Chapter 129: Spectacular Moves on the Battlefield

Three days later, at the Great Soul Arena.

"Preliminaries, Round Nineteen, Group One. Central arena: Blue Tyrant Academy versus Thunderclap Academy."

The host, holding a sound-amplifying soul device, loudly announced the lineups. The two teams strode confidently onto the central platform.

Instantly, a tidal wave of cheers erupted from the audience stands.

Some cheered for Thunderclap Academy—after all, with the backing of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, they had consistently been the strongest of the Five Element Academies in past tournaments. But more were rooting for Blue Tyrant Academy.

Not only did the name "Blue Tyrant" sound more like a direct line from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan than Thunderclap Academy, but the strength displayed by the Blue Tyrant team had already won over the majority of the audience.

Blue Tyrant Academy had already defeated two other Elemental Academies—Blazing Fire and Elephant Armored. If they beat Thunderclap Academy as well, they would be a shoo-in for the top spot in the Heaven Dou division of the preliminaries.

As usual, Chu Chengzhou led the team. Behind him were today's selected fighters: Ma Hongjun, Oscar, and Tai Long. The substitutes—Jiangzhu, Jingling, and Huang Yuan—followed.

Worth mentioning: Dai Mubai had withdrawn from the competition. In his absence, Tai Long, the most powerful among the four substitutes in terms of spirit power and overall strength, was promoted to the main lineup.

With the team using a 7+3 configuration (7 main + 3 subs), Chu Chengzhou and the three substitutes always appeared together. The remaining spots rotated between two groups: Ma Hongjun, Oscar, and Tai Long in one; Xiao Wu, Ning Rongrong, and Zhu Zhuqing in the other. They alternated per match.

"Both sides, salute, release your spirits. The match is about to begin!"

Once in position, the referee gave the order.

The next moment, all fourteen contestants activated their spirits. Spirit weapons manifested, with yellow and purple soul rings shimmering brightly.

As the soul rings appeared, it was immediately clear Blue Tyrant Academy was at a disadvantage on paper.

Only Chu Chengzhou and Oscar were Four-Ring Soul Ancestors; the other five were Three-Ring Soul Elders. On the opposing Thunderclap side, including captain Yu Tianxin of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, they had four Four-Ring Soul Ancestors and three Soul Elders.

Among the 28 academy teams in the Heaven Dou division, Thunderclap was the only one (besides Blue Tyrant) with four Soul Ancestors, making them the strongest on paper.

After all, the other Elemental Academies only had at most three Soul Ancestors per team.

But spirit rank wasn't everything—strength decides the match, not the number of soul rings.

"Chu Chengzhou, you all are strong. Auntie (referring to Liu Erlong) must be proud to have students like you.

But Thunderclap Academy is no pushover. If you want to beat us, you'd better show some real skill!"

With his Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Spirit activated, Yu Tianxin spoke in a low voice.

His grandfather was Yu Luomian, the second-in-command of the clan. Liu Erlong was his grandfather's illegitimate daughter—his aunt by blood. The connection was very close.

If Liu Erlong had been an illegitimate son, perhaps there would've been hostility over inheritance rights. But as an illegitimate daughter, it was different. Had her mother not been of low status, the family might've even welcomed them back.

After all, a mother's status rises with her child's achievements. Liu Erlong had good talent—already a Seven-Ring Soul Sage in her forties. Becoming an Eight-Ring Soul Douluo in the future was highly probable.

Aside from their patriarch Yu Yuanzhen, only one other clan elder had reached that level. So, having another powerful member like Liu Erlong would be welcomed.

Even if she wasn't close to the family, she wasn't estranged either.

Moreover, the founding of Blue Tyrant Academy had relied heavily on funding from Yu Luomian. Liu Erlong alone could not have afforded to establish a high-level academy in Heaven Dou City.

"Please."

Chu Chengzhou smiled and gestured politely.

The prep time ended quickly. The match officially began.

In an instant, Chu Chengzhou's first soul ring lit up. The massive Azure Tree summoning beast, Little Qing, appeared.

Several emerald lights surged out, landing on Ma Hongjun, Tai Long, Jingling, and Huang Yuan.

"Fourth Soul Skill: Flaming Lust Sausage!"

Since Thunderclap Academy had no female members in this match (avoiding any embarrassing consequences), Oscar's fourth soul ring lit up. His infamous libido-boosting sausage—akin to magical Viagra—materialized and was tossed to Ma Hongjun and Tai Long.

At the same time, Thunderclap Academy launched their own moves.

