The next afternoon, in the back area of the Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena, Cheng Hai and Luo Xiao entered one after the other. The seven-man roster that Tang San had temporarily put together was finally complete.
Cheng Hai was a level-thirty-one support-system Soul Elder whose two soul skills boosted strength and reaction speed respectively. Luo Xiao was a level-thirty-three power-attack system soul master whose martial soul was the Cloud-Piercing Bow, and all three of his soul skills were long-range attacks, making him best suited for locking down positioning.
Before accepting the money pouch, Cheng Hai offered a deliberate reminder: "I only take money to fight soul fights. If you're seriously playing with your life, don't count me in. Double the reward is fine, but swapping it for my life won't fly."
Tang San's expression remained unchanged as he simply pushed the coins toward him: "You just need to handle support; you don't need to know anything else. When it's time to retreat, I'll let you pull back. No one's going to force you to risk your life."
It sounded like a guarantee, but Cheng Hai still felt the second half of that sentence was a bit off. Luo Xiao was even more direct. He glanced at Xu Lie and the others before turning his gaze to the training arena map on the table: "Double the reward, with triple more if we win-and all for an internal academy sparring match? Are you picking teammates here, or getting ready to round people up?"
Yu Xiaogang said flatly: "There are only seven starting spots for the Soul Master Tournament. Whether you can get one should naturally come down to strength. Since Ling Yun can lead people in training, Little San naturally has the qualifications to assemble his own team."
"Shen Tingfeng is responsible for calling out positions, Gu Changfeng uses Wind Pressure to scatter the mist, Han Ce cuts off the routes, and Xu Lie holds the front line. Cheng Hai, give your reaction amp to the vanguard, and Luo Xiao, you only have one job: shoot wherever they need to retreat, and force Ling Yun back to the position I've reserved."
Luo Xiao frowned: "What if Xu Lie is in the line of fire too?"
"Shoot through him."
The room fell quiet for an instant, and the smile on Xu Lie's face faded a bit: "Are you serious? I came here to earn your coin, not to act as a target dummy for my own people."
Tang San looked at him, his voice still calm: "Your Ironback Bear has the strongest defense among the seven of you. When it really comes down to it, you take a couple extra hits in exchange for Ling Yun losing a foothold-it's worth it. If you're unwilling to take even this much risk, you can drop out right now."
Xu Lie stared at him for a few seconds before ultimately staying put: "Fine. You'd better actually manage to pin the guy down when the time comes, or else I'm putting these few arrows on your tab."
"As long as we win, I'll own the tab." Tang San didn't care who took a few hits, as long as the one who went down in the end was Ling Yun. That was enough.
Yu Xiaogang had no objections to this either: "Don't think about fighting prettily. A match isn't about making friends; winning is the only way you earn the qualification to talk about the process. However Ling Yun used terrain, vision, and psychology in the past, that's how you'll restrict him this time."
Half an hour later, the seven stood inside the enclosed training room. A wooden dummy stood in the center, with the characters "Ling Yun" written across its chest.
The first round of coordination was a mess. Han Ce's Soul-Locking Chain nearly snared Xu Lie, and in the second round, Luo Xiao's arrow collided with Gu Changfeng's Wind Blade. By the fifth round, Shen Tingfeng called out the position, Gu Changfeng pushed the mist, Han Ce sealed the paths, and Xu Lie pressed forward like a wall. The six directions were finally locked down tight by sheer force.
The single remaining gap faced straight toward Tang San, and his right hand was already hidden inside his sleeve. The moment the wooden dummy was forced into that position, Tang San's wrist flicked slightly. With a sound too faint to catch in the rushing air, a black needle as thin as an ox's hair had already driven into the side of its neck.
Yu Xiaogang asked in a low voice: "If it were Ling Yun, how long would you need?"
"Not even three breaths. As long as they force out his position, no matter how fast his speed is, it can't outpace a hidden weapon that has already been fired."
