Before long, in the main arena for the individual soul fight, Yang Yunhai strode out of the passageway.
Seeing his opponent's face clearly, he gave a slight nod.
On the other side, Yu Tianheng's expression remained calm as he returned the nod.
Over the past half month, Yang Yunhai had remained undefeated in all the Great Soul Arena events, becoming the fastest soul master in its history to earn the Silver Soul Badge. However, due to the arena's rules, unless one made a special request, opponents in individual matches would be matched only within the same rank. At the moment, the strongest opponent Yang Yunhai could face was a level 39 Soul Elder,and Yu Tianheng happened to be exactly that.
And so, they were inevitably matched together.
He knew he couldn't win. As both a teammate and a former opponent, no one knew Yang Yunhai's strength better than Yu Tianheng.
But as the direct heir of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, his pride would never allow him to back down before the fight even started. Even if he lost, he had to fight with dignity. Thinking this, he strode toward the center of the arena with fighting spirit blazing in his eyes.
Soon, they faced each other, and Yu Tianheng was the first to speak. "Xiao Hai, don't hold back. This is a good chance for me to test the results of my recent training."
"Alright," Yang Yunhai nodded slightly.
Moments later, the host finished his passionate opening and loudly announced the start of the match.
In a flash of light, both men released their martial spirits almost simultaneously.
"Third Soul Skill,Thunder's Fury!" Knowing Yang Yunhai's strength, Yu Tianheng quickly used his third skill to enhance himself.
The next moment,"Dragon Transformation!" he murmured, and a brilliant blue light burst from the center of his forehead. Electric arcs spread outward, a lightning-shaped mark appeared on his brow, his right arm thickened and was covered in dense blue-purple scales, while two yellow and one purple soul rings rotated around his wrist.
Yu Tianheng knew Yang Yunhai's soul skills well. His only chance was to break through with overwhelming power and speed,dragging the fight out would mean certain defeat.
In a heartbeat, he stepped forward and shot toward his opponent.
With a swish, Yang Yunhai flicked his right hand, sending a vine whip skimming just above the ground toward him,exactly the same move as their last fight.
Again with this move? Yu Tianheng's eyes flashed, and he leapt into the air to jump over it.
But just then, Yang Yunhai snapped his wrist forward. The vine suddenly arched upward like a wave and surged forward. The part that had been sweeping left stopped right beneath Yu Tianheng's feet and went taut.
In the next instant, countless vine branches sprouted, forming a giant V-shaped net that trapped Yu Tianheng mid-air.
"I've fallen for it!" Yu Tianheng's scalp tingled.
"First Soul Skill,Thunder Dragon Claw!" He twisted in the air, his right hand transforming into a massive dragon claw that slashed at the vines.
Tearing sounds rang out, leaving only shallow white marks,it did no real damage.
The toughness is insane!
Yu Tianheng's heart sank. Even with his third skill's enhancement, his dragon claw, and the inherent boost from his first skill,all stacked together,he still couldn't break the vine produced by Yang Yunhai's first skill.
As a teammate, he had never thought much of it, but facing him as an opponent, it felt absurd.
According to what Yang Yunhai had told them when he returned from helping Dugu Yan refine her medicine, he had completely absorbed the medicinal power of rare treasures during the process, causing his martial spirit to undergo changes,even his hair color had been affected.
With Dugu Bo present at the time, there was no doubt it was real.
Luck that made others envious!
More importantly, Xiao Hai could control his soul power to strengthen certain sections of the vines. The ones near his body were far stronger than the rest,and the area Yu Tianheng was attacking might be even tougher…
While he was still thinking, the vines on both sides clamped inward, with new offshoots sprouting densely, weaving together until they completely enveloped him, leaving no escape.
"Second Soul Skill,Thunder Overwhelming!" Yu Tianheng braced his hands against the vines, unleashing arcs of electricity from his entire body.
It was completely useless.
In the blink of an eye, he was suspended in the air by the vines, only his eyes visible.
He felt his soul power rapidly draining away, while his skin prickled with needle-like pain.
"No doubt about it, that's my disciple!" Chrysanthemum Douluo said proudly from the stands.
"This is the so-called heir of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan?" Dugu Bo snorted from the other side.
