Douluo Dalu: Stealing Through The Heavens

As Supervisor Ao announced the start, both the Emperor Team and the Mad Battle Team lined up in their formations.

In the Mad Battle Team, Captain Mad Xi stood at the front, flanked by two gloomy middle-aged men behind him, forming a triangle formation. In the center of their team was an alluring woman, still smiling seductively. 

However, there was a heaviness behind that smile. They knew that the Emperor Team was no joke—their average level was higher, and their soul ring configurations were top-tier. If it weren't for spotting two newcomers on the otherl side, they would have had no confidence at all in this fight.

Two lean young men stood on the wings, while a plain-looking older man took up the rear. Their formation was like a sharp cone.

This time, their main targets were Zuzong wearing a fox mask, and Xiao Wu with her rabbit mask. As for Ye Lingling, she was too well-protected by top-tier defensive soul masters, Shi Mo and Shi Mo, making it impossible to get close to her.

On the Emperor Team's side, they too set up their formation, though it was different from the 3-3-1 of their opponents. They used a 3-1-3 formation, with their seven members split into three rows.

In the front stood Yu Tianheng, Xiao Wu, and Dugu Yan, with Yu Tianheng, the strongest attacker, in the center. The second row consisted of the masked Zong, and the last row had Shi Mo, Shi Mo, and Ye Lingling, with Ye Lingling, the support soul master, safeguarded in the middle.

Zuzong cast a glance back at Shi Mo, Shi Mo, and Ye Lingling, then said quietly, "Shi Mo, Shi Mo, you two protect Lingling from both sides. Lingling, stay behind me. As a support soul master, your first priority is to keep yourself safe."

None of them had any objections to this arrangement; after all, Zuzong had already earned their respect through his strength. His plan seemed sound, and they all responded in unison, "Understood."

Zuzong then looked toward Xiao Wu's position. As expected, both he and Xiao Wu would be the main targets of the Mad Battle Team's assault. Given that Osler and Yu Feng had been substituted, the Mad Battle Team would naturally aim for what they thought were the weak spots.

However, Zuzong wasn't too worried. Xiao Wu's strength was formidable, especially her Teleportation soul ability, which made her difficult to pin down. Moreover, he couldn't always shield her like a flower in a greenhouse; she had to face challenges without him by her side all the time.

The host asked both sides if they were ready, to which Yu Tianheng and Mad Xi both confirmed their readiness.

"Countdown begins at five seconds. Five, four, three, two, one... Group Battle Soul Fight, Match Four, start!"

This countdown wasn't used in one-on-one or two-on-two matches. It gave both teams a chance to release their martial souls beforehand, avoiding any delay in activation during the group battle. For the soul Arena, it also made the fight more exciting for the spectators.

"Brothers, release your martial souls!" Yu Tianheng shouted, his aura surging. A blue light burst from his forehead as lightning enveloped his body. His right arm transformed into a dragon claw, extending by more than half a foot, covered in blue-violet scales.

At the same time, both teams unleashed their martial souls. Beast soul masters underwent physical transformations, while tool soul masters summoned their weapons. The entire arena became dazzling.

At this moment, Zuzong finally understood why spectators loved group soul fights so much. The spectacle of fourteen soul masters releasing their martial souls simultaneously, with their radiant soul rings, was an overwhelming sight to behold.

soul ring configuration: Two yellow and one purple—two century rings and one millennium ring. This was the configuration of all seven members of the Emperor Team.

In comparison, the Mad Battle Team's soul rings looked much less uniform. Mad Xi had one white, one yellow, and one purple ring—the standard combination of ten-year, hundred-year, and thousand-year soul rings. The two gloomy middle-aged men beside him each had one white and two yellow rings. The only one with a top-tier soul ring configuration was the Spider Woman, who, like the Royal Team, had two yellow and one purple ring.

This disparity in soul ring configurations caused some of the Mad Battle Team's supporters to switch sides, now shouting for the Emperor Team to win. The morale of the Mad Battle Team plummeted.

Mad Xi, veins bulging on his forehead and bloodshot eyes, roared, "Damn it! These pampered brats aren't scary at all! Let them taste the power of the Mad Battle Team!"

"Oh," the Mad Battle Team responded weakly.

