"We have guests."
Ye Yin's voice was soft, but it instantly brought a tense silence to the carriage. Ning Rongrong and Xiao Wu's cheerful smiles vanished, and their eyes grew wary. Zhu Zhuqing's flowing hair settled against her back, and she became completely still.
"How many? What's their strength?" Zhu Zhuqing asked in a low voice.
"Quite a few," Ye Yin replied calmly. "Their spirit power fluctuations are thick and heavy, like a group of turtles in heavy armor. They're ambushing us on both sides of the valley up ahead. It looks like they've been waiting for us for a long time." He paused, considering. "I wonder how they found out where we were."
He thought for a moment and immediately suspected one person: Xue Qinghe, or rather, Qian Renxue. Before their departure, he had met with the Crown Prince, who was the only one who would have known their exact route.
At almost the same time Ye Yin spoke, Dai Mubai and Tang San, who were riding outside, also noticed that something was wrong. They reined in their horses, signaling for the convoy to slow down.
"Be on guard!" Dai Mubai roared as his White Tiger spirit instantly possessed his body. Two yellow and two purple spirit rings shone brightly around him. In his palm, Tang San's Blue Silver Grass began to flicker as his own white, yellow, and purple spirit rings rose into the air. He activated his Purple Demon Eye, scanning the treacherous and eerily silent valley ahead.
Ye Yin's voice carried clearly from the carriage. "Friends up ahead, aren't you tired of hiding? I see you, members of the Elephant Armored Academy."
Dai Mubai and Tang San immediately became more alert and signaled for the convoy to come to a complete stop.
After a moment of silence, a muffled, thunderous sneer echoed from the hillside. "As expected of the champions, you have some skill to be able to find us! But so what? Ye Yin, today is the day you die! Get out here! This time, there are no competition rules to protect you. Let's see what you can do now!"
Boom!
With a loud crash, huge rocks rolled down from the cliffs in front of and behind the convoy, instantly blocking the road. Immediately after, dense rows of figures stood up on both sides of the hillside, each one looking like an iron tower. There were over fifty of them.
Every man was extremely tall and muscular, wearing the uniform of the Elephant Armored Academy. They all activated their spirits at once. A thick, diamond-like layer of keratin covered their bodies, shimmering with a hard, cold light. A powerful aura of pure strength and defense washed over the valley. At their head was Hu Yanli, the captain of their academy team and the Young Sect Master of the Elephant Armored Sect.
"Hu Yanli of the Elephant Armored Academy!" Dai Mubai's face darkened. "What do you want? Are you trying to rob us?"
Hu Yanli simply roared, "Form up! Charge!"
Dozens of elite disciples immediately formed an assault formation. They charged down the hillside like a steel torrent, their momentum so terrifying it seemed capable of crushing everything in its path. The ground rumbled violently beneath their feet.
"Engage the enemy!" Dai Mubai shouted, instantly activating his White Tiger Vajra Transformation. He became a golden fierce tiger and charged forward to meet them.
Tang San's Blue Silver Grass shot out like snakes, attempting to bind the charging disciples, but it was almost useless. Zhu Zhuqing's figure transformed into a black shadow, darting toward the enemy's flank to target the disciples with weaker spirit power. Xiao Wu used her Teleportation to dodge the main assault, using her soft techniques to attack their joints. Above them all, Ning Rongrong's Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda shone brightly, precisely boosting the power, speed, and spirit power of her teammates.
The battle erupted in an instant.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Dai Mubai crashed heavily into several Spirit Ancestors, and the sound of dull thuds echoed through the air. Even with Ning Rongrong's boost, he was outnumbered, and their defense was abnormally high. Each collision sent a shockwave through his body, and he could barely hold his ground. Tang San's Blue Silver Grass strained to control them, but the Diamond Mammoths were simply too powerful and easily broke free.
Zhu Zhuqing's speed was incredible and her claws were sharp, but her attacks struggled to break through their thick keratin armor, creating sparks but leaving only shallow scratches. Xiao Wu's Waist Bow and Teleportation were clever, but against a group of living battering rams, the force of her attacks was greatly reduced. The Elephant Armored Academy's tactic was simple and brutal: crush their opponents with absolute strength and defense.
Seeing his friends at a disadvantage, Ye Yin made his move. The Good and Evil Pearl rose from his body, circling around him.
First Spirit Ability: Curse (Negative Effect)!
Target: The five Elephant Armored Academy disciples at the front of the charge!
Effect: Bad luck befalls them! Intensity: Level Seven! Duration: Five minutes!
An invisible, gray-black light carrying an aura of misfortune instantly shot out and enveloped the five disciples. The effect was immediate. The disciple leading the charge suddenly tripped, as if he had stepped on his own untied shoelace. His massive body lost its balance, and he crashed headfirst into the companion next to him.
"Ow!"
"Idiot! Why did you hit me?!"
The two massive men tumbled to the ground in a heap, instantly creating a gap in their tight formation. The other three cursed disciples also had problems. One suddenly choked while gathering his spirit power, another's arm cramped up as he was about to attack, and the last one was the most miserable—his spirit power became chaotic, and he couldn't stop himself from letting out a loud, embarrassing fart. Though it caused no harm, he blushed and lost all his momentum.
"Now! Mubai, the gap on the left! Zhuqing, the one with the cramp on the right!" Ye Yin's calm voice directed them.
Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing's eyes lit up, and they immediately seized the fleeting opportunity. Their tiger claws and cat claws tore into their enemies, finally drawing blood and leaving deep wounds. The Elephant Armored Academy's offensive stalled.
"Control that support kid!" Hu Yanli yelled in frustration from the hillside.
Immediately, four Spirit King-level powerhouses broke away and lunged at Ye Yin from four different directions. Their huge fists whistled through the air, sealing off all of his escape routes.
Ye Yin frowned slightly. The coordination and strength of these four were far greater than the other disciples.
Third Spirit Ability: Organ Curse!
Target: Spirit King on the front left! Organ: Left eye!
Effect: Temporary blindness! Intensity: Level Eight! Duration: Three minutes!
Fourth Spirit Ability: Mental Curse!
Target: Spirit King on the front right!
Effect: Believes he is covered in furry spiders and must swat them off! Intensity: Level Eight! Duration: Three minutes!
Two curses shot out silently.
"Ah! My eyes!" The Spirit King on the left suddenly clutched his face, his vision in his left eye going completely black. His punch went wide, hitting nothing but empty air.
"Ugh! Get away from me! Spiders! So many spiders!" The Spirit King on the right began acting as if he had gone mad, frantically slapping his own body and spinning in place, having completely forgotten about his attack.
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