69novels Chapter 207 Advancing to the Round of 8
Chapter 207 Advancing to the Round of 8
This electric cage isn't simply powered by soul-guided technology; it's powered by magical soul-guided devices. Long You had absorbed the magic circle knowledge from the Undead Scourge, Elex, long ago. Although much of this knowledge was necromancy, it also included a fair amount of basic mage knowledge.
While Longyou is currently unable to create such advanced technologies as artificial souls, he can inscribe some simple magic arrays and combine them with the inscription arrays of the soul guide device.
Take the electric cage that Long You has set up now, for example. This thing is actually a substitute for the domain-type soul tools such as Thunder Hell and Plasma Hell. Domain-type soul tools have always been useful and are very popular with Long You. They are powerful and also have a series of functions such as binding and confinement. The only problem is that they take time to activate and consume too much soul power. After Long You gradually learned to use the power of magic circles, he improved them into the magic version of the soul tool that is activated more quickly and consumes less soul power.
Using the absolute speed brought by the lightning flash, Long You returned to the center of the array after setting up the various array flags of the current electric cage (which was actually just placing the special soul tools).
The remaining students of the Douling Royal Academy, having escaped the swamp trap, rushed forward, hoping to eliminate Long You directly and prevent him from advancing further. However, looking at the Douling Royal Academy students who were only about three meters away from him, Long You remained relaxed.
As excitement was already evident in the eyes of Han Ling'er and Qian Yuan, the two students from the Douling Royal Academy closest to Long You, Long You bent down and slapped a soul guidance array plate on the ground, then mobilized the last of his soul power and poured it all into it.
In an instant, a pillar of lightning shot into the sky. This pillar of lightning enveloped Long You and directly knocked Han Ling'er and Qian Yuan away. At the same time, after this pillar of lightning came into contact with the outer layer of electric cage, the cage was no longer just a cage, but a real lightning domain.
The explosive lightning energy almost instantly filled the area covered by the electric cage. Almost all the students of the Douling Royal Academy who were suddenly hit groaned. Then, the golden, one-time soul tool - the Invincible Shield - bloomed on the bodies of every student of the Douling Royal Academy.
Within the plasma cage array, Long You, enveloped by the lightning pillar at the center of the array, is now in a state of absolute safety (relative to the current competition venue). At this moment, he is using the power of the milk bottle to fully replenish his meridians, which are almost depleted of soul power.
"It's a bit of a shame! This combo consumed too much soul power for a Soul King. Otherwise, if we had given these guys a few control-type soul skills or used soul tools to continue the attack, the rest of the battle would have been much easier. Instead, we can only watch helplessly as these six guys move closer to the defensive-type soul master in the team."
"But it's alright, I won't be needed for the next task. My teammates have been delayed for so long, and Gu Zhu Jian's side is in a rather miserable state!"
Huo Yuhao's mental detection sharing had been covering Long You, so Long You was well aware of the kind of attack the Guzhu Sword was enduring. This captain of the Douling Royal Academy possessed outstanding tactical skills; the moment he was swapped into the Shrek Academy's formation, he immediately activated his invincible shield, buying himself three seconds.
In those three seconds, Gu Zhujian diligently prepared his soul skill, hoping to break through Shrek Academy's encirclement with his own abilities. However, the moment Gu Zhujian's invincible shield disappeared, part-time soul master Gongyang Mo activated the Super Energy Soul Guidance Cannon and used the skill—Close-Range Artillery Fire.
For He Caitou, a Soul Master, using the Super Energy Soul Cannon requires using the simplified version, which requires a full fifteen seconds of charging before it can be used to attack. For Long You, a Soul King, the full version is sufficient to wield this powerful weapon, but his limited Soul Power output per unit time dictates that he still needs a short charging time to unleash his attack. For Gongyang Mo, a Soul Emperor, the Super Energy Soul Cannon is essentially an instant-cast weapon.
