Chapter 71: Battle Against Blazing Fire.
For the past few days, Shi Yi, caught up in his training, hadn't noticed which round the competition had reached. He never worried about such matters, but he did know that Tang San had broken through to the Soul Sect realm. He figured that facing a formidable team like the Five Elements, even a Soul Sect member like Tang San would be severely restrained.
The Five Elements Academy was Tang San's nemesis: water, fire, wind, and thunder. In such an extreme elemental environment, even Tang San's Blue Silver Grass, no matter how sharp, would be suppressed by them, as it was still just a plant. Even the Elephant Armor Academy, impersonating the Earth element, used its immense defensive power to restrain Tang San.
Take the original Tianshui and Blazing Fire, for example. Whether it was a spirit fusion technique or the abilities amplified by the Fusion Ring, a mere Soul Sect member couldn't withstand them. Without the dual immunity to ice and fire from the Immortal Item, they would likely be shattered by Blazing Fire. Not to mention that the current Blue Silver Grass wasn't as tough as in the original, being much sharper.
The preliminaries continued, and just as Shi Yi had predicted, the upcoming matches would be no easy feat. Shrek Academy's opponent in the eleventh round was Blazing Academy, one of the Five Elements.
Yu Xiaogang held a detailed introduction to Blazing Academy in his hands, his expression visibly serious. He had been researching the strength of the Five Elements academies for the past few days and had just begun to gain some insights.
"You went to watch the Five Elements competition a few days ago, didn't you? What did you notice?" Yu Xiaogang asked Shi Yi softly.
Shi Yi smiled and nodded, "Well, it's a bit innovative. It's nothing more than adding some balanced elements to the extreme flow. In fact, it can be regarded as an alternative fusion flow. In my opinion, it should be called the Four Elements Academy."
"These four academies obviously don't want to play with the Elephant Armor Academy. The four academies have started to try new things, and only the Elephant Armor Academy is still stupidly having seven defense-type spirit masters, bragging about their own defense. I guess the results of the Elephant Armor Academy should not be very good."
Yu Xiaogang nodded slightly and said, "Five wins and five losses. They failed very well when they met the other four elements. It's no wonder that the Elephant Armor Sect joined the Spirit Hall.
The other four elements did not participate in the power struggle and naturally did not want to get involved. Besides, even if the Elephant Armor Sect wanted to change to this model, their students could not meet such requirements. Academies founded by sect power are just like the sect itself. They have an innate prejudice against other spirit masters."
"Hey... you're right about the second half, but you're saying the other four elements won't participate in the power struggle. That's impossible. Teacher, where are the four element academies? Where are the students from? If something truly goes wrong in Tiandou, can they really hide away in the academy and study their spirits in peace? You can just lie to the kids about that. To put it bluntly, any academy established within Tiandou is run by spirit masters from the Empire. They can ignore trivial matters, but if one day..."
Shi Yi smiled and didn't say anything more.
Yu Xiaogang sighed slightly, a figure appearing in his mind. He nodded and said, "You're right... Xiaosan's spirit is suppressed by the four elements, so you can play in today's match. You can still bring the four substitutes, Zhuqing and Mubai. That's fine, right?"
"No problem," Shi Yi chuckled.
Soon it was time to enter the arena. The host announced the list of players. At the mention of Shi Yi's name, the entire stands erupted in cheers.
The reason was simple: simply seeing Shi Yi's unique spirit ring was awe-inspiring. Many in the stands were eagerly awaiting Shi Yi's next appearance, a sight that ignited the crowd's enthusiasm.
Players from both teams strode onto the field with their heads held high.
"Shrek Academy vs. Blazing Academy," the referee's voice echoed from the field.
Shi Yi walked at the front, quietly observing the arrivals. The seven Blazing Academy students all looked roughly the same age, in their early twenties.
They formed a triangle formation.
To Shi Yi's surprise, the person standing at the tip of the triangle wasn't Huo Wushuang, but the Blazing Academy's only female student, Huo Wu.
Huo Wu, a strikingly beautiful girl, her golden-red uniform complemented her perfectly, complementing her long, dark red hair. Her figure was incredibly well-proportioned. Standing at the tip of the formation, a confident smile permeated her face, a faint red glow emanating from her.
"Regular offensive types can't withstand my attacks, so I've put them behind me for support. Then Huo Wu's only ability to counter my attacks is her Fire Ring Resistance. No wonder she's in the front; it'll better protect her teammates. The arena isn't big. If I overdo it, I'll probably get thrown out. The rest will be easy to deal with. Clever girl, no wonder I haven't seen her use it in previous matches. She's waiting for me here. However, I've seen Douluo Continent, and I know all the effects of your spirit skills. This is like seeing through your underwear." Shi Yi chuckled inwardly.
