Illusion
Gu Zhujian—also known as Lone Bamboo Sword—suffered that blow almost without any defense at all.
However, his strength was indeed formidable.
He forcibly endured it and did not immediately collapse.
Yet Yuhao's follow-up attack had already arrived.
Soul Shock!
Lone Bamboo Sword's soul power level was far higher than that of Huo Yuhao.
But when it came to spiritual and mental strength, he was far inferior to Yuhao.
In an instant, Lone Bamboo Sword's body stiffened, and his consciousness froze in place.
Seeing this scene, Zhenyue, who was closest, swung his enormous left arm without hesitation.
In Lone Bamboo Sword's current state, he could neither defend nor evade.
Once Zhenyue's blow landed solidly, Lone Bamboo Sword would be eliminated without a doubt.
Fortunately, Lone Bamboo Sword was not fighting alone.
The teammates beside him reacted immediately, activating shield-type soul guides one after another and enveloping Lone Bamboo Sword within them.
These were fifth-level soul guides—Invincible Shields.
The Dou Ling Empire's research into soul tools was far from weak.
In fact, members of the Dou Ling Team had already begun integrating the paths of soul masters and soul engineers.
Crack! Crack!
Even so, Zhenyue's attack was terrifyingly powerful, directly shattering the two Invincible Shields in front of him.
Bai Ting, who followed closely behind, stepped forward, intending to eliminate Lone Bamboo Sword in one decisive strike.
At that moment, Xiao Feng behind Lone Bamboo Sword activated a soul skill.
His martial spirit was the Mystic Pearl, which possessed the same spiritual attribute as Yuhao's Spirit Eye martial spirit, making him a control-type soul master.
However, his control methods leaned more toward auxiliary support.
As a strange light flashed, Lone Bamboo Sword's figure instantly vanished.
Yet Bai Ting seemed completely unaffected and punched toward the left without hesitation.
Bang!
With a dull explosion, Lone Bamboo Sword was sent flying straight out.
"How is this possible?!"
Shock filled Xiao Feng's face. He could not understand how Bai Ting had located Lone Bamboo Sword's position.
Yuhao, standing calmly at the rear, revealed a faint smile.
His Spiritual Detection was Xiao Feng's natural enemy—
No, it should be said that it was the nemesis of all illusion- and misdirection-type abilities.
All of this had happened within just a few short seconds.
As Lone Bamboo Sword was blasted away, the fully assembled Thunder Cannon of the Dou Ling Team appeared before the Noumenon Academy members.
Upon seeing this terrifying soul tool, the corner of Zhenyue's eye twitched slightly.
At that moment, he finally understood why Yuhao had insisted from the very beginning that their priority was to break through the opponent's defenses.
Once the Dou Ling Team successfully activated this Thunder Cannon, there was absolutely no way he could withstand its power.
But just then, a loud shout rang out.
"Retreat!"
It was Yuhao's voice.
Zhenyue did not hesitate in the slightest and immediately pulled back.
At the same time, Qian Yuan and Chi Hengyu—who had been blasted away at the start—returned to their formation.
Instead of attacking Zhenyue and Bai Ting, they directly channeled their soul power into the Thunder Cannon.
It turned out that in the brief moments earlier, Lone Bamboo Sword had already led his teammates in successfully assembling the Thunder Cannon.
However, under Yuhao's command, the Noumenon Academy members had pushed their speed to the limit.
Thus, before Lone Bamboo Sword could personally activate it, he had been knocked away.
Still, aside from Lone Bamboo Sword, there were others in the Dou Ling Team capable of firing the Thunder Cannon.
"I'll do it!"
Qian Yuan roared, locking his target onto Yuhao at the rear and unleashing the attack.
Before the match, they had already assessed the threat levels among the seven members of the Noumenon Academy.
Without a doubt, Yuhao—the three-ring Soul Master—was ranked first.
