All members of both the Shrek Team and the Sun Moon Team left the arena and returned to their respective areas to await the Referee Committee's decision, while also preparing for the upcoming battle.
Xu Zhengyang and the others were rapidly healing themselves and quickly recovering their Soul Power, swallowing both the Milk Bottle and the healing Soul Tool in one gulp.
In this team battle, Xu Zhengyang's plans were basically successful. He just didn't expect Xuan Zi to actually make a move in the end. Even so, Xu Zhengyang was trying his best to achieve the best possible result, at least to prevent the Shrek Academy students from continuing to act so recklessly.
Although Xu Zhengyang was injured by Xuan Zi, his injuries were not serious at all; he had only consumed a lot of Soul Power during the battle.
The others looked at Xu Zhengyang with even greater admiration. This team battle tactic was all set up by Xu Zhengyang, with Meng Hongchen taking the lead, first releasing a small amount of poison so that no one would be aware of it, and then unleashing it at the crucial moment, so that the two of them could directly and severely injure Dai Yueheng.
If this plan succeeds completely, at least five or six of the seven Shrek Seven will be completely defeated. Given their poisoning condition, they will definitely be unable to participate in the upcoming matches. Even if they are cured immediately, their strength will be greatly affected.
Unexpectedly, Huo Yuhao reacted so quickly. Unexpectedly, Huo Yuhao actually managed to block Meng Hongchen's poison and even saved Wang Dong, which caused some flaws in the execution of the plan.
However, what follows will be individual battles, with each side sending seven people to fight one-on-one. The winners will remain in the arena, while the losers will be eliminated, until all seven members of one side are eliminated.
Judging from Shrek's current situation, they only have ten people in total. Now, three are down and one is seriously injured. They may not even be able to hold their own in one-on-one battles.
Moreover, even if they can participate in one-on-one battles, as long as Meng Hongchen continues to appear and as long as Xu Zhengyang and the others maintain their composure, they will definitely be able to severely injure the opposing team again, Shrek Team will have absolutely no chance.
The only variable is Ma Xiaotao. Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao are only Grand Soul Master now. They would be completely crushed if they fought against Soul King- level Soul Engineer. Even Wang Dong Wang Dong is in a similar situation, as he is only Soul Elder.
There are also He Caitou and Jiang Nannan who haven't played yet. Perhaps He Caitou can suppress the academy with his Soul Tool, but in terms of the use of Soul Tool, even the substitutes of the Sun Moon Team are no less than He Caitou. Right now, He Caitou is just Soul Ancestor.
Jiang Nannan is also Soul Ancestor, but with Jiang Nannan strength, she can't influence the overall situation.
Compared to the relatively relaxed Sun Moon Team, the Shrek Team looked rather unattractive.
Originally, another team leader, Zhou, wanted to ask Meng Hongchen for the antidote to the Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad poison, but Meng Hongchen refused on the grounds that the competition was not yet completely over, and said that the antidote would be provided after the competition ended. Even though Zhou had a fiery temper, he instantly understood the purpose of the Sun Moon Team.
Both Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were doing their best to recover their Soul Power, and even ate a lot of pills to restore their Soul Power.
Zhou Yi sensed that the situation was extremely bad, and she also understood what Xuan Zi's initial bad premonition was.
From the start of this team battle, the Shrek Team fell into the trap set by the Sun Moon Team, namely, the poison of Meng Hongchen.
Meng Hongchen is also Soul Engineer. Compared to Soul Master, Soul Engineer do not need Martial Soul to fight. Therefore, at the start of the team battle, Meng Hongchen did not summon his Martial Soul, the Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad. Instead, he fought using his Soul Tool Sword and armor, and slowly released toxins into the surrounding area through his body.
Unbeknownst to them, the toxins of the Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad gradually spread throughout the arena and seeped into the bodies of the participating team members. Eventually, they suddenly erupted, taking away three people and severely injuring one, especially Dai Yueheng, who was one of only two Soul Emperor in the Shrek Team and the key to the later individual battles and the 2-2-3 battle strategy.
