The Thousand-Hand Buddha instantly hurled ten Energy Fruits into the air.
As these fruits reached the sky, they exploded in an instant, transforming into seeds that scattered across the ground.
The moment the seeds touched the earth, they rapidly sprouted. In the blink of an eye, a small forest had formed.
Zhu Zhuqing narrowed her beautiful eyes, her figure constantly flickering as she dodged the vines and branches that entangled her from all sides.
Although Yang Qianjun couldn't match Zhu Zhuqing's speed, each of his attacks was wide and powerful, continuously destroying the surrounding plants.
The two of them charged toward Li Xun, one after the other.
As members of the same team, they were already familiar with Li Xun's abilities.
The strategy they had devised was to have Yang Qianjun restrain Li Xun's skills while Zhu Zhuqing directly attacked him.
In just a few flashes, Zhu Zhuqing broke through the forest and lunged at Li Xun. "Nether Thrust!"
Seeing the little cat charging at him, Li Xun smiled and turned into a shadowy figure.
Zhu Zhuqing's attack missed instantly, but she quickly reacted, landing and immediately changing direction.
However, before she could assess the situation ahead, she felt a warm hand grasp the back of her neck.
"Zhu Zhuqing, next time you should retreat quickly instead of counterattacking on the spot."
Li Xun gave a light pinch to the back of her neck, then withdrew his hand, signaling that he had already subdued her.
"Mm, I understand," Zhu Zhuqing trembled slightly, slowly rising to her feet and lowering her head as she walked to Li Xun's side.
"The strategy you came up with this time wasn't bad."
Li Xun lightly tapped his foot, and Yang Qianjun's previous efforts were instantly rendered futile.
The path Yang Qianjun had cleared through the forest was immediately filled with new plants, which continuously compressed the space he could move in.
This was an ability Li Xun had developed—as long as there were seeds on the ground, he could activate it without needing to form hand seals.
"Break!"
Yang Qianjun raised his lance, condensing Soul Power, which poured continuously into the Soul Piercing Lance.
With a sweeping strike, the surrounding trees instantly shattered, creating a small clearing.
"Swift!" Yang Qianjun raised his lance again, gathering strength in his legs, and thrust forward, propelling himself explosively with the lance.
At this moment, he seemed to merge with the lance, unstoppable as the plants blocking his path were torn to pieces.
Watching Yang Qianjun charging straight at him, Li Xun smiled faintly and lightly tapped the ground with his toes. A dense corridor of plants instantly grew in front of him.
Yang Qianjun's skill was immensely powerful. As he charged, the corridor was destroyed as easily as dry twigs.
However, the trees grew endlessly, gradually weakening his momentum until he was lifted into the air by the plants on either side of the corridor.
"What a fine aerial acrobat," Li Xun chuckled as he walked over to Yang Qianjun, carefully observing his mid-air posture.
The others also gathered around.
"Brother Yang, that pose is quite something!" Shi Mo and Shi Feng teased from the side.
"Why don't you two give it a try?" Yang Qianjun twisted his head with difficulty, grinning at the two brothers.
Shi Mo and Shi Feng quickly stopped smiling. They had already experienced Li Xun's ability firsthand.
As defensive Soul Masters, they lacked both speed and destructive power, making it impossible for them to break through the forest blockade. Staying in place would only lead to their defeat.
Yang Qianjun grimaced. "With our team's current setup, I'd say we need at least four people…"
Li Xun chuckled and released his restraint: "I just happen to counter Brother Yang. With Brother Yang's destructive power, if he were paired with three strong teammates, I'd just concede."
Dugu Yan rolled her eyes at Li Xun: "You just happen to counter Yang Qianjun? Even Zhu Zhuqing, who specializes in speed and attack, can't do anything against you. Tell me, who in this team isn't countered by you?"
As a control-type Soul Master, Dugu Yan was completely outmatched in battle. Li Xun's skill range was too vast; no matter where she stood, she wasn't safe.
Li Xun awkwardly smiled.
He was just being polite to save Yang Qianjun from embarrassment, but Dugu Yan took it seriously.
