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Hearing this, Yu Xiaogang was momentarily speechless, his face flushing crimson. Immediately after, a sudden thought flashed through his mind, and he quickly seized upon another seemingly irrefutable point. He began once again roaring at the referee with intense frustration.
Fine! Even if we put aside the matter of injuring someone for now, what about the rules of the competition? The preliminary rounds of the Continental Advanced Spirit Master Elite Tournament clearly stipulate a seven-person team battle.
Seven people should rightfully ascend the Douhun Stage together, yet their Tianxing Academy only sent out two people! If this isn't openly violating the rules, what is it?
The more Yu Xiaogang spoke, the more he felt he had grasped the opponent's fatal weakness. His voice became even more self-assured as he continued. He sharply turned to the referee and righteously demanded a response.
Referee! Please make a fair judgment! Tianxing Academy has openly violated the basic rules of the competition. They are treating the competition's discipline as nothing! I strongly demand that all their subsequent participation qualifications be revoked immediately!
This time, he had indeed hit a crucial point. The referee, hearing this, showed a look of extreme awkwardness and difficulty on his face. He slightly opened his mouth, stunned and frozen in place. From the perspective of the rulebook, the accusation made by Yu Xiaogang was entirely correct. A team battle must be a seven-person team operation.
But the problem was that when Tianxing Academy ascended the stage, that golden-haired woman had clearly stated that the other five people had already conceded and stepped down. This act of voluntarily reducing their numbers was bizarre and arrogant. Strictly speaking, it seemed subtly different from having an insufficient number of participants. Did this count as a violation? The rules didn't specify such details!
The referee's head throbbed, and he had no idea how to rule on this unprecedented situation. He instinctively cast a pleading gaze towards the highest point of the VIP stand. He looked at Emperor Xue Ye, the representative of the highest organizer of this competition. On the VIP stand, Emperor Xue Ye naturally heard the accusation and saw the referee's difficult, pleading gaze. But he did not immediately express his stance. Instead, he slightly turned his head to look at Ning Fengzhi, who had an elegant demeanor beside him, and threw the question to him.
School Master Ning, regarding this matter, how do you think it should be decided?
A gentle smile appeared on Ning Fengzhi's face. He slowly stood up, first bowing slightly to Emperor Xue Ye, then facing the entire arena. His voice was amplified by a spirit tool so everyone could hear him clearly.
Your Majesty, in my humble opinion, while Tianxing Academy's action seems unconventional, and even a bit informal, it shouldn't have truly violated the core rules of the competition upon closer consideration.
He paused here, his words subtly favoring Tianxing Academy without leaving a trace.
The competition rules require a seven-person team battle, aiming to test teamwork. Tianxing Academy voluntarily had five team members concede. This is equivalent to them willingly bearing the risks and outcome of the entire team with the strength of only two people. This is not an insufficient number of participants, but an extremely confident strategic choice. It shows an absolute trust in their own strength.
Moreover, the result is that Tianxing Academy achieved victory with only two people. This precisely proves that they possess the strength to break conventions. Isn't the purpose of our competition to discover and encourage such geniuses and powerful academies? To negate such a spectacular duel and powerful strength due to a matter of form would be to lose sight of the greater picture.
Therefore, I believe revoking Tianxing Academy's participation qualification is not appropriate. Of course, perhaps they can be reminded to pay attention to the format of the competition later. But the victory should rightfully belong to them.
Hearing this, Yu Xiaogang's face instantly turned ashen. Just as he was about to refute Ning Fengzhi's obviously biased remarks, the corner of his eye caught a glimpse of a strange green light flashing not far away. The next second, a chilling, heart-pounding aura suddenly descended upon the Douhun Stage! A tall, thin figure clad in a dark green robe appeared silently on the arena, like Gui Mei, precisely blocking the space between Yu Xiaogang and the referee. It was Poison Douluo Dugu Bo!
Seeing Dugu Bo suddenly appear, the pupils of Yu Xiaogang contracted sharply. The words on the tip of his tongue were forcefully swallowed back. His face turned from ashen to pale, fine cold sweat beaded on his forehead, and his body even trembled slightly from fear. He now had an instinctive fear of this unpredictable Titled Douluo.
Your Excellency, the Spirit Master Competition is currently underway. According to the rules, please step back.
The referee was also startled by this sudden turn of events, but it was his duty. He immediately bit the bullet and took a step forward, blocking Dugu Bo, speaking with great respect.
Rules?
Dugu Bo snorted coldly before he could finish, his sinister gaze sweeping over the referee. He then pointed directly at Yu Xiaogang in the wheelchair not far away, interrupting him with extreme displeasure.
He can just run up here, shouting and complaining about this and that, but I can't go on stage? What kind of ridiculous rule is that?
