After noticing Lone Bamboo Sword and Chi Hengyu's expressions, Xingyan scoffed.
"Qiuqiu," he said, loosening his wrists, "looks like the two of us are being underestimated."
Nan Qiuqiu folded her arms. "They'll have their chance to regret it soon."
Before setting out for Star Dou City, the members of the Di'ao Second Team had conducted detailed investigations into last year's top sixteen teams.
Dou Ling Academy, which had made last year's semifinals, had been their foremost priority.
Although the Dou Ling Empire's national strength was nothing impressive, its Soul Master Academies were still quite strong.
As a member of the previous Dou Ling Team, Lone Bamboo Sword had naturally had his Purple Radiant Bamboo martial soul carefully studied by the Di'ao Second Team.
It was a rather rare Power Attack System tool martial soul.
It lay somewhere between a Plant-type Martial Soul and a sword martial soul. Its offensive power was hardly top-tier, but it possessed an ability resembling an illusion.
Yet although it was called an illusion, the purple bamboo forest summoned through Purple Radiant Bamboo possessed a tangible physical form.
If Lone Bamboo Sword could work together with Xiao Feng, they would very likely produce an unpredictable formation with extremely powerful regenerative abilities.
But because of the special nature of the two-two-three competition format, Lone Bamboo Sword had to ensure that the Dou Ling Team could win two matches.
Thus, his strongest pairing with Xiao Feng had to be broken up so they could face different opponents.
As Huang Jinxu announced the start of the match, all four competitors activated Martial Soul Possession almost simultaneously.
A strange weapon resembling both bamboo and a sword appeared in Lone Bamboo Sword's hand. As he swung it, the faint sound of wind blowing through a bamboo forest rang out.
Chi Hengyu