The tactic employed by the Thunderclap Academy in this match was primarily focused on defense and counterattacks.
Seeing that the Seven Treasures team hadn't launched an attack, they continued to hold their ground.
"What's going on? Are they fighting or not?"
"Why are both sides being so polite?"
"Is the Seven Treasures team really this timid? The strongest member of the Thunderclap team is only a Soul Ancestor—why aren't the two Soul Kings stepping forward?"
Tang San furrowed his brow and asked, puzzled, "Teacher, what are they doing?"
It wasn't uncommon for neither side to make the first move at the start of a match during tournaments.
However, that usually happened when the two teams were evenly matched in strength.
In this match, no matter how you looked at it, the Seven Treasures team's strength far exceeded that of the Thunderclap Academy.
Yu Xiaogang wasn't a mind reader like Ning Tianchen and the others—he simply shook his head. "Let's keep watching. The Seven Treasures team always uses strange tactics. Perhaps this is another new one."
Liu Erlong chuckled and scolded, "Clearly, the Seven Treasures team wants to fight a counterattack battle. The Thunderclap team is doing the same—are they just going to keep stalling like this?"
Not only them, but the impatience from the audience grew louder.
"With the Seven Treasures team's strength, are they really afraid of the Thunderclap team?" Huo Wushuang couldn't understand.
Huo Wu seemed to have figured something out. She said, "No, they're intentionally dragging out the time."
The Seven Treasures team definitely wanted to quickly defeat the Thunderclap Academy, but the latter, to avoid being pinned with the "fastest elimination record," would surely resist fiercely.
In doing so, someone from the Seven Treasures team might get injured, which obviously wouldn't be worth it.
After the match began, any time spent without either side making an offensive move still counted as part of the match duration.
Wasting some time could significantly lull the Thunderclap team into complacency.
Huo Wushuang couldn't help but whistle. "Did the Thunderclap Academy dig up their ancestors' graves? In both tournaments, the Seven Treasures team seems to be targeting them."
Huo Lie sneered. "Tomorrow is the Godwind Team's do-or-die match. They must defeat the Thunderclap Academy to retain their chances of advancing. So, perhaps the Seven Treasures team is imitating the Shrek Academy's approach in this match."
---
Five minutes later
The Thunderclap Academy members were clearly growing impatient. "Boss, they don't want to fight. Let's just surrender—it's already been five minutes. Even if we lose, it's not shameful."
Yu Tianxin squeezed his eyebrows and couldn't help but shout, "Hey, are you guys going to fight or not?"
"Just wait a little longer—we'll fight soon," Ning Tianchen responded with a smile.
Deliberately wasting time was true, but it wasn't entirely wasted effort.
At this preliminary tournament, there were ten healing-type soul masters above the rank of Soul Ancestor present at the venue.
From the start of the match, Sun Buyu had approached these healing-type soul masters and used sheer financial power to monopolize their services.
After the match ended, the Thunderclap Academy members wouldn't receive timely treatment, making it impossible for them to compete in tomorrow's matches.
Moreover, the Thunderclap Academy campus was far from the arena—even if they immediately went back to find help after the match, they wouldn't have enough time.
After waiting another minute, Sun Buyu, standing below the stage, signaled that everything was "done." Only then did Ning Tianchen and the others make their next move.
Yu Die and Cai Die clasped hands, standing face-to-face.
In the next instant, the martial souls behind them began to fuse spontaneously. The four soul rings beneath their feet merged onto the fused martial soul.
"Martial Soul Fusion Technique!" Yu Xiaogang abruptly stood up.
He had never expected the Seven Treasures team to have such an ace up their sleeve.
"The Thunderclap Academy's strength isn't much of a threat to them. Why reveal the Martial Soul Fusion Technique now—isn't this redundant?" Flender frowned, unable to comprehend the Seven Treasures team's actions.
