Xu Jiawei's heart was bleeding, and Xu Jiu Jiu felt the same.
Her fourth spirit ring was practically smoking from overuse. Starry Sanctuary had blocked many spirit tool rays for her teammates, but it was futile.
The sheer variety of spirit tool rays from the opposite side was too much to defend against completely.
The key point was that they couldn't surrender!
Nor could they throw the match.
And the opposing Sun Moon Imperial team wasn't going all out to eliminate them either.
In this match, the Star Luo royalty was filled with nothing but regret.
"Yuhao, take note, note down how the Sun Moon Imperial team is countering these spirit tools. We might be able to use the same methods later," Wang Yan's reminder hit them like a wake-up call.
Huo Yuhao felt instantly enlightened.
Right!
The Sun Moon Imperial team was targeting their own spirit tools, rendering them useless. They could imitate that too.
He Caitou shook his head, pouring cold water on their idea.
"It's useless. Unlike our spirit engineers here, every spirit engineer from the Sun Moon Empire has their own style. They customize their spirit tools based on their Martial Souls. Core formations for spirit tools with the same effect can be vastly different internally."
"Different spirit engineers specialize in different core formation structures."
"Some spirit engineers' tools might even only be usable by themselves, because operating them might require specific properties of their Martial Soul to function. Of course, such spirit tools wouldn't be officially recognized by the Sun Moon authorities, nor could they receive Mingde Hall certification."
He Caitou gave everyone a brief lesson on some of the concepts Sun Moon spirit engineers held regarding spirit tool creation.
"Senior Brother, how do you know all this? Why haven't I heard Teacher mention it?" Huo Yuhao showed a puzzled expression.
He Caitou fell silent for a moment before brushing it off: "You'll understand once your spirit engineer rank improves."
The battle was extremely fierce.
Although the audience included people from various nations, with a portion from the Sun Moon Empire, the Star Luo populace was undoubtedly the majority.
This back-and-forth match made the Star Luo citizens' blood boil, feeling that their empire was growing stronger.
Their loss in the round-robin stage was just a temporary setback; now they could actually fight the Sun Moon Empire to a standstill.
It lasted a full half hour before the Star Luo Imperial Team finally ended this painful match.
They looked at the fine equipment they had just acquired.
No, it wasn't fine equipment anymore, but scrap.
"Hahaha, finally got that off my chest." Xiao Hongchen laughed heartily, feeling immensely gratified.
"Still laughing? The weaknesses of your spirit tools were seen by 200,000 people," Meng Hongchen, unable to bear seeing her brother so happy, delivered a stealthy jab.
Xiao Hongchen's smile instantly vanished.
He stood dazed for a long time, then said nonchalantly, "Whatever. I'm a research-oriented spirit engineer. After the tournament, I'll seclude myself to research core formations more suited to me."
Having said that, he turned and left, his steps light as if he truly didn't care.
Meng Hongchen watched from behind, her eyes curved in a smile.
But after laughing for a bit, a worried expression reappeared on her face.
Changing such a personal style wasn't easy. For Xiao Hongchen to want to change was tantamount to overturning his theoretical foundation from the past eight years.
"Don't worry, what's coming is an era of change. Spirit tool technology will also undergo transformation starting from the foundation of spirit formations. He's catching up at the right time," Su Ming said. "The core formations applicable to the spiritual level are somewhat different from those of current spirit tools. Changing the underlying logic now is not a bad thing for him."
Meng Hongchen turned back in surprise, not expecting Su Ming to offer such a crucial hint.
One must know, Su Ming was the pioneer of Spirit Metal. His words undoubtedly indicated the direction of development in the forging and spirit tool fields for the foreseeable future.
Ma Lao and the others also picked up on this signal and mentally noted it down.
Four matches a day; the semi-finals were also completed within a single day.
The teams advancing to the ultimate finals were, without a doubt, Shrek Academy and the Sun Moon Imperial Academy.
This outcome was undisputed, as it had always been this way.
"The final match will be held tomorrow. We hope both teams can bring us more exciting battles!"
Sun Moon Grand Hotel.
Top Floor.
"Elder Yan, must we really proceed like this?" Wang Yan, after hearing Yan Shaozhe's arrangements, hesitated slightly.
"We have no other choice. Su Ming alone is far too overpowered. His Star Tree Giant seems weaker, but it's actually more insoluble. If we truly want to deal with his Star Tree Giant, the energy and spirit power we'd expend would be too great, not worth the cost."
"And that Supreme Shockwave Fist of his is too versatile. It gathers the power of six elements and also conforms to the principle of 'overwhelming force breaks all techniques,' making it very difficult to handle."
Even Yan Shaozhe found it troublesome, so Wang Yan said no more.
"Then for tomorrow's team battle, the seven of you will take the field: Yuhao, Wang Dong, Sanshi, plus Xiaotao, Yueheng, Luochen, and Chen Zifeng."
"For the individual battles, we can have Xi Xi, Bei Bei, and Caitou participate. You all possess Spirit King-level combat power."
Spirit King-level combat power?
Xi Xi, Bei Bei, and the others exchanged glances and smiled wryly.
If Su Ming or Ma Rulong still had strength remaining, their Spirit King-level combat power wouldn't be of much use either.
"I know your concerns, so later I will devise a more detailed tactic for Yuhao and the others, aiming to render Su Ming combat ineffective during the team battle. That way, they might even directly lose one member for the subsequent individual matches."
The finals were different from the advancement matches. The rules stipulated that all three formats—team battle, individual elimination, and two-on-two battle—would be conducted simultaneously. They would proceed in one go without breaks in between. The participant list was submitted in advance and could not be changed midway.
"I suspect Su Ming is a key player in all three formats. His recovery ability is too abnormal."
In a certain alley within Star Luo City, several figures in black robes gathered.
"The Cult Leader has given the order: keep a close watch on Su Ming."
"Hmph, actually forbidding us Evil Spirit Masters from learning it?"
"What garbage forging technique, actually requiring study? Does he really think we would learn?"
"Watch him closely. The Cult Leader is already on his way. Once we capture him, our Holy Cult will lack for no Spirit Metal in the future."
"Jie jie jie..."
"Su Ming, in tomorrow's match, you might become the target of everyone's attack."
Ma Lao looked at Su Ming, waiting for his response.
"Ma Lao, no need to worry. I can handle it."
"Are you really sure? Shrek Academy has that Xu Sanshi with a displacement-type spirit skill. If they focus entirely on you, the combined burst from two Spirit Emperors is no joke."
"I can handle it."
Su Ming repeated it.
Seeing this, Ma Lao nodded.
"I understand."
It seems he still has a trump card.
He then looked at Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen.
"As for your two's Martial Soul Fusion Skill, try not to reveal it during the team battle if possible. In the later two-on-two matches, an unexpected Martial Soul Fusion Skill can secure a victory in one round."
***
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(Chapter end)