Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Sister, you can do it!”
Lin Yi was immeasurably excited, her face turning red and her eyes full of admiration as she watched Lin Xi on the observation deck on the third floor. “That brat is about to lose!”
She was thoroughly enjoying this match.
Her sister had been suppressing her opponent the entire time.
She was so outstanding, so stellar, so dazzling.
The bitterness and grief from being defeated by Wang Che the day before had been swept away. She was now in a very good mood.
“The difference between both sides is still too great,” stated Professor Yan as he shook his head. “After a week of training, the young lady’s Cloud Cap Snake’s strength is no longer something a green caterpillar can compare to… From the start, when facing a soul pet like hers that had no shortcomings, it had to bet on its Spit Thread soul skill. As long as it could land an attack once, it still has a chance.
“It’s a pity that he used this skill yesterday. The Cloud Cap Snake has already made sufficient preparations for it today. Under the obvious disparity in strength between the two sides, it’s too difficult to hit the target.
“In any case, it’s already rare for a green caterpillar to be able to fight against a Cloud Cap Snake to this extent.”
As Professor Yan spoke, he felt that something was amiss.
He looked at the blind old man.
“Lin Yi, go tell them to raise the observation platform by 15 meters,” the elder instructed.
“What?” Professor Yan was slightly stunned.
He didn’t quite understand what he was saying.
“Grandpa Li, what do you mean?” Lin Yi’s elation subsided and she frowned.
He said casually, “Raise it by 15 meters, and you’ll know what I’m talking about.”
She was a little speechless but replied, “I feel like I can see and hear everything clearly right now, though.”
This was the observation platform, and it was basically the best angle to watch the ongoing battles. Compared to the competition stage, it was four to five meters taller, about one floor worth of height.
Looking down from the side, she could clearly see everything happening on the stage.
However, since the blind man had given the order, she had no choice but to call for the staff to raise the special observation platform by more than ten meters.
After doing so, the impaired elder suddenly laughed loudly.
“Interesting! This young man really isn’t what he seems to be… He even managed to deceive me… How brilliant!”
“What do you mean?” Professor Yan was puzzled.
“You should take a look now,” he advised, pointing at the enormous battlefield.
Professor Yan peered down.
At first glance, his gaze changed.
Then, his expression shifted as well; he was in awe.
“I see!”
In the meanwhile, Wang Che was still giving out commands to his soul pet.
The green caterpillar once again unleashed its soul skill, Spit Thread, toward the Cloud Cap Snake that was perched on top of a rock far away.
The snake dodged it once again.
Just as the green caterpillar was about to shoot out a thread, Wang Che suddenly demanded.
“There’s no need to dodge. Stay where you are and defend yourself.”
Green caterpillar was confused.
‘Can I defend against this?’ it thought to itself.
The green caterpillar did not understand, but obeyed.
It immediately sat up and wrapped its entire body into a circle.
When everyone saw this, even Lin Xi was stunned.
Was this a new tactic?
Or maybe a defense?
Her battle instincts told her that something was wrong.
However, the Rumbling Tail Strike that the Cloud Cap Snake had accumulated its power for was like an arrow on a stretched bowstring; it had to be fired.
There was no possibility of stopping it.
After all, victory was near. This time, it didn’t dodge, so if it striked the target, it would basically be the end of this match.
Boom!
Without reducing any of its strength, the Rumbling Tail Strike blasted the green caterpillar that had shrunk itself into a ball!
An explosion shook the stage.
Cracks were snaking on the already shattered battle stage, sending innumerable rocks flying everywhere.
There was a cloud of dust, and a figure appeared among the haze.
It was the green caterpillar that was hit!
Even though it was in a defensive state, the powerful might of the attack still sent it flying.
It landed on the ground far away.
However, the strange thing was that the green caterpillar was still able to stand. Although it had suffered quite a bit of damage, it was not enough to render it unable to fight.
Lin Xi frowned slightly. Looking at the green caterpillar that seemed like it was already about to lose, she immediately shouted, “Cloud Cap Snake, give it one last strike!”
At this time, the green caterpillar’s condition had greatly weakened, so it was obviously unable to receive the final attack.
Despite the command, there was no movement at all in the battle platform that was shrouded in dust.
An ominous feeling rose in Lin Xi’s heart.
What happened next surprised everyone who was present.
As the smoke gradually dissipated, the Cloud Cap Snake’s entire body was revealed, entangled by dense white threads in the center of the stage, rendering it immobile.
“How is this possible?!”
For the first time, Lin Xi lost her composure.
She was so appalled that she could not believe it.
“Hiss! Hiss!”
Her soul pet let out an angry cry in the middle.
Everyone was puzzled.
Unfortunately, no commentators had been hired for the Enlightenment Cup, as the competition was typically too simple to need them.