If Shi Yi hadn't seen Douluo Continent, he'd have been tricked by Huo Wu. Huo Wu's Fire Ring Resistance ignores all skills and defenses as long as the opponent's attack skills are at least ten levels higher than Huo Wu's own spirit power. All skills within the fire ring's range are temporarily repelled.
Unless Shi Yi could unleash an attack ten levels higher than Huo Wu's, which he could certainly do, Shi Yi understood that the Blazing Fire Team also had two fire-type supports. With their added power, this ceiling would clearly be even higher. With Ning Rongrong, Shi Yi was confident he could break through that higher limit.
The referee stepped to the center. "Both teams, form up and salute."
Fourteen players, each team, formed two rows and saluted. Shi Yi looked at Huo Wushuang calmly. Huo
Wushuang, seemingly energized, glared at Shi Yi and said gravely, "Today is the day your winning streak ends."
Shi Yi yawned and said, "Whatever, if you can."
Huo Wu, standing next to Huo Wushuang, said confidently, "I'll show you what I can do."
Shi Yi's gaze fell on Huo Wu and he nodded, saying, "She's quite pretty, but she has a bad temper."
"What did you say? Are you calling me a pretty face?" Huo Wu glared at Shi Yi as if she had suffered some profound humiliation.
Huo Wushuang quickly hugged his sister, "It hasn't started yet, Xiao Wu."
"Oh, your name is Xiao Wu too? There's a missing member of our team named Xiao Wu too. I just said you're pretty," Shi Yi chuckled.
"You..." Huo Wu said angrily, looking at Shi Yi.
The Shrek players watched this scene, all trying to maintain a serious expression.
The referee coughed and said, "Shrek, this is a competition. Please be careful with your words. Don't...provoke your opponents."
Shi Yi smiled and said, "Okay, Mr. Referee."
"Everyone, take your positions and release your spirits," the referee's voice echoed again.
The Chihuo players, unfazed by Shi Yi's words, quickly formed the triangle formation they had formed.
In an instant, the center stage shone again, a powerful spirit ring glowing across the entire arena. The audience's enthusiasm reached a crescendo with the appearance of Shi Yi's spirit ring.
Behind Shi Yi, the golden Thousand-Jun Ant appeared, shrouded in a haze of four spirit rings. An invisible pressure surged towards the Chihuo players like a tide.
Shi Yi asked Zhu Zhuqing to stand beside him, and the others stood behind him to provide support.
"The game begins." Following the referee's order, the members of Chihuo Academy immediately started to move at the same time.
Almost at the same time, flames shot up from the seven members of Chihuo Academy, and the first spirit ring on each of them released a dazzling brilliance.
Sparks flew from their two auxiliary spirit masters, and countless tiny red light points in the air quickly gathered towards those sparks. As the red light points gathered, the sparks quickly grew larger and circled above Huo Wu's head.
The others remained motionless, as if waiting for Shi Yi's attack. They had simulated Shi Yi countless times in their minds, but with Shi Yi's strength and speed, they could not take the initiative to attack.
Shi Yi looked at the other side with flames and murmured softly, "Special effects warrior, quite handsome."
Zhu Zhuqing, standing beside him, rolled her eyes at Shi Yi and said, "What time is it? Are you kidding? This is a competition. You've got to let me stand here, right?"
"Of course it will. Go up and test it. Just pick on the support. It's okay if someone blocks you and you can't defeat those two Martian Spirit Masters. Just protect yourself and harass them." Shi Yi chuckled.
Zhu Zhuqing's face darkened at this. She didn't understand why Shi Yi could find such a frivolous description for something as commonplace as defeating the support.
"Did you hear that?" Shi Yi chuckled.
Zhu Zhuqing nodded slightly, and then Shi Yi continued, "Repeat that."
"Get lost." With that, Zhu Zhuqing vanished from sight.
Shi Yi smiled, and the familiar explosion echoed across the ring the next second, sending the hairs of the Chihuo people standing on end.
"Come on, no matter where you land." Huo Wu's mind was intensely focused, her beautiful eyes gleaming with fury. She was determined to teach Shi Yi a lesson. She paid no attention to Zhu Zhuqing, understanding that it was Shi Yi's test.
Zhu Zhuqing was swift, even faster than Shi Yi. In the blink of an eye, she had traversed most of the arena and arrived not far from her target spirit master. As she approached, her first spirit ring suddenly lit up.
"First Spirit Skill: Nether Thrust!"
Not far from the Martian spirit master, a ring of golden-red light suddenly erupted from the Fire Leopard spirit master. The immense energy suddenly expanded, knocking Zhu Zhuqing's attack back.
"You're fast, but on this arena, we can easily sense your direction by the temperature fluctuations," the Fire Leopard spirit master said calmly, looking at Zhu Zhuqing.
At the same moment, Shi Yi appeared in front of another Martian spirit master. Huo Wu's lips curled slightly. Her spirit skill activated without any warning, her movements simple, but it was her third spirit ring that lit up. A dazzling purple light merged with the golden-red halo erupting from her body, and a dazzling ring of flames instantly erupted, enveloping all members of the Blazing Fire.
