In Spirit City, the Black Ring Was Only the First Glance

The first thing to do upon entering Spirit City is to register. Training comes later. All participating teams confirm their personnel, Soul Power Level, and publicly disclose their Martial Soul information in order.

The Imperial Fighting Team was scheduled for the afternoon. Yu Feng sat in the waiting area for a long time.

"I'd rather fight."

"You have to register before you can even play a match," Osler said.

"Could we fight and land simultaneously?"

"Go ask."

Yu Feng glanced at the staff members in front of him who were wearing the Spirit Hall uniforms.

"Never mind."

When it was the Imperial Fighting Team, the process was quick. Yu Tianheng, Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, Level 41, Dugu Yan, Jade Phosphorous Serpent, Ye Lingling, and Nine Heart Begonia were all confirmed one by one. No one asked them to explain the effects of each Soul Skill.

The competition rules only require confirmation of the open level, Martial Soul category, and basic qualifications. The internal mechanisms of the Soul Skill are tactical information specific to each team. It's Dong Jian's turn.

The middle-aged Soul Master in charge of registration first looked at the Soul Ring records. His pen paused for a moment.

"The fourth ring lasts forever."

"Um."

"Where do the Soul Beast come from?"

"Dark Gold Earth Vein Bear."

This part had already been registered. Dong Jian didn't hide it. The middle-aged man raised his head.

"Dark Gold Earth Vein Bear?"

Another person responsible for verifying the Soul Beast data also looked over.

"The Sunset Forest?"

"Right."

The other person flipped through two pages of an old book.

"This kind of Soul Beast is rare."

"Even fewer are over 10,000 years old."

Dong Jian nodded.

"It's hard to find."

The staff member glanced at the record.

The back bones are very well developed.

"The spinal structure of older individuals is much more complex than that of ordinary bear-type Soul Beast."

Dong Jian's expression remained unchanged.

"Hunting them is indeed troublesome."

"The Fourth Soul Skill is related to the ground?"

This question is close to understanding the skill mechanism. Qin Ming stood at the back, and before he could even speak, the registration staff waved their hands first.

No need to answer about specific effects.

"It's just that, according to the data, Dark Gold Earth Vein Bear usually have Ground Perception characteristics."

Dong Jian said, "It's already been used in the competition."

"Then I'll go back and watch the recording."

The other party smiled and didn't pursue the matter further. The process ended normally.

Outside the registration hall stood a wall displaying information on Soul Beast. The Dark Gold Earth Vein Bear occupied only a small section, with its year, activity area, and bone fragment characteristics written in rough strokes, without any record that directly pointed to External Soul Bone. After reading it, Dong Jian understood even more clearly: the people here knew a lot, and the most likely source of the secret was still his own physical reactions during the competition.

After leaving the registration area, Li Man's first words were:

"More people know about bone fragments than about Heaven Dou."

"This is Spirit City."

"Therefore, you should keep it safe."

Dong Jian stretched his shoulders and back. Ever since entering the city, he had been trying to keep his Soul Power flowing along the path he had learned from his Sealed Spine training. He usually didn't put much strain on it.

There was no obvious force concentration at the nine bone fragment locations. But if the body were to bear the load continuously during a high-intensity competition, would its instincts return to those areas? No one could say for sure.

Li Man said, "There were no problems when I registered just now."

"You've been staring at my back?"

"Um."

"The registration staff are reviewing the documents."

I'm looking at you.

Dong Jian smiled.

"The division of labor is quite clear."

"Stop being sarcastic."

Upon entering the finals training area, Imperial Fighting Team quickly realized that Qin Ming was right; the people here didn't just look at Soul Ring. The first afternoon was spent getting used to the venue.

At least three teams were observing nearby. Some were watching the range of Yu Tianheng's Dragon Transformation on his right arm and legs, while others were counting the array points that Li Man released each time.

Some people even watched specifically to see how Dong Jian moved without activating his Soul Ring. Yu Feng flew around in circles several times.

"Nobody's watching me?"

Osler said, "There were two just now."

"Real?"

"It depends on when you land."

Yu Feng was satisfied. Li Man only placed four nodes on the field, without a complete training session. Dong Jian also only practiced basic steps. The people next to him were still taking notes. The black fourth ring was still conspicuous here.

But that only gives people a first glance. A second glance... Everyone started looking for things that could be used in the competition. Qin Ming called everyone back.

"Did you see that?"

Yu Feng said, "I saw it."

"What?"

"They have a lot of free time."

Qin Ming stared at him for a long time.

"Do you want to sit down for Game 1 of the Finals?"

Yu Feng immediately changed his tune.

"They are very serious."

That's more like it.

After the training ground was acclimatized, Imperial Fighting Team conducted a very simple "observation test." Qin Ming had everyone go through one round using only their most basic skills.

