Fifteen minutes later, both sides regrouped.
Without Feng Xiaotian calling out names, everyone silently adjusted their positions.
Jiang Lin took two steps back, positioning himself between Su Mei'er and Ye Qingyu. He no longer intended to be the commander of the midfield—he would only observe, report opportunities, and not make decisions for his teammates. Feng Lingtian and Lu Hanxiao widened the distance between them by three steps; they had learned their lesson from being blocked by a single vine in the first round. Zhong Yue only activated 70% of his Black Tortoise: Wind Armor, conserving his Soul Power to leave room for the flanks to maneuver.
Su Mei'er's fingertips retained only the elements of fire and water. Switching between the four elements would leave a brief pause, so she didn't switch too many—she anticipated which two she would need and didn't use the rest. Subtraction was her strategy. Ye Qingyu added an extra string to her Wind Zither, a preparation for chaotic strings. She couldn't intervene in the first round, but this round, Team A's rhythm was more stable, and she could finally find an opportunity to strike. Ji Ning no longer roamed the perimeter in a show of force, but instead hid in the shadow of Zhong Yue's tortoise shell; the hummingbird's afterimage disappeared—he withdrew his aggression, retaining only his threat.
Team B was also changing their positions. Cheng Luo moved forward three steps, shifting from the middle row to near the front. Feng Xiaotian pointed out his failure to interfere with Su Mei'er when she made her move, and his response was direct—if Su Mei'er didn't move, he would defend; if Su Mei'er moved, his vines had to wrap around her immediately. Lu Qing switched from double scythes to single-handed ones, holding the scythe in his right hand and leaving his left hand free. Standing still to withstand two agile attackers wasn't enough, so they used the Returning Scythe to create distance. The three in the back row didn't adjust their positions, but Bai Yu had already prepared her Wind Chime chime in her left hand, leaving her right hand free to catch Su Ran's food at any time.
Feng Xiaotian observed all the changes but said nothing.
"Begin," Feng Qingxuan ordered.
The second round of combat was much faster-paced than the first. Jiang Lin no longer gave specific instructions, only directions—"Left!" "Right front!" "Cut!"—a single word, even a short syllable, Feng Lingtian and Lu Hanxiao responded to instinctively. Su Mei'er's fire and water elemental attacks were much smoother after the simplification; the Wind Fire Bewildering Array and Water Wind Confinement alternated in suppression, and the half-breath gap disappeared. Cheng Luo's Wind-Binding Vine wrapped around Su Mei'er's wrist three times at the same moment she made her move. Although each time they were broken by Ji Ning's Hummingbird: Pierce, the interference effect was achieved— Su Mei'er's fire mist accuracy was reduced by at least 20%. The three in the back row remained steady. Su Ran's prediction and Bai Yu's shield were working together more and more smoothly, and Shi Yan's Void Resonance Bell shuttled back and forth between the front and back rows. The switching between countering and defending was much smoother than in the first round.
Both sides traded blows, each launching attacks and defending, but neither managed to break through the other's defense.
Fifteen minutes later, Feng Xiaotian raised his right hand again.
Everyone stopped, their breathing more rapid than in the first round, but the light in their eyes was even brighter. Su Ran distributed the Wind Grain Seed one by one, and this time no one was in a hurry to eat—they were all waiting for Feng Xiaotian to speak.
"Everyone has improved." Feng Xiaotian's gaze swept over everyone. " Jiang Lin's reporting method is correct, Su Mei'er's elemental simplification is on the right track, and Cheng Luo's awareness of interference has also improved. The three in the back row are more coordinated than in the last round."
He paused for a moment, his tone turning serious. "However, after two rounds of combat, although the Soul Core has been operating continuously, it has never been pushed to its limit. It is currently just a tool—you know how to use it, but you haven't yet made it a part of your bodies."
Everyone fell silent. Those words struck a chord with a truth that everyone felt but no one dared to voice.
Dugu Bo took the grass stem out of his mouth. He leaned against the pine tree and watched the entire two rounds of combat without saying a word until now, when he lazily opened his mouth. "Do you know how my Soul Poison Pill went from being 'usable' to becoming 'part of my body'?"
His emerald green eyes swept over the twelve team members present.
"Long before Lingtian proposed the Soul Core theory, I already had a Poison Core in my body—it was the toxins that had accumulated over decades that I forced out myself. However, this Poison Core did not solve the problem of the Martial Soul backlash."
Later, Lingtian proposed the Soul Core theory. I used my Soul Power to wrap the Poison Core, creating the Soul Poison Pill, which completely solved the problem of poison backlash. But that layer of Soul Power wrapping was ultimately an external thing—it could be used, but that didn't mean it was integrated into the body."
He paused, his tone unusually serious for once. "Just recently, in the Star Dou Great Forest, when I was helping your dean hunt down the Hurricane Wolf King, my Soul Poison Pill was pushed to its limit by the pressure of that Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast."
At that time, either the Soul Poison Pill would completely merge with my meridians, or I would be poisoned by my own poison on the spot. In the end, I managed to suppress it, and the Soul Poison Pill successfully became a part of my body.
"Therefore, there is only one way to truly integrate the Soul Core into oneself and achieve complete mastery—to undergo the 'baptism' of pressure."
It's not the pressure of competing against your own people. It's the pressure of knowing you can't stop it, but having to try anyway.
Feng Qingxuan didn't speak. He simply walked in from the sidelines and stood in the center of the training field.
The aura of a level 93 Titled Douluo began to emanate from his body—not a gentle breeze, but a real, unrestrained pressure.
The air on the back mountain suddenly became as heavy as a mountain; the treetops stopped swaying, and even the wind seemed to quiet down.
All twelve team members simultaneously felt their knees sink. The Soul Core in their dantian began to spin wildly, automatically resisting the overwhelming pressure. Feng Xiaotian was also resisting this pressure.
Feng Qingxuan looked at them and slowly said, "Hold on."
Just two words.
But everyone knew that a new test had begun.