"Dragonification!"

With a shout, Yu Tianxin's already-bulging arms tore through his sleeves. His arm length increased by half a foot.

Both arms became massive, covered in sturdy blue-violet scales. His fingers turned into sharp claws. Electric-blue serpents crackled across his arms. Unlike typical spirit rings, his were split—two on each arm.

For Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Spirit Masters, each spirit ring past level 30 could further "dragonize" part of the body.

When Shrek faced Yu Tianheng, he had only one dragonized arm. But Yu Tianxin, now over level 40, could transform both.

His aura and pressure were far beyond Yu Tianheng's.

But to Chu Chengzhou, it wasn't much.

Next moment, Ma Hongjun and Tai Long charged into Thunderclap's formation.

Feeling the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon aura from Yu Tianxin, Ma Hongjun and Jingling were fine. Their spirits—a top-tier Lava Fire Phoenix and a body-type Skeleton—weren't suppressed.

But Tai Long and Huang Yuan were different. Their beast-type spirits (a Power Gorilla and a Lone Wolf, respectively) were heavily suppressed by the "King of Beast Spirits" Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon.

Against Yu Tianxin, Tai Long and Huang Yuan were practically crippled.

If not for the protective green shields from Little Qing, they'd have been eliminated within three seconds.

But suppression wasn't one-sided. Thunderclap's Soul Ancestor Lei Tian, with his weak lightning-type Eagle spirit, was in turn suppressed by Ma Hongjun's Lava Phoenix.

With no defensive shield, Lei Tian was quickly forced off the platform by Ma Hongjun's fiery assault.

Despite being the first to lose a member, Blue Tyrant's overall state was worse. With Chu Chengzhou focusing only on support, they were effectively down two (Tai Long and Huang Yuan), while Thunderclap had lost only one.

Without delay, Chu Chengzhou's second soul ring lit up. A massive two-zhang (6.6 meters) Light Lion named Little Bai appeared.

"ROAR——!"

A deafening roar signaled its arrival.

White light surged into Ma Hongjun and Jingling.

Instantly, both of them experienced explosive power-ups. Jingling's aura matched Thunderclap's Soul Ancestors, while Ma Hongjun's pressure rivaled even the dragon-transformed Yu Tianxin.

Oscar's sausage increased all stats by 30%; Little Bai's Blessing skill boosted them by another 50%. The effects stacked—an 80% overall increase, more than enough to close the gap.

When Chu Chengzhou summoned his second beast—something long-awaited by fans—the arena erupted with excitement.

The announcer shouted, "Ladies and gentlemen, look!

On the central platform, Blue Tyrant Academy's Chu Chengzhou has finally summoned his second spirit beast in competition! If I'm not mistaken, it's the Light Lion, a powerful support-type spirit beast!

The first was the healing and shielding Azure Tree; the second is this support-type Light Lion. Who still dares to claim Chu Chengzhou isn't a support-type Soul Master?

Now we can't help but wonder—what are his third and fourth summoning beasts?"

Although the audience had seen his True Spirit Banner spirit before—with four emblems representing his summons—the images were abstract. Besides the tree and lion, they only vaguely resembled a red bird and a dark-colored bear. With so many possible soul beasts in the world, no one could guess with certainty what those last two were.

VIP section, front row.

"Ning Sect Master, it seems your esteemed nephew really is a support-type soul master. Perhaps one day he'll become the strongest support-type soul master on the continent?"

Emperor Xue Ye turned and smiled as he spoke to Ning Fengzhi.

"Your Majesty flatters me!"

Ning Fengzhi nodded slightly, but inwardly he was full of complaints.

What kind of support-type soul master is this kid supposed to be?

The first two summoned beasts might fool people into thinking that, but the latter two were clearly strong assault-type soul beasts.

That fire phoenix summon could easily overpower a five-ring Soul King—no problem—and its strength was comparable to a regular six-ring Soul Emperor. As for that Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear summon, its power even exceeded that of an ordinary seven-ring Soul Sage.

How does he know this?

Some time ago, during an assassin's night raid on Lanba Academy, two six-ring Soul Emperors from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect witnessed Big Bear's strength firsthand. That was a creature even the violent Gold Bear Douluo assassin didn't dare to confront directly!

In the arena—

After summoning Xiaobai and bestowing a blessing-type soul skill on Ma Hongjun and Jing Ling, Chu Chengzhou didn't immediately let Xiaobai join the battle.

The Light Lion wasn't a top-tier soul beast, and its bloodline was somewhat suppressed by Yu Tianxin's Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul.