The referee was instantly speechless, stumped by the question. Yu Xiaogang was Shrek Academy's team leader, and theoretically had some authority to go on stage, but compared to the deterrent power of a Titled Douluo, it was nothing. Just as he was about to explain the identity of Yu Xiaogang, Dugu Bo had already impatiently pushed him aside. He then walked directly towards the pale-faced Yu Xiaogang.
Dugu Bo, you... what do you want to do?
Watching Dugu Bo approach step by step, the face of Yu Xiaogang instantly turned ashen. His body stiffened slightly from fear, and his voice trembled.
Hehehe! What do you think? Yu Xiaogang, weren't you complaining quite vigorously just now?
Dugu Bo let out a chilling, eerie laugh. His voice was hoarse and full of malice. Not far away, the faces of Liu Erlong and Flender also changed dramatically at this scene.
Oh no, Xiaogang is in danger!
Liu Erlong let out a furious roar, and a violent spirit power fluctuation instantly erupted around her. The faint apparition of a fire dragon appeared behind her.
Dugu Bo, stop!
With a low shout, the eyes of Flender behind his glasses were filled with anxiety. The next second, their figures flashed almost simultaneously. They transformed into two streaks of light, rushing desperately towards the Douhun Stage in an attempt to stop Dugu Bo.
However, just as the figures of Liu Erlong and Flender moved, Dugu Bo's eyes flashed with a cold light. His withered palm swung out like lightning, ruthlessly slapping Yu Xiaogang in the wheelchair! Just as the palm of Dugu Bo, imbued with terrifying power, was about to strike the cheek of Yu Xiaogang, two violent spirit power lights suddenly erupted from the side!
Boom!
Flender and Liu Erlong, though moving later, arrived first. They boldly inserted themselves between Dugu Bo and Yu Xiaogang with astonishing speed! In a critical moment, they did not hesitate in the slightest. Their seventh spirit ring simultaneously burst forth with a dazzling black light!
Seventh Spirit Ability, Owl True Body! Seventh Spirit Ability, Red Dragon True Body!
The next second, Flender's body surged, transforming into a giant four-eyed owl. Meanwhile, Liu Erlong became a roaring fire dragon, her entire body covered in scorching dragon scales! They both unhesitatingly activated their Spirit True Bodies simultaneously. They were attempting to withstand the seemingly casual strike from Dugu Bo in their strongest forms!
However, the gap between a Titled Douluo and a Spirit Saint was like an insurmountable chasm!
Hmph, an overestimation of your own abilities!
Dugu Bo snorted coldly, his slapping motion undiminished. He didn't even use any spirit ability. Merely the immense spirit power and terrifying pressure attached to his palm smashed into the Owl True Body and Red Dragon True Body like a destructive force!
Bang!
A dull, heart-stopping thud exploded across the stage! The giant owl that Flender had transformed into and the Red Dragon True Body that Liu Erlong had become were crushed. As if struck by an invisible giant mountain, their powerful Spirit True Bodies shattered in an instant. They were unable to block even for a moment!
Both of them simultaneously vomited blood, their bodies flying backward like broken kites. They heavily crashed onto the edge of the Douhun Stage not far away, struggling but unable to get up for a while. And Yu Xiaogang, who was protected behind them, was directly sent flying, wheelchair and all, by the terrifying gust of wind that escaped. He spit blood in mid-air before falling heavily to the ground, his fate unknown!
The power of a Titled Douluo's single strike was truly terrifying! After Dugu Bo slapped away the three, he did not pursue, but stomped on the ground!
Om—!
A terrifying spirit power pressure, far exceeding the previous one, suddenly erupted like a tsunami! Two yellow, two purple, and five black spirit rings spun up from beneath his feet, making a total of nine spirit rings. The profound blackness almost swallowed all surrounding light.
The surging spirit power fluctuations, like a tangible tide, swept out wildly from him as the center. This made everyone in the entire Great Spirit Arena breathless!
Hmph! You want to complain about my Tianxing Academy? If someone really dies, you should find the referee! According to the competition rules, to show true strength, participants must go all out! Since they went all out, who can say they can stop at will?
Controlling the pace of the competition and protecting the safety of the contestants is the referee's duty! Even if someone unfortunately dies, it's because the referee failed to intervene in time and failed to fulfill his duty! What does it have to do with our team members who competed with all their might?
At this point, his sinister gaze slowly swept over every terrified face in the stands. He finally fixed on the direction of the VIP stand, his voice suddenly rising.
If any of you think what I said is wrong, feel free to step forward and argue with me!
Boom!
As the voice of Dugu Bo fell, another even more immense, almost suffocating spirit power ripple spread out like a shockwave. Those with weaker strength in the stands were directly intimidated by this pressure. Their faces turned pale as they retreated repeatedly!
On the VIP stand, the brows of Ning Fengzhi were now slightly furrowed. His face was no longer calm as before, but filled with solemnity. He spoke in disbelief.
How has the strength of Dugu Bo suddenly increased so much? Looking at the condensed level and total amount of this pressure, his spirit power rank is probably at least around rank ninety-four, or even higher!