If Xuan Zi hadn't intervened, Dai Yueheng would have been severely injured and wouldn't have been able to participate in any individual battles. Even so, Dai Yueheng was still seriously injured, which would definitely affect his performance in the upcoming battles.
This is why the Sun Moon Team abandoned their tactics of using Soul Tool for long-range advantage and overwhelming firepower in team battles, which instead led to a stalemate between the two sides.
According to Zhou Yi and Wang Yan's plan, the team battle was originally to be abandoned, or at least after probing the strength of the Sun Moon Team, because from any perspective, it would be difficult for the Shrek Team to win against the Sun Moon Team in a team battle.
But the result was unexpected. The team battle tactics were actually very successful. Xu Sanshi actually Xuanming Displacement Xiao Hongchen. If the battle continued like this, the team battle had at least a 60% chance of winning.
Faced with an imminent victory in the team battle, Zhou Yi and Wang Yan abandoned their original plan to surrender, but everything turned out completely differently than they had planned.
Xiao Hongchen was actually able to block the attacks of the four people. Mi Jia actually used three Invincible Shield to block Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong's Martial Soul Fusion Skill. Even Ma Xiaotao was restricted by Ma Rulong's Absolute Defense.
By the time they wanted to surrender, the battle situation had changed dramatically, and they realized that they had been trapped by the Sun Moon Team from beginning to end.
The Sun Moon Team wasn't thinking about winning or losing at all; their goal was to reduce the Shrek Team Shrek Team as much as possible, preventing them from participating in the next round of matches.
This is Shrek Team's biggest weakness: they only have ten players available to participate in the entire competition, while other teams typically have fourteen. This means Shrek Team has no backup, and if too many players are killed, it will be fatal.
The Sun Moon Team's plan was a complete success. They fully exploited the Shrek Team Shrek Team's desire to win, as well as their unfamiliarity with the Sun Moon Team. In fact, their use of Soul Tool was even more ingenious than expected, including not only Invincible Shield and Absolute Defense, but also Ring of Teleportation and many other things.
At this moment, Zhou Yi had a completely ominous premonition. If the fight continued like this, it was unlikely that anyone from Shrek would be able to participate safely in the third round of the 2-2-3 strategy match.
They weren't even confident of winning the second round. Their only hope was that Ma Xiaotao, with her Level 67 Soul Emperor strength, could win as many matches as possible and try to break through their opponent's defenses.
He Caitou looked puzzled. "Teacher Zhou Yi, what exactly is this Meng Hongchen Martial Soul? How can it be so powerful? How could it poison so many of us so silently?"
Zhou Yi appeared unusually serious. "This is the Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad Martial Soul, an extremely rare type of Soul Beast. The Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad's greatest strength lies in its poison, a potent poison cultivated by absorbing the coldest energy of heaven and earth."
"Although the Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad is entirely ice-attribute, its eyes are fire-attribute. It is very special that a single Soul Beast possesses two completely opposite attributes. Moreover, the Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad can generate a special and extremely potent poison by alternating between its ice and fire abilities. The toxicity is terrifying."
" The Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad Martial Soul has appeared in the history of Soul Master, but it is extremely rare. This is because those who possess the Vermilion-Eyed Ice Toad Martial Soul are somewhat similar to Ma Xiaotao's Fire Phoenix Martial Soul; their own cold poison can backfire on its master. In particular, Soul Master ice and fire poisons can be poisoned to death if not properly controlled. Therefore, very few have cultivated it into a powerful being."
"Judging from Meng Hongchen's situation, the fact that he could release poison so silently, without even us noticing, Meng Hongchen that he has mastered the control over poison to a level that is beyond ordinary Soul Engineer. It can be said that this person has cultivated his Martial Soul to a very high level, even comparable to our Shrek students."
Hearing Zhou Yi's words, everyone felt a chill run down their spines. It was a silent poison, and a terrifying one at that. Just as Zhou Yi said, apart from Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng, no one else in the Shrek Academy lineup could affect Meng Hongchen. Even Ling Luochеn had been poisoned.
