San rose to his feet and walked to the window, gazing at the moonlight in the distance.

He could feel it: three streets away, a pair of cold eyes was watching this place.

"He is betting that I will go save my teammates."

"He is exploiting the flaw in my character, turning me into a firefighter running himself ragged."

Tang San clenched his fists, veins bulging on the backs of his hands.

"Teacher, what if I give up command from the very first second?"

The master's brows drew tightly together.

"Give up command? The coordination of the Seven Monsters will instantly fall into chaos."

"Chaos is our only chance at survival."

Tang San turned around, resolute light flickering in his eyes.

"He has laid out a killing chessboard."

"Then I'll overturn the table."

"The moment the match begins, I will use every trump card I have, cross the entire arena, and strike directly at Su Chen."

The midnight bell rang with a dull toll.

Two inns, two young men.

Su Chen lay on his bed, a strand of intercepted angel soul power coiled around his fingertips, his expression relaxed.

Tang San sat on the edge of his bed, repeatedly inspecting the hidden weapons in his sleeves, his killing intent restrained.

This battle was not merely a contest of soul power.

It was also a desperate gamble between two tactical geniuses at the edge of life and death.

Only, Tang San did not know that the moment he decided to "overturn the table."

He had already fallen into the greater trap Su Chen had prepared for him.