After Thunderous Fury activated, Yu Tianheng's right arm underwent almost complete dragonification as blue-purple electric arcs coiled around his entire body. The overbearing nature of a top-tier beast martial soul was displayed without reserve at this moment, and even the surrounding air carried a faint crackling sound.
Ling Yun did not continue expanding the water domain.
The shallow water that had originally spread out was actively retracted by him, leaving only a few scattered traces of water. Water allowed Wave Treading to exert its maximum advantage, but it could also pave the way for lightning; he was not confident enough to use himself as a conductor.
Yu Tianheng perceived his change: "Where is your water?"
Ling Yun used the soul power tongue scarf to deflect the Thunder Dragon Claw, shaking his wrists after landing: "Just because I use water doesn't mean my head is full of it."
Yu Tianheng couldn't be bothered to trade barbs with him, his dragon-fomized right arm wrapped in lightning smashing down once more. Lightning exploded outward along the ground, forcing Ling Yun to continuously change his landing spots as his most familiar ground rhythm suffered obvious suppression for the first time.
Tang San sat outside the arena, quietly watching all this; Yu Tianheng was indeed very suited to dealing with Ling Yun.
The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon was formidable head-on, and the lightning attribute naturally restricted large areas of water domain. Once Ling Yun could not casually spread water, the room for Wave Treading to operate would naturally shrink.
Yu Xiaogang obviously also saw this layer, yet after experiencing those events over the past few days, he forcibly swallowed his words back.
Ling Yun cast a spare glance at him: "Master is so quiet today? I'm a bit unaccustomed to it."
At this exact instant, Yu Tianheng closed in for the third time. The dragon claw brushed past Ling Yun's left arm, and dense currents instantly darted along his skin, causing a brief numbness to spread through his entire arm.
"Let's see where you run this time!"
Yu Tianheng pressed forward aggressively.
A burst of water suddenly exploded in front of Ling Yun, the real Ling Yun having already used the tongue scarf to swing over from above, water shuriken slashing toward Yu Tianheng from behind. Yu Tianheng forcibly turned around, blocking with his dragon arm; the sharp water blade collided with his scales, forcing him to take two steps back.
The two sides widened the distance again.
Ling Yun loosened his still somewhat numb arm: "Your lightning is quite annoying."
Yu Tianheng sneered: "Glad you know."
"So I'm not keeping you company anymore."
As his words fell, Ling Yun suddenly turned around.
"Dai Mubai, swap!"
Dai Mubai had been waiting for an opportunity all along, the White Tiger Vajra Transformation instantly erupting as he directly took over Yu Tianheng's position. The white tiger and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon clashed head-on once again, the dull explosive sound spreading across nearly the entire training ground.
Just as Yu Tianheng blocked the tiger claw, he discovered that Ling Yun had already swept toward the rear ranks of the Imperial Battle Team.
"Weren't you going to fight me?"
"This is a seven-on-seven."
Ling Yun didn't even look back: "If you want a solo duel, take a number after the match ends. For now, go learn how to be a captain."
This sentence made Yu Tianheng's heart sink.
While continuously pursuing Ling Yun just now, his position had been dragged away from the team bit by bit.
What Ling Yun wanted was never to defeat the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon head-on.
It was to lure this hardest-hitting dragon out of the formation.
"Zhuqing, left."
Zhuqing immediately accelerated.
"Xiao Wu, cut off the road on the right."
Xiao Wu teleported into the fray. Shi Mo guarded Ye Lingling's front alone, yet Shi Mo's counterpart Shi Mo was still on the front lines supporting Yu Tianheng. The Imperial Battle Team's originally complete front-and-rear structure finally revealed a gap after Yu Tianheng was entangled by Dai Mubai.
Dugu Yan immediately released the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison, attempting to separate the backline once more.
Yet Ling Yun didn't even stop, his water shadow clone directly plunging into the poisonous mist and forcing her unable to judge his true body's location.
"Ling Yun!"
Dugu Yan cried out in annoyance.
"Don't be so fierce."
Ling Yun's voice came from the other side: "I studied this poison of yours more thoroughly than your grandfather's medicine cabinet when I was blending medicine. Using it to block me is somewhat lacking in novelty."
Dugu Bo stood outside the arena, his eyelids twitching as he heard this; why did these words sound like they were disparaging him along with her?
The Imperial Battle Team's backline began to bustle in disorder.
Yu Feng prepared to dive and support, but Ma Hongjun's Phoenix Fire Line had already sealed off his descent route in advance. Osler skirted around from the flank, only to be forced back to his original position by Xiao Wu.
Ye Lingling never suffered a genuine attack, yet everyone feared allowing her to encounter the slightest danger.
Qin Ming quickly perceived the problem. Ever since opening remarks about striking the Nine Heart Begonia first, Ye Lingling had been nailed into the minds of everyone in the Imperial Battle Team by Ling Yun.
Ling Yun didn't even need to actually touch her; as long as he moved in that direction, the Imperial Battle Team had to respond.
Yu Tianheng naturally discovered this point as well.
