Winning Beyond the Eighth Breath

When Yu Tianheng circled around from the side of the shield, Captain Holy Radiance's first reaction was to chase after him with his shield held horizontally.

Just as the shield was halfway moved, Dugu Yan released a narrow band of Jade Phosphor Poison. Captain Holy Radiance wasn't afraid that the poison would immediately penetrate his defense, but he didn't want to step into that area with his right foot. He switched feet and moved outwards, causing the heavy shield's pursuit angle to slow down by a beat.

The three-breath pathway has already been reduced by half a breath.

Li Man tightened her grip on the array's core. She knew this path couldn't withstand the continuous scorching light of the Holy Radiance, so she simply ensured it existed only between the Shi Mo and Yu Tianheng. Yu Tianheng had to judge his own landing point with each step, while Li Man was only responsible for ensuring there was still a path for him in the areas he passed through.

In the first breath, the Shi Mo rammed forward, knocking aside a powerful attacker.

In the second breath, Yu Tianheng used his tortoise shell to block the light from his side and back, and quickly turned his body. His right arm, with its Thunder Dragon Body, lit up again, and his fist brushed past the outer edge of the golden-white heavy shield.

Captain Holy Radiance gritted his teeth and turned around, his shield blocking the Thunderclap. However, Yu Tianheng changed his force before contact, and his punch did not land completely. He turned and kicked the control pattern on the side of the shield bearer.

On the third breath, Li Man proactively disconnected the array's core.

Once this path is used, it need not be left behind. Holy Radiance, Control System, thought Imperial Fighting Team had retreated and was about to add another layer of shockwave along the old position when Yu Tianheng had already stepped two steps in front of him.

"How could you...?"

Before he could finish speaking, Thunderclap struck.

The Control System's chest protection was shattered, and he stumbled back to his teammates. Yu Tianheng didn't continue the pursuit to the point where support was lost. He raised his arm and shouted to the entire team, "Right at the center line, follow me!"

The Shi Brothers changed direction simultaneously.

Dong Jian didn't squeeze in front of Yu Tianheng; the discomfort in his lower back was still there. He stepped between Shi Mo and Dugu Yan in advance to deal with Holy Radiance's powerful attack that tried to separate the two. The opponent's arm armor hit his wrist guard, and Dong Jian used the momentum he already had from shifting his feet to bring the person in front of Shi Mo's tortoise shell.

The Shi Mo blocked it perfectly.

The opponent wasn't knocked away, but simply lost the opportunity to continue advancing alongside the captain.

"Don't get carried away," Shi Mo cautioned.

"I know," Dong Jian replied, but his arms trembled twice from the repeated contact. He readjusted his breathing, starting the next step from his legs instead of forcibly twisting his waist and back.

Captain Holy Radiance noticed that Imperial Fighting Team was leaning to the right and immediately deduced that they wanted to take over the injured Control System. He raised his shield to prepare to go back and help, but suddenly found that Dugu Yan's poison belt behind him had been shortened again, forcing the two attackers to go in different directions.

This slight misalignment caused a crack to appear in Holy Radiance's originally neat advance.

Li Man did not take the opportunity to spread the bamboo array. She still needed to check the few nodes that had been burned and temporarily sealed earlier. She only used four bamboo nodes that she was sure were safe to firmly connect Ye Lingling and the two defensive points. When the Holy Radiance light shone on a backup path, she did not hesitate and cut it open directly.

"Give the right side to the captain," she said.

Upon hearing this, Dong Jian glanced to his right and saw that Yu Tianheng had already passed the shield bearer by half a body length. That was the captain's route; he didn't need to add another "now."

Holy Radiance finally adjusted. The golden-white heavy shield swung back suddenly, forcing Yu Tianheng to turn around and block. Immediately afterward, two beams of scorching light shot out from behind, specifically targeting the safe zone left by Li Man.

"Lingling, move to the left," Li Man said immediately.

Ye Lingling shifted her position behind the Shi Mo. Dong Jian tried to block a powerful attack, but found that the person didn't pounce on him, but instead went straight for Ye Lingling's feet.

He could only chase after them halfway.

The numbness in his lower back reminded him that his body was unlikely to be able to complete a third consecutive large-angle Momentum Shift today. He simply shortened his movements, only using his shoulder and arm to block the other person's outstretched hand. The two brushed past each other, and the other person was forced to use his other hand to grab him, which was blocked by the Shi Mo tortoise shell.

Ye Lingling steadied herself and raised her hand to send a bit of healing light to Dong Jian.

That's enough for today.

"I'm not planning on playing any bigger games."

Seeing the path Yu Tianheng had cleared ahead, Dong Jian knew that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't help much. At this moment, the most valuable thing for the team was to maintain the healing range so that Yu Tianheng could make his final burst of power.

Seeing that Yu Tianheng had adjusted his footing twice in a row, Captain Holy Radiance immediately turned his shield around.

He abruptly spun his shield, no longer pressing the midfield, but instead focusing all his energy on Yu Tianheng's front. Golden light enveloped the shield, and another powerful attacker closely covered his rear, almost completely sealing off that small area.