Tang San explained, "Perhaps the Martial Soul Fusion Technique isn't their ultimate trump card. Revealing it now seems more like a show of force."
Yu Tianheng chimed in, clenching his fists and snorting, "The relationship between the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect and our family isn't good. By showcasing their strength at the tournament, they're indirectly saying that the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect is stronger than our family."
---
The Martial Soul Fusion Technique was complete. The Kaleidoscope Bewitching Butterfly flapped its wings, floating above the stage.
"Butterfly Wing Guillotine!"
The edges of the butterfly wings became extraordinarily sharp, emitting a chilling gleam under the arena lights.
The Thunderclap Academy members swallowed hard, already giving up resistance.
Their presence on the stage was purely due to Yu Tianxin forcing them to fight.
The fusion technique of two high-level Soul Ancestors approached the strength of a high-level Soul King.
As mere low-level Soul Ancestors, how could they possibly respond?
"Nine Treasures Turn Out with Glazed Tile; Nine Treasures Renowned, Second: Speed!"
A nine-colored light fell upon the Kaleidoscope Bewitching Butterfly. In the next instant, it flapped its wings and charged toward the opposing team on the stage.
"Fourth soul skill, Blue Lightning Dragon Strike!" Yu Tianxin hurriedly deployed his defense.
The Kaleidoscope Bewitching Butterfly paid him no mind, bypassing him and charging toward the rear ranks of the Thunderclap team.
Below the stage, the Thunderclap Academy's coach felt a surge of anxiety.
In this match, no matter how you looked at it, the Thunderclap Academy had no chance of winning.
But having learned their lesson from the inter-academy exchange tournament, the coach didn't dare to call for a surrender. If Yu Tianxin threw a tantrum during the Soul Master Tournament, the entire academy would suffer.
---
Ning Tianchen's lips curled into a faint smile. "Yu Tianxin, your opponents are us."
He and Feng Xiaotian attacked simultaneously.
Two Soul Kings versus one Soul Ancestor—the outcome was self-evident.
Yu Tianxin remained stubborn, refusing to beg for mercy or surrender even after being beaten unconscious!
From the moment the Seven Treasures team made their move, the match ended in just over thirty seconds.
In fact, if they hadn't been aiming to severely injure their opponents, the match would have ended even faster under the boost of the Martial Soul Fusion Technique.
"Referee, they maliciously inflicted serious injuries on our team members!" The Thunderclap Academy's coach trembled as he spoke.
The referee wasn't blind—how could he not see the situation on the stage?
As the old saying goes, without rule support, it doesn't count as a violation. Moreover, the Thunderclap Academy hadn't suffered any casualties.
"The Seven Treasures team wins." The referee announced loudly.
The Thunderclap Academy's coach stormed up to the referee, demanding an explanation.
In response, the referee tossed him a copy of the tournament rules manual, telling him to find any violations committed by the Seven Treasures team within the rules.
Seeing that his appeal was hopeless, the coach sent someone to drag Yu Tianxin and the others back to the rest area and immediately began searching for healing-type soul masters.
Not long after, a staff member replied apologetically:
"Sorry, all the healing-type soul masters at the Great Spirit Arena are currently treating the Seven Treasures team's contestants. They can't come for now."
The coach exploded in anger. "They're not even injured—what kind of treatment do they need?!"
The staff member shrugged.
It was the healing-type soul masters' choice to go to the Seven Treasures team—it was their freedom.
The coach took a few deep breaths and could only wait in the rest area for a healing-type soul master to arrive.
He waited until the day's matches ended, but no healing-type soul masters appeared.
He wasn't stupid—how could he not understand the Seven Treasures team's intentions?
The Feng Family was aligned with the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect. It seemed reasonable for the Seven Treasures team to help the Godwind Team advance.
"Damn it! How dare they!"
Fuming, he immediately wrote a letter to his sect, accusing the Seven Treasures team of misconduct.
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