Chapter 410: The Scales of Victory
Steadying himself in midair, Tang Zhong landed once more—blood now trickling from the corner of his mouth.
The blood vessels in his right hand, which had gripped the spear, had ruptured in several places. Crimson threads seeped through his skin, running down his wrist and dripping from his fingertips onto the ground below.
If he hadn't, at the very last moment, chosen to stop resisting head-on and instead used the force of the blow to propel himself backward and disperse some of its impact, his right hand would've been far worse off than a few torn blood vessels.
What a tyrannical punch.
Tang Zhong's expression grew grave as he looked at Yun Qing in the distance, finally realizing the true difference between them.
That punch from Yun Qing earlier… it had already begun to take on the form of intent—no longer just pure strength. There was an undeniable will within it, an indomitable momentum that seemed capable of breaking through all things. That intent had taken on such substance that it had directly disrupted Tang Zhong's spear technique.
The Yang Family's Soul Breaking Spear Technique contained its own spear intent as well. But just as Qi Poxiao had said, Tang Zhong had only learned its superficial form. The realm of true spear intent was still far beyond his reach.
After sending Tang Zhong flying, Yun Qing would normally rush in to press his advantage—punch after punch until his opponent conceded. But since this was merely an exhibition match, after landing that decisive blow, he simply stood there, watching Tang Zhong. Just as he was about to say something, Ang Tian's voice suddenly rang out with excitement:
"Sweet Tofu Pudding Team—two members eliminated!"
Yun Qing: "???"
From the moment one teammate had been knocked out until now, only a few seconds had passed!
What in the world happened?
Unable to help himself, he turned toward the other battle zones.
…
A few seconds earlier.
The duel between Darn and Paide had been deadlocked for quite some time.
"It's useless," Paide said with a smirk as he once again expanded his stasis field, locking Darn in place and forcing him back. "We could just keep this up until both of us run out of spirit power."
Their mindsets couldn't have been more different.
Darn wanted to break through Paide as soon as possible to assist his teammates, while Paide only needed to stall.
Yes—just stall him. As long as he kept Darn pinned down until Yun Qing defeated Tang Zhong, victory would naturally tilt toward the Sweet Tofu Pudding Team.
"Don't count on it!" Darn growled. He glanced around the battlefield, and when he saw Tang Zhong pressing Yun Qing back with his spear, his face brightened. "Paide, looks like you're the one who's going to lose!"
"Hm?" Paide turned to glance that way—and his face changed slightly.
Tang Zhong… seemed to have the upper hand?
In that moment of distraction, Darn surged forward, his body dissolving into a gust of wind filled with countless blades of air that slashed toward Paide.
"Tch! Sneak attacks—how petty can you get?" Feeling the rush of air beside him, Paide snapped back to focus. On instinct, he reactivated his stasis field and threw a punch at Darn, intending to repeat the same maneuver and force him back again.
But this time, the black fifth spirit ring behind Darn suddenly flared to life.
Shit!
Paide's face went pale. At such close range, Darn unleashing a ten-thousand-year spirit skill caught him completely off guard.
In an instant, Darn's light-blue pupils turned a deep, vivid green. Violent whirlwinds erupted around him, so fierce they shattered the stasis field outright. Before Paide could even activate his own fifth spirit skill, Darn's hand—sharp as a blade—swept toward his neck and stopped just short of touching it.
"You're done," Darn said with a grin, withdrawing his hand.
Paide's face twisted in frustration. "You tricked me!"
By now, he'd fully realized Darn's strategy.
Darn had deliberately kept repeating the same rush pattern—charging in again and again only to be forced back—lulling him into complacency. Then, taking advantage of the distraction caused by the duel between the two Spirit Emperors, he struck at the perfect moment. When Paide dropped his guard, Darn burst out his ten-thousand-year spirit skill at point-blank range, shattering the stasis field in one decisive blow.
If Paide had been able to use his fifth spirit skill, perhaps the fight could have continued.
But first came paralysis, then distraction, and finally an unexpected strike—all of it caused his reactions to slow by just that one fatal instant, and he was eliminated by Darn before he could even recover.
"There's no helping it. Fighting takes brains too, you know," Darn chuckled.
As the referee announced the elimination of a Sweet Tofu team member, he moved like the wind, charging toward the next battle circle.
Paide slunk off the stage with a sullen snort.
"Sweet tofu is still the best! Even if you beat me, that truth won't change!"
After taking down Paide, Darn didn't rush to assist Tang Zhong right away.
Instead, he swept his gaze across the battlefield and then, with a breeze-like movement, darted straight toward Qiao Xuanyi.
Qiao Xuanyi had honed his twin-bladed spear for thirty years.
Though his spirit power wasn't particularly high, his battle experience far outclassed that of the young and impetuous Ye Haoran.
Within moments of clashing, Qiao Xuanyi had the upper hand—if not for Ye Haoran's own Shrek Academy training and his share of tricks, he would've been eliminated long ago.
Even so, Ye Haoran was barely managing to hold on under Qiao Xuanyi's relentless strikes.
Then suddenly, from the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a familiar figure rushing in his direction—and his face lit up with joy.
Qiao Xuanyi's expression darkened.
He too had heard what Ang Tian shouted earlier, and hadn't expected that after eliminating one of his teammates, the Savory Tofu Pudding Team player would come for him instead of going to aid Tang Zhong.
Who was it—?
He spun his spear in a flourish, smashing the shaft of Ye Haoran's sword and forcing him back several steps.
Then, turning toward the oncoming wind, he saw Darn's grinning face—and couldn't help but curse inwardly.
What the hell? They think that highly of me?!
Facing both a Spirit King–level speed-type spirit master and Ye Haoran, whose strength was close to his own, Qiao Xuanyi didn't last long.
After a token show of resistance, he rolled his eyes dramatically and surrendered.
"These people… they've got no sense of honor!"
"Sweet tofu forever!" he shouted one last, disgruntled slogan before obediently walking off the stage.
As the referee announced the second Sweet Tofu team member's elimination, Ye Haoran's excitement was palpable.
"Uncle Darn! Should we go help Brother Tang next?"
"No." Darn's gaze flicked briefly toward Tang Zhong's battle just in time to see him blasted backward—though not seriously hurt.
He made up his mind in an instant. "We'll go help the others first!"
Hang in there, Brother Tang. Once we finish this up, it'll be seven-on-one!
…
Watching from afar, Yun Qing's face twisted in helpless frustration.
He could only watch as Darn took out yet another teammate and then, together with Ye Haoran, moved on to eliminate the rest—without once coming to face him directly.
His mentality was practically breaking.
If he could, he wanted to scream:
"Come at me! Why are you beating up my teammates instead?!"
A Spirit King–level speed-type fighter could instantly tip the balance of any skirmish, and with Darn on the field, the rest of the battle's outcome was practically decided.
'No. I can't wait any longer.'
Yun Qing's eyes shifted toward Tang Zhong.
He could already foresee what would happen next—his remaining teammates would be swiftly defeated, leaving the entire enemy team to focus on him.
And when that happened… they might really lose this match.
Among all the opponents, the one who posed the greatest threat to him was Tang Zhong, the fellow Spirit Emperor.
So even if he couldn't defeat Tang Zhong outright, he had to weaken him before the others arrived!
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