He abruptly shook off Dai Mubai, shouting in a deep voice: "Don't all fall back! Shi Mo, guard Lingling alone; everyone else, fight in the original formation!"
"Finally reacted." Ling Yun's voice rang out.
Yet Yu Tianheng didn't feel the slightest bit relieved, because it was too late.
Ling Yun's fourth soul ring had already lit up. Mist Veil did not blanket the entire training ground like before, but instead precisely covered that small area between the Imperial Battle Team's backline and Yu Tianheng.
Vision was severed.
Yu Tianheng could hear his teammates' voices, but could not see people. An angry shout from Shi Mo came from the mist first, immediately followed by a burst of rushing water sounds.
By the time the white mist dissipated slightly, Ling Yun was already standing at Ye Lingling's flank.
The water shuriken hovered beside her shoulder, not falling.
Ye Lingling lowered her head and glanced at the water blade inches away, letting out a soft sigh as she proactively put away her martial soul, the Nine Heart Begonia, and stepped down from the arena.
Ling Yun casually dispersed his soul skill: "Your healing volume is indeed formidable, but what a pity the healer is gone first."
Ye Lingling: "..."
Such a proper evaluation, yet coming out of his mouth it sounded utterly infuriating.
After losing the Nine Heart Begonia, the Imperial Battle Team's sustained combat advantage was directly severed.
Ling Yun no longer circled around Yu Tianheng, instead returning to the middle of his own team. Dai Mubai held the strongest front, Ning Rongrong continuously adjusted the amplification, and Zhuqing and Xiao Wu began compressing the space from both flanks.
Yu Feng was forced out of the combat circle first, followed by Osler. Although the Shi Brothers' defense was strong, they couldn't protect everyone who had been thoroughly pulled apart.
Yu Tianheng fought for a few more rounds before ultimately stopping on his own.
"Enough."
Qin Ming did not utter a sound.
Yu Tianheng swept his gaze over the teammates who had already withdrawn from combat, slowly dispersing the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul.
"The Imperial Battle Team concedes."
The training ground fell quiet for a moment. He showed no awkwardness, nor did he use the exchange match as an excuse-losing meant losing.
Yu Tianheng walked up to Ling Yun, speaking in a deep voice: "You won today."
"After going back, I will retrain the problems exposed today."
"The next time we meet,"
He extended a fist: "I'll get back at you."
Ling Yun bumped fists with him: "Fine, you can dish out more harsh words like that."
Yu Tianheng raised an eyebrow.
"At least it sounds better than studying why the opponent's tactics weren't straightforward enough after losing."
Not far away, Yu Xiaogang's face darkened, while Flender silently averted his gaze.
Although Yu Tianheng didn't know what had happened earlier, he roughly understood that this sentence wasn't aimed at him, causing the corners of his mouth to twitch uncontrollably.
After the Imperial Battle Team members left, the training ground grew quiet once more.
Just as Ling Yun prepared to head back, he suddenly caught sight of Tang San on the substitute bench.
Ling Yun asked casually: "How is your team recruitment going? The Imperial Battle Team has already finished a match and are heading back to review it, don't tell me you still can't even recruit people by then."
Tang San did not remain silent this time; he slowly stood up: "They will be complete soon."
Xiao Wu showed almost no hesitation, walking directly to Tang San's side: "Third Brother, I'm with you."
Tang San glanced at her.
Before he could speak, Ling Yun's voice had already arrived: "No."
Everyone looked toward Ling Yun.
Xiao Wu frowned: "On what grounds?"
"On the grounds that you are currently a Blue Tyrant Main Team starter."
Ling Yun looked at her: "If I took you away today, had Dai Mubai walk away tomorrow, and casually asked Ning Rongrong if she wanted to go the day after, I, this captain, might as well go home and farm the land."
Xiao Wu was unconvinced: "Who I want to train with is my freedom!"
"Of course."
Ling Yun nodded: "It's Tang San's business if he wants to form another team, but he can't just poach people from me with a single sentence. If you really want to go over there, fine, quit the main team first."
"Wanting to occupy positions on both sides-where is there such a good deal?"
Xiao Wu was left speechless for a moment.
Tang San stood nearby, quietly watching this scene.
After a few seconds, he spoke instead: "Xiao Wu, stay. There's no need to lose your starting spot for my sake."
Xiao Wu clearly still wanted to say something, but Tang San had already turned around.
Ling Yun watched his retreating figure, suddenly saying: "Little San, you're taking this quite open-mindedly this time."
"You're right, they're just teammates; if we're short, we'll just find more."
This remark caused Dai Mubai and the others to feel simultaneously displeased.
Yet Tang San had already walked far away.
Upon exiting the training ground, he didn't return to the dormitory, instead directly finding the teacher in charge of the Advanced Class at the academy.
"Give me a roster of Advanced Class students."
The teacher was stunned: "What do you need this for?"
"To pick people."
That same night, Tang San stopped in front of a dormitory door holding the roster. He knocked, and the door opened swiftly.
Tang San looked at the person inside, skipping even the pleasantries: "I'm not here to make friends. I'm short a few people, specifically to beat Ling Yun. Are you coming or not?"
Before you continue