Douluo Dalu 2: The True God King

About a quarter of an hour later, Elder Ma finally arrived, albeit a little late. His hair was snow-white—a sign of his advanced age—but he was still full of vigor. Elder Ma was, in fact, Ma Rulong's grandfather, and he held a highly respected position in the Illustrious Virtue Hall.

"Everyone's here? Good. Then let's begin today's first lesson—practical combat training," Elder Ma announced.

"Follow me."

With that single statement, he turned and walked away without looking back. Su Yu glanced at Ma Rulong, who shrugged and followed him. Su Yu's eyes flickered as he signaled to the reserve team members to follow as well.

Elder Ma led the group out of the hall's common base into a narrow metallic passageway. The corridor had multiple intersections, but Elder Ma navigated them easily, taking sharp turns left and right. Su Yu and the others quickly kept pace. After about half an hour, they finally arrived at their destination: an enormous Battle Soul Arena.

Before them was a circular battle stage with a diameter of roughly 200 meters, surrounded by interconnected defensive soul tools that enveloped the entire platform. Above, a massive metallic dome stretched nearly 100 meters high, dotted with white soul tool lights that cast a soft glow, illuminating the entire arena brightly. Rows of tiered seating encircled the arena, rising higher the further out they were. The entire area was enclosed by metal walls, forming a fully sealed indoor Battle Soul Arena.

"An underground arena... truly awe-inspiring," Su Yu exclaimed in amazement. While this arena wasn't as massive as the soul tool testing grounds, its construction costs seemed even higher. The underground setting itself posed unique challenges, and the quality of the components—from the battle stage to the defensive soul tools—was exceptional. Even the metal walls were specially reinforced. Su Yu could tell that these walls had extraordinary defensive capabilities—strong enough that even he would hesitate to claim he could destroy them completely.

"This arena was built specifically for members of Illustrious Virtue Hall," Elder Ma explained.

"When members need to test the power of secret soul tools, they often choose this location. It's more discreet than the testing grounds."

He continued, "This time, we are preparing to represent the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Battle Tournament. Our training is of the utmost importance, which is why I chose this place."

Elder Ma's voice, though aged, carried a commanding presence, answering the group's questions. Hearing this, many of the members suddenly understood.

"For this tournament, the Hall Master has entrusted me to lead the team," Elder Ma continued.

"I've reviewed the information on both the official team and the reserve team, but I find it insufficient. Paper statistics only scratch the surface. True weaknesses are revealed in combat. Thus, our first lesson is practical combat."

He looked at Ma Rulong and Su Yu.

"As captains of the official and reserve teams, respectively, you two will lead your teams and compete. I want to see the gap between the official team and the reserve team. Take ten minutes to discuss your strategy. The match begins after that."

Elder Ma's words caused a visible reaction among Su Yu's team members. While Su Yu remained calm, Yang Xu and the others looked shocked. A match between the reserve team and the official team? Was this a joke? How could they possibly win?

Wang Dong'er's expression also turned serious, but seeing Su Yu's calm demeanor strangely eased her tension.

"Gather around. Let's discuss strategy," Su Yu called out, and the team members slowly gathered.

"Captain, how are we supposed to fight them? This is the official team. We don't stand a chance," Zhou Qin said dejectedly. Yang Xu and Guan Bo chimed in their agreement. The official team had a lineup that included a Level 6 Soul Engineer and six Level 5 Soul Engineers—an overwhelming force.

"Don't lose heart. How do you know you'll lose if you haven't fought yet?"

Xiao Hongchen snapped, annoyed by their lack of resolve.

"Exactly. Why are you giving up before the match even starts?"

Wang Dong'er added with a scoff. Though she felt a little nervous, she wasn't afraid.

"Su Yu, what's the plan?"

Meng Hongchen asked, looking at him. Su Yu raised his hand to signal for silence.

"Don't be afraid of losing," he began.

"Elder Ma set up this match to assess our true strength, not to demand victory. The outcome doesn't matter. What matters is that we use this opportunity to identify our weaknesses. Understand?"

He directed this, especially toward Yang Xu and the others, whose fighting spirit was visibly low.

"Understood, Captain," they replied, nodding. Their initial fear stemmed from the reputation of the official team, but once the pressure of winning was lifted, they felt less intimidated. Satisfied, Su Yu smiled and continued, "Now, let's strategize. The official team may be strong, but they aren't without weaknesses. We're not completely without a chance."

Despite his earlier reassurance, Su Yu had no intention of losing. If victory was possible, why settle for defeat?

As Su Yu laid out his plan, the team listened intently. Even Xiao Hongchen's eyes lit up with excitement.

"Su Yu, I didn't expect you to be this capable. We've got this!"

Xiao Hongchen laughed confidently.

"Calm down, Xiao," Su Yu chuckled.

"Oh, right, my bad," Xiao Hongchen said, laughing it off as the team's morale noticeably rose.

On the other side, Xia Xiafeng sidled up to Ma Rulong and chuckled dismissively.

"Captain, look at how serious they are. Do you think they believe they can beat us?"

Ma Rulong shot him a glare.

"Don't underestimate them. The reserve team isn't weak."

"Come on, Captain. Sure, Su Yu, Xiao Hongchen, and Meng Hongchen are strong, but the rest of their team is just filler," Chen An added. The sentiment seemed to be shared by most of the official team, who viewed their opponents with little concern. The reserve team is, after all, just a reserve team. If they could beat the main team, would they still be called the reserve team?