Mad Xi's attempt to boost morale didn't have much effect. Aside from the Spider Woman, the other five members had little fighting soul left. They were used to bullying weaker teams, but now, faced with a stronger team in both level and soul ring configuration, they had almost lost the will to fight.

Zuzong smirked and said to Yu Tianheng, "Since they're too afraid to move, let's make the first move."

"Agreed," Yu Tianheng nodded. He had been expecting more from this team, given their record of five consecutive wins. But seeing their cowardice, his interest had waned.

Yu Tianheng immediately lunged forward, his large dragon claw aimed at Mad Xi. Zuzong didn't attack right away; for him, this group battle was more about training the team's coordination. His role was to oversee and prevent anything unexpected.

"Damn it! They're charging! Get ready, guys! Whoever contributes the most, I'll be his tonight!" the Spider Woman shouted.

"Gulp." The Mad Battle Team members swallowed hard.

Under the allure of the Spider Woman, their morale spiked, but soul battles weren't won by morale alone. The woman had only made that promise because she knew their chances of winning were slim. Though she might not have been morally upstanding, she certainly wasn't going to reward any of the rough Mad Battle Team members.

With Dugu Yan's first and second soul abilities providing support, the strengthened Yu Tianheng tore through the Mad Battle Team like a wolf among sheep. Even Mad Xi couldn't withstand three of Yu Tianheng's strikes, flying backwards from the impact.

Meanwhile, Dugu Yan faced off against the Spider Woman. The woman was wary of Dugu Yan's snake venom. Since her boyfriend was enjoying the fight, Dugu Yan decided to let him continue, without interference.

Xiao Wu also charged forward, eager to join the fray, but she ran into a sheep soul master. His second soul ability, Stomp, created a small but effective area of shock, preventing Xiao Wu from getting close. Each time she tried to attack, he would use Stomp, stunning her momentarily and forcing her to retreat. Despite Xiao Wu's speed and teleportation skills, she found herself in a stalemate against him.

Even so, aside from the sheep soul master and the Spider Woman, the rest of the Mad Battle Team was utterly overwhelmed, with only three members of the Emperor Team having made a move.

Seeing her team in disarray, the Spider Woman shrieked, "Damn it! Everyone, gather around me!"

At her command, the six remaining members of the Mad Battle Team regrouped around her.

"Everyone, focus on the one with the rabbit mask!" she shouted, unleashing her "Frenzy" skill.

Zuzong's eyes narrowed. He recognized the "Frenzy" skill—it was a power-boosting ability, somewhat similar to a berserker's rage in a video game from his past life. The Mad Battle Team was now in a frenzied state, and Xiao Wu might not be able to handle them alone.

"If that's the case, don't blame me," Zuzong muttered.

A deep blue light surged from his body, and thick, arm-sized strands of Blue Silver Emperor vines shot out from his palms, covered in intricate patterns.

Just like when he faced Dai Mubai, Zuzong activated the sharpness of his second soul ability from the Blue Silver Emperor.

The Mad Battle Team was notorious for their brutality in soul fights, often leaving their opponents severely injured or worse. Zuzong saw no need to hold back.

As his Blue Silver Emperor vines thickened and multiplied, glowing with a faint white light, they wrapped around his body like massive serpents.

His two yellow and one purple soul rings rose from his feet, spinning around him.

At that moment, he activated the nine suns technique, manipulating the Blue Silver Emperor vines. They shot past Yu Tianheng, Xiao Wu, and Dugu Yan, heading straight for the frenzied Mad Battle Team.

"Blue Silver Domain: Bind!"

The Mad Battle Team members were caught off guard. "What's going on? Didn't they say that fox-masked guy was a newcomer? And how can Blue Silver Grass be this powerful?"

Despite their efforts, the Mad Battle Team couldn't break through the endless entangling vines. Even before their three-minute frenzy ended, they were all bound up tightly, bleeding from the cuts inflicted by the sharp vine blades.

The entire audience gasped in shock.

They had thought Yu Tianheng, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon soul master, was already powerful enough, but it was Zuzong who left them speechless. His sudden move had stolen the show.

The Mad Battle Team, in their frenzied state, had stood no chance at all.

Zuzong glanced at the Spider Woman, still bound up tightly by the vines, and said softly, "I'll give you a choice—admit defeat or continue."

The Spider Woman stared in disbelief at the masked man.

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