"The second match, let's fight now."
As soon as Ling Yun uttered these words, the previously noisy arena grew quiet.
Yu Xiaogang was supported by Tang San, the bruises on his face not yet faded. Hearing this, his gaze lit up instantly-this was what he had been waiting for.
Taking that beating earlier was one thing, but Tang San had indeed won the first match. Now that Ling Yun wanted to step up for the second round himself, that was even better.
Yu Xiaogang wiped the corner of his mouth. Even though he still spoke with a slight whistle from his missing teeth, his tone was hard as nails. "Ling Yun, don't think you can change anything just by stepping up yourself. The day Little San's team was put together, the one thing they studied was you!"
Zhao Wuji grinned broadly, his face swollen from being beaten, yet he still wouldn't shut his damn mouth.
Ling Yun found it even more amusing. "Grandmaster, your mouth is truly sturdy. The fists just now didn't knock some sense into you, so I'm suddenly starting to wonder if your Martial Soul grew in the wrong place."
Yu Xiaogang's face darkened, and he opened his mouth to retort, but Ling Yun couldn't be bothered to entertain him anymore. He vaulted right over the guardrail and stepped onto the stage. "Cut the crap, I'll take the second match myself. Didn't you study how to fight me every single day? Come on, let me see what kind of gimmicks the lot of you actually managed to cook up."
The referee allowed both sides a brief moment to recover. After confirming that the injured parties from the first match could still continue, the second match began immediately.
Tang San returned to the front of the formation.
Xu Lie, Gu Changfeng, Han Ce, Shen Tingfeng, Cheng Hai, and Luo Xiao were all present.
Having won the first match, they felt somewhat emboldened.
Especially now that their true target had finally entered the ring.
Shen Tingfeng couldn't help looking at Ling Yun. "We practiced for so long just to deal with him?"
Tang San nodded. "Don't underestimate him. No one is to mess around later. Fight according to our prior drills-as long as we scrap a few of his soul skills, he won't be nearly as hard to beat as you think."
As soon as he said this, several members on the Blue Tyrant side heard him.
Ma Hongjun laughed on the spot. "Ling Yun, they're saying you're not that hard to beat."
"I heard it."
Ling Yun stretched his neck. "Take it easy on them later. Don't beat their confidence away entirely."
Dai Mubai couldn't help laughing either. The expressions on the opposing team darkened instantly, but Tang San refused to let himself be thrown off rhythm, staring fixedly at Ling Yun instead.
Over the past few days, he and Yu Xiaogang had turned Ling Yun's past battles inside out countless times. Today, they were here to choke out Ling Yun's rhythm for good!
The referee's arm dropped.
"Begin!"
Almost simultaneously, soul rings lit up beneath Ling Yun's feet, and vast billows of water mist erupted outward.
Tang San's gaze narrowed.
Just as expected!
"Gu Changfeng!"
Without needing a second prompt, Gu Changfeng was already waiting.
His third soul ring blazed fiercely. A ferocious gale swept across the arena, and the newly risen water mist was forcefully blown apart. Vision was instantly restored, and gasps rang out from the stands.
"It really blew it away?"
"Did they bring him specifically to counter Ling Yun?"
A trace of a smile finally appeared on Yu Xiaogang's face.
No matter how miserably he had been beaten yesterday, seeing this scene now felt just that satisfying.
He couldn't help sneering, "Ling Yun, no soul skill is invincible. The only reason you used to get away with using water mist is because nobody had specifically studied you!"
Ling Yun didn't even look at him.
The moment the water mist scattered, two identical figures charged off to the left and right.
Water Shadow Clone!
"Tingfeng!"
Shen Tingfeng was fully prepared, his first soul ring suddenly flashing.
He simply closed his eyes.
Since his eyes could be tricked by clones, he wouldn't use his eyes; he could determine the location of Ling Yun's soul skill just by the sound of footsteps.
Shen Tingfeng judged for a split second, then pointed sharply to the right. "The right one is real!"
Both clones ran simultaneously.
"Make your move!" Without a moment's hesitation, Tang San unleashed Blue Silver Grass from the ground, lashing toward Ling Yun's legs.
Even more ruthlessly, Luo Xiao didn't aim his three soul power arrows at the person at all; instead, he pinned down the exact directions where Ling Yun might dodge in advance.
With Blue Silver Grass on one side and arrows carrying soul power on the other, Ling Yun seemed to have plunged right into a cage prepared long in advance.
The next second, Blue Silver Grass wrapped around his ankles!
"Got him!"
Cheng Hai was so excited he almost shouted it out loud. Yu Xiaogang clenched his fists tightly-this was it. The most infuriating thing about Ling Yun in the past was that you simply couldn't catch him. Now that his clones had been broken, what else could he pull off?
Tang San, however, felt no joy.
Wrong. It was too smooth. Given Ling Yun's reflexes, he shouldn't have been caught this easily.
The moment this thought popped up, the "Ling Yun" snared by the Blue Silver Grass suddenly flashed him a smile.
