Her name was Xu Jiujiu, captain of the Star Luo Team, and she held an even higher status: she was the sister of Xu Jiawei, the current emperor of the Star Luo Empire.
The Sun Moon Team's representative was also their captain, a tall, burly man with short hair and bright, shining eyes. He walked with a steady gait, as if he possessed inexhaustible strength.
Both captains approached Huang Jinxu. Following the same flashy process as Lin Kong's earlier, the method of the match was determined.
Huang Jinxu glanced at the small red ball in his hand and announced loudly, "Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy versus Star Luo Royal Advanced Soul Master Academy. The match will be a team battle, starting after the time it takes for one incense stick to burn. Please prepare your teams and select your participants."
Xu Jiujiu and Ma Rulong stepped off the stage upon hearing the announcement. They hadn't anything to prepare; they'd already devised multiple strategies for any possible match type.
A moment later, before Huang Jinxu could even remind them, both teams stepped onto the stage in unison.
Each team took a position, arranging themselves into their respective formations.
The Sun Moon Team, led by their captain Ma Rulong, formed a simple cone formation. Ma Rulong, a Soul Emperor, stood at the front, with the other six Soul Kings forming a triangle behind him.
The Star Luo Team also adopted a similar formation. One person was in front, followed by two, then three, with six people forming a triangle. However, unlike the Sun Moon Team, Xu Jiujiu, the captain, stood at the very back of their formation.
"The match begins," the Sky Slayer Douluo announced loudly, seeing that both sides were ready. He then stepped aside, ready to provide assistance if needed.
There were fourteen players on the field, and the lowest cultivation level was that of a Soul King. Even someone as powerful as Huang Jinxu, at level ninety-two, didn't dare to relax, remembering the lesson learned from Cheng Gang.
On the field, the two teams had already engaged in battle. However, it could hardly be called a battle; it was more like a one-sided assault. The Sun Moon Team fully utilized the advantages of their soul tools. Each member had several cannon barrels protruding from their bodies, and they unleashed a barrage of cannonballs and energy beams towards the Star Luo Team.
An opening gambit of all-out attack; this was the Sun Moon Team's approach. As specialists in soul tools, they couldn't afford to invest all their energy in cultivation. Therefore, their cultivation levels were mostly boosted by medicine. Although their soul power increased, their foundation was insufficient, which made their combat effectiveness relatively weak.
Of course, this only applied to the soul masters. As soul engineers, soul tools were their most potent weapons. Regardless, their soul power was real.
Moreover, it was well-known that the combat ability of soul engineers below the seventh ring was superior to that of soul masters.
The match didn't unfold with the back-and-forth exchanges often seen in novels. Instead, the Sun Moon Team immediately unleashed a barrage of attacks, pinning the Star Luo Team down from the very start. However, the Star Luo Team was composed entirely of Soul Kings and equipped with soul-guided devices, making it difficult for the Sun Moon Team to achieve a quick victory.
The situation for the Star Luo Team was even more precarious. The Sun Moon Team's assault was incredibly swift and devastating.
Leading the charge was the team's front-line attack-type soul master, Tang Ling. He was a level 53 Soul King, and his martial soul was the renowned Clear Sky Hammer.
Facing the incoming storm of projectiles, Tang Ling channeled his soul power frantically. The surface of his Clear Sky Hammer glowed intensely, expanding in the wind to six or seven meters. He then positioned the oversized Clear Sky Hammer in front of him, effectively using it as a shield.
The others weren't idle either. They either activated soul skills to defend or used defensive soul-guided devices. Although under immense pressure, they were still a formidable team that had reached the semi-finals, so they weren't about to be defeated so easily.
The two sides were currently locked in a stalemate. The Sun Moon Team held the upper hand, while the Star Luo Team could only focus on defense against the relentless onslaught.
This kind of situation wasn't new. It was the Sun Moon Team's usual tactic. The Star Luo Team was doing relatively well; several previous teams had crumbled against the Sun Moon Team, with the longest any of them had lasted being just over a dozen breaths.
Under these circumstances, some spectators focused their attention on Xu Jiujiu. The team captain was making her first appearance in the competition. No one knew her martial soul or soul power level before this, making her seem especially mysterious. The only information available was her identity as the princess and the current emperor's sister.
At this moment, Xu Jiujiu wore a gorgeous crown. The crown seemed to be made of countless stars, with a golden, faceted gemstone at the front as the starting point. Eighteen larger stars surrounded the gemstone, converging towards the back and rising upwards, forming a beautiful series of points.
The Star Crown. This was Xu Jiujiu's martial soul, a powerful one that had almost been forgotten by people.
Xu Jiujiu was born into the royal family and was already exceptionally beautiful. Now, wearing the radiant, pale-gold crown, she was even more like a queen, exuding a dignified and noble aura.