As the Thunder Cannon fired, a smile crept onto Qian Yuan's face.
He was convinced that no matter how extraordinary Yuhao was, it was absolutely impossible for a three-ring Soul Master to block the power of a seventh-level soul tool like the Thunder Cannon.
In fact, the soul-guided beam fired from the Thunder Cannon pierced straight through "Yuhao."
Qian Yuan even clearly saw the shock and fear on "Yuhao's" face.
"Success!"
Qian Yuan shouted in excitement.
At the same time, a trace of doubt surfaced in his heart—why hadn't the referee intervened? Had Yuhao truly been killed?
But he didn't dwell on it.
The Soul Master Elite Competition was originally a battlefield for elites from various academies. Casualties caused by overly heavy attacks were not uncommon.
However, just as Qian Yuan was reveling in triumph, Xiao Feng behind him suddenly screamed sharply:
"Qian Yuan, what are you doing?!"
"What—how could this be?!"
Qian Yuan instinctively wanted to refute him, but then he saw the "Yuhao" that had been pierced by the Thunder Cannon quietly dissipate like drifting smoke, as if he had never existed at all.
When Qian Yuan hurriedly looked around, he discovered that the real Yuhao was still standing exactly where he had been before, a teasing smile hanging on his lips.
It turned out that the instant Qian Yuan locked onto Yuhao, Yuhao had already activated Mental Interference and Simulation.
These two major soul skills both possessed the strength of seven-thousand-year soul skills.
When used together, they produced an effect far greater than the sum of their parts.
Even though they were not a true soul ring fusion skill like Perfect Mirror, they were still enough to plunge the opponent into an illusion without the slightest awareness.
The target Qian Yuan attacked earlier was nothing more than an illusion created by Yuhao.
In reality, if Qian Yuan had been a bit more cautious, he might have noticed the inconsistencies between illusion and reality.
Unfortunately, his excitement caused him to ignore everything.
As a result, the Dou Ling Team's ultimate trump card had merely destroyed an illusion crafted by Yuhao.
Their ultimate move was wasted, Qian Yuan's soul power was nearly exhausted, and Lone Bamboo Sword had already been eliminated.
The remaining members of the Dou Ling Team were mostly control- and auxiliary-type soul masters.
Facing a Noumenon Academy that was nearly at full strength, they had no ability to resist.
In just a few exchanges, Zhenyue and Bai Ting joined forces and swept them all out of the arena.
"Noumenon Academy, victory!"
As the referee's announcement echoed across the field, the Noumenon Academy—led by Yuhao—once again secured two points and firmly claimed first place in the group.
The remaining opponents were all weaker than the Dou Ling Team.
It was practically guaranteed that the Noumenon Academy would advance as the group's top-ranked team.
And indeed, that was exactly what happened.
In the following matches, the Noumenon Academy won every battle, and Yuhao did not even need to take the field.
Even so, no team in the group could defeat the Noumenon Academy, nor could they force the team to reveal their full strength.
Of course, part of the reason was simply that the opponents were too weak.
Thus, the Noumenon Academy qualified first in the group.
With the group stage officially concluded, the Soul Master Elite Competition finally entered its final phase—the knockout rounds.
...
When Yuhao stepped out of his room, he found Zhenyue, Long Aotian, and the others already waiting outside.
"Let's go."
Yuhao spoke calmly, then stepped forward.
He had not participated in the last few round-robin matches, spending most of his time in the hotel cultivating or discussing matters related to souls with Du Buushi.
But today was different.
He would personally appear in the knockout rounds.
However, just as Yuhao began walking forward, several people followed closely behind him.
Noticing the hesitant expressions on Zhenyue, Long Aotian, and the others, Yuhao tilted his head slightly and asked with some confusion:
"What's wrong? If you have something to say, just say it."
After hearing Yuhao's words, the group exchanged glances with one another.
Finally, Long Aotian spoke up:
"Young Master… are souls really that powerful?"
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