The moment Gu Zhu Jian activated his invincible shield, Gongyang Mo awkwardly pulled out the Super Energy Soul Guidance Cannon that Long You had lent him before the battle from his storage soul tool. In the second second the shield took effect, Gongyang Mo clumsily released the safety of the Super Energy Soul Guidance Cannon and hoisted it onto his shoulder. In the final second the shield activated, Gongyang Mo began channeling soul power into the Super Energy Soul Guidance Cannon. The invincible shield vanished, Gu Zhu Jian's fifth soul skill was activated, and then the Super Energy Soul Guidance Cannon erupted, a violent beam of energy engulfing Gu Zhu Jian.
Although the referee, who was prepared, rescued Gu Zhujian from the energy tide of the Super Energy Soul Guidance Cannon in the next moment, judging from Gu Zhujian's unconsciously drooping limbs, he had already fallen into a coma.
After handing the Lone Bamboo Sword to the healing Soul Master below the stage, the referee immediately turned and went to the plasma cage array that Long You had set up. This wasn't the first time this referee had officiated a Shrek Academy match, so he naturally knew the extent of the damage these students could cause. He needed to get as close as possible to where the battle was about to begin; only in this way could he stop the match at the most opportune moment and provide protection for the weaker side.
The electric cage array didn't last long. As the referee approached, the plasma on its outer layer began to thin, and both the spectators and the academy students could vaguely see what was inside.
How to put it? It's a bit tragic. Every participating student from the Douling Royal Academy was equipped with an invincible shield produced by the Sun Moon Empire, but the invincible shield only lasted for three seconds, while the electric cage array set up by Long You could work continuously for more than five seconds.
After the invincible shield failed, the students of the Douling Royal Academy, who had taken the opportunity to gather together, all cowered under Chi Hengyu's Vajra Shield and Qingfeng's Elemental Earth Wall. Relying on the defense of the Vajra Shield and the Earth Wall, they barely managed to block most of the plasma damage.
Speaking of which, besides Captain Gu Zhujian, there are actually two other people on the Douling Royal Academy side who are now basically powerless to fight.
They are Tang Niu Niu, a support-type Soul Master from the Douling Royal Academy, and Qing Feng, who released Earth Wall Technique and Earth Spike Technique towards Shrek Academy at the start of the match.
Qingfeng's attack at the start of the match was incredibly powerful. This meant that even if he and Tang Niuniu weren't going all out, they had already used most of their strength. And now, in order to better protect the entire team within the plasma cage array set up by Long You, the two of them used an even wider-range earth wall spell.
The earthen wall, enduring the terrifying damage from the plasma, needed to constantly absorb Qingfeng's soul power to prevent it from collapsing. This continuous, high-intensity expenditure of soul power had clearly exceeded Qingfeng's limit, leaving Tang Niuniu no choice but to continue using her own soul skills to assist it.
It can be said that although Long You's Plasma Cage Formation did not seem to cause any harm to the other students of Douling Royal Academy, this situation of passing the level without taking any damage was actually achieved by Douling Royal Academy at the cost of the combat power of at least two students.
As the first line of defense, Qingfeng could feel the plasma within the plasma cage array weakening, but a sense of powerlessness still overwhelmed him and Tang Niuniu. The earth wall and ground spike soul skills they had jointly unleashed earlier hadn't yet dissipated and might still play a role in hindering Shrek Academy's advance; otherwise, they should consider whether to immediately concede defeat to the referee.
From the moment the plasma density began to decrease until the entire plasma cage array completely disappeared, only a few breaths had passed. It was as if the previous five seconds had completely exhausted all the energy.
The earthen wall, weakened to a mere thin layer, collapsed completely the moment the plasma disappeared, and Qingfeng and Tang Niuniu, pale-faced, fell to the ground. The once perfect circular defensive formation was now reduced to just the Vajra Shield supported by Chi Hengyu, directly facing Long You.
