Chapter 125: The Final Four Are Decided
Seeing Salas choke on his words, his face wearing an expression as if he'd just swallowed something unspeakable, Xue Ye immediately felt a surge of delight.
This old bastard had relied on the backing of the Spirit Hall far too often to put on airs in front of him. Naturally, Xue Ye was more than happy to see him suffer a setback.
Moreover, the merger of the elemental academies into a new united team was already a foregone conclusion. This also meant that the Heaven Dou Empire's teams now had an even better chance of achieving strong results.
Xue Ye cast an appreciative glance toward Ning Fengzhi. The two exchanged a knowing smile, a scene that looked exceptionally grating in Salas's eyes.
With a dismissive curl of his lips, Salas sneered inwardly.
'So what if they've formed a united team? Our strongest fighter hasn't even stepped onto the stage yet. As the Pope's disciple, someone who managed to earn the title of 'Invincible Lin' within the Spirit Hall—there's no way he could be weak.'
...…
Amid the curses and jeers from the audience, the Round of 16 matches quietly came to an end.
Of the five major elemental academies that many had favored before the tournament, all were eliminated except for Sky Water Academy, which had received a bye this round.
Since Thunder Academy, which had ranked third in the promotion stage, was knocked out, the bye for the next round would be decided by drawing lots.
Without any surprise, the Royal Fighting Team successfully obtained this precious spot and was directly advanced into the final four.
As if to silence public suspicion, both the Spirit Hall Team and the Star Luo Team were also assigned the weakest opponents along their path. Upon seeing the draw results, the Star Luo group grew even more disdainful.
"This is ridiculous. Do they really think we're the same as them? Afraid we'll run into strong opponents and fail to advance? Who are they showering with charity here?"
"Exactly. With the boss leading us, we can crush any opponent."
Before the quarterfinals, all teams were granted another three days of rest and recovery.
The very next day, Qian Renxue disguised herself as an ordinary passerby and arrived at the hotel where the Spirit Hall Team was staying.
"Beiya, Xue Ye strongly supports the alliance of the five elemental academies. There's nothing I can do to change his decision."
"It's fine. An alliance is an alliance. We'll just crush them head-on. In the face of absolute strength, all tricks and opportunism are meaningless."
"As long as you think that way."
In truth, she had indeed been the one controlling the earlier draws. Consequently, matching him against Elephant Armor Academy and Blazing Academy could be considered a small prank she had played on Lin Beiya.
Because she trusted that he could handle it. However, with the birth of a super team, matters had already slipped beyond her control.
Fortunately, Lin Beiya didn't mind at all and still appeared brimming with confidence.
"Oh, right, Xue'er. When you feel that your cosmo can no longer break through to higher levels, try constructing a world of your own within it."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
At present, Qian Renxue's cosmo was in a phase of rapid growth, so she couldn't yet grasp the deeper meaning behind Lin Beiya's words.
Without explaining further, Lin Beiya directly led Qian Renxue to the forest behind the hotel.
Meeting her puzzled gaze, Lin Beiya suddenly threw a punch straight toward her.
"Whoosh!"
Qian Renxue's pupils shrank sharply. She hadn't caught even the slightest trace of his punching motion.
All she felt was a fierce gust of wind sweep past her. Several strands of hair beside her ear were severed and drifted slowly down.
In the next instant, a tree behind her snapped apart with a loud crack, crashing to the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust.
After reaching the Seventh Sense, Lin Beiya was already able to unleash punches whose wind was invisible to the naked eye; to use the term from Saint Seiya, it was a Light Speed Punch.
"Th–This… What is this? A new combat technique?"
After the initial shock, the little angel snapped back to her senses, her face filled with anticipation as she looked at Lin Beiya. In response, he merely shook his head.
"It's not a new technique. This is a power one gains after comprehending the essence of life upon reaching the Seventh Sense."