However, since Xiaobai was a ten-thousand-year soul beast and Yu Tianxin only a four-ring Soul Ancestor, the suppression effect wasn't very significant. Facing the dragon-transformed Yu Tianxin, Xiaobai still had a decent chance at winning.

But in Chu Chengzhou's view, with Xiaobai's all-attribute buffs and the powerful shield cast by Xiaoqing, Ma Hongjun and Jing Ling might very well be able to defeat the Thunderclap Academy team.

After all, as long as Chu Chengzhou had soul power, the green defensive barrier on Ma Hongjun and Jing Ling could be reapplied every time it was broken.

Invincible defense and comparable attack power—what did it matter if they were only two against six?

Two fists can't fight four hands?Try breaking my shield first, sucker!

Now boosted and shielded, Ma Hongjun and Jing Ling went all out. Ignoring the attacks from the Thunderclap team, they charged straight at Lu Chen, Xiao Yunjv, and Lei Jiu Chong—three relatively weaker Soul Elders—hoping to eliminate them first before turning their attention to the remaining three.

"Damn it!"

Yu Tianxin unleashed his fourth soul skill: Blue Lightning Divine Dragon Descent. It struck the green barrier on Jing Ling's body, but when the lightning faded, the shield remained intact. He was furious, gritting his teeth.

This green barrier was absurdly tough—like a ten-thousand-year-old turtle shell—even tougher than the fourth defense soul skill used by the brute Huyan Li from the Elephant Armored Academy the day before!

Just then, Lei Mie's fourth soul ring lit up, launching a nearly 5,000-year-old assault-type soul skill at Jing Ling.

The green barrier on Jing Ling twisted violently, then shattered with a "bang" into countless green fragments.

The barrier—on par with ten-thousand-year defense soul skills—was indeed formidable, but not unbreakable. It had already taken several hits earlier, and after two consecutive fourth soul skill strikes, it finally collapsed.

Yu Tianxin was elated and rushed in to knock Jing Ling out of the arena.

But at that moment, a green stream of light surged into Jing Ling's body, and the shattered green shield instantly reformed.

"I %￥&*@#￥!"

The damn turtle shell was back again. Yu Tianxin nearly cursed out loud.

This was just too unfair! He had finally managed to break it, and it returned?

His expression twisted as he looked at Chu Chengzhou on the opposite side of the arena.

Chu Chengzhou simply responded with a calm, faint smile.

"Forget these two turtle-shell freaks—go take that bastard down first!"Yu Tianxin shouted angrily to his teammates and dashed toward Chu Chengzhou.

With shields that strong and endlessly renewable, where was the Thunderclap team supposed to find enough soul power to keep breaking them?

If they didn't knock Chu Chengzhou out, they had no chance of winning.

Just then, a green blur darted out—Yu Tianxin had barely taken a few steps before being forced to a halt.

Looking down, he saw Tai Long hugging his right thigh tightly, turtle shield and all.

At the same time, another green blur shot toward Lei Dong, the control-type Soul Ancestor, and Huang Yuan latched onto his leg too.

Yu Tianxin and Lei Dong: "..."

Sure, their martial soul powers had been suppressed, but that didn't mean they couldn't move. They were still Soul Elders—far stronger than ordinary people.

With Xiaoqing's green barrier protecting them, Tai Long and Huang Yuan weren't afraid of being beaten to death. As long as they clung to those legs, Yu Tianxin and Lei Dong were effectively immobilized.

Now burdened with clingy "human accessories," how could they keep fighting?

The rest of the Thunderclap team—still unburdened—dodged Ma Hongjun's attacks and charged toward Chu Chengzhou, Oscar, and Jiang Zhu.

"Forget it, let's end this farce."

Seeing how things were going, Chu Chengzhou smacked his lips and decided it was time to end the match.

Tai Long and Huang Yuan's "hug-the-thigh" tactics were just too cringey to watch.

With a wave of his hand, Xiaoqing summoned a mass of vines and roots that lashed out at the remaining four members of the Thunderclap team, who immediately realized what it meant to be outmatched.

Plant-type soul beasts may be slow-moving, but when they're stronger than their opponents and allowed to attack freely, they're just as dangerous as any beast-type soul beast of the same age.

A single strike from a vine or root could easily overwhelm even a Soul Elder, let alone four of them.

Xiaoqing's roots filled the entire arena—nearly becoming trip hazards—and more than a hundred vines whipped through the air. On average, each Thunderclap team member took over ten hits per second.