Yu Tianheng did not activate the Thunder Dragon Body, but only used the ordinary Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Possession. Li Man only released three nodes. Dong Jian did not activate the Yin-Yang Mountain Domain, nor did he perform continuous Momentum Shift.

As a result, several teams around them still had people keeping track. One young Soul Master even bent down to draw the location of Dong Jian's footprints every time Mountain-Shifting Step. Dong Jian returned after he finished walking.

He drew it six times.

Yu Feng asked, "Are you still counting?"

He always looked up.

Qin Ming said, "This is the final."

Don't think that just because you don't use your ultimate move, others won't have anything to watch.

Li Man chimed in, "Don't avoid doing normal actions just to avoid being seen."

"Right."

Qin Ming looked at everyone.

"What you can hide are structures that don't need to be revealed. Don't pretend you can't play."

This statement made Dong Jian abandon his original plan to deliberately reduce the Mountain-Shifting Step. The basic skills had been public knowledge for too long. Suddenly not using them now would seem even stranger.

What they needed to collect was the Dark Gold Spine Armor, the complete fusion, and certain tactical details that didn't yet have stable samples available to the outside world. Shrek was also nearby, adapting to the terrain.

Tang San didn't come over. He just watched Huang Douluo I. Dong Jian didn't go looking for him either. After entering Spirit City, the two sides even had fewer short exchanges on the way.

The relationship remains the same, only the competition is closer. Those who can watch it at the stadium will watch it there. The draw for the finals was completed that evening. Imperial Fighting Team didn't draw the familiar Five Elements Academy in the first round.

It wasn't Shrek. Cloud Chain Academy was an advanced Soul Master Academy from a kingdom. Their performance in the qualifying rounds wasn't the most outstanding, but their team competition data was quite troublesome.

After Qin Ming received the video, he let Li Man watch it first. She paused it three times in less than fifteen minutes.

"Two Control System."

"Um."

"They are all chain-type Martial Soul."

One possesses the Cold Iron Chain Martial Soul, while the other wields Double-Ring Lock. Individually, neither is considered top-tier control. However, when combined, their effect is clear: to cut off opponents. They may not necessarily bind anyone to death, and the two control chains are more often positioned across the team.

Separate the front and back rows. Force anyone wanting to provide support to deal with the chains first. In the replay, one team clearly had the advantage head-on, but they managed to get to the middle.

The Power Attack System was repeatedly altered by two chains, and the support couldn't keep up. The entire formation was broken into three parts. Dong Jian watched for a while.

"The offensive momentum is weak."

Yu Tianheng said, "They don't need to charge."

"Let's move forward on our own."

Li Man rewound the recording to its most crucial point. The Cold Iron Chain sliced horizontally, and the Double-Ring Lock supplemented from the other side. After the two lines intersected, they perfectly isolated the opponent's mid-section control Soul Master.

"They'll play the pivot."

Dong Jian said.

"He also plays netball."

Li Man added: Another characteristic of the Cloud Chain Academy's team matches in the past few games is that they rarely aim to take down a specific player in the first round. The two Control System are more accustomed to cutting off the opponent's strongest connection first, and then letting the Power Attack System gradually pressure their positions.

The Imperial Fighting Team cannot place all its hopes on "Yu Tianheng breaking through in the first wave". If the first wave fails, the subsequent relay will be constantly interrupted by the chains.

Li Man drew out several typical locations from the video.

"Here, they're focusing on strong attacks and control."

"Here, switch to support and frontline."

Dong Jian said, "They don't care who's the strongest."

"Just look at who's currently connected with whom."

This statement prompted Yu Tianheng to watch the video a couple more times.

"If I don't break through in the first round, I won't turn back and wait."

Dong Jian looked at him.

Are you planning to continue on your own?

"It depends."

Qin Ming said, "Right. Don't try to protect our own structure by fixing every step into a fixed answer." The most common mistake in this game is that everyone tries desperately to preserve the connections just because they know the opponent is going to cut them.

Sometimes, it's faster to break one line and replace it with another. Qin Ming nodded.

"So this is a good time to watch something."

Yu Feng asked, "What?" Qin Ming didn't answer him first. He looked at Dong Jian and Li Man.

"Sealed Spine edition."

Both of them understood that the complete Mountain-Suppressing Dragon Bamboo had been hidden all along. The publicly released version had been decided before they set off from Heaven Dou. The position was adjusted every seven to eight breaths.

Without the Dark Gold Spine Armor, Dong Jian asked, "Is it absolutely necessary?"

"Uncertain."

"If you can win with a standard formation, don't use it."

"They really know how to keep those two connections between you."

"Reopen."

This isn't a performance using fusion techniques. The opponents in the finals have already started directly targeting their connection methods. If necessary, the open version should fulfill its role.

Li Man asked, "Is the time still eight breaths?" Qin Ming replied, "Within." Then he turned off the recording.

"Let them see only eight breaths."