The misty treasure light flickered. The captain of the Canghui Academy team looked at Tang San coldly. "You are very composed, but it is useless. In the face of absolute strength, all tactics and skills are futile," he said in a frigid voice.
Before Tang San could speak, Dai Mubai snorted in displeasure. "You think your 'absolute strength' can surpass ours?"
In truth, he had a point—the opponent only had one Soul Ancestor. In a one-on-one fight, Shrek's victory was a foregone conclusion. But this was a team spirit fight, an arena of cooperation.
"You will experience it soon enough." The Canghui captain didn't get angry. He slowly raised his right hand, lifting the gemstone in his palm high. His Martial Soul was a circular silver gemstone, the core of their side.
As he lifted his gemstone, his fourth soul ring lit up—the only fourth soul ring among the Canghui team. Following his lead, the other six members lifted their own gemstones, and their third soul rings illuminated simultaneously.
"Little San, let me go first," Dai Mubai said directly to Tang San.
The enemies were clearly accumulating power. Although their overall strength was inferior, they surely had a trump card. If they weren't crushed now, it would be difficult to handle once they finished charging. If they were to lose in such a foolish way, the cost would be too high. They had seen Canghui defeat the powerful Thunder Team, and Dai Mubai didn't want to follow in their footsteps.
However, Tang San did not agree. "No, let them charge," he said in a deep voice. "Since they dare to charge so blatantly in front of us, how could they not have something to rely on? Do not act rashly. Everything follows my command."
As he spoke, a strange light appeared in Tang San's eyes. Purple halos swirled. If the seven members of Canghui could see his gaze clearly, they would have caught a faint trace of confidence and foundation within it.
At that moment, seven colored lights soared into the sky from each Canghui member's hand. Centered on the captain's Martial Soul, they instantly condensed into a massive seven-colored pillar of light. The pillar shot thirty meters into the air and expanded instantly, completely enveloping the seven people in the formation.
Suddenly, only that dazzling, massive radiance remained on the field. The seven members of the Canghui team had vanished from sight. This was their ultimate trump card: the Seven-in-One Fusion Skill.
In the VIP section, Emperor Xue Ye murmured. "A Seven-in-One Fusion Skill. Although it doesn't match a Martial Soul Fusion Skill, its power is already beyond what a normal soul master team can compare to."
Beside him, Ning Fengzhi also wore a look of pleasant surprise. Although it wasn't the first time he had seen it, every time he witnessed this Seven-in-One skill powered by gemstone Martial Souls, he couldn't help but sigh in admiration. As the continent's number one support soul master, his understanding of Martial Souls was profound. He had specifically studied these gemstone types, as the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda was essentially a sublimation of a gemstone Martial Soul, albeit directed toward support.
Keen observers also noticed that the seven members of Canghui followed a specific path: unlike traditional teams, all seven members were Control Type soul masters. A team of seven control types was a first in the history of the Continental Elite Tournament. So far, they had created a miracle; despite having only one Soul Ancestor, they were already on the verge of contending for a top-five spot in the Heaven Dou division.
The seven-colored pillar of light expanded instantly, filling the entire field in the blink of an eye. Various treasure lights burst forth. The dazzling radiance seemed to have no offensive power, but the spectators were completely captivated, the spellbinding sensation leaving many commoners in a daze.
The seven members of Shrek still didn't move because Tang San forbade it. However, they did undergo a change. Except for Tang San, the other six closed their eyes. Their formation shifted as if mimicking their opponents; the six formed a circle with Tang San at the center.
"Fools of Shrek Academy, do you think closing your eyes will save you? Taste our Seven Asura Illusion. You will perish within your own pain," the Canghui captain's cold voice rang out through the spreading colored light.
The seven-colored light expanded once more, completely enveloping the entire stage. The stage was circular, and the pillar of light was circular; at this moment, the soaring colored light illuminated the entire arena. The blurred colors were filled with a strange atmosphere.
The Shrek team was completely swallowed within.