Even so, such a person would probably still be dumbfounded from seeing what had just occured.
“Could it be…”
Lin Xi scanned the stage and observed her surroundings.
Her body suddenly jolted as she noticed the abundance of white threads that were concealed within the various broken rocks like hidden dragons and snakes.
They were tightly entangled together, not weaved into any intentional pattern.
It seemed like…
A huge web!
“It’s a large spiderweb,” the blind old man on the observation platform said, sighing. “While the soul skill was being used constantly, the young man had been laying out a huge spiderweb on the battle platform without anyone noticing!
“That’s why he had the green caterpillar use its soul skill, Spit Thread. He didn’t even think of using it against the Cloud Cap Snake. It was all a distraction to confuse and make his opponent let down her guard.
“Coupled with the destruction of the stage and the cover of the rain of stones, it would be extremely difficult to detect unless one could stand at a certain height and view the entire competition stage as a whole. In the end, defending against that attack was a camouflage to turn itself into prey, luring its opponent into its trap…
“Impressive… He had planned such an elaborate scheme, it’s really impressive.”
The blind old man’s tone changed as he continued, “In a situation where the strength of both parties are clear, he laid out a trap from the start and turned his own soul pet into the bait. He lured the opponent step by step and played them at their own game…”
“Brilliant hunters often appear weak… What an old fox!”
Professor Yan also sighed.
He hadn’t noticed either, let alone Lin Xi.
After the observation platform had been raised, as they stared down at the entire competition stage from above, only then did they vaguely notice some traces of the silk threads and the bait that had been created.
Lin Yi standing on the side was immediately flabbergasted.
What kind of person was this blind grandpa? If even such a respected figure said that…
At this moment, the entire crowd was in an uproar.
The Enlightenment Cup had been held countless times, but such a special match had never happened before.
This counterattack left everyone dumbstruck.
However, Wang Che did not have much of a victorious smile on his face, since all of this had been within his expectations.
However…
There was a long silence.
Lin Xi’s face was a little red, as she had been schemed against and rendered helpless.
There was no other way.
She thought that she had been cautious enough, but who would have known…
“I have to say… Wang Che, you’re really amazing,” Lin Xi gushed as she looked at Wang Che in admiration.
“If it wasn’t for the previous round, I would have lost under normal circumstances.
“It’s a pity that in the first round…”
All of a sudden, Lin Xi’s eyes became sharp.
“The Cloud Cap Snake has comprehended an attribute soul skill! Your move can no longer trap it!
“Cloud Cap Snake, use Seed Bomb!”
As soon as she finished speaking…
“Hiss!”
Her soul pet let out a high-pitched cry.
Following this, the small wings on its head began to flicker.
Seed Bomb was one of the grass type soul pets’ attribute soul skills.
It was extremely potent.
It was capable of condensing a grass type energy seed and detonating it, causing tremendous damage. At the same time, it could also restore a small portion of the user’s physical strength and soul power.
It was a grass type soul pet’s core ten-year soul skill that combined both damage and recovery.
Only an extremely rare soul pet like the Cloud Cap Snake would ever have had a chance of comprehending it at 70 years of cultivation. If it were any other grass type soul pet, it would have needed at least 100 years to develop such a powerful core soul skill.
Light green spots the size of rice grains flew out from the wings beside the Cloud Cap Snake’s ears.
Densely packed, just like fireflies, they gathered and exploded on the webs formed by the Spit Thread!
In an instant, the spiderweb that had taken half a day to form was completely destroyed, and the webs on the snake slowly disintegrated due to the explosion.
Wisps of energy were slowly infused into the body of the Cloud Cap Snake, allowing it to recover a small fraction of its stamina and soul power.
Wang Che was not surprised to see this.
As Lin Xi had said, for him to win, the battle should have ended when the Cloud Cap Snake was trapped.
That was the best outcome. He could still hide his trump card.
However, he did not expect that Lin Xi’s Cloud Cap Snake had comprehended the Seed Bomb in the previous battle…
Alright…
Wang Che had imagined this scenario before, but it was just a fleeting thought.
After all, the probability for this to happen was too low. Who would have thought…
As the seed bombs erupted, everything seemed to return to its original point.
Everyone fell silent, and the situation on the field reversed once again.
Such an intriguing battle was probably a first in the history of the Enlightenment Cup.
However, this time, it was as if the tables could not be turned further.
It seemed that the outcome had been decided.
Lin Xi watched quietly and declared, “Wang Che, you don’t have a chance anymore.”
Everyone believed this to be the truth as they nodded unconsciously as well.
The difference in their current states was too great; there were no more chances.
‘I think we can still salvage this situation.’
Wang Che thought for a moment, glanced at the green caterpillar, and shouted.
“Green caterpillar, transform!”
Telepathically, he instructed it to use Soul Armor Haki!