Chapter 271 Huo Yuhao and the others' apprehension
Hearing the referee's resounding announcement that echoed throughout the stadium, Liu Yuan calmly turned around.
He still had his hands behind his back, and walked off the competition stage with even and steady steps.
Long Aotian, Chen Lu, and others silently followed beside him.
Even though Liu Yuan and the others had completely walked down the passage and returned to their exclusive waiting seats on the west side, the hundreds of thousands of spectators in the entire Mingdu Grand Square were still unable to recover from the previous scenes.
The cheers from before had disappeared from the stands; instead, a strange, buzzing, low murmur of discussion filled the air.
Everyone was trying their best to recall the methods that Liu Yuan had demonstrated earlier.
"Without even lifting a finger, seven living people were driven to the brink of death by mental exhaustion. Is this really the work of a Soul Master?" A deacon from an ancient sect, sitting in the front row of the VIP section, muttered to himself in a daze, his face deathly pale.
"This is too bizarre. I've heard of power-attack and agility-attack soul masters defeating their enemies in one move, but at least those left traces of soul power fluctuations and the power of their martial soul release. An attack like this, which leaves no trace, could be defended against in a life-or-death battle?"
"It seems that the championship position of this year's Heavenly Soul Royal Academy is not so easy to shake. That white-robed man with double pupils is even more unpredictable than he was five years ago."
This almost unknown method had a far greater impact on the audience than ordinary clashes of soul power. The awe in everyone's eyes when they mentioned Liu Yuan's name was palpable.
In the quiet atmosphere that lingered throughout the arena, the atmosphere on the Shrek Academy's preparation bench on the south side was so oppressive that it was almost suffocating.
Bei Bei, Wang Dong, Xu Sanshi, and the others sat blankly in their chairs, staring unfocused at the scene before them. The pride and joy they had accumulated from their decisive two-minute victory in the first match had been completely shattered by the sight of the heavily armored, unconscious bodies scattered on the ground.
Huo Yuhao's cool gaze flickered slightly.
"Senior Brother, Wang Dong."
Huo Yuhao took a deep breath, breaking the deathly silence within Shrek Academy once again. He turned to his companions, his voice low and hoarse: "We must admit that Liu Yuan's strength has reached a level we cannot even imagine. That method of instantly annihilating an entire strong team's mental defenses with pure mental power... we can't do that. Even with my Spirit Eye Martial Soul's mental interference and mental impact, it would be absolutely impossible to achieve such a clean and decisive victory against the all-out defense of the Heavenly Armor Academy."
Beibei sighed heavily and nodded: "Indeed, the purity and cohesion of their spiritual power have completely surpassed the scope of the younger generation. If we were to run into them this round, without sufficient preparation, our fate would probably not be much better than that of Tianjia Academy."
Wang Dong bit his lip, a hint of helplessness flashing in his eyes. They had worked incredibly hard over the past five years, and their strength had improved remarkably, but every time they saw Liu Yuan make a move, they felt a sense of powerlessness, as if facing a bottomless abyss.
However, just as the Shrek team realized once again how strong their opponents were and their morale began to falter, Xuanzi, who was sitting to the side, snorted coldly.
*Smack*
Xuanzi raised his right hand and slammed it heavily on the wooden table in front of him. He grabbed the gourd dripping with wine, shoved the cork shut, and although the lingering fear in his narrowed eyes remained, his expression quickly turned grim again.
This is a crucial period in the competition. If Huo Yuhao, that brat, is allowed to spread rumors about the invincibility of their opponents within the team, then this team will be completely ruined. No matter how shocked he was by Liu Yuan's mental strength, he had to suppress his fear on the surface.
"Enough! Who are you all trying to impress with this pathetic act?!"
Xuanzi shouted in a deep voice, and his loud voice immediately attracted the attention of Beibei and the others.
Xuanzi crossed his legs, forced a disdainful sneer on his face, and looked at Huo Yuhao and the others, saying, "In my opinion, Liu Yuan's methods are nothing special. He just takes advantage of his martial soul attribute and the element of surprise."
Huo Yuhao frowned slightly, looking at Xuanzi with some confusion.
