Pressing Down from the First Breath

As the referee's hand fell, the shields of the front row of the Holy Radiance Academy had already left the ground.

Golden-white light patterns spread forward along the edge of the shield. Dong Jian saw the Power Attack System behind the shield stepping on the light patterns, his second step much faster than his first. Beside him, another person lowered his shoulders, preparing to crash into Yu Tianheng from the left.

"Shi Mo, half a step forward," Yu Tianheng spoke first.

The Black Tortoise of the Shi Mo lay across, blocking the narrowest section of the passage. Dong Jian stood to his side and behind, not in a hurry to activate the Yin-Yang Mountain Domain. Such an attack was still clearly visible; there was no need to try to process dozens of chaotic vibrations from the ground all at once.

The first impact was muffled.

Dong Jian discerned two distinct sounds: the heavy impact of the tortoise shell striking the shield, and the faint sound of footsteps behind the Holy Radiance Shieldbearer. The people behind were shifting positions along the side of the shield. If Shi Mo were only focused on pushing the shield back, a gap would first appear beside him, large enough for someone to slip through.

He gestured for the Shi Mo to tuck inwards, and the Shi Mo didn't turn its head; instead, the edge of its tortoise shell lowered accordingly.

The golden-white heavy shield held firm against the tortoise shell, and Captain Holy Radiance did not stop. His Martial Soul was specifically designed for this kind of continuous advance; once the shield was firmly in place, the powerful attacks from behind could slip through along the edge of the shield.

"Don't push your way forward with him," Dong Jian reminded him.

Shi Mo had already sensed something was wrong. The opponent's strength might not be greater than that of the Elephant Armor, and the trouble was that someone was constantly adding strength from behind. He pulled back slightly along the shield, giving Yu Tianheng an angle to attack from the side.

Yu Tianheng landed a punch on the side of the shield.

Lightning flashed through the two metal edges, causing Captain Holy Radiance's shoulders to twitch, but the shield remained firmly in place. A light-attribute Soul Skill followed immediately, sweeping out from the other side and scorching towards Shi Mo's exposed wrist.

Dong Jian reached out to take it, but stopped as soon as he raised his palm.

That light carried a continuously burning Soul Power attribute. He could alter the physical impact caused by swinging his shield, but touching the light would only send his hand inside to get burned.

"Retreat."

The Shi Mo moved aside by half an arm, and the tortoise shell absorbed some of the scorching light for the wrist. Faint scorch marks appeared on the shield surface. Dong Jian stepped into the gap created by the man's retreat, his shoulder pressed against the left arm of the Holy Radiance attacker, Circular Force Redirection, only slightly deflecting the man's momentum.

The opponent's light still struck the ground; it wasn't dissipated by him.

"That guy isn't taking the light," Captain Holy Radiance immediately reminded him.

"Understood," the rear Control System replied. "Light up both sides, continue pressing down in the front."

The third array eye had just landed on the Green Jade Dragon Bamboo beneath Li Man's feet. She didn't connect all the lines to Dong Jian; the first line was reserved for Ye Lingling, and the second connected to Shi Mo and Dugu Yan. Holy Radiance had been targeting the middle section from the beginning, so she had to ensure someone could return first.

Dugu Yan watched as the light patterns approached the edge of the poisonous mist and withdrew some of the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison. Poison couldn't be allowed to accumulate freely under such scorching light, as it would easily make their retreat difficult.

"Yanzi, make it a little narrower," Yu Tianheng said.

With a flick of her wrist, Dugu Yan reduced the previously horizontal poisonous mist into two shallow bands. Holy Radiance, attempting to attack from the right, found his steps faltering.

Yu Tianheng caught the target halfway and burst in from the right side of the shield. The light of the Thunder Dragon Body shone along his shoulders and chest, and his right fist did not go straight for the captain, but rushed towards the person who was about to unleash the second beam of scorching light.

Captain Holy Radiance decisively switched to shields.

Yu Tianheng's punch struck the shield's edge, causing his body to shudder. Taking advantage of his raised arm, the opponent launched a powerful attack from the side. Yu Tianheng staggered half a step, then used his Thunder Dragon Body technique to pull back his momentum, sweeping his right leg towards the opponent's knee and forcing him away.

Seeing the swirling motion left by the collision, Dong Jian instinctively wanted to go and continue the process.

He had only taken two steps when Li Man whispered, "Don't try to take it."

Dong Jian stopped. Yu Tianheng had already completed his second attack; he didn't need anyone else to decide the direction of his attack. Li Man was right; if he rushed to the front now, there would be one less person between Ye Lingling and Shi Mo to cover the gap.

Holy Radiance, the third-ranked melee fighter, did not pursue Yu Tianheng, but suddenly veered towards the middle.

His Soul Ring glowed beneath his feet, and the sound of his foot landing on the arena was ear-piercing. The floor tiles in front of the Shi Mo sank slightly, and Dong Jian knew it was a ground shock even without using his Mountain Domain. He used his Black Stance to steady himself, but his knees sank as well.

Immediately afterwards, a thin white light pierced through the top of the shield from a distance and shot towards the array eye closest to the center of Li Man's formation.

"Third from the right." Li Man immediately cut off the connection.

