Chapter 178: Lin Qingmo: I'll fight seven! Azure Star, you're courting death!
Before long,
The Shrek group returned to the spectator stands with their heads lowered.
Behind them, the Great Soul Arena still echoed with cheers for the "Royal Fighting Team."
Those thunderous roars now landed in their ears like slaps, hitting their faces again and again.
Ma Hongjun hung his head low.
There were still gray marks on his face from being cut by wind blades earlier, and a few strands of hair on his forehead had been scorched.
He angrily kicked a stone at the corner of the wall, sending it rolling far away.
He cursed under his breath, "Damn it, this match was way too frustrating to lose. We got kited the whole time by that bastard Yu Feng flying in the air."
"My Phoenix Fireline couldn't even touch his clothes. I got worn down to the point of having no temper at all. So damn pathetic!"
"Sigh…"
Oscar leaned against the wall beside him and let out a deep sigh, not wanting to say a word.
"..."
Dai Mubai stood in the darkest corner.
The clothes on his back had been torn open by Yu Tianheng's dragon claw, and the wound was still throbbing faintly.
His face was so gloomy it looked like water could drip from it, his eyes filled with barely restrained ferocity.
As the team captain, he could not escape responsibility for this crushing defeat.
Tang San also slowly walked back.
His steps were unsteady. The spot on his chest struck by Yu Tianheng's dragon claw throbbed with pain, and there was still dried blood at the corner of his mouth.
He leaned against the wall without saying a word, staring blankly at the ground, as if his soul had left his body.
Completely out of place with the team's heavy atmosphere was Lin Qingmo leaning against the railing.
He still held half a cup of iced fruit juice, with not a trace of frustration on his face from losing the match.
Looking at Xiao Wu, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ning Rongrong walking over with reddened eyes, a gentle smile appeared on his face.
He took the initiative to praise them softly: "You three already did very well today."
"Xiao Wu took the risk of being focused down and closed the distance, taking out two of their core members, one against two. You directly disrupted their rhythm."
"But don't be so reckless next time. It's dangerous."
"I-I got it!"
Xiao Wu, being lectured, stuck out her tongue sheepishly.
"Zhuqing, using agility against agility, you withstood Soul Elder Osler's fierce attacks for so long, pulling off several extreme dodges. Very well done."
"Rongrong's Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda buffs never broke throughout. Aside from the very end, even when teammates were scattered, you still accurately supported each person without a single mistake."
After being praised like this, the gloom on the three girls' faces dissipated noticeably, and the grievances in their hearts eased.
Xiao Wu happily grabbed Lin Qingmo's arm and shook it.
Her eyes were still red, but her face was stubbornly unconvinced as she pouted and said loudly, "What's the use of doing well? We still lost in the end!"
"The Royal Fighting Team is still up there showing off!"
"If you had gone up earlier, Ah Qing, you definitely would've beaten that Royal Fighting Team into a miserable defeat. How would they even get the chance to act so arrogant here!"
Her voice was already clear and carried a bit of emotion, passing through the not-yet-dispersed noise and clearly reaching the soul fighting platform.
The Royal Fighting Team had not yet left and was still receiving cheers from the entire audience.
Dugu Yan had been holding Yu Tianheng's arm, smiling and chatting with her teammates.
Hearing this, her purple eyes instantly shifted, locking precisely onto Lin Qingmo below the stage.
What did she just hear?
That Soft Bone Charm Rabbit called him "Ah Qing"!
So he really was the person she was looking for.
The corners of her lips curved into a teasing and playful smile as she sized him up with interest.
Yu Tianheng and the others naturally heard it clearly as well, their faces instantly showing disdain.
Osler let out a sneer, raising his chin high, his face full of contempt as he said,
"Azure Star? Isn't he just a substitute who hid below the stage the whole time and didn't dare to fight? Talking like he's invincible. What a joke."
"Exactly. Hiding behind women and talking tough—what kind of man is that? If you've got the guts, come up and fight!"
Yu Feng echoed.
He shook the wings behind his back, his face full of arrogant confidence.
Yu Tianheng, already the favored genius of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon clan, had defeated Tang San—Yu Xiaogang's direct disciple—with just one punch and was in high spirits.
Hearing Xiao Wu's words, his arrogance only grew.
He stepped forward to the edge of the platform.
His voice, infused with soul power, boomed loudly, overwhelming the noise of the entire arena, each word landing with force:
"You're called Azure Star, right? A backup hiding behind women dares to speak so arrogantly?"