The audience was also waiting for the next round of fighting to begin, or rather, for the Referee Committee's decision.
Anyone with even a little knowledge knows that the Sun Moon Team currently holds a significant advantage, while the Shrek Team is in dire straits. Perhaps this match will mark the beginning of history for the Soul Master World, and the Sun Moon Team Sun Moon Team will achieve an unprecedented championship.
The Shrek Academy, this long-established powerhouse, will eventually fall from its pedestal.
Ten minutes passed quickly, and Xu Jiawei and the others returned to the Soul Fighting Arena. When Ma Rufeng returned, he looked very angry, but also somewhat helpless.
Ma Rulong quickly asked, "Grandpa, what's the situation now? Will Shrek Team be declared the loser?"
Ma Rufeng shook his head. "In a final of this level, it's impossible to easily declare a loss. If a loss were declared, it would affect the excitement of the entire event, so the Referee Committee doesn't have any measures in place."
Ma Rulong said, " Xuan Zi directly attacked us, interfering with the outcome of the match. Are we just going to let it go like this? Aren't we going to punish the Shrek Team?"
Ma Rufeng's face showed resentment. "That old monster Xuan Zi, his strength and prestige are simply too great, and he is extremely domineering. No one dares to offend him too much. Moreover, our Sun Moon Empire doesn't have a good relationship with the other members of the Referee Committee, so they won't support us."
At this point, Ma Rufeng took out a wooden box. "These are five top-grade healing pills from the Shrek Academy as compensation for Xu Zhengyang and Meng Hongchen. The Referee Committee also said that we can wait until you two are in peak condition before deciding on the start time of the match."
Ma Rulong was furious. "What the hell is this? Don't I need these pills? With the Shrek Team in this situation, how can we possibly continue to wait?"
Ma Rufeng sighed, " Shrek and the Star Luo Empire have indeed gone too far, but we are, after all, in the capital of the Star Luo Empire, on their territory. It's normal for them to show some favoritism. However, the next Soul Master Tournament will be held in our Sun Moon Empire, and we'll get our revenge then."
Xu Zhengyang seemed to have thought of something, " Elder Ma, what about Dai Yueheng? Can he still participate in the competition?"
Ma Rufeng seemed somewhat helpless. " The Shrek Team is short-handed right now. Dai Yueheng is seriously injured, and Xuan Zi is adamant. If Dai Yueheng isn't allowed to play, Shrek Academy will simply boycott the match. Moreover, they won't recognize the result. The others are afraid of Xuan Zi's strength, so they had no choice but to agree. However, Xuan Zi himself has been expelled."
Xu Zhengyang ----
Xu Zhengyang was speechless. Xuan Zi wasn't going to participate, so what difference would it make whether he expelled him or not? Besides, with Xuan Zi's strength, he could easily be outside the Soul Fighting Arena. If he sensed any problem, he could immediately rush into the arena, and no one could stop this old guy.
Just then, the Heavenly Fiend Douluo arrived at the center of the Soul Fighting Arena and announced the results of the Referee Committee.
"Dear viewers, after deliberation by the Referee Committee, given that Xuan Zi's beloved disciple was eager to interfere with the match, Xuan Zi has been expelled from the Soul Fighting Arena. Furthermore, if Xuan Zi or Shrek Academy member interferes with the match again, the Shrek Team will be automatically disqualified."
"In addition, due to personal issues, Xuan Zi will compensate the Sun Moon Team with five top-grade healing pills to ensure that the Sun Moon Team's matches are not affected."
The audience applauded, and even the experts who had come to watch the Soul Master Tournament expressed their approval. They couldn't believe that the Referee Committee would expel Xuan Zi. After all, Xuan Zi's strength was enough to crush the entire Referee Committee. Xuan Zi was the dean of the Shrek Academy and a Level 98 Super Douluo, yet he had admitted defeat.
In the Soul Master World, strength is ultimately paramount. For such a top-tier figure to admit defeat is a way of giving everyone an explanation. Unfortunately, what they don't know is that Xuan Zi is inherently unreasonable and shameless; he doesn't care about saving face.