On Sea God Island, Tang San and his companions had been trying for over three months to break through the ring-shaped blockade. During these three months, they tried many tactics to break through Xiao Bai and Xiao Qing's defenses, but each time they returned empty-handed. The closest they came was only when Zhu Zhuqing approached the other side, but she was still blocked by Xiao Bai who was chasing after her.
Xiao Bai was also very nervous in the face of the group's attack. Even though the seawater had weakened Tang San and the others, their fighting power was still astonishing. If he were alone, he definitely wouldn't be able to stop them.
Not to mention, Tang San had all his Soul Ring skills sealed, and Zhu Zhuqing and the others had their Martial Soul Avatar sealed; otherwise, they probably would have broken through long ago.
Although the group had not yet managed to break through, they knew that this was a great opportunity to train themselves. After all, the chance to fight against Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast was not a frequent one, especially two at once.
"Damn it, I failed again! These two guardian Soul Beast are just too difficult to deal with!" After another failed attempt to break through, Ma Hongjun lay on the shore, panting heavily. "Moving in the water is so exhausting! I feel like just overcoming the resistance has already used up most of my strength!"
Sitting next to Ma Hongjun, Dai Mubai, also panting heavily, said, "That's right, overcoming the resistance of water is extremely difficult. Moreover, after I used my Martial Soul Avatar, the resistance I encountered was even greater, and I consumed even more Soul Power."
Tang San then said, "Perhaps this resistance is the very reason why we're participating in this second trial."
Ning Rongrong said dejectedly, "What's the point of this? Honestly, being in the water feels awful; I can't even use half my strength."
"That's right, that's right! I live in the forest, not in the sea!" Xiao Wu protested.
The only ones who didn't speak or protest were Yu Tianyi and Zhu Zhuqing. As soon as Zhu Zhuqing got ashore, she immediately entered a state of cultivation and began to recover her strength. For her, cultivation was something that could never be relaxed, as natural as drinking water and eating.
Yu Tianyi secretly watched Zhu Zhuqing, and upon seeing her appearance, she immediately began cultivating as well, while also paying attention to what everyone was saying. She had now completely made Zhu Zhuqing her goal, and surpassing her was her top priority.
" Xiao San is right. You must cherish this trial in the sea and not take it lightly. It will be of great benefit to all of you!" Just then, Qi Ling's voice suddenly came, and then everyone saw that Qi Ling had appeared behind them at some point.
Upon seeing Qi Ling appear, everyone was overjoyed, and Xiao Wu immediately threw herself into Qi Ling's arms, enjoying her special spot. " Brother Qi!"
Qi Ling sat down while holding Xiao Wu, and said with a smile, "You lot, don't try to take shortcuts just because this trial is difficult! As the supervisor of this round, I won't go easy on you."
Ma Hongjun then complained, "What's going on, Boss Qi? You and Xiao San both said this trial is good for us, but what good could it possibly be?"
"You fatso, let me ask you, have you noticed anything different now compared to three months ago?" Qi Ling said. "Especially after each battle, haven't you noticed anything special?"
Everyone exchanged puzzled glances. Ma Hongjun asked, "I don't see anything wrong with it. What could be so special about it?"
While everyone was wondering, Tang San kept laughing. Seeing this, Ma Hongjun said, " Xiao San, do you know what Boss Qi is talking about?"
"Yes, that's right," Tang San laughed. "All of us recover much faster after fighting in the water! Before, it would take us at least a day to regain our fighting strength, but now, it only takes us less than half a day."
"That's right, this shows you've begun to adapt to fighting in the water. This will give you a greater ability to adapt to similar environments," Qi Ling said. "Your enemies won't let you choose where you fight, so those who adapt first in any environment are most likely to survive."
Dai Mubai then said thoughtfully, " Qi Ling, could this be considered a special kind of weight training? If we can coordinate so well in the water, wouldn't we be able to perform even better on land?"
"That makes sense, so keep up the good work!" Qi Ling said with a smile. "To gain more power than others, you have to put in more effort!"
There's no better shortcut to getting used to the water; the only way is to increase the amount of training! Fortunately, everyone is quite quick to learn, and their swimming skills are improving every day.
As soon as Qi Ling returned to the other side of the shore and landed, a green figure rushed over and excitedly said to Qi Ling, "Master! Did I do well today? Reward, reward!"
Qi Ling helplessly patted Xiao Qing's head, looking at her satisfied smile, she couldn't help but feel a little helpless. This child had only recently become human, so she was still like her pet.