The moment these words came out, all eyes in the arena instantly focused on Lin Qingmo.
Whistles and jeers erupted as everyone waited to see how he would respond.
They loved the spectacle.
Beside him, Ning Rongrong instantly exploded, hands on her hips as she shouted toward the stage:
"Stop being so arrogant! Ah Qing isn't afraid of you. He'd knock you down the moment he goes up."
Hearing this, Lin Qingmo showed not the slightest ripple of emotion, only giving a faint smile.
He handed the half-finished cup of juice to Ning Rongrong, his voice gentle. "Hold this for me. I'll be back soon."
Before Ning Rongrong could react, he lightly tapped the railing in front of him with his toes and leaped forward.
Without the slightest hesitation, he landed steadily at the center of the platform.
"!!!"
The noise across the arena instantly dropped by more than half.
All eyes locked onto this young man who had suddenly jumped onto the stage.
Voices of discussion spread everywhere in the audience as everyone wondered what this suddenly appearing Azure Star intended to do.
Lin Qingmo turned to look at the referee beside him, who was still frozen in place, a polite smile on his face.
He spoke, "Excuse me, Referee. May I ask, in this situation, if it is still possible to add another soul fight?"
"Ah?"
The referee was completely stunned.
He had just announced the result of the match, and the flag in his hand hadn't even been lowered yet.
He was about to organize both teams to leave when this person suddenly appeared.
The referee stood there in a daze for a long time without reacting.
At that moment, an urgent voice transmission reached his ears from the person in charge of the Great Soul Arena.
"Agree to it! This is great hype!"
After hearing that, the referee quickly cleared his throat, steadied himself, and asked Lin Qingmo,
"Contestant Azure Star, you… You want to challenge the just-victorious contestant Yu Tianheng to a one-on-one duel, is that correct?"
The moment these words came out, the entire arena exploded again.
Spectators in the front rows stood up directly, whistles, jeers, and shouts of "Fight!" rising one after another.
Everyone was waiting to see Yu Tianheng take action again.
But Lin Qingmo smiled and shook his head.
He slowly turned around. The faint smile on his face remained, but there was not a trace of warmth in his eyes.
He raised his hand and pointed at Yu Tianheng standing opposite him, along with Dugu Yan, Osler, Yu Feng, the Shi brothers behind him, and the entire Royal Fighting Team, all seven of them without exception.
"I'm not challenging him alone."
"I'm challenging your entire Royal Fighting Team."
Lin Qingmo's tone was calm, yet his voice, amplified by soul power, spread clearly to every corner of the Great Soul Arena, even to the farthest spectators hearing it distinctly.
As the words fell, the entire arena seemed to have its pause button pressed.
"..."
A pin-drop silence.
A deathly stillness, everyone stood there with mouths open, disbelief written all over their faces.
After a full two seconds, the thunderous exclamations and cheers exploded.
"Holy shit! Is he crazy? One person challenging the entire Royal Fighting Team? That's an all-Soul Elder ace team!"
"Azure Star… this guy is way too arrogant. I've never seen anyone dare to say something like this in my life."
"My god! This ticket was so worth it! Thought we'd just watch Shrek Team versus Royal Fighting Team, and now we get an extra spectacle for free!"
On the platform,
Lin Qingmo's words left the seven members of the Royal Fighting Team stunned at first.
Each of them stared at him in shock, as if looking at a madman who didn't know the height of the heavens or the depth of the earth.
They were the ace team of Heaven Dou Royal Academy, one of the top academy teams on the entire continent.
And someone dared to declare he would take on all of them alone?
This was no ordinary provocation; this was outright humiliation to the extreme!
The next second, the anger ignited by being looked down upon surged straight to their heads.
Dugu Yan's eyes locked tightly onto Lin Qingmo.
The Shi brothers clenched their fists, joints cracking, their martial souls already faintly manifesting, faces full of ferocity.
Yu Feng folded his wings and landed on the ground, wind blades already beginning to gather around him.
Osler's hand rested on the dagger at his waist, his gaze as sinister as a poised leopard.
Standing at the very front, Yu Tianheng's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot, veins bulging on his forehead one after another.
As the young clan leader of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon clan, he had never suffered such humiliation in his life!
Crackling blue-purple lightning danced wildly around his body, reflecting his foul mood.
He gritted his teeth, killing intent nearly spilling out of him.
Word by word, he squeezed through his teeth, each syllable carrying violent thunder:
"Azure Star, you're courting death!"
End of Chapter