"Everyone, just don't let your guard down."

Seeing that everyone shared similar thoughts, Ma Rulong could only remind them not to underestimate their opponents. In truth, he also thought it was unlikely for the reserve team to win. However, his cautious nature led him to maintain a certain level of vigilance toward Su Yu and the others.

"Alright, ten minutes are up. Let's start the match."

The ten-minute preparation period quickly passed, and Elder Ma's voice echoed. Su Yu and his teammates exchanged glances before stepping onto the battle stage. The two teams stood tens of meters apart, facing each other.

On the official representative team, Ma Rulong stood in the center. Lin Xi and Mi Jia were positioned at the front, while Chen An and Chen Fei stood on either side of Ma Rulong, with Li Yan and Xiao Xiaofeng taking the rear. This was the regular formation often employed by the representative team, one they executed seamlessly through mutual cooperation.

On the reserve team, Su Yu stood in the center, with Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen at the front. Wang Dong'er and Yang Xu flanked Su Yu, while Guan Bo and Zhou Qin took up the rear. In terms of aura alone, the reserve team was outmatched.

"Both sides in position. Match… start!"

With Elder Ma's signal, the official representative team sprang into action. Numerous metal tubes extended from their bodies as a myriad of soul tools surrounded them like an impenetrable fortress. They deployed a soul cannon barrage strategy right from the start, intending to wipe out the reserve team in one decisive strike.

Su Yu made a quick decision. His Ice Emperor Martial Soul possessed him, radiating an icy blue glow. His third soul ring flashed, and an endless white mist engulfed the entire battle stage—a display of his third soul skill, Ice Emperor's Domain.

"This is bad! We've lost our lock!"

Xiao Xiaofeng cried out in alarm as the targets they had previously locked onto vanished the moment the mist rose. They had completely lost sight of their opponents.

"Fire!"

Ma Rulong, unperturbed, immediately gave the order to fire. A storm of soul-guided rays blanketed the battlefield.

"Take to the skies!"

At Su Yu's command, the reserve team members rose into the air. However, the intense firepower swept across the battlefield, and both Guan Bo and Zhou Qin were struck before they could ascend, eliminating them immediately. Su Yu frowned. No matter how well they planned, their initial coordination still had flaws.

"Fire!"

Mi Jia shouted, his relentless attacks intensifying.

"Wait, aim at the sky!"

A sudden thought struck Ma Rulong, and he directed the firepower upward. The other six team members followed suit, unleashing their firepower indiscriminately from ground to sky. Having lost track of their opponents, this was their only option to force Su Yu and his team to reveal themselves.

However, Su Yu and his team moved with incredible agility, weaving effortlessly through the barrage of attacks.

"This soul skill is ridiculous. Is this what cheating feels like? It's freaking awesome!"

Xiao Hongchen grinned ear to ear. Su Yu's third soul skill was outright absurd. It not only weakened mental detection and blocked aura locking but also obscured visibility while granting allies the equivalent of omniscient vision. Every move Ma Rulong's team made was as clear as day to Su Yu and his team, who dodged attacks with ease as if the opposing team's actions were slowed down in their minds. The earlier elimination of Guan Bo and Zhou Qin was purely due to their slow reactions. Now, Su Yu's team had gained an almost unshakable advantage, while Ma Rulong's team resembled headless flies.

"This… is a domain?"

Outside the battle stage, Elder Ma raised an eyebrow in surprise. Even he couldn't penetrate the veil of white mist covering the field. This wasn't just simple concealment but rather an exclusive domain—a rare and extraordinary ability. Only geniuses among geniuses could possess such a skill. And for someone as young as Su Yu to have a domain was astonishing.

"If they can't break this domain, Rulong and the others might be in trouble," Elder Ma said gravely, his eyes narrowing.

Just as he predicted, Ma Rulong and his team were now in a stalemate. Without breaking the domain, they were likely to lose this match.

"It's a domain! Everyone, gather around me!"

Ma Rulong issued an order. At this point, the team needed to stick together to avoid being picked off one by one.

"Got it, Captain!"

"Understood!"

As they tried to regroup, fine ice threads suddenly materialized in the white mist. Those who failed to react quickly found themselves entangled, feeling the cold seep into their bodies and slowing them down.

"Look out, Captain! Watch out for the ice threads!"

Xiao Xiaofeng's warning was cut short by a soul-guided beam shooting toward him. Caught off guard, he was struck and knocked off the stage.

"Xiao Xiaofeng!"

Ma Rulong's expression darkened as he quickly used his soul power to dispel the ice threads around him, simultaneously firing toward the direction of the attack. However, the figure had already vanished.

"Ah!"

Another cry rang out as Li Yan was eliminated under concentrated fire. Without even a chance to struggle, he was out. Ma Rulong's expression changed drastically. In the blink of an eye, two teammates had been taken out.

"We have to break this domain!"

Ma Rulong's eyes turned sharp as he tossed a flash bomb into the mist. An intense burst of light erupted, forcing everyone on the battlefield to close their eyes. The strong light seemed to disperse some of the mist. Ma Rulong hoped this would pierce through the domain. However, as he opened his eyes, he saw the same dense white fog. Visibility was still less than two meters. High above, Su Yu wore a faint smile. Light and fire could indeed thin the mist, but breaking his domain with a mere flash bomb was nothing short of a pipe dream.