"Teacher Wang, will I be the first to go tomorrow?"
Ma Xiaotao was not a quiet person; her decision to act now, from the start of the Soul Duel Tournament until the present, was to deal with the Sun Moon Royal Academy. Now that she had participated in the team competition, she naturally wanted to continue.
After returning to the hotel conference room, she immediately spoke impatiently.
"No rush," Wang Yan shook his head. "You might not have seen it clearly on the arena, but after their captain surrendered, the other members of the Sun Moon Royal Academy in the lounge area did not seem surprised. Perhaps they had given up on the team battle from the beginning."
"They're too arrogant, aren't they?" Dai Yueheng said with some dissatisfaction. "Not to mention Senior Sister has the cultivation of a Spirit Saint. Even if Senior Sister didn't make a move, our spirit power Rank is still higher than theirs. Are they really so confident that three of them can defeat seven of us in the individual competition?"
"They must have come prepared," Ye Xiaosheng, also a Soul Master, said. "I barely had a chance to act on the arena today, but I carefully observed their spirit tools. The spirit tool their captain used at the end must have been a Rank 7 spirit tool."
"And it was one of the most powerful among Rank 7 spirit tools. You might not have noticed, but after Senior Sister dodged his attack, that attack even penetrated the spirit tool barrier set up by the Star Luo Empire."
A Rank 7 spirit tool, in terms of attack power alone, was indeed comparable to a Spirit Saint.
"Even if he has the cultivation of a Spirit Saint, he can't be my opponent. Besides, I also understand spirit tools and Soul Masters. With the spirit power of a Rank 6 Spirit Emperor, even using a Rank 7 spirit tool, how many attacks can he make?"
"No, I'll still be the first to go tomorrow."
As soon as the words left his mouth, everyone else looked at Wang Nan.
"I'm not lacking confidence in Xiaotao's strength, but the Sun Moon Royal Academy will definitely use spirit tools that counter Xiaotao. With the strength of Mingde Hall, it's not impossible for them to bring out Rank 8 spirit tools. It's better for me to go up first and test their strength."
"But if it's a spirit tool meant to counter me, wouldn't you also be at a disadvantage?"
"No, although your strength is higher than mine, your attributes are also very distinct. A spirit tool designed to counter you might not necessarily be effective against me."
Wang Yan glanced at Wang Nan. "Alright, this way we'll also have a chance to see their prepared methods in advance. If we notice something is wrong, we'll surrender immediately. We can send a maximum of seven people tomorrow, so even if we just wear them down, we can still defeat them."
After discussing the general tactics, everyone gathered again to study the spirit tools used by the Sun Moon Royal Academy during the day and then returned to their rooms to rest.
The night passed without incident, and the next day, the individual elimination rounds were held as scheduled.
After Wang Nan stepped onto the arena, standing opposite him was surprisingly their substitute member, Meng Hongchen.
The Sun Moon Royal Academy could only send a maximum of three members. It seemed they were unsure if Ma Xiaotao would be the first to act, so they sent the strangely capable Meng Hongchen to lead the charge.
Actually, this tactic was quite good. Meng Hongchen's Spirit was the rare Vermilion Ice Toad. This Spirit naturally carried poison. Without understanding this Spirit, one would unknowingly fall victim to it.
However, poisoning methods are ultimately more effective when done secretly. In front of Wang Nan, who understood her abilities, they had almost no effect.
"Match, start!"
The referee was still Huang Jinxu. As his voice fell, Wang Nan's figure flashed, and he rushed out. Poisons take time to take effect, and what Wang Nan needed to do was finish the battle quickly.
Meng Hongchen did not rush to use long-range spirit tools.
After more than half a month of competitions, they had also studied Shrek. In their opinion, Wang Nan possessed a very flexible ability. The most effective attacks against him were either spirit tools with tracking capabilities or large-scale attacks that left him nowhere to hide.
Meng Hongchen was not skilled in these two types of long-range spirit tools. She simply took out a few steamed buns and stuffed them into her mouth.
That was a Food-Type Spirit Master's Spirit Ability. In the Soul Duel Tournament, all Spirit Masters were forbidden from using medicine, but Food-Type Spirit Masters were not included.
Immediately after, Meng Hongchen's body underwent a transformation, and ice-blue light simultaneously lit up from multiple parts of her body.
Head, shoulders, arms, hands, chest, abdomen, legs, feet—a delicate ice-blue armor spread from these areas, protecting Meng Hongchen's entire body.
This set of armor was blue and white overall, with each component made of silver-white metal, decorated with blue and gold patterns, and blue light flowing through the seams where they joined.
A pair of ice-blue long swords extended from her hands, and three pairs of folded wings slowly unfolded behind her. As soon as this armor appeared, a strong chill emanated from her body.
How to perfectly combine a Spirit Master and a Soul Master—this was the answer given by the continent's number one Soul Master Academy, the Sun Moon Empire Royal Soul Master Academy.
As the distance between the two grew closer, Meng Hongchen's speed suddenly increased. Her first spirit ring lit up, and the ice sword in her hand slashed out, sending a cross-shaped light blade flying toward Wang Nan.
It must be said that this custom-made spirit tool armor was indeed impressive. The attacks it unleashed could carry Meng Hongchen's inherent cold poison. It could be said that this was the perfect combination of a Spirit Master and a Soul Master.
Wang Nan waved his hands, and the Coiling Dragon Staff in his hand was about to strike the light blade when Meng Hongchen's mouth curved slightly.
As long as the light blade shattered, the cold poison would spread outwards. She was confident that even an opponent with Spirit Emperor cultivation would not last long under her cold poison.
At the same time, Wang Nan's figure flashed. Relying on the flickering ability brought by his first spirit ring, he and his rod appeared before Meng Hongchen in an instant.
Meng Hongchen's reaction was much slower than Wang Nan had anticipated. She barely managed to raise her hands until the Coiling Dragon Staff landed on her.
But by then, it was too late. As the Coiling Dragon Staff descended from above and touched the ice-blue armor, Wang Nan's second spirit ring emitted a golden-yellow light, and the giant Dragon on the Coiling Dragon Staff shone brightly. Meng Hongchen only felt her legs go weak, but fortunately, the spirit tool armor supported her, preventing her from falling.
It seemed she had very little actual combat experience, or rather, her opponents in actual combat rarely attacked her directly, suddenly bypassing her attacks, like Wang Nan did.
Wang Nan, on the other hand, would not let go of such an opportunity. Stealing moves, feinting, and taking advantage of weaknesses—these combat techniques had been constantly emphasized to him since his first year.
While Meng Hongchen had not yet readjusted her posture, her fifth spirit ring lit up, the Dragon came out, and the rod struck, sending Meng Hongchen flying backward, landing outside the arena.
"Meng!"
Xiao Hongchen quickly ran over from below the stage to help Meng Hongchen up, then looked up at Wang Nan on the arena, his eyes filled with anger and unwillingness.
Oh no, why do I feel like I've become the bad guy?