Micromanagement

After dealing with Xie Huanyue's team with thunderous force.

Gu Xingyue and his two companions wasted no time and continued deeper into the forest.

For ordinary soul masters, this forest, with danger potentially lurking on every side, might have been a vast maze in which they could easily lose their way.

But to Gu Xingyue, it felt as familiar as his own backyard.

Every plant and every rock seemed to bear his shape.

They constantly supplied him with the most detailed intelligence.

And so, a rather unusual "hunt" began.

Making full use of his home-field advantage, Gu Xingyue led Xiao Xiao and Wang Dong into hiding among the dense undergrowth, waiting like patient hunters for their "prey" to walk straight into their net.

Their tactics were simple and efficient, brimming with world-shaking wisdom.

The moment Gu Xingyue sensed someone approaching through disturbances in the vegetation, he would immediately begin his "micromanagement."

He would direct Xiao Xiao with the most concise, precise, direct, straightforward, right-to-the-point instructions: "Xiao Xiao, three o'clock, fifty meters away. Get ready to lock them down."

Xiao Xiao would understand immediately and summon his martial soul-the Three Lives Soul Sealing Cauldron.

Then that massive, ancient-looking cauldron would silently appear at the designated position, awaiting the perfect moment.

"Now! Lock him down!"

At Gu Xingyue's command, Xiao Xiao's massive cauldron would instantly split into three and descend from the sky, trapping the unsuspecting enemy firmly inside.

This sudden crowd control would often throw their opponents' formation into chaos.

Next came Wang Dong's time to shine.

He would shoot into the air with a whoosh, and then his own dear mother's Binding would appear in his palm-no, his own dear grandmother's Binding!

"Bluesilver Thorn Formation!"

Accompanying the name of his move, countless vines would rain down as precisely as countless arrows upon the controlled area, timing an instant burst on the enemy to deliver a dazzling round of damage.

As for Gu Xingyue himself, he would always jump out at just the right moment, calmly finishing off the low-health enemies and pocketing the points.

The whole sequence flowed like drifting clouds and running water, their coordination seamless and their efficiency extremely high.

The soul tools each of them carried updated the points rankings in real time, and their team remained far ahead, riding alone beyond everyone else's dust.

However, this fighting style that "had no martial honor" soon provoked "discontent" within the team.

As they lay in ambush once again in a hollow thick with ferns, Wang Dong finally could not hold back.

His brows knitted slightly as he complained with a look of distaste, "Seriously, how much longer are we going to keep hiding here?"

"Launching sneak attacks every day isn't how a true powerhouse should think!"

"A real soul master's 'galagemu'-a duel-should go like this: both sides take their positions, announce their names, then unleash their soul skills fair and square, trading blows until one defeats the other through strength and will!"

"Not like us, hiding here like campers and playing dirty! Can't we follow the rules of a traditional soul master duel?!"

Hearing this, Gu Xingyue glanced at her and curled his lips, wearing an expression that said, "You don't understand."

He was climbing the rankings with a "points slave mentality." As long as the strategy worked and earned points reliably, it was a good tactic.

Although people were always saying his points were "fake," that he relied on his martial soul being naturally overpowered, with simple execution that required no skill.

Gu Xingyue did not care in the slightest, and even felt rather justified: if they also had martial souls as powerful as his and took his points off him, he would accept it.

Competitive games were results-oriented. The process did not matter.

He cleared his throat, looked at Wang Dong, and began earnestly preaching his "twisted doctrines." "Wang Dong, you're still too young. A true powerhouse should naturally know how to assess the situation and mercilessly 'punch upward' at those 'lower cultivators'-low-end players or people with low cultivation-whose cultivation is beneath ours.

Efficiently 'mixing it up with the lower cultivators' and quickly building an advantage happens to be my specialty."

This barrage of sophistry left Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao speechless. They exchanged looks, each seeing helplessness, a hint of amusement, and relief in the other's eyes.

They understood now that there was no reasoning with him.

Just then, Gu Xingyue's relaxed expression tightened slightly, and he raised a hand to signal for silence.

"Shh-someone's coming, and fast. Get ready."

Xiao Xiao immediately entered combat mode and answered in a low voice, "Understood."

He stepped forward, powerful soul power rippling outward. "Three Lives Soul Sealing Cauldron!"

An ancient bronze cauldron half a person's height materialized out of thin air and hovered before him, exuding the weight of history.

Gu Xingyue looked at the cauldron and nodded inwardly.

The martial soul's name certainly sounded imposing, brimming with the might to suppress everything. It could not have been better suited to opening with crowd control.

"Move your cauldron five meters to the left. Watch the angle." Gu Xingyue's voice was calm and clear, like a national master directing a game of chess!

Xiao Xiao trusted Gu Xingyue's judgment completely and immediately focused.

He guided the Three Lives Soul Sealing Cauldron silently toward the designated position, placing it perfectly in a blind spot along the opponent's inevitable route.

"Good, just like that. Lock them down now!" Seizing the moment, Gu Xingyue gave the order decisively.

A sharp gleam flashed in Xiao Xiao's eyes, and he abruptly pressed his palms together.

The massive cauldron that had been hovering quietly instantly split into three, becoming three streaks of light that smashed down into the empty undergrowth with a howling rush of wind!

The entire process was lightning-fast and came without warning.

Had this happened in a game, their opponents probably would have been unable to resist reporting them for cheating.

After all, they had never even shown themselves from start to finish. With crowd control this precise without vision, their opponents knew best whether "full-map vision" hacks were involved!

"Whoa, what the hell!" A startled cry came from the undergrowth. Clearly, the sudden attack had left their opponent bewildered as well.

With a tremendous boom, even the ground seemed to shake.

Knowing Xiao Xiao had succeeded, Wang Dong stopped hiding.

A blue spear with a keen, exposed edge appeared in his hand, and then he leaped into the air, looking just like Runtu stabbing a zha...

"Blue Silver Overlord Spear!" he shouted softly, then hurled the spear hard toward the area Xiao Xiao had locked down.

Their flowing "combo" was just about to finish off this batch of "takeout."

Gu Xingyue also jumped out from behind the tree where he had been hiding, ready to land the final hit and complete the kill.

Yet the instant he sprang out of the woods and swept his gaze over the area under attack, his movement abruptly froze.

Through the gaps between the cauldrons and the drifting light and dust, he caught a fleeting glimpse of a familiar figure that left him stunned on the spot.

Their classmate, Huo Yutong!