Before Yu Tianxin and Lei Dong could even shake off their "leg-huggers," Xiaoqing's vines had already strung up the rest of the Thunderclap team like decorations.

"Thunderclap Academy concedes!"

Seeing the vines and roots sweeping toward him and Lei Dong, Yu Tianxin immediately raised his hand and shouted.

"…You're not going to tough it out a little longer?"Chu Chengzhou asked, genuinely surprised.

"Hmph~!"

Yu Tianxin didn't reply—he just gave a cold snort.

This bastard Chu Chengzhou is pure evil. Tough it out longer? What, does he want to see me strung up on a tree like the others before I can concede?

Watching previous matches, Yu Tianxin had thought it was funny when other teams got strung up. But now that it might happen to him, there was nothing funny about it.

I am a direct descendant of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon clan! How could I possibly let myself be strung up in public?

Skill or no skill, Yu Tianxin would rather concede early than suffer that humiliation.

"Young man, life's a long journey. You've got to learn how to persevere."

Chu Chengzhou said earnestly.

Yu Tianxin: "…"

"I declare: In the nineteenth round of the preliminaries, Lanba Academy defeats Thunderclap Academy!"

The referee stepped up and announced the result.

After leaving the arena, Chu Chengzhou and his team headed straight for the viewing stands to watch the remaining matches with Xiao Wu and the others.

Just as they arrived, all five matches from the first group concluded, and the host began announcing the matchups for the second group.

Chu Chengzhou didn't care about the other four matches—his eyes went straight to the eastern arena.

There, the Elephant Armored Academy was about to face Canghui Academy.

The preliminaries were already in round nineteen—over two-thirds complete. So far, except when facing Lanba Academy, none of the five Elemental Academies had lost to any non-elemental team, proving their strength.

But today, unless something unexpected happened, the Elephant Armored Academy was probably in for a surprise.

All members of their team were pure defense-type soul masters—total meatheads. Meanwhile, Canghui Academy had a hidden trump card. If the Elephant team didn't interrupt it in time, Canghui's seven-in-one soul fusion technique would be unstoppable.

The teams stepped onto the eastern arena.

In terms of sheer presence, the Elephant Armored Academy dwarfed their opponents. All seven members were towering brutes over two meters tall. The leader, Huyan Li, looked over 2.5 meters and had arms thicker than most people's legs.

By contrast, the Canghui team looked skinny and weak. None were beast soul masters. The tallest was 1.8 meters, the shortest only 1.7 meters. Compared to the "giants" from the Elephant team, they looked like a bunch of shrimps.

Also, Canghui only had one Soul Ancestor—team captain Shen Xinshui—while the Elephant team had three.

Judging by size and soul power, Canghui stood no chance.

But just because you're bigger and stronger doesn't mean you'll win.

The Deep Sea Demon Whale King was huge too—millions of years old, nearly god-tier. Strongest known being on the planet besides the Silver Dragon King. But in the original story, it still fell to Tang San.

What? Some god king cheated? (Shura: Don't look at me, I didn't do anything.)Ahem. Anyway, the soul ring and soul bone went to Tang San, okay?

As expected, the Elephant team lined up and activated defensive soul skills, ready to steamroll their enemies.

But before they could even get into formation, the Canghui team had already completed the setup for their seven-in-one fusion technique.

A dazzling multicolored pillar of light soared into the sky, rapidly expanding until it covered most of the arena and engulfed all seven members of the Elephant team.

When the light faded, only the Canghui team was left standing.

The Elephant team—Huyan Li included—lay unconscious on the ground.

(They were only unconscious. The tournament forbids killing or grievous injury, unless someone with serious power gives the okay.)

Besides, Canghui Academy couldn't afford to offend Elephant Armored Academy, which was backed by the Elephant Armored Sect—one of Spirit Hall's four top dogs.

Another Elemental Academy falls to a non-elemental one.

Thunderclap, Divine Wind, Blazing Fire, and Water Academies: Where's the fifth? There are only four Elemental Academies in the Heaven Dou Empire, right??

"I declare: In the nineteenth round of the preliminaries, Canghui Academy defeats Elephant Armored Academy!"

The referee announced the result.

Thunderous cheers erupted from the crowd.

The Elephant team losing to Canghui was wild!

But the crowd loved it. An underdog upset? Way more exciting than a predictable match.

T/N: Another 5 coming in a bit, latest time tomorrow.

T/N: For up to 30 chapters ahead on most of my translations, become a p@tron at p@treon.com/LordHipposApostle