Chapter 71: Strategizing

Several days later, inside a hotel room, a long table was surrounded by seated figures. Ma Rulong wore a dark expression. "Everyone, the opponents we've faced these past few days have been odd. They're almost exclusively from other Sun Moon soul engineering academies." "Because of this, I have reason to suspect that the host nation is rigging the matchups behind the scenes." Huo Yuhao nodded. "Senior Ma is right. Star Luo Empire is definitely manipulating the tournament. Sure, there's a natural chance that we'd encounter other Sun Moon teams... But the odds of facing them back to back like this are incredibly low." "Someone is pulling strings." For the past few days, Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy had been dominating the academy round robin matches. They had easily crushed every opponent after all, they were far superior to the other Sun Moon academies. But Star Luo's blatant favoritism left them feeling frustrated. Xiao Hongchen, slouched in his chair with a hat pulled low over his eyes, smirked. "So what if they're rigging the matchups?" "Doesn't matter. I'll crush them anyway." "I am, after all, Sun Moon Empire's second greatest genius!" "They'll learn soon enough against absolute power, all schemes are meaningless!" "You all understand what it means to be a 14 year old Soul King, right?" Hearing this confident declaration, Ma Rulong sighed. Even though Xiao Hongchen's talent wasn't as freakish as Huo Yuhao's, he was still as arrogant as ever. Ma Rulong shook his head. "Xiao Hongchen, you're underestimating the danger of tournament rigging." "We still don't know how far they're willing to go." "If they cross the line, we may have no choice but to withdraw." "After all, if the competition becomes completely unfair, there's no point in participating." At that moment, Meng Hongchen turned to Huo Yuhao. "Yuhao, what do you think?" Huo Yuhao's gaze turned pensive. "Senior Meng, I believe Star Luo will escalate their interference against us." "We've all seen Star Luo's national team compete. They have a real chance of winning the championship." "And since they're already manipulating the tournament, that means they won't stop." "However " "They probably won't go too far." "If they push us too hard, we might withdraw." "And if that happens, then this year's Soul Master Tournament would become the least prestigious in history." "Shrek Academy already withdrew. If Sun Moon pulls out too, then this would just be a tournament between the three Douluo nations." "And even if Star Luo wins, the championship title would be worthless." "Historians would likely mock this tournament as the most meaningless victory ever." Hearing this, the Sun Moon team members nodded in agreement. "Yuhao's right!" "Yeah, that makes a lot of sense!" Just then, the sound of footsteps echoed from outside the room. The door slowly swung open And Jing Hongchen stepped inside, his expression dark. "The tournament has introduced a new rule restricting soul tools." "This will severely weaken our advantage." "You all need to be mentally prepared." "New rule?" Xiao Hongchen's face darkened. His confidence came largely from how perfectly his martial soul and abilities synergized with soul tools. If his soul tools were limited, then his combat power would plummet! Jing Hongchen sighed. "The new rule states: 'Participants are prohibited from using large numbers of soul cannons. They may only use a limited amount.' The official reason given is that 'Simultaneously firing multiple soul cannons produces excessive power and is too difficult to control. If a contestant is hit by multiple soul cannon blasts, the referees may be unable to save them in time.' So, for the safety of participants, the organizers implemented this restriction." "But " "They also stated that, from now on, there will be no further rule changes." As Jing Hongchen finished speaking, everyone turned to stare at Ma Rulong and Xiao Hongchen. These two relied heavily on soul cannon barrages for offense. With this rule in place, their combat effectiveness would suffer greatly. And from what they had observed of Star Luo's national team Their main attack strategies didn't involve soul cannon spam. This rule was clearly designed to favor Star Luo and weaken Sun Moon. "This is a direct attack on me!" Xiao Hongchen's anger flared. "Can't beat us fair and square, so now they're playing dirty?!" Ma Rulong's expression darkened further. "Under this rule, both Xiao Hongchen and I will be severely weakened..." A heavy atmosphere settled over the room. Ma Rulong was the strongest contestant on the Sun Moon team. And despite Xiao Hongchen's arrogance, he was undeniably powerful. Now that both of them were crippled, this was a major blow to Sun Moon's chances. Yes, Sun Moon had a wide variety of soul tools But Ma Rulong and Xiao Hongchen relied on soul cannons because they were stable and reliable. Other soul tools Even if they were stronger, they weren't as easy to use. Take the Judgment Sword, for example It was an incredibly powerful Rank 8 soul tool. But Ma Rulong struggled to use it. As a Soul Emperor, he could only wield it by using the Sacrificial Chapter, a Rank 7 soul tool that boosted his soul power and physical strength at the cost of his life force and potential. If he used it He would be crippled for an entire year. Unless absolutely necessary, he couldn't afford to wield it. Jing Hongchen turned to Huo Yuhao. "Yuhao, for your safety, you cannot use your Ultimate Ice in this tournament." "You also must not enhance Meng Hongchen we can't risk exposing your Ultimate Ice abilities." "Now that our team is weakened, our championship hopes rest on you." "As our most unique control type soul master, you must become the team's strategic commander." Huo Yuhao nodded. "Understood." He looked at the team. "Since we can't use multiple soul cannons " "Then we'll focus on soul rays." "Soul rays have always been difficult to aim properly, which is why soul cannon strategies became so popular." "But with my Spiritual Detection Sharing, I can significantly improve everyone's accuracy!" A new battle strategy began forming in Huo Yuhao's mind. The Star Luo Empire wanted to suppress them But he would prove that even with handicaps, they were still unstoppable. (End of chapter.)Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon. Read 15 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Albino1