Tang San's heart skipped a heavy beat.
"Spread out!"
Splash!
The controlled Ling Yun burst directly into a sky full of water droplets.
Another clone!
Shen Tingfeng's face turned pale as paper. "Impossible! I clearly heard the footsteps on the right were real!"
At that moment, Ling Yun was standing right behind him, less than a step away. "Your hearing is quite precise, but who told you that clones can't make noise when they walk?"
Shen Tingfeng jerked his head around, his face a mask of sheer disbelief.
Ling Yun grinned. "Studying me every day? Then why didn't you study whether I'd make you hear things on purpose?"
With a single kick, Shen Tingfeng flew straight out of the arena, his backside scraping across the ground for several meters before he finally plowed headfirst into the railing below.
The entire crowd went dead silent for a second.
Then erupted the next moment.
"Holy shit!"
"He can do that?"
"Didn't they find a guy with good hearing specifically to break the clones? How did the first one get baited out by a clone?"
Zhao Wuji laughed so hard he smacked the railing with his palm. "Hahaha! Grandmaster! You guys picked a fine one-his hearing is truly spot-on!"
The smile had already vanished from Yu Xiaogang's face. Just moments ago he was bragging about how Ling Yun's soul skills had been thoroughly researched, and now the first slap had landed right back across his cheek.
Tang San reacted with lightning speed. "Gu Changfeng, keep blowing the mist! Don't let him hide again!"
Gu Changfeng turned instantly, but Ling Yun didn't go after him at all, stepping backward instead.
Gu Changfeng froze. The next second, Phoenix Flame roared in from the flank!
"Who the hell do you think you're looking at?" Ma Hongjun had been holding back for ages.
"Seven-on-seven, do you guys only have eyes for Ling Yun?"
Gu Changfeng's expression shifted, and he had no choice but to use a gust of wind to push back the Phoenix Flame. The moment he turned around, however, Zhu Zhuqing was already hurtling in from the other side.
Ning Rongrong's speed boost descended at the same time, leaving Zhu Zhuqing so fast she was nothing more than a blur.
No sooner had Gu Changfeng blown the fire away than he turned back to see Zhu Zhuqing right in his face.
"Not good!"
He scrambled backward.
Xiao Wu, as if waiting there all along, teleported directly behind him. "Get on down with you!"
With a kick squarely to the small of his back, Gu Changfeng let out a miserable shriek and flew right out of the ring.
Number two!
How long had it been since the match started? The two most critical positions designed to counter Ling Yun had both rolled out to the sidelines in the blink of an eye.
Ma Hongjun was laughing himself silly. "Seriously, are you guys here to fight us or just to deliver free kills to Ling Yun?"
The surrounding laughter was completely unstoppable.
Yu Xiaogang's bruised face grew darker and darker.
Yet Ling Yun turned back to look at them. "Grandmaster, what was that you said just now? Designed to study me?"
Ling Yun pointed at the two figures lying outside the ring. "Your research is fine and all, but every time you research one, it gets scrapped."
Yu Xiaogang nearly choked on a mouthful of blood. "Ling Yun, don't get so smug! The match isn't over yet!"
Tang San finally realized they couldn't keep fighting like this. Their attention had been entirely sucked in by Ling Yun, but the opposing side wasn't a one-man show. If this continued, Ling Yun wouldn't even need to lift a finger himself before Dai Mubai and the others dismantled them one by one.
"Pull everyone back!"
Tang San shouted sharply. "Second set!"
The remaining members shifted positions instantly.
Xu Lie pushed to the very front, Han Ce stopped chasing targets as he reeled in all his Soul-Locking Chains, and Luo Xiao abandoned cutting off Ling Yun's retreat paths to close in beside Tang San. Blue Silver Grass carpeted the ground in a massive wave, and the entire formation instantly shrank into a tight, defensive cluster.
Seeing this, Ling Yun halted his advance.
"There's a second set?"
Tang San didn't answer.
He simply stared at Ling Yun, backing up step by step.
The ugly expression on Yu Xiaogang's face slowly receded.
So what if the first set was broken?
They had never imagined they could take down Ling Yun using just a single tactic.
In fact-the elimination of Shen Tingfeng and Gu Changfeng was entirely within their acceptable margin of error.
Because the truly lethal part was only just beginning.
Ling Yun took a step forward.
The next instant.
The ground beneath his feet exploded violently, and countless strands of Blue Silver Grass instantly bound his legs.
Han Ce's Soul-Locking Chains whipped in from left and right simultaneously, Xu Lie charged head-on channeling the Ironback Bear Martial Soul, and directly above Ling Yun's head, a massive spider web that had been lying in ambush plunged downward with a whistling roar!
Up, down, left, right.
Sealed off completely in a single instant!
Tang San stared fixedly at the trapped Ling Yun in the center, a trace of ruthlessness finally flashing in his eyes.
Yu Xiaogang sprang to his feet, his face still swollen, his voice louder and sharper than anyone's: "Catch him! This time-don't let him run!"
Before you continue