Though martial spirit strength played a role, he felt that intelligence had been the real deciding factor here. It was the same trick as before, just with a twist, yet Yu Tianheng had walked right into it. As his teammate, Yu Tianheng surely knew Yang Yunhai's vines could sprout branches, but he simply hadn't thought Xiao Hai would use them this way mid-fight.
Compared to this little fox, Yu Tianheng seemed like a naïve fool.
Dugu Yan sat silently in the viewing area.
Beside her, Zhu Zhuqing bit her lip, silently resolving to train harder to keep pace with her partner.
"No doubt about it, Xiao Hai's martial spirit is truly impossible to guard against," commented Yu Feng.
The rest of the team nodded in agreement.
"Lingling, let's go. Tianheng needs healing now," Dugu Yan suddenly said to Ye Lingling.
"Alright," Ye Lingling nodded and stood up.
"I concede," Yu Tianheng said from within the vines, feeling his soul power nearly exhausted.
Hearing this, Yang Yunhai immediately withdrew his power, lowering Yu Tianheng,whose clothes were torn and bleeding in places,to the ground.
"Xiao Hai, you've gotten even stronger," Yu Tianheng forced a smile, nodding slightly to Yang Yunhai before turning away without a word, ignoring the host's announcement and the cheers of the crowd.
Seeing this, Yang Yunhai said nothing more and left as well.
"If word of this spreads, the old fogies of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan will hate my disciple even more," Chrysanthemum Douluo thought to himself. Last time, only a few people had known about Yu Tianheng's loss. This time, it was in front of everyone.
That was a harsh blow to the face.
He hadn't expected he would one day have reason to make peace with the old poison master. With that thought, he got up and left.
"From now on, I'll need to keep a close watch," Dugu Bo thought, also getting up to leave.
In the lounge, after Ye Lingling healed him and he changed into fresh clothes, Yu Tianheng walked out. Qin Ming looked over. "Tianheng, the team battle starts in half an hour. Rest up quickly."
"Got it," Yu Tianheng said, sitting cross-legged on a sofa to meditate.
Yang Yunhai had already gone to watch Zhu Zhuqing's match, and after it ended, he returned with her to the lounge.
When the team battle began, they followed Qin Ming to the viewing stands, discussing and taking notes as they watched.
Sure enough, without Xiao Hai's steady control, many problems became apparent. Qin Ming's heart grew heavy as the team ultimately lost.
Their opponents had slightly higher overall strength and were all over twenty years old, with more combat experience and better teamwork. Without Yang Yunhai's control to steady things, their weaknesses were exposed, especially when the battle turned unfavorable,impatience crept in, and individual skills weren't fully brought out.
Ironically, the most composed was Zhu Zhuqing, only level 28, who fully utilized her abilities,but her level was too low to turn the tide.
After the match, they gathered for the inevitable review.
Qin Ming's first conclusion was that Yang Yunhai's terrifying control had lifted the team to a level they weren't yet ready for. This reinforced his idea of temporarily removing Yang Yunhai from team matches to encourage growth.
Back at the hotel, the night passed quietly.
The next day, Yang Yunhai won both his individual and group matches, but the team lost again.
On the third day, they lost again. On the fourth, they won. After that, they lost more than they won, and their points dropped. But as cooperation improved and experience accumulated, their win rate slowly rose again.
When Yang Yunhai stepped in, the team's strength skyrocketed,they crushed any opponent.
Everyone came to understand clearly who the true core of the team was, and their respect for Yang Yunhai deepened.
Time passed quickly.
One day, in the hotel's lounge, Qin Ming smiled at the returning group. "That's about it for the first phase of training. Next, I'm giving you three days off."
"After that, we'll head to other main city arenas to face different opponents and further improve our teamwork, especially our adaptability. That's the focus of our next phase."
"Understood," everyone nodded.
"Alright, go rest. I've already told the hotel staff to notify the academy to prepare a carriage. It'll be here tomorrow morning," Qin Ming continued. "Those who want to return to the academy can come with me, those who don't can stay."
Hearing this, Dugu Yan turned to Yang Yunhai. "Xiao Hai, since we're in Heaven Dou City, why not come visit my family?"
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