Shen Tingfeng caught something wrong and opened his eyes to look at the wooden dummy: "Is there something on that needle?"
Tang San pulled the black needle out, its tip shimmering with a layer of almost imperceptible gray: "It suppresses soul power for a short time; it's not fatal, nor will it leave permanent damage. The dosage has already been reduced. It won't kill anyone."
Cheng Hai's expression shifted slightly: "You didn't mention this kind of thing beforehand. Aren't we just here to fight a normal soul fight?"
"That's why I didn't let you use it." Tang San tucked the black needle back into his sleeve, his tone practically placid. "You're responsible for forcing him into position. How to make him go down in the end is my business. If we lose, I take the blame. If something actually goes wrong, you won't have to take responsibility either."
This remark didn't make the room feel much lighter. Several of them realized only then that what Tang San truly wanted was never a pretty victory.
The formation was merely a net, Xu Lie was the wall, and Shen Tingfeng was the eyes.
And the thing he kept hidden himself was that final blow.
Tang San looked at the name on the wooden dummy's chest, his heart exceptionally calm. Didn't Ling Yun like to say that being able to win was what mattered? Then this time, he wasn't planning to impose any extra rules on himself either.
On the Blue Tyrant Academy training arena, Zhao Wuji lowered his head to glance at the wooden tag at his waist, then looked back at the seven people opposite him. His tone carried a hint of regret already: "Let's get this straight first: I'm not using my Martial Soul Avatar, and whichever of you snatches the tag wins. But Fatty, you are forbidden from breathing fire at my backside again. If anyone tries that a second time, your training tonight gets doubled."
Ma Hongjun immediately cried foul: "Teacher Zhao, last time you clearly backed up right into the fire yourself."
Ling Yun quickly raised a hand: "Let's all be serious. Teacher Zhao is a level-seventy-six soul saint; we need to show him the most basic respect. Let's aim to wrap this up in three minutes today and not hold up his meal."
A vein throbbed on Zhao Wuji's forehead as the Great Strength Vajra Bear manifested instantly: "I'll teach you lot what respect for a teacher means first!"
Soul power came crashing down like a wave, and Dai Mubai met it head-on, yet he didn't clash hard like before. The instant the two made contact, he actively turned his shoulder to shed the force, carrying Zhao Wuji off to the right. Ning Rongrong's amplification landed immediately afterward, pouring strength into Dai Mubai while the speed enhancement went straight onto Xiao Wu.
Just as Zhao Wuji sensed something was wrong, Zhu Zhuqing had already cut in from the other flank. Xiao Wu didn't charge his face, instead circling wide on the outside to force him into defending two directions simultaneously. Ma Hongjun deliberately released a streak of Phoenix Fire Line to seal off the retreat path; even though it didn't burn anyone, it sliced away yet another chunk of the space Zhao Wuji could have used to fall back.
Before Zhao Wuji could finish spitting out a curse about knowing how to block roads now, Oscar tossed a sausage straight at his face. Instinctively tilting his head, he watched as mist rapidly unfurled from the ground at that exact moment, swallowing the figures of several people in the blink of an eye.
Zhao Wuji stomped a foot against the ground, his soul power sending the fog rolling in turmoil. Footsteps suddenly sounded from the left, and he threw a backhanded palm strike. A Water Clone burst on the spot, spraying a large patch of water droplets across his face. Right behind that came the sound of tearing wind; he snapped his head around, only to catch a glimpse of Zhu Zhuqing flashing past.
After two consecutive fake-outs, Zhao Wuji finally reacted.
From the start until now, Ling Yun hadn't prepared to snatch the tag at all; he had simply kept letting the others create opportunities.
Yet by then it was already too late. Relying on Ning Rongrong's speed boost, Xiao Wu cut in from a blind spot, her fingers grazing past Zhao Wuji's waist. She grabbed the wooden tag and retreated instantly.