Huo Wu's control was incredibly precise, unleashing her third spirit skill at full power almost the instant Shi Yi appeared.
In a split second, Zhu Zhuqing's body was flung back by a powerful, searing force. Huo Wu's face lit up with delight as she watched her body fly backwards. With such force, she knew she would definitely be sent flying. However, when she fixed her gaze on Shi Yi, she saw that he was only sent flying a short distance.
"Impossible! To achieve such speed, he must have used tremendous force. He should have been sent flying like that girl," Huo Wu thought to herself.
Even as she pondered these questions, another Mars spirit master and a Fire Crane spirit master were both blasted out of the arena by Shi Yi.
"Xiao Wu, stop daydreaming," Huo Wushuang shouted hurriedly.
"Third spirit skill: Resist Fire Ring!" Recovering from her shock, Huo Wu quickly unleashed her third spirit skill again.
Shi Yi, who had just sent the Fire Crane Spirit Master flying, quickly fled the range of the Fire Ring. He couldn't counterattack within Huo Wu's Fire Resistance Ring. Any counterattack he launched would be too powerful to break through the ring, and he would be instantly repelled.
Shi Yi used Crane Control and Dragon Capture to continuously dissipate the force of the Fire Ring. He could clearly feel the reduced power and range of the Fire Resistance Ring, caused by the absence of the Fire Crane Spirit Master and the hastily released spirit abilities.
"You're trying to use my power to defeat me—a good idea, Miss Huo Wu—but you underestimate my control over it. Unless you can seize the moment I exert my power and unleash the Fire Ring just before I release it, that's not something a Soul Master can achieve," Shi Yi chuckled as he watched Huo Wu from a distance.
This was the true power of Crane Control and Dragon Capture: transformation and control—the key is the utilization of both physical strength and soul power.
Huo Wu, upon hearing this, saw the smile on Shi Yi's face, and her anger grew even greater. However, she calmed down. "If you can take one of my moves, we'll admit defeat."
As soon as Huo Wu finished speaking, a familiar explosion echoed. At this close range, the Fire Leopard Spirit Master was sent flying off the field. Before Huo Wu could say anything, Shi Yi's voice echoed, "I'm here to win the game, not to defeat you. If you don't admit defeat, forget it."
"You..." Huo Wu pointed at Shi Yi, unsure what to say.
Huo Wushuang sighed softly. Since their strategy had failed, and Shi Yi had even seen through it, there was no point in affecting their performance for the rest of the game. Then, Huo Wushuang slowly raised her hand and said, "Blazing Academy, admit defeat."
"Brother!" Huo Wu glared at him.
"Alright, Xiao Wu, we're outmatched. It's just a match," Huo Wushuang said helplessly, looking at her sister.
Huo Wu snorted softly, stamped her foot, and glared at Shi Yi, but there was nothing she could do. The two sides were on completely different levels. Even if they could unleash extremely powerful attacks, Shi Yi would never give them time to prepare. He immediately focused on the auxiliary hammer, determined to win.
Seeing this, Shi Yi nodded with satisfaction and said with a smile, "Miss Huo Wu, see you on the field. I hope you can come up with new ideas next time."
"Shi Yi..." Shi Yi's words were practically squeezed out from between Huo Wu's teeth, her teeth clenched tightly, and she kept her gaze fixed on Shi Yi.
"Anger is bad for your health, Miss Huo Wu," Shi Yi chuckled.
With that, Shi Yi slowly returned to his team and headed offstage.
Huo Wu's beautiful eyes stared at Shi Yi's back, as if she wanted to eat him. She refused to give up, truly refused. This was the only way she could think of to defeat Shi Yi, even going so far as to apply the rules of the ring. In an unregulated fight, defeating Shi Yi would be impossible. Shi Yi could even keep fighting, as the opponent would have to expend immense effort to fend off his attacks.
When Huo Wu first resisted the fire ring's attack, she even used a quarter of her soul power, just to be on the safe side, but Shi Yi remained unharmed. From that moment on, she knew the match was lost.
The blow was immense, especially the feeling of powerlessness against Shi Yi, as if nothing else worked, while he continued to deliver those simple, unpretentious punches. "Shrek Academy wins!" the referee flashed in and shouted.
Amid the cheers of the audience, both sides exited the arena. Shi Yi led the others slowly off the stage, looking at Zhu Zhuqing, who was not far away, and whispered, "Are you okay?"
Zhu Zhuqing shook her head and said, "The fire ring only sent people flying. It won't hurt much."
"I'm glad you're okay," Shi Yi chuckled. Dai Mubai, who was behind him, opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.
Zhu Zhuqing glanced at Dai Mubai, then turned away expressionlessly.
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(End of this chapter)