The Unexpected Outcome

Xiao Hongchen's pupils contracted. His body went rigid, and he did not dare move a muscle.

In the VIP seats below, Jing Hongchen's face turned pale. Afraid something might go wrong, he immediately barked, "Enough! Xiao, concede at once and leave the arena!"

Xiao Hongchen was bitterly unwilling, but he knew the match was lost. He gritted his teeth, withdrew his martial soul, conceded in a low voice, and walked off the stage.

Xu Sanshi, on the other side, was far more composed.

He had initiated Dark Nether Swap himself, so he had been ready for what came next.

The instant the swap was complete, Xu Sanshi seized the moment when the entire Sun Moon Team stood stunned. Empowered by Dark Nether Power, he slammed Dark Nether Shock into the ground.

A black halo instantly engulfed the other members of the Sun Moon Team, leaving them all sluggish once more.

After unleashing Dark Nether Shock, he wasted no time. He slid sideways out of their encirclement, and his fourth soul skill lit up again.

White light flashed from Dark Nether Swap. In the next instant, Xu Sanshi and Song Que traded places.

The Sun Moon Team members had barely recovered their wits when they saw Song Que right in front of them. Their faces changed in alarm.

Song Que remained calm and murmured, "Bakudō Number Twenty-One: Red Smoke Escape!"

Red smoke burst outward where he stood.

The Sun Moon Team reacted at once. Countless Soul Tool beams and shells poured into the red smoke.

The barrage kept pounding away, throwing up a cloud of dust that blotted out the sky.

"What are you looking at?"

Song Que's voice suddenly came from the air off to one side.

A heartbeat later, Chen Fei, the Sun Moon Team's agility-type soul master, screamed. Covered in blood, he was sent flying. The referee rushed forward and escorted the badly injured Chen Fei off the stage.

The remaining team members' faces changed sharply, their nerves drawn taut.

Song Que's unpredictable attacks left them unable to adjust, much less defend themselves.

With no time to steady themselves, they opened fire again. Soul Tool fire rained down across the sky toward Song Que.

Just as the barrage was about to strike, the Cherry-Blossom Petals filling the air moved.

Countless petals separated into small clusters and flew toward the Hovering Soul Tool Cannons from every direction.

Clusters of petals stuck to the muzzles. Some slipped straight into the barrels, their sharp edges slicing through the Soul Tools' internal arrays.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Muffled explosions sounded one after another.

Flames sputtered from the muzzles of the Hovering Soul Tool Cannons, and many barrels burst on the spot.

The shells already in flight were shredded by countless petals and exploded in midair.

The other six members of Just Sky Academy seized the opening and attacked.

Countless blue-silver vines burst through the arena floor and spread wildly, wrapping around the legs and torsos of the five remaining Sun Moon Team members.

Their faces changed, and they hurried to dodge.

"It's only Blue Silver Grass!"

Mi Jia snorted and tossed out several lightning orbs, intending to tear apart the vines reaching for him. "Break!"

But things did not go his way.

In the next instant, the mutated Blue Silver King vines closed in and locked his limbs in place. His lightning orbs were nowhere near powerful enough to destroy them.

"How is that possible?!"

Mi Jia's eyes widened. He poured all his Lightning Soul Power into a desperate struggle, but it was no use.

Before he could break free, a massive Thunder Dragon Head tore through the air and swallowed him whole!

Boom!

A deafening blast rang out. The lightning struck Mi Jia hard, leaving him badly injured and unable to fight.

Ma Rulong's face darkened completely. He raised his hand and activated a Level Seven Soul Tool, aiming at Bei Bei and Tang Ya as he prepared to force his way out.

But just as he charged it, the scene before his eyes twisted and shifted again.

Dark Nether Swap. Again!

Ma Rulong was moved straight to the edge of the arena, far from the fight.

In the spot where he had stood was Xu Sanshi, wearing a wicked grin.

Xu Sanshi wiggled his backside at Ma Rulong in mockery, then turned to join his teammates in surrounding Meng Hongchen and the others.

Below the stage, Xiao Hongchen watched with a livid face, his teeth grinding together.

"Damn it! Xu Sanshi again!"

"How can a soul skill be this unfair?!"

Having fallen victim to Dark Nether Swap himself just moments earlier, he was seething, yet there was nothing he could do.

In the VIP seats, Jing Hongchen's expression was grim. "We lost this match because we lacked information."

"Xu Sanshi and Song Que completely disrupted every part of your plan."

"They led you by the nose from start to finish. Your Team Battle was a complete mess!"

Beside him, Elder Ma gave a bitter smile. He had no way to argue.

The Sun Moon Team had fought this Team Battle terribly, overwhelmed and suppressed from beginning to end.

They had never managed to make use of their high-level Soul Tools or execute their coordinated attack plan. It was a bitter defeat.

Jing Hongchen sighed helplessly. "Concede. If we keep fighting, we'll only end up with more injuries. Then we won't even have enough people for the individual matches. It isn't worth it."

Elder Ma nodded. Under Xiao Hongchen's deeply frustrated gaze, he stood and signaled their surrender to the referee.

"Just Sky Academy wins this Team Battle!"

The referee announced the result at the top of his voice.

Ma Rulong and the others walked off the stage with grim faces and returned to the preparation area, bitterly frustrated.

On Shrek Academy's side, everyone looked grave.

Mu Jin frowned. "I didn't expect Just Sky Academy to win in the end, much less so easily."

"Xu Sanshi's Dark Nether Swap was the key," Dai Yueheng said gravely. "Without him constantly switching positions and disrupting their formation, the Sun Moon Team's concentrated firepower would never have been so easy to break."

Ma Xiaotao nodded slightly in agreement.

There was no denying the strategic value of Xu Sanshi's soul skill in a Team Battle.

"What a shame," someone murmured. "Xu Sanshi is so talented, yet he chose to leave the academy. Otherwise, he would have become a pillar of Shrek's fighting strength."

Yan Shaozhe waved a hand. "Everyone has their own path. He left, and that's that. Shrek has never lacked talent."

"Dark Nether Swap is powerful, but it only won them the match because it caught the other side off guard."

"Now that everyone has seen it, they'll be prepared. It won't be so easy to win through surprise with that move again. There's no need to fear it too much."

The others nodded in agreement.

Then Jiang Nannan suddenly spoke. "Did any of you notice that Tang Ya's Blue Silver Grass is completely different from before?"

Everyone thought back to what they had just seen.

"It is," Ma Xiaotao said with a nod. "Its form has changed. The vines are much thicker and tougher, and its ability to restrain opponents is stronger."

"But it's still Blue Silver Grass. Even mutated, it's nothing before my Phoenix Flame."

Then her tone shifted, and her gaze grew more serious.

"What really surprised me was Song Que."