After Eight Breaths, the Path Remained

The Cold Iron Chain arrived first. Dong Jian had just broken free of the fusion when his legs felt noticeably heavy. The Sealed Spine version lacked the support of the Dark Gold Spine Armor, so most of the pressure fell on his legs and waist within eight breaths.

He wanted to immediately perform a high-intensity Mountain-Shifting Step), but his speed would definitely be slower than usual. He didn't dodge directly, but only took half a step back. The Shi Mo had already bumped into him from the side.

The Black Tortoise stood in front of the chains. Bang! The Cold Iron Chain struck the tortoise shell. Dong Jian didn't catch it. The Cloud Chain Control System was taken aback. They had expected Dong Jian to remain in the middle to maintain the connection after the fusion was complete.

As a result, the first pressure was absorbed directly by the Shi Mo. On the other side, the Double-Ring Lock pressed down on Li Man. Her mental exertion was greater than usual, and only three of the six array eyes remained that could be used immediately.

Li Man did not forcibly rebuild the complete Dragon-Bamboo Formation. One Ye Lingling, another was connected to Dugu Yan, and the last one was left at her feet. That was enough. She used the Double-Ring Lock to cut.

She stepped back. The route was short, yet the healing distance remained unbroken. Captain Cloud Chain shouted again:

Don't let them recover!

Yu Tianheng had already heard the lightning explode from the front.

"Look at me first."

In short, he rushed back in. Although the main passage that Mountain-Suppressing Dragon Bamboo had stabilized with eight breaths had disappeared, the gap that had been opened in the front row of the Cloud Chain was still there.

Without waiting for Dong Jian's reminder or for Li Man to redo the attack, Yu Tianheng's Thunder Dragon Body pressed directly towards the gap. The front line of the Cloud Chain could only retreat to defend, and one of the people who were originally going to concentrate their attack on Dong Jian and Li Man was forced to leave.

Yu Feng also moved. He circled around from the air to the back of the controller of the Cold Iron Chain. The Cloud Chain hadn't paid much attention to him in the first few rounds because their main objective was to cut through the middle section of the Imperial Fighting Team Realm.

Now, both Control System are pressing towards Dong Jian and Li Man. The air is exposed instead. Wind blades slash down from behind, and the controller of the Cold Iron Chain immediately retracts the chains to block.

With this, the pressure in front of the Shi Mo disappeared. The Shi Mo did not pursue, but turned and moved directly towards Yu Tianheng. The two of them re-formed the simplest front-row structure.

Even without the bamboo formation Dong Jian standing in the middle, they can still fight. Captain Cloud Chain's expression changed.

"Keep cutting!"

The controller of the Double-Ring Lock changed direction, intending to intercept Yu Tianheng and Shi Mo first. Dugu Yan's poisonous mist spread out a narrow strip between the two, not covering a large area.

He only occupied the easiest section to land on. If the Double-Ring Lock controller continued forward, he would have to step into the poison zone. He could only go around it by half a step. With just that half step, Yu Tianheng had already pushed forward another layer.

Dong Jian stood behind. He didn't rush back to the pivot position the first time. His legs were still heavy, and his waist wasn't suitable for continuous Momentum Shift immediately. He first observed whether the Shi Mo could bear the weight or Yu Tianheng could withstand the pressure.

Yu Feng is forcing the Cold Iron Chain. Dugu Yan controls the edge of the line. Ye Lingling's healing distance remains unbroken. Although Li Man only has three nodes, she has already connected the most essential people.

There was nothing that required his immediate attention, so Dong Jian remained still. Some people in the stands were already frowning.

"Why did he withdraw after the fusion was completed?"

"Weak?"

"Should."

"Why is the Imperial Fighting Team still moving forward?"

That's the problem. Mountain-Suppressing Dragon Bamboo is very strong. Its eight breaths of open attack are enough to solve even the most difficult formation switching. But Imperial Fighting Team was already a team before he practiced this fusion.

The fusion ended. It wouldn't shut everyone down at the same time. Ye Lingling, who was behind, didn't waste the few breaths after the fusion ended. A ray of light from a Nine Heart Begonia fell on Dong Jian's leg first.

Fatigue doesn't disappear instantly. Treatment only stabilizes the tightest muscles after continuous load-bearing, preventing stiffness and strain during the next normal shift.

Another treatment was given to Li Man. Mental strength cannot be fully replenished by healing Soul Skill, but the headache, breathing disorder, and Soul Power circulation can be alleviated for the time being.

The first thing Li Man did after opening her eyes was still count the nodes. Three. That's enough. She didn't instinctively add seven or eight nodes just because she had just come out of the fusion state.

This is a habit developed from the past few rounds of official matches. Fewer formations don't mean the formation is gone. Dong Jian is the same. If his legs are heavy, he runs less. If his waist isn't suitable for continuous relays, he only handles one segment.

Neither of them forced themselves to return to full strength by using the word "core". Qin Ming, seeing this from the sidelines, finally let go of the hand he had been holding. Since the Sealed Spine version was being used for the first time in Spirit City, Qin Ming was more concerned about his condition after the eight breaths ended.

We'll have to see if they can rejoin the team after the eight breaths are over. Half the answer is already clear. Cloud Chain's second counterattack failed. The captain finally turned his attention back to Yu Tianheng.

