By this point, where I Am an Angel had gone no longer mattered. As captain, Ma Rulong reacted quickly.
"Everyone, focus your fire on that turtle shell across from us! You must break it open!"
Meng Hongchen wanted to attack Qian Xixi directly. As long as Qian Xixi fell, that turtle shell would naturally break.
Meng Hongchen had great confidence in her own strength and the poison her martial soul carried. As long as she wounded Qian Xixi once, she could put him out of commission.
However, Ten-Year Veteran gave her no such opportunity. He blocked her path directly and forced Meng Hongchen back with a Spear Thrust Like a Dragon.
"Get lost!"
Ten-Year Veteran: "Third soul skill: Overlord Carries the Cauldron!"
Empowered by the Overlord's strength, Ten-Year Veteran tugged the reins, and the Flame-Treading Black Steed charged with him on its back.
Meng Hongchen did not dodge. Instead, she met Ten-Year Veteran head-on.
With a clang, the soul sword in Meng Hongchen's hand snapped, while Ten-Year Veteran was also cut by Meng Hongchen.
"Hmph! You've been struck by my Ice Toad Poison. Enjoy suffering through it!"
Ten-Year Veteran had indeed entered a poisoned state, and his health bar kept dropping. But it did not affect his movements; he merely started complaining in team voice chat.
Ten-Year Veteran: "This poison really packs a punch. My health's dropping so fast my health potions can barely keep up. The shop needs to reorganize its antidotes next time."
Ten-Year Veteran: "@Qian Xixi, can you still hold out?"
Qian Xixi: "For now. Don't let that poison-using woman near me. Otherwise, if I get poisoned too, I'll have to report back to the Respawn Point."
Ten-Year Veteran: "Don't worry. Leave it to me! Before I return to the Respawn Point, I definitely won't let her get near you. Everyone else, how far along is the charge? Say something!"
Wang Zhongwang: "Charging... Do not disturb!"
Primordial One: "Already at 90%. Almost ready. Hang in there a little longer."
Meng Hongchen thought Ten-Year Veteran could no longer move after being struck by her Ice Toad Poison, so she ran toward Qian Xixi, only for the Formation-Breaking Overlord Spear to come flying straight at her.
Meng Hongchen hurriedly dodged sideways, looking at Ten-Year Veteran in disbelief.
"Impossible! You've been struck by my Ice Toad Poison. How can you still act like nothing's wrong?"
Ten-Year Veteran: "Your poison really is powerful. My health bar keeps dropping, but it's not hard crowd control. That's why, if you're playing support, you should play a hard-CC support."
"What nonsense are you spouting? Die! Fifth soul skill: Ice-Fire Poison Dragon Drill!"
Meng Hongchen wanted to end the fight quickly and brought out her fifth soul skill outright. Ten-Year Veteran wheeled his horse around and fled. He was no fool. How could he possibly clash head-on with Meng Hongchen in this state? Buying time was what mattered.
When Meng Hongchen chased him, he ran. When she stopped chasing, he used his throwing soul skill to cut her off.
His whole approach was like a toad crawling onto someone's foot: it did not bite, but it sure made their skin crawl. As it happened, Meng Hongchen's martial soul could also be considered a kind of toad.
Meanwhile, Ma Rulong used the Class 7 soul tool, High-Temperature Ray. This shot did indeed crack Qian Xixi's Black Tortoise Cage, and the cracks continued spreading.
It would only take a little while for this turtle shell to shatter. Ma Rulong was hesitating over whether to reveal that Class 8 soul tool, the Sword of Judgment, now.
Yet it was precisely this brief hesitation that cost the Sun Moon Imperial Horse Soul Engineering Academy its chance completely.
Agile Dog in the Mountains: "Ready! Fully charged. Everyone, pull back."
Ten-Year Veteran: "I can't retreat. Just fire. We only need one person left standing on the stage."
Wang Zhongwang: "All right, then. We'll remember your sacrifice."
Ten-Year Veteran: "Screw you! You really are cursing me to die! Fire the damn cannon!"
Primordial One: "You got it. May this golden age be as you wished. Fire!"
Qian Xixi instantly withdrew the Black Tortoise Cage, exposing the Thunder Giant Cannon to every spectator.
The moment they saw the Thunder Giant Cannon's true form, everyone who recognized it rose from their seats.
"Stop them! Hurry and stop him!"
Elder Ma on the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy's side shouted at the top of his lungs.
He knew perfectly well that the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy Team's members on the field could not withstand the Thunder Giant Cannon's might. This single shot might kill every last one of them.
On the field, Ma Rulong's pupils also contracted sharply, and he instantly gave the order: "Everyone, bring out every defensive soul tool you have!"
Ma Rulong only had time to say that one sentence before the Thunder Giant Cannon fired.
The Thunder Giant Cannon's shot exploded on impact, and the blast engulfed the entire arena in an instant.
Because Ten-Year Veteran's health was too low, he was sent straight back to the Respawn Point.
Wang Zhongwang and the others hid behind the Thunder Giant Cannon, but the blast wave still shaved their health down to a mere tenth.
Wang Zhongwang: "Isn't this Thunder Giant Cannon a little too terrifying? If it were any stronger, wouldn't we all take each other down together?"
Primordial One: "Is everyone on the other side dead?"
Spirit Hall Eternal: "Probably not. I saw someone rush up when the explosion happened. It should've been the referee."
Agile Dog in the Mountains: "The referee's actually useful. I remember the referee was just a decoration in the original plot. And that bit where Xuan Zi showed his soul rings during the tournament to threaten people-it honestly left me speechless."
Wang Zhongwang: "I completely agree with that. If you want the championship trophy, we might as well just give it to you. Wanting it both ways like that is such an ugly look."
Qian Xixi: "We won this semifinal, so our next match, the final, will be against Shrek Academy."
Wang Zhongwang: "Isn't there still an individual match?"
Qian Xixi: "That's only if those people on the other side can get up tomorrow to fight it."
Indeed, although Heavenly Fiend Douluo, the referee, had rushed forward when the Thunder Giant Cannon exploded and blocked the vast majority of the enormous blast's force,
even the explosion's aftershocks alone had left the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy Team's members badly injured.
The defensive soul tools they wore had all shattered as well. Otherwise, their injuries would only have been worse.
As the smoke and dust from the explosion cleared, the spectators saw the wrecked stage, the fallen members of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy Team, and the referee, Heavenly Fiend Douluo, standing in the center of the stage.
Of course, there was also the Thunder Giant Cannon, which had already begun to come apart.
A weapon of mass slaughter like this really was unsuitable for use in a place as small as the stage.
Qian Xixi: "Referee, can you announce the result now?"
"The winner of the semifinal team match is... the New Tang Sect Academy Team!"
The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy had already sent people onto the stage to carry the team members down for treatment. Although every one of them was badly injured, at least they were all still alive.
Elder Ma, the teacher leading the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy's team, checked the team members' physical conditions. Once he confirmed that they could no longer possibly participate in the next day's individual match, he simply conceded outright on behalf of the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.
He was deeply unwilling to accept it, but there was absolutely nothing he could do.
Who could have imagined that the players would have something as absurd as the Thunder Giant Cannon in their hands?
Before you continue