"This is the best you can go," the shieldbearer said through gritted teeth.

Yu Tianheng did not respond.

The first punch struck the shield, and lightning exploded. The shield didn't break, but Yu Tianheng's right arm tightened again. He immediately took a half step back, and instead of continuing to smash the shield with his second punch, he turned it towards the strong attacker who had been sticking close to the shield bearer behind him.

The opponent hadn't expected him to abandon a direct confrontation; he was struck on the shoulder by Thunderclap and staggered to the side.

The golden-white heavy shield, having lost its support from behind, sank downwards along its right edge.

Shi Mo delivered the tortoise shell.

Boom!

This time, the tortoise shell didn't bear the full force of the shield for the captain; it only wedged the shield's corner to the side. Yu Tianheng's right hand gained an opening, and the last bit of power from the Thunder Dragon Body struck the edge of Captain Holy Radiance's breastplate.

The shield bearer retreated.

step.

Two steps.

The third step landed outside the broken path that Li Man had left in advance. He wanted to use the ground patterns for support, but found that the control node that was originally connected here had just been shattered by Yu Tianheng, and there was no place to restore his balance.

Captain Holy Radiance has finally lost his position.

The opposing Control System struggled to salvage the situation, Dugu Yan's last narrow poison zone had blocked his path to provide support. Another attacker tried to bypass Shi Mo, but Dong Jian forced him back half a step with a Short Tremor, the recoil itself causing his shoulder to ache.

"Stop!" Yu Tianheng shouted.

Imperial Fighting Team did not charge forward with all its members just because the opposing captain was out of position. The Shi Brothers continued to hold the flanks, Li Man retreated the back row to Dugu Yan's feet, and Ye Lingling followed steadily. The offensive space they left for Yu Tianheng was only enough for the captain to throw one more punch.

Yu Tianheng hit him.

The punch had no fancy variations; it was simply the final, steady burst of power from within the Thunder Dragon Body, continuing forward along the edge of the previously loosened shield.

The shield was finally broken.

Captain Holy Radiance was forced out of the safe zone, and the Control System behind him was injured, making it difficult for the attackers to regroup. Looking at the increasingly scattered team members on the stage, Teacher Holy Radiance raised his hand to indicate that he was conceding defeat.

The referee declared the Imperial Fighting Team the winner.

Yu Tianheng immediately withdrew his Martial Soul, his right hand hanging by his side, his fingers trembling slightly. The redness and swelling on Shi Mo's shoulder, caused by the shield's impact, was already showing outside his collar, and several scorch marks were left on the Shi Mo tortoise shell. Dong Jian touched his waist, the soreness and numbness still not completely gone.

Li Man approached and first looked behind him.

"Bone fragments?"

"He didn't come out."

"Nine areas were heated twice."

"I know."

She wasn't immediately relieved after hearing this. She reached out and smoothed out the torn cuff of Dong Jian's sleeve, making sure there were no new wounds hidden under his skin before letting go.

Yu Feng waited for others at the entrance, and as they came down one by one, he swallowed back the cheers he had prepared.

"You look like you just crawled out from under a rock."

"Almost," said the Shi Mo.

Qin Ming didn't praise anyone first. He had Ye Lingling check them one by one, and then called Dong Jian aside.

How long did the public version of this match take?

"More than three breaths."

"Full version?"

"It's no use."

What did you lean on to get here?

Dong Jian looked at Yu Tianheng, who was rubbing his right arm. "The path the captain forged."

Qin Ming nodded and didn't ask any further questions.

Their victory had nothing to do with the rumored eighth breath. Others thought that as long as they suppressed the fusion, they could make the Imperial Fighting Team lose their trump cards, but the Imperial Fighting Team finished the match by relying on each person's share of the time after the fusion was briefly dispelled.

Later that day, the outcome of another match was sent to the Imperial Fighting Team rest area.

Shrek wins.

Tang San, Xiao Wu, Dai Mubai, and others' names reappeared on the list of those who advanced. Qin Ming placed the new draw sheet on the table, his finger hovering between the lines for Imperial Fighting Team and Shrek Academy.

There is no other possibility this time.

"Next game, Shrek."

Dong Jian looked up at Yu Tianheng. Yu Tianheng moved his still somewhat stiff right hand and stared quietly at the draw form.

Li Man asked, "When will our injuries heal enough?"

Ye Lingling replied, "Tomorrow we'll only do recovery exercises, half the usual training. Nobody should even think about doing another round of training tonight."

Qin Ming closed the notebook, neither discussing revenge nor asking them to replay the old Suotuo City match.

"I've played it before," he said. "Now I have to play it all over again."

At the other end of the stadium, Tang San also received the same matchup.

Upon seeing the words "Imperial Fighting Team," he immediately flipped to a blank page in his old battle notes, without bothering to find the countermeasures he had written down years ago. The Grandmaster, watching from the side, nodded slightly.

"What are you preparing this time?" Flender asked.

Tang San gripped the pen. "Let's see how they pick them up first."

A match that couldn't be decided solely by past results was finally scheduled for both sides.