Chapter 181: Yu Xiaogang's Self-Deception, Tang San's Gloom
The audience stands of the main arena at the Suo Tuo Great Soul Arena were engulfed in a wave of sound like a mountain tsunami.
After learning of this unprecedented one-person battle against a full ace team, nearly ten thousand spectators had already fallen into a frenzy. Shouts and discussions surged as if they might lift the very roof.
But at the moment when four soul rings beneath that slender figure lit up, one after another,
The entire Great Soul Arena seemed to have its throat seized by an invisible hand, the boiling noise abruptly falling into dead silence.
Countless gasps of cold air rose one after another.
In the exclusive front-row seating area,
Yu Xiaogang sat there, his expression shifting unpredictably.
Bitterness, shock, jealousy, and a trace of barely concealed panic churned endlessly in his eyes.
Just a dozen breaths ago,
He had been confidently judging this match beside the Shrek group, declaring it an inevitable loss.
He said, "Individual combat can never contend with a fully coordinated team," and "No matter how high the soul ring age is, it cannot bridge the chasm of numbers and coordination."
But undeniably,
Purple, purple, purple, black!
The appearance of four world-shocking soul rings not only drew every gaze in the arena, but it also stirred Yu Xiaogang's heart without cease.
If his former self had also been able to absorb soul rings beyond limits, then his soul power would surely have broken through rank 30.
Under the radiance of those soul rings that seemed to illuminate the entire arena, his emotions were a tangled mess.
His proud direct disciple, Tang San, the genius he believed would one day stand at the peak of the soul master world, now appeared so dim.
It could even be said he had no sense of presence at all.
He clenched his hands, hidden within his sleeves.
"Even with such abnormal, limit-breaking soul rings, it doesn't mean he can defeat the entire Royal Fighting Team."
"Team battles have never been decided by Soul Ring years alone."
Yu Xiaogang's throat tightened as he gritted his teeth, muttering in a voice only he could hear, deceiving himself.
He tried to grasp the last shred of his crumbling confidence.
"What's impossible about that?"
Beside him, Xiao Wu instantly caught that sour mutter.
Her originally sparkling eyes, fixed on the arena, suddenly turned, glaring fiercely at him.
With her hands on her hips, she looked like an indignant Soft Bone Rabbit, snapping back without restraint.
"Ah Qing is so strong. What's strange about him doing this? You can't stand that someone is stronger than your disciple, Tang San!"
"Ah Qing will definitely win!"
Lifting her chin slightly, Xiao Wu's tone was filled with unquestionable certainty.
Yu Xiaogang had his thoughts exposed in a single sentence.
His face instantly flushed red as he stiffened his neck and argued stubbornly.
"So what if his soul rings defy the heavens?"
"The Royal Fighting Team has seven members, all of whom are Soul Elders above rank 35, with seamless coordination and extremely rich team battle experience. They are an ace cultivated with all the resources of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy!"
"He alone, no matter how high his soul ring years are, cannot defeat a fully coordinated, complete team. This is an eternal truth of the soul master world!
"You're just jealous of Ah Qing!"
Xiao Wu puffed up her cheeks in anger, her round eyes glaring fiercely as her pink fists clenched tightly.
Right now, she wished she could kick this guy flying.
"Just wait and see. Ah Qing will definitely win. When the time comes, you'll know how ridiculously wrong you are!"
After saying that, she turned her head away, no longer willing to look at him.
Her gaze returned to the figure at the center of the arena, filled with trust and admiration.
Not far away, Dai Mubai's face was so gloomy it seemed it could drip water.
He sat there, fists clenched tightly, his knuckles turning white from excessive force, even emitting cracking sounds.
In his tiger-like eyes, undisguised resentment and anger surged, as if flames were about to erupt.
He would never forget that scene not long ago.
Right in this Great Soul Arena, he had tried to perform the martial soul fusion skill, Hell White Tiger, with Zhu Zhuqing, hoping to prove his strength in front of everyone.
But Lin Qingmo had merely lifted a hand and casually interrupted their martial soul fusion.
It made him, the leader of Shrek, lose face in front of nearly ten thousand people, becoming the laughingstock of the entire Suo Tuo City.
Even Zhu Zhuqing had grown increasingly disgusted with him.
He ground his teeth, the sound harsh and grating, cursing viciously in his heart.
'Lin Qingmo, you'd better get beaten so badly by the Royal Fighting Team that you can't even stand!'
'I want to see how long you can last against seven people attacking you at once!'
'When you're crushed, let's see if you can still maintain that high-and-mighty look!'
At this moment, the one with the most complicated emotions was undoubtedly Tang San.
He stood at the edge of the stands.
His Purple Demon Eye was pushed to the limit.
A purple glow circulated in his eyes, carrying a nearly tearing intensity as he stared fixedly at the figure in the center of the arena.
He and Lin Qingmo shared the same Blue Silver Grass martial soul.
From the day his martial soul awakened, everyone had told him that Blue Silver Grass was a useless martial soul.
No attack power, no defense, no support ability.
Even with innate full soul power, it was destined to amount to nothing.
It was his teacher Yu Xiaogang's theory that gave him direction, allowing him to reach this point step by step through special soul ring configurations.
But Lin Qingmo's appearance brought him an unprecedented impact.
The same Blue Silver Grass martial soul, yet it could bear such heaven-defying, limit-breaking soul rings.
He wanted to see just how strong this Blue Silver Grass martial soul, sharing the same origin yet walking a different path, could become.
He wanted even more to know whether the theory he believed in… was right or wrong.
…
In the arena,
The atmosphere had already solidified to the extreme.
The relaxed smiles of certainty on the seven members of the Royal Fighting Team froze completely the moment the four soul rings beneath Lin Qingmo lit up.
They were immediately replaced by overwhelming shock.
The seven stood there as if struck by an immobilization technique, each drawing sharp breaths, their hair standing on end.
Osler rubbed his eyes hard, nearly turning them red.
When he opened them again, the four soul rings were still floating there.
"I… am I seeing things? Purple, purple, purple, black? The first soul ring is a thousand years, and the fourth… ten thousand years!"
His voice trembled uncontrollably, filled with disbelief.
"Gulp, I saw it too…"
Standing at the front, Shi Mo swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing.
Looking at the outermost pitch-black ten-thousand-year soul ring, his voice was as dry as sandpaper scraping.
"H-how is this possible?"
"How can a Soul Ancestor absorb a ten-thousand-year soul ring? This completely violates the iron laws of the soul master world!"
Even Yu Tianheng, always arrogant and proud to his core, stood stunned.
He could hardly believe it. Even the surging soul power within his body became sluggish.
He was the genius young master of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon clan, considering himself a favored son of heaven!
Yet he had never seen, nor even heard of, any Soul Ancestor possessing a ten-thousand-year fourth soul ring!
Only Dugu Yan, standing to one side of the team, quickly recovered from the initial extreme shock.
She raised her eyes toward Lin Qingmo at the center of the arena.
On her beautiful face, there was not the slightest trace of battle intent, but rather a hint of indescribable melancholy.
Her grandfather, Dugu Bo, was a Titled Douluo whom even Emperor Xue Ye treated with respect.
Yet when he mentioned that "young master," his attitude was extremely reverent.
Someone who could make a Titled Douluo act that way was indeed no ordinary person.
End of Chapter