The bamboo joints were rubbed by the light, leaving white burn marks on the edges. She did not risk using the Dragon Bamboo Origin Return to retrieve it, but instead temporarily sealed the array's core, redirecting the remaining two routes to behind the Shi Mo.

Seeing this, Captain Holy Radiance shouted his second command, "She'll close the path and block that open space!"

Dong Jian instinctively lowered his knees.

The opponent had already watched Li Man's matches, even taking into account that she would voluntarily abandon the contaminated node. Holy Radiance continuously suppressed several positions, forcing Imperial Fighting Team to give up another position before an attack could land.

The sideline recorder has already started writing.

"The Imperial Fighting Team has not yet merged, but the Holy Radiance's advance is effective."

Yu Feng sat in the rest area, tightly gripping his water glass. He knew he hadn't played because Qin Ming needed the Shi Brothers to carry him, but seeing Holy Radiance leaning over Li Man, he couldn't help but stand up.

Qin Ming didn't stop them, nor did he give any commands to the field.

"Sit down and watch," he said. "Even the fastest queue will have gaps when it gets to this position."

On the field Yu Tianheng charged at the shield again. This time he didn't hit with full force; the Thunderclap grazed the side of the shield, and he withdrew his punch slightly before making contact. Captain Holy Radiance, having taken the force of the previous punch, subconsciously pressed down on his right shoulder, causing the shield to tilt.

"Shi Mo, on the left," Yu Tianheng called out.

Shi Mo moved from the back row to the center line, and Tortoise Shell gently braced against the elbow of a Holy Radiance attacker. Dong Jian brushed past him from behind, catching the real force of the attacker's charge, and used his half-turned waist to deflect the man.

This part was successful.

But the Holy Radiance Control System didn't panic. They didn't intend to rely entirely on a frontal stand. Instead, they used the attacker's body, which had been deflected, to block their view, and then sent the second ground shockwave towards the eye of the Green Jade Dragon Bamboo Array.

Li Man took a step back to the right, her gaze falling on the seam between the stone bricks.

"Dong Jian, don't come back here."

I saw it.

The black Soul Ring beneath his feet finally lit up. The Yin-Yang Mountain Domain, now close at hand, made the landing point, cracks, and bearing direction of the Shi Mo clear. However, the distant light from the Holy Radiance remained a white line that the Mountain Domain could not directly handle.

Dong Jian only dealt with the impact from the ground. He steadied his left foot, using the momentum from his half-step back to block Shi Mo's shoulder, which was about to be knocked off balance. With a slight shift in his body, the angles at which the two had shifted were now aligned again.

The Shi Mo shielded Ye Lingling, while the Shi Mo seized the opportunity to move back to the center line.

The Holy Radiance did not stop.

The shield bearer raised his shield, and two powerful attackers closed in simultaneously. A third shockwave suddenly appeared within the light patterns, and the three of them landed around the fourth bamboo section that Li Man had just placed.

Li Man initially intended to turn the node backward, but stopped when she saw the surrounding forces. With forces coming from three sides simultaneously, the bamboo array couldn't withstand the full pressure. Continuing to protect the node would only send her own path into the opponent's scorching light.

She simply discarded the bamboo joint.

As the formation's core shattered, the foremost attacker of Holy Radiance stepped through the gap and could almost see Li Man's shoulder.

Dong Jian was about to catch the person when Li Man shouted at him to stop him.

Don't use your back.

Dong Jian changed his stance from a leg-based movement, reducing his reach by half a step. Holy Radiance's fist was close to Li Man's sleeve, and Green Jade Bamboo extended from the side, only blocking the first half of her arm, but the remaining force made her wrist go numb.

Yu Tianheng saw it from the front and roared, "Everyone, shorten your clothes!"

After forcing the shield bearers back, he stopped pursuing and proactively led the front line back. The Shi Brothers quickly collected the two small shields on the left and right, Dugu Yan connected the poison belt to the middle. Ye Lingling was finally able to send a healing beam to Li Man's wrist.

Li Man flexed her knuckles to make sure she could still stabilize her Soul Power before looking at Dong Jian.

"If they don't agree this time, they'll cut it again."

Dong Jian saw the positions of the seven people from Holy Radiance and didn't rush to answer. The previous two rounds had made him realize that if the fusion was only for head-on confrontation, it was very likely that the nine-point conduction would be forced out in the third or fourth breath.

"Just this section," he said.

Yu Tianheng overheard their conversation and had already made his decision.

"Combine."

He raised his hand, pointing to the only remaining narrow path between the Holy Radiance Shield and the Control System.

"But this is only for this part. After it's over, it will be demolished immediately."

The Green Jade Dragon Bamboo moved closer to the Yin-Yang Iron-Eating Beast. Captain Holy Radiance saw the familiar black and white and cyan-green Soul Power, and his shield sank again, preparing to press down from the very first breath.

Dong Jian took one last look at Li Man's wrist.

She turned her hand over and clenched her fingers around the array again.

"It works."

"Speak up if you have any questions."

"The same to you."

The two advanced simultaneously. Before the Mountain-Suppressing Dragon Bamboo could fully take shape, the Holy Radiance attacker in front of the shield had already changed his stance. The opponent did not intend to count to eight breaths. They reserved their heaviest first impact for the area directly in front of where the fusion would occur.