The next moment, before the Douling Royal Academy could even catch their breath, they launched an attack on the lone, deeply advanced Long You. Long You's profound black fourth spirit ring shone brightly. A ring of fire, wreathed in flames, expanded outwards from Long You's body.
Chi Hengyu, the first Soul Master from the Vajra Shield to come into contact with the ring of fire, was thrown backward uncontrollably, revealing his teammates from the Douling Royal Academy behind him. Since the ring of fire didn't dissipate, Han Ling'er and two other students from the Douling Royal Academy also experienced the same situation as Chi Hengyu.
The Fire Resistance Ring, a soul skill that Long You had always coveted, finally shone brightly on the stage of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Battle Tournament. It also helped Long You achieve his previously set goal of dispersing the formation of the Douling Royal Academy students.
However, this time the target's vision wasn't perfect either. After all, two people from the Douling Royal Academy had managed to evade the effects of the Fire Resistance Ring: Qingfeng and Tang Niuniu.
In fact, the seemingly unsolvable Soul Skill, the Fire Resistant Ring, is actually very easy to break. Just avoid touching it. Whether you're above or below the Fire Resistant Ring, as long as it passes you, you won't be touched. Qingfeng and Tang Niuniu, who had fallen to the ground, had just avoided the Fire Resistant Ring. Now, the two were extremely close to Long You. Long You, who had used all the Soul Power he had absorbed from the milk bottle to unleash his fourth Soul Skill, indeed had no Soul Power left to use.
However, Long You no longer needed to worry about the remaining matters. After dealing with Gu Zhujian, the other students from Shrek Academy began to approach, directly activating their flying soul tools to avoid the ground spikes and earthen walls. At the same time that Long You's Fire Resistance Ring took effect, Dai Yueheng and the others had already entered the half of the Douling Royal Academy's arena. The moment the Fire Resistance Ring dissipated, everyone locked onto their opponents.
The final result is self-evident: the six Shrek Academy students, who were basically at full strength, faced off against the six Douling Royal Academy students, who had at least exhausted half of their soul power. Victory was inevitable.
After a brief night's rest, the individual elimination rounds began on schedule. This time, Shrek Academy didn't hesitate and immediately sent out Dai Yueheng. With the opposing Douling Royal Academy's captain, Gu Zhujian, already excluded from the lineup, the other students were unlikely to cause Dai Yueheng much trouble.
With three decisive victories, Shrek Academy successfully advanced to one of the top eight in this competition.
Because the competition had entered the final elimination stage, Shrek Academy did not leave after their match but instead went to the rest area to watch the games. At this stage, every academy that had not yet been eliminated was a potential opponent, and gathering more information would not hurt.
Soon, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy's round of 16 also ended in victory. Returning to the rest area, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy was in high spirits, while whispers could be heard from the rest areas of the other academies.
Shrek Academy's current lineup has long been considered incomplete. Because of this, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy, with its full roster and consistently strong strength, has become the favorite to win the championship in this tournament.
These external discussions had no effect on Shrek Academy, nor on the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy. Their previous deliberate display of power was, to some extent, a test. Now, back in their rest areas, and having converted them into enclosed spaces like Shrek Academy had done, the students and instructors of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy immediately calmed down.
"This year's Royal Academy of Fighting Spirits is a bit unlucky! If they hadn't been completely countered by Shrek Academy's sneak attack in terms of tactics, their Thunder Cannon, which they hid during the round-robin stage, could have caused a lot of trouble."
"That's what they say, but we can't be considered lucky either. The Douling Royal Academy can be described as having tried to steal a chicken but lost the rice instead, but our observation of Shrek Academy can also be said to have made no progress."
"Even now that the competition has progressed this far, we still know absolutely nothing about Shrek Academy's trump cards. In fact, let alone their trump cards, we haven't even figured out the maximum strength of Shrek Academy's regular combat force."