"To put it simply, once you master the Seventh Sense, you can possess speed comparable to the speed of light."
"Hiss—!"
Hearing this, the little angel sucked in a sharp breath of cold air.
All her efforts in tempering the five senses, strengthening her physique, and even awakening her cosmo had been for the sake of better wielding her martial soul in battle.
But now, she seemed to realize that the path Lin Beiya had pointed out was a cultivation system existing on a level even higher than that of soul masters.
One had to know that nearing the speed of light was something even her grandfather was incapable of achieving.
And this was only the Seventh Sense. If one were to cultivate to the Eighth Sense or even the Ninth Sense, what kind of terrifying power would that entail?
If Lin Beiya knew what Qian Renxue was thinking, he would surely sneer in disdain. Did she really think the Eighth and Ninth Senses were as common as cabbages? Looking across the entire Saint Seiya world, only a handful of people had ever managed to reach the Eighth Sense.
Swallowing hard, Qian Renxue nodded solemnly.
"Although I don't know what the Sixth Sense reaching its limit will be like…"
"But when that day truly comes, I'll try the method you mentioned."
In this regard, Qian Renxue's mentality was actually quite calm. The Cosmo system was an unexpected boon to her in the first place—even if she failed to break through the Sixth Sense, she wouldn't feel regret.
Still, in order not to disappoint Lin Beiya, she wanted to give it everything she had and try her best.
...
Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and the quarterfinals of the Soul Master Tournament officially began.
The Spirit Hall Team, led by Lin Beiya, easily defeated their opponent. Lei Ying, the roaring lion, completed a one-versus-seven sweep in the wheel battle.
Once again, everyone bore witness to the sheer terror of the Spirit Hall Team.
In the rest area of the now-united Sky Water Team, several team captains watched Lei Ying's performance with grave expressions.
"You've all seen it. Our choice was absolutely the right one."
"That blonde woman may not be a Soul King, but her strength is no weaker than ours."
Huo Lingyun felt a sense of unease in her heart. After watching Lei Ying's wheel battle, the confidence she had just built from forming a super team began to waver once more.
"It's fine, Xiaoyun. With the five of us united, we definitely have a chance to defeat them."
The warm and dependable Feng Changge appeared at just the right moment in front of his goddess, cheering her on.
His words were also met with agreement from the others. A woman with short dark-green hair spoke gently:
"Anyway, the five of us are already united. We'll do our best and leave the rest to fate. Losing to such powerful opponents wouldn't be shameful, right?"
This woman was none other than the Blue Sunshine Academy captain who had lost to Huo Lingyun in the first round of the promotion stage. After the other four academies chose to unite, she very sensibly chose to bring her talent over to Sky Water Academy as well.
Thus, the true union of the five great elemental academies was achieved.
Having received comfort, Huo Lingyun's expression didn't improve much.
"That woman isn't the real issue. What's truly terrifying is that Invincible Lin."
"Just from how the Spirit Hall Team members treat him, you can be sure his strength surpasses everyone else."
"And besides, unknown enemies are the most frightening of all."
"Don't worry. I'm not discouraged. Even if we can't win, we still have to fight with the dignity and style of the Five Great Elemental Academies."
...…
The team battles on the second day produced no miracles either.
Both the Spirit Hall Team and the Star Luo Team crushed their opponents with overwhelming force, successfully advancing into the final four.
And when Sky Water Team finally took the stage, all the spectators instantly understood the reason behind the farce from the previous day.
"So that's it—they kept forfeiting yesterday because they chose to band together? Is that even within the tournament rules?"
"Who cares whether it is or not? If the referees didn't object, then it's allowed."
"Looks like this year's championship is going to belong to the Sky Water Team."
"Of course. The core strength of all the major elemental academies has gathered into this single team."
Living up to expectations, Sky Water Team defeated their opponents with unstoppable momentum and successfully advanced into the final four.
An extremely controversial scene unfolded after the match.
—
End of Chapter