The Team's Weak Link

Great power came at a price.

After Heavenly Net forcibly removed Qi Xuan from the battlefield, the restrictions the sisters had placed on Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao all loosened.

Seething with pent-up fury, Wang Dong unleashed a brilliant glow from her butterfly wings. Her second Soul Skill, Butterfly God's Light, shot forth and slammed viciously into Huang Chutian.

Huang Chutian had no choice but to shield his head with both hands, pinning his hopes on Long Xiangyue finishing off Huo Yuhao quickly.

Long Xiangyue had already pushed his speed to the limit. Combined with his Boomerang's cloning skill, he darted nimbly between Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao.

Although Xiao Xiao could just barely judge his path, her reactions could not keep up, leaving her unable to block him with the Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron in time.

So Xiao Xiao took a deep breath, and a long, jade-green flute appeared in her hands.

A soft, mournful flute melody sounded, and Long Xiangyue's speed actually dropped somewhat.

"Twin Martial Souls!" An uproar swept through the spectators in the stands. Even the disheveled old man could not help casting a curious look at Xiao Xiao.

One meter.

That was the distance between Long Xiangyue and Huo Yuhao.

Generally speaking, once an Agility Attack System Soul Master got this close, a Control System Soul Master would struggle to mount an effective response.

But Huo Yuhao still had one last trick.

Soul Impact!

Soul Impact's strength depended on distance-the closer the target, the better the effect. But Long Xiangyue was too fast, making the timing difficult for Huo Yuhao to judge. Too far away, and the effect would be weak; too close, and his opponent's attack might land first.

But the slowdown from Xiao Xiao's Nine Phoenixes Saluting Flute gave Huo Yuhao a chance to lock on, allowing him to unleash the attack at the very limit of one meter.

"Ugh."

Long Xiangyue felt as though his mind had suffered a crushing blow. His body went limp, and he collapsed.

But in his final instant of awareness, he still hurled the Boomerang in his hand, launching one last attack.

Meanwhile, Wang Dong had forced Huang Chutian to the edge of the platform. Her Butterfly Wing Guillotine slashed wildly, drawing sprays of blood as she drove it with all her strength.

Huang Chutian gritted his teeth and struggled to hold on. He knew in his heart that this match was already lost.

Sure enough, Xiao Xiao blocked Long Xiangyue's final attack with Cauldron's Tremor, while Huang Chutian could no longer withstand Wang Dong's onslaught and was knocked off the Competition Platform.

As for Heavenly Net...

Bang!

A hole burst open in the crystalline blue cocoon of hair imprisoning Qi Xuan, its edges scorched and charred.

Qi Xuan withdrew his fist from the hole.

The Martial Soul Fusion Skill, reputed to be capable of trapping a Soul Elder to death, had not even lasted three minutes against Qi Xuan.

With their Martial Soul Fusion Skill broken, Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo immediately reappeared, their faces as pale as funeral paper, and both fainted to the ground.

Yet Qi Xuan's team had not lost a single member.

As the referee announced their victory, Wang Yan approached the disheveled old man. "Elder Xuan, what do you think...?"

Xuan Zi gnawed on a chicken drumstick without the slightest concern for appearances. "Those three youngsters are interesting. They can all become Core Disciples. As for that little one with a single ring, his talent has some shortcomings."

Wang Yan argued on Huo Yuhao's behalf. "But Elder Xuan, his Martial Soul is Spirit Eyes, a rare Body Martial Soul."

Xuan Zi wiped his mouth. "Those two girls on the other side have Body Martial Souls too. Didn't that boy who plays with electricity still crush them? A Body Martial Soul that can't awaken is only so strong. Besides, do you know how few Spiritual System Soul Beasts there are in total?"

Images of Huo Yuhao studying under him every single day for the past three months, regular as clockwork, flashed through Wang Yan's mind. He continued to plead his case. "Elder Xuan, Huo Yuhao is the most persistent Soul Master I've ever seen. I believe that if we give him some time, he certainly won't fall short of those Core Disciples."

Xuan Zi looked puzzled. "Wang Yan, I've never seen you care this much about a student before. Then let's give him another chance. If he can win the Freshman Tournament, let him become a Core Disciple too. No one can object to the championship team becoming Core Disciples."

"Thank you, Elder Xuan." Wang Yan bowed excitedly, secretly clenching his fists.

Yuhao, you have to give it your all.

Although Qi Xuan's team remained dominant, this battle had indeed exposed their weak link-

Huo Yuhao's own combat strength.

No one who had ever been Huo Yuhao's teammate would doubt his contribution to the team. But like the vast majority of Soul Masters who provided buffs, his own combat strength was somewhat lacking.

Tian Meng had always scoffed at this problem-

"No close-combat ability? What a joke. Once you reach rank twenty and the two of us return from the Far North, let's see who still dares to say that."

But distant water could not quench an immediate thirst. They still had four matches ahead of them.

As things stood, Xiao Xiao was effectively pinned to the back line to protect Huo Yuhao. The problem was that Xiao Xiao herself also lacked close-combat ability. Once an opponent closed in to fighting distance, a single Agility Attack System Soul Master could leave them scrambling with their heads scorched and brows singed.

They had to find a solution: either arrange defenses specifically for Huo Yuhao or change their tactics.

Seeing that he had become his team's weak link, Huo Yuhao quietly lowered his head.

He kept reminding himself to endure, to be patient. Once he reached rank twenty, his strength would surely advance by leaps and bounds.

Everything he did now was laying the foundations for what came later.

"I have a plan." Qi Xuan snapped his fingers.

"Our problem right now is that our battle line is too fragmented, and Yuhao and Xiao Xiao can't move up, right? But Wang Dong, can't you fly? Why not just carry him? Xiao Xiao comes to the front with me, and you two roam around. Simple."

Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao were both stunned by Qi Xuan's earth-shaking wisdom. Leave a powerful offensive fighter unused and turn her into Huo Yuhao's bodyguard instead?

Wang Dong almost suspected she had misheard. "I carry him?"

"Yeah," Qi Xuan said with a perfectly straight face. "Don't you have Butterfly God's Light? Carry Yuhao around the whole field like a roaming dragon and fire off light spheres. It won't affect your damage output."

Wang Dong shook her head like a rattle drum. "No, no. I'm not used to carrying people."

Huo Yuhao, who completely failed to understand Qi Xuan's painstaking intentions, also looked troubled. "Brother Xuan, that really doesn't seem right."

Xiao Xiao, however, eyed Qi Xuan suspiciously. Knowing him, who could say what mischief was brewing in his head?

"All right, then." Qi Xuan readily accepted their objections, showing great respect for their personal wishes. "We'll just keep following our original tactics."

Wang Dong was a girl, had clashed with Huo Yuhao before, and was proud and haughty by nature. Of course she would not agree just because Qi Xuan said a few words.

Qi Xuan had never expected her to agree in the first place.

What mattered was leaving an impression of this tactic in her mind.

As someone fiercely competitive, Wang Dong never shied away from sacrificing herself when the team had to make changes to fight for victory.

At most, she would stubbornly deny it afterward to save face.

It had to be said that Qi Xuan's thinking was entirely correct.

Because in their quarterfinal match, their next opponents...

Were actually four Agility Attack System Soul Masters.