At this moment, some people in the crowd couldn't help but swallow their saliva. Her exquisite appearance and queenly demeanor made Xu Jiujiu incredibly alluring, inspiring a desire to conquer and defile in the men who looked at her. Moreover, since Xu Jiujiu was of royal blood, such thoughts were even more pronounced.
Others, after a brief moment of infatuation, lowered their heads, filled with deep self-doubt.
Of course, these were just a small minority. Most people wanted to see an exciting match, a fierce battle, a thrilling soul duel.
Xu Jiujiu was positioned at the very back of her team. She could clearly see that her teammates were only able to defend themselves. This was only the beginning! How could it be like this?
It couldn't go on like this. So, Xu Jiujiu activated her third soul skill. The Star Crown on her head shone brilliantly, and a strong golden beam of light shot up into the sky.
Xu Jiujiu's third soul skill was called the Star Brilliance Technique. It was a boosting skill that could greatly enhance various attributes. It could be cast on four people at once, significantly increasing their strength.
The golden pillar of light was about the thickness of an adult man's arm, with specks of starlight swirling and rising within, looking extremely strange.
Xu Jiujiu waved her hand lightly, as if a fisherman casting bait, and then the golden mist spread out, enveloping the other six people on her side.
When the golden mist fell, the six people's momentum instantly soared, as if they had taken medicine, and they were no longer as flustered in resisting the Sun Moon Team's attacks.
But, this wasn't enough.
Tang Ling, standing at the front, looked back, his gaze meeting Xu Jiujiu's. With just a glance, the two understood what the other meant.
"Go!" Xu Jiujiu shouted, and as soon as the words left her mouth, a ball of golden light shot out from her hand, aimed directly at Ma Rulong.
As if they had discussed it beforehand, at the moment Xu Jiujiu made her move, Tang Ling and the other six people instinctively dodged to both sides, leaving a clear path to ensure the golden light wouldn't be blocked.
In contrast, Ma Rulong was caught off guard. The ball of golden light arrived in front of him with lightning speed, and then wrapped around him, turning into a golden light shield at that moment.
At the top of the golden light shield was a bead, about the size of a fist, with one hundred and eight facets, shimmering and rotating rapidly, emitting a brilliant light.
Ma Rulong, trapped inside, immediately launched a frantic attack, but it was to no avail. All his attacks landed on the golden light shield as if they had sunk into the sea, unable to cause any damage.
"Huh? What is that thing? It can actually trap a Soul Emperor?" The scene on the field astonished the group from the Body Sect, and someone immediately asked.
Among the major powers of the continent, the Body Sect was arguably the most unfamiliar with soul tools.
The Body Sect focused on the inheritance and innovation of battle skills, as well as the second awakening of martial souls, and even secret methods for increasing the lifespan of soul rings.
They were pure soul masters, quite conservative, and relatively resistant to soul tools, believing that soul tool masters were just a side path. In this regard, the people of the Body Sect were a bit arrogant.
Therefore, no one could answer what soul tool Xu Jiujiu was using, not even Huo Yuhao. Although he didn't reject soul tools, he felt that it was better to focus on a few things. A person's energy was limited, and Huo Yuhao's mind had always been on rapidly strengthening himself.
"That's an absolute defense soul tool. Its level should have reached seven."
Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw that the person speaking was the substitute player, Vina. Seeing that it was her, they didn't doubt the truth of her words. Vina came from the Heavenly Soul Empire's royal family and had some knowledge.
Seeing everyone look at her, Vina continued to explain, "Absolute defense soul tools are similar to the invincible shields you've seen before. They're one-time-use soul tools. A level-seven absolute defense soul tool can last for fifteen minutes. To break it, you'd need at least a seventh-ring Soul Saint's strength."
"This kind of soul tool can currently only be made by the Sun Moon Empire, and they've already been bid up to over a million gold soul coins."
"Hiss."
The sound of gasps followed one after another. The people from the Body Sect had never really understood soul tools. They hadn't expected them to cost millions at a time. If that was the case, would soul masters need to check their pockets before a fight?
Huo Yuhao also secretly gasped, inwardly cursing those rich people. Over a million gold soul coins, just gone like that!
As a sect's young master, he only had less than six million gold soul coins on him right now. Five million of it was given to him by Du Busi. Huo Yuhao naturally accepted it without a second thought. Money was just money; he didn't take it too seriously, so there was no psychological burden. After all, if you had a lot of lice, you wouldn't feel itchy, and if you owed a lot of debts, you wouldn't worry.
The rest came from the assassins sent by the Dai Clan that he had... ahem, confiscated from.
Huo Yuhao originally thought he was quite wealthy, but now it seemed that poverty had limited his imagination.
As Huo Yuhao was lost in thought, the match continued. Two women from the Star Luo Team stepped forward. One had a plain appearance, with long, dark purple hair cascading down her back and freckles on her face. The most striking thing about her was that two flames were actually burning in her eye sockets.
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