"In my opinion, to deal with Brother Li, we need either a numbers advantage or a level advantage."
"Hmm... Elemental Soul Masters and flying Soul Masters could also work."
Yang Qianjun straightened his clothes: "Brother Li's skill coverage is too wide. Soul Masters of the same level with slightly less mobility have no chance to escape and can only be worn down slowly."
"I suggest that we should never have fewer than four people in a team during battles, otherwise, it won't serve as effective training."
Yang Qianjun deeply agreed with Dugu Yan's words.
Through several battles, he had roughly understood the gap between him and Li Xun.
With his current attack power, he couldn't quickly destroy the plants constantly surging towards him.
If he slacked off even a little, he would be overwhelmed by Li Xun's skills. Even if he managed to break through the skill blockade, Li Xun's bizarre movements would quickly create distance, leaving him no chance to get close.
"Brother Yang has analyzed my skills quite thoroughly!" Li Xun laughed.
Yang Qianjun's points were things he had considered himself.
Excluding level and numbers, he could use the Yin Yang Well to compensate for the weaknesses of elemental Martial Souls.
But against flying Soul Masters, he really didn't have a good solution. The only threat he could pose to the air was his second Martial Soul.
But the second Martial Soul currently had a drawback: it could only be thrown in a straight line. Although it had a long range, it was easily dodged.
Moreover, if considering maximizing future strength, he definitely couldn't add Spirit Rings to the second Martial Soul now.
"Always getting beaten up, I have to reflect on it, don't I?" Yang Qianjun grinned and rubbed his head.
Everyone burst into laughter.
"Alright, this time Rongrong, Sister Yan, and Brother Yang will be on one team."
"Zhu Zhuqing, Shi Mo, and Shi Feng will be on the other team." After chatting with everyone for a bit, Li Xun began organizing the training.
He was now the team captain and also half of the team's lead teacher.
The reason it was half was because Qin Ming was rarely seen these days.
Ever since Yu Tianheng took Ye Qianqian, Oslo, and Yu Feng away, Qin Ming seemed to have lost his backbone, appearing listless and not caring much about the team.
Only when Zhu Zhuqing and Yang Qianjun joined the team did Qin Ming come over excitedly to take a look.
But when he saw their ages and Soul Power levels, he left disappointed.
In response to this situation, Meng Shenji had called Qin Ming over for a talk.
But Qin Ming didn't take it seriously.
In the end, this incident caused a stir in the election for the lead teacher position.
After learning about it, Li Xun, for the sake of his own freedom, asked the three education commissioners to plead for Qin Ming.
Li Xun sat in his chair, took a sip of tea, and contentedly watched the ongoing battle.
The role of the team's lead teacher didn't require much skill, and the training methods he promoted were something anyone could think of.
The only real function he served was perhaps helping the students obtain their Spirit Rings.
But Li Xun wasn't worried about this at all, as his family had no shortage of experts.
"It seems that from now on, Brother Yang can only take one person with him," Li Xun glanced at the situation on the field.
Yang Qianjun was currently overpowering the Shi brothers.
With the support of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School and Dugu Yan, Yang Qianjun was like a man on drugs, completely unafraid of the Black Tortoise Turtle's counterattacks, and every strike he made was bold and unrestrained.
It wasn't that Yang Qianjun was more ferocious than Yu Tianheng, but as the only strong attack type in the entire team, he naturally stood out.
On the other side.
Zhu Zhuqing, who should have taken advantage of Yang Qianjun being held back by the Shi brothers to attack the opposing support Soul Master, was instead intercepted by Dugu Yan.
Every time she tried to attack Ning Rongrong, she was blocked by Dugu Yan's serpent venom.
The difference in their levels, combined with the intimidation of the Jade Phosphor Serpent Venom, made Zhu Zhuqing feel like she had no way
to proceed.
After several more rounds of back-and-forth, just as Zhu Zhuqing was about to give up again, thinking she would return empty-handed.
Dugu Yan suddenly stumbled, seemingly unable to keep her balance.
(End of Chapter)