Dai Mubai held down the front position, Zhu Zhuqing plugged the flank, and Ma Hongjun's fire line barred the other end. The three of them managed to completely block off the route Zhao Wuji needed to chase them down.
When the mist parted, Xiao Wu was already standing a dozen meters away, holding the wooden tag between two fingers and smiling with exceptional smugness. Only then did Ling Yun leisurely walk out from the very back, glancing at the time: "Two minutes and fifty-seven seconds. Barely a pass."
Zhao Wuji stared at him: "You brat just dropped a fog and a clone from start to finish?"
"The captain isn't a charge-type soul beast." Ling Yun took the wooden tag and casually tossed it back to Xiao Wu. "If I had to rely on myself to charge in and grab it every time, what was the point of practicing so much beforehand?"
Dai Mubai and the rest didn't refute him. The biggest difference between this match and past ones was that no one was trying to hog the spotlight for themselves.
Liu Erlong watched from the sideline for a moment before making the executive decision: "From now on, you have full charge of the main team's training. Tactics and training methods-you decide all of it. Just don't work people to death, and I'll talk to Flender about the rest."
Ma Hongjun's eyes lit up: "Does that mean we don't have to run laps?"
Ling Yun looked at him: "Thanks for the reminder. Add five laps tomorrow."
Just as laughter broke out across the training arena, Flender walked in holding a piece of paper. "Stop messing around for a minute. This was sent over from the Great Soul Arena."
Liu Erlong took the challenge letter and scanned it for just a few moments before her expression darkened.
Captain Tang San, followed in order by Xu Lie, Gu Changfeng, Han Ce, Shen Tingfeng, Cheng Hai, and Luo Xiao.
The challenge target was the Blue Tyrant Academy main team, and at the very bottom, Tang San had appended a single sentence in his own handwriting: Winners take the starting qualifications for the Soul Master Tournament.
Zhao Wuji frowned as soon as he finished reading the roster: "Calling positions, driving away mist, sealing routes, long-range suppression... Kid, these seven basically had themselves tailored specifically to counter you."
"I can see that." Ling Yun folded the challenge letter, a smile actually appearing on his face. "Taking half a day to throw seven people together just to study how to beat me-they're giving us quite a bit of face."
Ning Rongrong asked: "Do we accept?"
"Accept. But I'm sitting out the first match." Ling Yun answered very cleanly, then looked over at Dai Mubai and the rest. "Since they prepared seven people to curb me, then let's make them realize first that even without me, this team isn't something they can just pinch however they like."
That evening, in the back area of the Great Soul Arena.
Yu Xiaogang handed Blue Tyrant Academy's reply to Tang San: "Ling Yun is sitting out the first match."
After reading it, far from looking disappointed, Tang San opened his needle box and began lining up the black needles on the table-the ones he had originally prepared solely for Ling Yun.
Yu Xiaogang frowned in reminder: "Even though these drugs have had their dosage reduced, they were still prepared according to Ling Yun's physique. If Dai Mubai and the others get hit by them, it won't feel pleasant."
"Isn't that just perfect?"
Tang San picked up a black needle, his thumb slowly brushing across its tail. "Since they stand on Ling Yun's side, they're the enemy. Beat the six of them until they can't hold on anymore, and I'd like to see whether he can still sit still then."
Yu Xiaogang was silent for a moment before asking another question: "Who are you planning to save the first needle for?"
Tang San's hand paused over the challenge roster.
Dai Mubai, Zhu Zhuqing, Ning Rongrong, Oscar, Ma Hongjun...
Finally, his finger stopped on the most familiar name of all.
"Xiao Wu. Her speed is fast, and she's also the most likely to charge forward. Make her go down first, and the rest will be easy to fight."
Yu Xiaogang glanced at him, and for the first time, he didn't speak again. Tang San simply picked out that single black needle, pressing it to the very top of the needle box.
Before tomorrow's first match had even begun, he had already chosen the first person who would fall for the opposing side.
Before you continue