Xuanzi picked up a rag from the table and wiped his hands, continuing with an extremely disdainful tone, "You all need to understand that those idiots at Tianjia Academy are all into heavy armor defense. Defensive Soul Masters always focus on physical and soul power defense during cultivation, and they know absolutely nothing about cultivating the Sea of Spirit. Liu Yuan took advantage of this and deliberately used pure spiritual power to fight head-on. To put it bluntly, that's not real skill; it's like launching a sneak attack, taking advantage of the fact that the other party has no spiritual power defense."
Xuanzi sneered, took a sip of his tea, and asserted with absolute certainty, "Soul Master battles are all-around confrontations. His move might be effective against ordinary defensive Soul Masters, but next time, if the opponent is even slightly prepared and protects their mental sea with their soul power before the battle begins, or wears a Soul Master defensive array that isolates mental probes, his mental attack will naturally fail. At that point, I don't think he'll even release his Martial Soul. What will he use to fight then? So, there's nothing to be afraid of."
Xuanzi spoke with great decisiveness, as if he had completely seen through Liu Yuan's true nature.
Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi listened to Xuanzi's explanation, and although they found it somewhat reasonable, a hint of doubt still lingered in their eyes when they recalled the bizarre scene on the stage earlier. Was it really that simple? Could someone truly achieve such a level of instantaneous kill by simply ambushing and taking advantage of someone's unpreparedness?
Huo Yuhao lowered his head, a deep worry flashing in his eyes. He knew that Xuanzi was being stubborn and deliberately trying to stabilize morale. But if his comrades believed this self-deceptive reasoning, they would pay an extremely heavy price in the subsequent direct confrontation.
But looking at Xuanzi's gloomy face, which was full of unquestionable disapproval, Huo Yuhao could only sigh in his heart and did not utter any further rebuttal.
Next, the competition on the platform continued under the referee's guidance.
The fourth, fifth, sixth... Although the second round of the elimination tournament was progressing steadily, and the aura of soul power and the sounds of clashes on the stage remained intense, the hundreds of thousands of spectators around the main square were clearly no longer able to fully concentrate on the sparring matches in front of them.
The crowd in the stands and the soul masters from various sects kept replaying in their minds the image of the white-robed youth standing with his hands behind his back in the third match, silencing the entire audience with just a single spiritual will. No matter how exquisite the tactics of the high-level soul emperors and even soul saints who followed paled in comparison to that bizarre and direct dimensional reduction attack.
In this strange atmosphere where the entire audience was absentmindedly reminiscing about the previous match, time flew by.
As the last rays of the setting sun were completely swallowed by the night, the soul-guided lights surrounding the main square on the outskirts of Mingdu lit up once more. With the referee's final, resounding whistle, the last one or two participating teams finally determined their victories.
Thus, the first stage of the brutal elimination tournament, which lasted for two whole days, has finally come to a complete end.
Originally, there were over a hundred elite soul master teams from across the continent when they entered the arena. However, after two rounds of bloody elimination with no chance of resurrection, only the last thirty or so truly top-tier teams are still sitting comfortably in the preparation seats.
Among these thirty-odd teams are the Heavenly Soul Royal Academy, whose members are all elites of the Body Sect; Shrek Academy, which has regained its reputation as a Limit Douluo; the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy, which aims to win the championship on its home turf; and Star Luo National Academy, among other long-established behemoths.
On the high platform, the middle-aged man in silver robes strode to the megaphone. Looking down at the young faces below, faces that had undergone rigorous selection and radiated sharp brilliance, he took a deep breath, and his booming voice instantly echoed through the night sky of Mingdu:
"Fellow Soul Masters, fellow citizens! The first stage of the All-Continent Elite Youth Soul Master Tournament has now concluded! Congratulations to the thirty-two elite teams that remain on the field; you have proven your strength!"
The man paused, a fanatical glint in his eyes, and then abruptly flicked his sleeve:
"But the real battle for geniuses has only just begun. Starting tomorrow, this competition will officially enter its second stage, which is also the most brutal and demanding—the round-robin stage!"
(End of chapter)