The entire audience was silent. The commentators in the VIP area couldn't say a word. It wasn't their first time seeing this skill, but the impact was staggering every time. Not just the spectators, but even the teachers from various academies watched with mouths agape. The situation had reversed; the seven-colored pillar seemed to be a beacon of Canghui Academy's rise. Even against five Soul Ancestors, they remained unyielding!
In the spectator stands, Flender, Zhao Wuji, Liu Erlong, and Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang looked on with grave, anxious faces. Flender looked as if he were about to rush up and save them, but Yu Xiaogang held him back.
"I told you we should have forfeited this match! Now that the Seven-in-One skill is active, what will Little San and the others use to block it?" Flender said deeply to Yu Xiaogang.
Before the Grandmaster could explain, Liu Erlong sat back down and grabbed the Grandmaster's arm. "Flender, don't you see? If there were real danger, Xiaogang would be more anxious than you. He treats Little San like his own son."
Flender, as shrewd as he was, realized this only after her reminder. He rolled his eyes, but worry still lingered deep in his gaze. "Fine. I know you're the symbol of professionalism in the soul master world. If the little monsters get hurt, I'm coming to you."
On the central stage, no one could see what was happening. Except for Tang San, the other members of Shrek still had their eyes closed. Tang San sighed lightly and said calmly. "Do you think this simple illusion can trap us?"
As the seven-colored light erupted, Tang San acted. He first delivered a kick to each of his six companions. As Dai Mubai and the others flew backward, they coughed up a mouthful of blood. While they were airborne, Tang San's eyes turned a brilliant purple-gold. A foot-long purple-gold light burst forth, sweeping across seven directions.
This time, screams rang out simultaneously—they came from Canghui Academy.
However, just as Tang San's body began to fall from the air, a smile on his lips as he prepared to lightly tap his own chest, his expression suddenly turned to one of agonizing pain!
He was struck by a mental backlash! The Purple Demon Eye he thought, would surely win, but was actually repelled. His opponent's highest rank was only a single Soul Ancestor, yet he was hit by a mental backlash?
He had miscalculated. This was one of Tang San's rare miscalculations. He thought he had timed the perfect moment for an attack, but underestimated the combined power of seven people! This was due to a lack of practical experience against fusion skills, let alone a Seven-in-One version. This was the flaw in the Grandmaster's teaching—only theory, no practice.
In the original story, Tang San broke the Seven Asura Illusion because he had used the Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew to boost his mental strength. Here, Tang San had no such chance. His mental power hadn't reached that level, so he was backlashed by their collective strength.
While the Canghui team was heavily injured again, they didn't turn into idiots like in the original; their mental strength was simply shocked. The damage they took might not even be as great as the backlash Tang San suffered!
A trail of blood flowed from the corner of Tang San's mouth. He collapsed on the soul fighting stage, life or death unknown.
Originally, when Tang San told his partners to close their eyes, he had quietly shared his tactical plan. It was simple: "When I kick you, force out a mouthful of blood and pretend to be too heavily injured to continue."
But Tang San had been careless. He wasn't pretending to be injured; he was truly hurt.
"Brother!"
"Little San!"
Meng Yiran, Dai Mubai, and the others cried out as they saw Tang San fall. They forgot all about their disguise. In the stands, Liu Erlong, Flender, and Yu Xiaogang's hearts skipped a beat. This injury was not an act.
But such is a soul fight; soul skills have no eyes. The seven members of Canghui had also fainted, lying on the ground unconscious.
The Dean of Canghui, Shi Nian, watched coldly. He felt a flicker of interest in Tang San. Unlike the original story, he was still alive and had not been killed by a sneak attack. Others couldn't see through the illusion, but he could, because his Martial Soul was Brutal Dream.
He saw Tang San's Purple Demon Eye activated without any soul skill. Shi Nian suspected it was a soul bone—and a high-level one at that!
"Interesting," Shi Nian's voice rang out sinisterly. While Ye Zhiqiu took a support-type soul master down to treat the Canghui members, Shi Nian's gaze never left Tang San. Killing for a soul bone was nothing new to him. Tang San only had Flender and the others protecting him; as long as he was discreet, no one would ever know.
(End of Chapter)
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