Compared to Xiao Qing, Xiao Bai appeared much more reserved. When she saw Qi Ling looking at her, she deliberately turned her head to the side, pretending not to see her, but her eyes were secretly glancing at Qi Ling, as if she was expecting something.
Qi Ling sighed helplessly. This great white shark's personality was truly peculiar. So he could only step forward, pat Xiao Bai's head, and say, "Hmm, Xiao Bai did a good job today too, very good, very good!"
The Xiao Bai blushed and stubbornly said, "I... I'm not like that! Even if you praise me, I... I won't be happy!"
"Haha, I know, I know," Qi Ling laughed. "By the way, Xiao Bai, how are those battle formations I taught you going?"
Upon hearing Qi Ling say this, Xiao Bai's eyes immediately lit up, as if to say, "If you're telling me this, then I'm not sleepy anymore."
"Oh! That? It's really useful, Qi Ling! I never expected you to know how to make something like that!" Xiao Bai said excitedly, even forgetting her persona for a moment, and rushed excitedly to Qi Ling.
"I never expected that having the Sea Soul Beast form battle formations and launch attacks in an orderly and methodical manner would be so effective! Even the weaker Sea Soul Beast can play their part under this tactic, and even hold off enemies stronger than themselves!"
Qi Ling also laughed and said, "Of course! Without rules, there can be no order. A hundred people and an army of a hundred are completely different things!"
In fact, what Qi Ling taught Xiao Bai was only some of the simplest formations and military strategies. After all, Qi Ling didn't do this for a living; her knowledge of it was only out of her own interest.
However, for the Sea Soul Beast here, this was an incredibly advanced tactic, directly elevating their most primitive instinctive tactics to a higher level, making Tang San and the others suffer even more.
Putting everything else aside, just making Xiao Bai understand the importance of ambushes and phased attacks is enough to put enormous psychological pressure on everyone, because you have no idea how many waves the enemy will attack, and therefore don't know how much strength to conserve.
The weaker Soul Beast relied on this relentless attack to wear down the group's stamina, while the stronger Soul Beast formed battle formations and charged at the group, forcing them back time and time again.
Sometimes, Xiao Bai and Xiao Qing don't even need to lift a finger. They can win by simply commanding the Sea Soul Beast from afar. Even if the group can handle one or ten Sea Soul Beast, they will pale in comparison when facing a hundred.
After experiencing the wonders of this military strategy, Xiao Bai became interested in it. Whenever he had free time, he would humbly ask Qi Ling for advice and then apply it to the Sea Soul Beast the next day.
Therefore, Tang San and the others were often surprised to find that although they were changing their methods every day and trying to break through the Sea Soul Beast ' defenses, the Sea Soul Beast ' formations were also constantly changing, making it impossible for them to defend against them!
Sometimes it was a combination of close and long-range attacks, sometimes a direct strike, and sometimes luring the enemy in deep to defeat them one by one. Everyone felt as if they were facing not some Sea Soul Beast, but a well-trained army!
Even if these battle formations sometimes have loopholes, there is no need to worry at all. Firstly, Xiao Bai and Xiao Qing are strong enough to fill any gaps. Secondly, under Qi Ling's arrangement, there is always a special reserve among the Sea Soul Beast that has never been mobilized, just to deal with this situation.
And this reserve force is none other than the Demon Soul Great White Shark, just like Xiao Bai! Although they are not as powerful as Xiao Bai, they are strong enough to deal with everyone, and it is almost impossible to break through their formation alone.
After all, the ocean is the domain of Sea Soul Beast, and Xiao Bai also possesses a special power that allows him to manipulate the power of the surrounding seawater, increasing the difficulty for Tang San and the others to break through.
Another three months passed, and half a year had gone by since the start of the Second Trial. The group was now able to move freely in the ocean, even at a speed comparable to that of Sea Soul Beast.
However, despite this, the group was still unable to break through the second barrier held by Xiao Bai. Every time they launched a confident attack on Xiao Bai, they were ruthlessly repelled.
Six months later, everyone was finally fully prepared. After announcing to Xiao Bai, they were about to launch their final assault.
Although the cultivation speed of the group was not as fast as before, their teamwork and coordination had improved considerably. Moreover, Zhu Zhuqing, who had the highest Soul Power Level among them, had already broken through to Soul Power Level 80. She only needed to obtain one more Soul Ring to become a Soul Douluo!