In the first match: Huo Wushuang consecutively defeated three opponents, only losing after his soul power dropped significantly. Then Huo Wu stepped up and took down four in a row. These siblings from the original Blazing Fire Team proved with their strength that, although their team didn't make it to the advancement rounds this time, they were by no means weak.
The following few matches were all between unknown small academies. The battles were uneventful and didn't attract anyone's attention—not even a single Soul Ancestor could be seen.
But for this match, everyone's attention sharpened: the Emperor Battle Team was entering the arena. Aside from a few teams from the Heaven Dou division, the other ten teams from the other divisions didn't know much about Emperor Battle's information, especially about Sword Prince. They had only heard his name but never seen him in person. Now, they wanted to witness just how powerful this guy—rumored to be so formidable that even the Spirit Hall Academy team feared him—really was.
Under everyone's gaze, Tian Lin stepped onto the stage.
"Oh, Sword Prince is the first to go up. Brother, do you think he wants to get an opening win for his academy, just like we did?" Huo Wu asked Huo Wushuang.
Huo Wushuang nodded noncommittally. "Maybe. But this is a good opportunity to observe his strength. In a one-on-one, the power he possesses will be greatly exposed."
Just as Huo Wushuang said, the other academies were thinking the same. Everyone was ready to gather intelligence.
On the other side, Balak Academy also sent out their ace right away: their captain, Lofchy, a level-41 Soul Ancestor.
This strength was decent among the academies, but unfortunately, against Soul King-level Tian Lin, he stood no chance and looked grim.
He hadn't expected to win today, but he also hadn't expected to face Sword Prince in the very first round. Wasn't the ace supposed to be saved for last?
Tian Lin, meanwhile, was relieved—if he hadn't chosen to go first, Lofchy wouldn't have been able to face any of the other Emperor Battle members, and Tian Lin would have missed the chance.
"Jun Tianlin, Martial Soul: Suppressing Demon Sword, Power Attack System Battle Soul King. Please advise."
"Lofchy, Martial Soul: Scale Bug, Power Attack System Battle Soul Ancestor. Please advise."
After introducing themselves, Tian Lin looked at Lofchy, who had activated his martial soul, and was slightly surprised—it turned out to be a scale bug. No wonder the Lo family and the Ao family were at odds: one's martial soul was a sunflower, and the other's was a bug that loved eating sunflowers. Of course, they couldn't get along.
There are several types of scale bugs. Judging by Lofchy's martial soul appearance, it was likely an arrowhead scale bug—capable of flight, with well-developed forewings and hindwings, and the antennae on its head being its strongest attack points.
Tian Lin assumed a fighting stance but didn't release his martial soul. He could now channel qi into a sword; even without using his martial soul, he could perform sword techniques. The guidance from Chen Xin in his youth had paid off, all thanks to a solid foundation built during his childhood.
"Not releasing your martial soul? Are you looking down on me? Damn it! Even if you are some Sword Prince, today I'll make you see how powerful I am! First soul skill—Head-on Assault!"
Roaring, Lofchy charged at Tian Lin. The power of this first soul skill was no weaker than the third soul skill of an average soul master.
Ye Lingling flipped through the contestant data. "Lofchy's first soul skill is unusual. It seems it can only be used at the very start of a match when soul power is at its peak. In other words, only once."
"Oh, a soul skill like that—not bad. Too bad it works against ordinary people, but even for us, it's easy to handle, let alone Xiao Tian." Yu Tianheng chuckled.
Sure enough, as he said, facing Lofchy's direct charge, Tian Lin didn't retreat a single step. He simply grabbed Lofchy's antennae with both hands, stopping him dead in his tracks.
"He stopped my first soul skill with just his physical strength?!"
Lofchy was shocked and had no time to react before Tian Lin yanked his antennae, slamming him hard to the ground while scolding, "Lofchy, I've heard about your evil deeds in Balak—bullying men and women alike. Today, I'm going to teach you a lesson!"
Tian Lin deliberately spoke loudly so everyone could hear. They all knew about Lofchy's behavior and wondered: was Tian Lin taking this chance to stand up for the common folk?
"Why say all that? What does it have to do with our soul battle?" Lofchy was furious. What was the point of bringing up irrelevant matters in a proper fight?
"I'm going to wake you up." With that, Tian Lin punched Lofchy in the face, making his nose bleed. "Isn't this how you treated innocent people before? How does it feel when it's your turn?"
"How can those lowlifes compare to me? What do they have to do with me? Fourth soul skill—Insect Gu!"
Lofchy launched a desperate counterattack. His fourth soul skill summoned a swarm of flying insects—disgusting to the extreme.
"Seven Killing Skills: Blood Drenches the Rivers!" Tian Lin swept his fingers, releasing crimson sword energy in all directions. In an instant, all the insects were cut down.
"Whoa, Xiao Tian's serious! He even used the Seven Kill Sword Technique." The Emperor Battle team below was shocked. He hadn't even used that against Elephant Armored Academy, yet here he was against Lofchy. Was it really necessary? Or had Tian Lin become so intolerant of evil?
On stage, Tian Lin charged at Lofchy, not using sword techniques anymore, but landing punch after punch on his body. "All the evil deeds you did to innocent civilians—I'm repaying them to you now."
Lofchy was powerless to fight back. He wanted to admit defeat, but Tian Lin was faster and dislocated his jaw so he couldn't speak.
No one noticed that each time Tian Lin landed a punch, his forehead flickered faintly.
A million-year soul skill: Mind Control.
This was Tian Lin's real goal. Normally, Mind Control only temporarily controlled an opponent, but after some modifications, Tian Lin turned it into a kind of mental suggestion skill.
Every punch Tian Lin landed on Lofchy transmitted a mental shock. Now, Lofchy's spirit was extremely weak.
With each punch, Tian Lin implanted the message: "You must never bully civilians again," using Mind Control to imprint it deep into Lofchy's mind until it became a permanent suggestion.
He then used Soul Reading to alter Lofchy's memories.
In his altered memory, he had originally been a passionate youth, led astray by Orby of the Ao family, turning into a notorious wastrel. Only after meeting Tian Lin today and being awakened by him did he realize how wrong he had been, and he resolved to change his ways, feeling grateful to Tian Lin.
These two moves combined were like Kotoamatsukami. The method was more complex than the original, but unlike Kotoamatsukami, it didn't have a ten-year cooldown. Each had its pros and cons.
Once everything was done, Tian Lin knew the two suggestions—"never bully civilians again" and "forever be grateful to Tian Lin for waking him up"—were now firmly imprinted in Lofchy's mind. He stopped attacking and reset Lofchy's jaw.
Regaining his voice, Lofchy immediately declared, "I concede!"