Chapter -79 The focus of everyone's attention.

Chapter -79.

As Ye Chen surged forward, the eight men in the eastern section of the arena instantly tensed up, ready for anything. Everyone knew the name "Shadow"—a true Soul King—and among them, only two or three had even reached level 40. In that moment, none of them dared to make a reckless move.

A powerful gust of wind swept through as Ye Chen appeared right in front of them. He raised his hand slowly, prompting the eight men to summon their martial souls and activate their defensive skills.

"Don't worry! I'm not here to fight," Ye Chen said with a warm smile. "Let's just coexist for now. Once they're done, we can team up to take them on together."

One guy snickered in disbelief, "Do you think we're foolish? You want us to join forces with you against others, and then once they're finished, we're next on the chopping block?"

His words struck a chord with the others, who nodded in agreement and refused to cooperate.

Ye Chen chuckled lightly, "Wow, this group is pretty clever. Alright, if that's how it's going to be, then I guess I'll have to deal with you first."

With that, he summoned the Abyss Dagger, clearly in no mood for further conversation. He suddenly slammed his foot down hard, propelling himself forward like a cannonball. A deep footprint marked where he had stepped.

The blood-red daggers swirled around him, transforming into eight shadowy figures, each diving toward the eight men.

"Everyone, be careful! Let's attack together!" shouted a bald man in the group. "Third soul skill: Mountain Heavy Stone!"

As he spoke, three massive boulders rose behind him, positioning themselves like mountains in front of their group, glowing with a faint golden light that exuded a heavy presence.

"Nice one, Yang Yi! With your Thousand Mountains martial soul to defend us, we can go all out on offense," the others cheered.

The Thousand Mountains martial soul, as its name indicates, is famous for its defensive capabilities and has earned a solid reputation among protective martial souls. Seeing those towering boulders gave the others a sense of security.

"No need to fret; I'll handle the defense. A few daggers won't get through this; you all focus on attacking!" Yang Yi said confidently.

But before he could finish, a frail man suddenly pointed ahead, panic on his face. "We're doomed! I should have listened and agreed with him; isn't teaming up better?"

Upon hearing this, the others hurriedly prepared their skills to counterattack as they gazed forward. But then, blood-red daggers appeared before them, barely three centimeters apart, spinning viciously and whipping up hot winds that made everyone stop in shock.

What's happening? Didn't you say you'd defend us, Yang Yi?

Annoyance flickered within the seven; they even considered that Yang Yi had let them down. They exchanged glances, only to realize the blame faded quickly.

Just then, Yang Yi lay on the ground, bleeding, while the massive stones meant to protect them had eight perfectly rounded holes in them, with shards of energy scattered everywhere.

Those small holes on the Qianshan martial soul appeared incredibly smooth and shiny, as if they had been pierced through with ease, leaving it utterly vulnerable.

"I'm sorry; I really did my best."

Yang Yi looked weakly at the others, his vision fading before he succumbed to unconsciousness. He had exhausted all his energy to use his defensive soul skill, but he never expected it to be breached so easily, leading to a backlash against him.

"How could this happen?"

Everyone swallowed hard, shocked that the battle had flipped so quickly. They hadn't even had a chance to fight back before being taken down in one blow—it felt like a child challenging an adult and failing miserably.

Suddenly, a frail man in the crowd raised his hands awkwardly. "Captain Shadow, I've thought it over and would like to accept your earlier proposal. After those people finish, we can work together to take down the rest. What do you think?"

His heart racing, he studied Ye Chen anxiously. He knew he couldn't win but didn't want to give up a golden opportunity; winning this competition could lead his academy straight to the finals.

"I support your idea too. Those guys already have the numbers. If we don't collaborate and end up battling each other, we'll just provide an opening for others," another chimed in.

"I agree."

"Count me in."

"Same here."

Though their reasoning was sound, Ye Chen simply shook his head with a smile. "I already gave you a chance, but nobody took it. You chose this path to challenge me; even if you bow down, you must see it through to the end."

His words were chilling as the spinning blood-red daggers picked up speed, the fierce wind they generated stinging the faces of the seven men.

"Can't we negotiate a little? We've changed our minds."

Desperation marked the frail man's voice as he realized that Ye Chen's expression remained unchanged and the daggers didn't slow down. He understood there was no way out.

Seizing the moment before Ye Chen acted, the frail man leaned in to whisper to the others beside him. "My fourth soul skill can distract that shadow for a moment; whether we can turn this around depends on all of us."

"Seriously?"

Hope lit up the faces of the other six. They knew the shadow wouldn't let this end easily, so if there was any chance, they were all in for the fight.

"Now's our moment."

Without waiting, the frail man shouted loudly.

In an instant, the six of them gathered their energy for an attack on Ye Chen.

But the moment they launched their attack, the frail man abruptly darted toward the north side of the arena, doing nothing but grinning slyly, looking quite shameless.

Hearing the screams of his companions, he couldn't help but laugh, "You fools! That shadow is over level 50! There's no way I could hold him off alone! I just needed to distract you long enough to buy myself some time."

He moved quickly, covering significant ground as half of his body squeezed into the crowd on the other side, hope igniting in him as he imagined joining another team for a potential comeback.

But just as he was reveling in his plan, a blood-red dagger shot out like a specter, blowing a hole through one of his thighs and exposing the bone, painting a grim tableau alongside his cries.

"I can't stand betrayers; this leg will be my gift for the rest of you."

Looking at the howling frail man, Ye Chen was filled with disgust; people like him left a terrible impression.

After the skirmish concluded in the eastern arena, in the north where Tang San was, a dense dark red Blue Silver Prison ensnared about a dozen opponents. Thanks to a mixture of various abilities like entanglement and parasitism, the toxins from the mutated Blue Silver Grass were activated, finally bringing an end to the battle.

On the western front, Feng Xiaotian faced a group battle and had to unleash his fourth soul skill, Magic Wolf Storm, to overpower everyone with his fierce tenacity.

Meanwhile, on the southern side, Huo Wu and Hu Yanli had a somewhat easier time. Both possessed impressive power levels, and Hu Yanli had the super defensive martial soul, Diamond Mammoth. The attackers struggled to break through his defenses, while Huo Wu unleashed powerful fire-based soul skills from the back. Nevertheless, with more than twenty opponents assaulting them, the battle took some time to conclude, only wrapping up after Feng Xiaotian and Tang San had finished theirs.

At last, with others no longer interfering, Ye Chen became the focal point of everyone's ire. The four who had suffered the most turned their glares toward him, the instigator of their troubles. If it weren't for him, they wouldn't have expended so much energy battling against an overwhelming crowd. They exchanged determined glances before stepping toward Ye Chen!

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Note : Guys, some power stones will be really helpful.