Both the Defense System and Power Attack System were retrieved together. The two control chains were then prepared to be reassembled into a cross network. This time, Dong Jian made his move. He did not activate his Fourth Soul Skill.

He didn't do a continuous loop. He simply took three light Light-Body Bear Steps to the right. When Cloud Chain saw him return to the center, the Cold Iron Chain immediately swung out. This was exactly what Dong Jian had been waiting for.

The physical impact of the chain striking him was physical. The control attribute itself cannot be eliminated by Circular Rotation. Therefore, he did not grab the chain, but only moved aside when the chain grazed his shoulder.

Turn half a step outward. The front end of the Cold Iron Chain continues to swing in the original direction. In order to retract the chain, the controller naturally pulls both arms back to the left. That slight body movement.

Dong Jian saw it very clearly.

"Yu Feng."

He only called out the name. The Yu Feng had already descended from above. The controller had just retracted the chain when the right-side defense was momentarily vulnerable. A wind blade struck the protective Soul Power at the shoulder, forcing the person back.

Dong Jian didn't continue with the second segment. His leg wasn't suitable. He would only treat this one part and then retreat. After Li Man saw this, she handed the array eye at her feet to Shi Mo.

She also didn't recover to six or seven. Three was enough to fight, so she used three. The situation began to turn in Imperial Fighting Team. Yu Tianheng had already broken through two layers of defense.

Dugu Yan's poison zone prevented Cloud Chain from easily filling in. Yu Feng kept forcing a Control System to rise up. Shi Mo stabilized the very center. Dong Jian and Li Man were both slower than full health.

But no one demanded that they immediately return to full capacity. The two control chains that Cloud Chain relies on most cannot monitor only one structure at a time for the first time. They need to cut Yu Tianheng.

Yu Feng will advance. He needs to cut Dong Jian. Shi Mo Ding needs to suppress Li Man. Dugu Yan will block the route. They can cut one. Imperial Fighting Team also has other connections. The last head-on collision.

Yu Tianheng's Thunder Dragon Body broke through the Cloud Chain captain. Shi Mo blocked the Defense System to the left. Yu Feng forced the Cold Iron Chain to the outside of the arena from the air. Li Man's two remaining usable array eyes turned simultaneously.

Only Yu Tianheng and Ye Lingling were caught. Dong Jian stood between the two. He didn't make any big moves, but simply blocked a strong attack from the side for Yu Tianheng.

Shoulder yielding, waist turning, a normal Circular Force Redirection. The impact was sent to the outside. Yu Tianheng didn't stop. The final punch landed. Captain Cloud Chain withdrew from the effective combat zone. Cloud Chain, the last Control System who could still stand, looked at the arena with a complicated expression.

They did indeed capitalize on the exhaustion after eight breaths. Dong Jian slowed down, and Li Man missed several key moments. The intelligence assessment wasn't entirely wrong. The reason for losing the match wasn't due to the intelligence itself.

They interpreted "the two cores weakening" as "the Imperial Fighting Team structure weakening together." The second half proved that these two things cannot be directly equated. Captain Cloud Chain put away his Martial Soul and did not pursue the question of the fusion limit any further.

The game has given them more than enough to take away. The referee raised his hand.

"Heaven Dou Royal Academy wins!"

Cheers erupted. Dong Jian sat down to stretch his legs before leaving the stage, not even glancing at the audience. Li Man also closed her eyes to catch her breath. The strain of the Sealed Spine version was truly intense.

However, it's completely different from the complete twelve-breath version. In the complete version, after twelve breaths, Dong Jian's back and legs will become noticeably numb, and Li Man's mental energy will be nearly exhausted.

Today, the game ended voluntarily at eight breaths. They can still participate in the second half, but the intensity must be reduced. People outside may not know this. There are already people in the Cloud Chain rest area reviewing the game.

"Eight breaths."

"Move once on the sixth breath."

"Both of them were noticeably weaker after the match."

"It can serve as a window for counterattacks."

On the other side, Tang San was also watching. Ning Rongrong asked, "The fusion technique only lasts eight breaths?" Tang San didn't nod directly.

"What has been revealed is eight breaths."

"What's the meaning?"

"They untied the eighth breath themselves."

The Grandmaster said from the side, "Ending voluntarily doesn't mean it can continue for a long time."

"That doesn't mean eight breaths is the limit."

Tang San nodded. Therefore, his record didn't say "maximum eight breaths," it only said:

"Current public exposure duration: eight breaths."

The space behind was left blank. Yu Xiaogang glanced at Dong Jian's back. There was nothing obviously abnormal today. At least, he couldn't see anything unusual from the distance of the race. He didn't use that to guess about the External Soul Bone.

All that can be confirmed is that the fused system is more stable than before. As for where this stability comes from, the sample size is insufficient. When Imperial Fighting Team left the arena, Li Man passed by the recording booth.

I happened to see a staff member writing on the competition materials:

"Mountain-Suppressing Dragon Bamboo: Stabilizes for eight breaths."

She didn't stop. After walking for a while, she said to Dong Jian:

"They wrote it."

"What?"

"Eight breaths."

Dong Jian glanced back. Li Man had already looked away.

"Let them write it like this first."