“First, I’ll introduce two contestants to everyone in detail. Su Mu, a student of Monster Academy’s inner court, one of the great Eight Heavenly Kings of Monster Academy. His nickname is Fox King, his martial soul is the Nine-tailed Fox. He possesses the talents and bloodline of the Nine-tailed Fox. He’s a rank-54 Control System battle soul master. He’s regarded as the best Control System master in Monster Academy. Amongst his peers, he’s also one of the most outstanding Control System masters on Star Luo Continent.
“Tang Wulin, hailing from Douluo Continent’s diplomatic corps. He comes from Shrek Academy, and his soul power is roughly between rank-41 and rank-43. Martial soul: dragon type. His specialty is his strength. He’s an Assault System battle soul master. Other information unclear.”
Undoubtedly, the information regarding Su Mu was more detailed, whereas information regarding Tang Wulin was very scarce. She only knew that Tang Wulin came from Douluo Continent. As for the data regarding him, it was completely derived from analyses.
“Based on the information of these two contestants, we can determine that contestant Su Mu should have been able to completely suppress his opponent in terms of strength. However, there is one point which everyone here might have overlooked that I’ve actually singled out. Contestant Su Mu, aged nineteen years and eight months. Contestant Tang Wulin, aged fifteen years. As for months, unclear.”
When she said this, the Star Luo Empire citizens who were watching the screen broke into a clangor again.
A nineteen-year-old against a fifteen-year-old. The huge gap between their ages was enough to prove many things. Those who were very familiar with soul masters knew what this meant especially clearly.
Fang’er’s next words were even more earth-shattering and heaven-battering. “Therefore, I conclude that whether or not contestant Su Mu had lost this match because of his carelessness, he had lost. In terms of natural talent and strength, he was inferior to this contestant who came from the faraway Douluo Continent.”
Fang’er needed a great deal of courage to have said those words. That was because she might be condemned by the public. Those who stood by their friends instead of the objective truth were not in short supply no matter where one went. Nevertheless, she had said them just like that, and she had done so staunchly.
“Then, let us simply analyze the competition today. Without a doubt, contestant Su Mu had convincingly gained the upper hand at the very beginning.”
The video started to replay. Fang’er started to explain Su Mu’s every soul skill in detail. She also detailed the effects and functions of the releasing of the soul skills and why Tang Wulin reacted the way he did.
The recording continued replaying until it paused at the instant where Tang Wulin was about to unleash his Golden Dragon Claw.
“This is the turning point of the competition. A crucial turning point. It could even be said that Su Mu lost because of the attack Tang Wulin used next. That’s why although Su Mu had lost the competition, he didn’t lose to Tang Wulin. Instead, he lost to himself. He was too confident in his own control. He was also too confident in his Reversal Halo. He never expected that his opponent with an inferior cultivation base could unleash an attack capable of breaking through the Reversal Halo.”
The scene began playing in a slow-motion. The glow from the Golden Dragon Claw slowly appeared on the screen. The playback paused once again when the Golden Dragon Claw broke through the Reversal Halo and struck Su Mu’s five foxtails.
The audience could clearly see that a large patch of fox hair was slashed off. Those blades of dark golden light had at least cut into the tail for by than half its girth. It flashed past.
The frame then switched to Su Mu’s face. In that instant, Su Mu’s entire expression was contorted. He was obviously in immense pain.
“Yes, after this attack, it seemed like contestant Su Mu had completely unleashed his full powers. However, in reality, he had already been gravely injured. His martial soul is the Nine-tailed Fox. His bloodline is the Nine-tailed Fox. The foxtails were the source of his energy. If his power source was badly damaged, the wounds that he suffered would have been imaginable. So, after Tang Wulin forcefully broke through his all-out attack, he yielded. I think that he most probably didn’t have the energy to release his battle armor, rather than he chose not to. The injuries to his tails must have been very serious. He needs to heal them quickly.”
“In conclusion, Su Mu’s defeat wasn’t unfair. In a certain sense, he lost to himself. As for whether he could have won if he had released his battle armor beforehand or if he had been more cautious when battling Tang Wulin, I won’t be analyzing events that are thus far purely theoretical. However, there’s one thing that I can be sure of, and that is contestant Tang Wulin must also possess other abilities which he hasn’t displayed yet. What is his martial soul? It’s still a mystery. Why are his two soul rings golden? That’s also a mystery. I hope that the upcoming battles can shed some light on these matters. At the same time, I’ve also decided that starting from this match, I will be conducting post-competition analyses on all the upcoming matches involving this contestant who came from Shrek Academy.”
“Lastly, I don’t think that it’s a bad thing for us that the students of Shrek Academy have participated in this year’s competition. Even if our best contestants face some difficulty, it will be beneficial rather than a hindrance. Failure can be scary, but we must learn the lessons that we can from this experience. Only failures like these can lead to future victories. Otherwise…”
When she neared the end of her speech, Fang’er made a helpless expression.
The broadcast ended there.
Of course, there were shouts of rage, but there were more citizens who had calmed down.
Fang’er’s analysis had sounded like she was heavily biased toward Tang Wulin, but as she stated from the beginning until the end, the purpose of her speech was to encourage Monster Academy. She was advising every Star Luo Empire contestant that was participating in the Continental Young High-Ranking Soul Masters Elite Competition.
Powerful opponents have turned up. If all of you still do not take your opponents seriously enough, then the next defeat might very well be your own.
Of course, her analyses had given Su Mu a great personal blow. After all, Su Mu’s beautiful speech when he finally yielded had, in a certain sense, been exposed for what it was.
This commentary was seen by the Shrek Academy team who had returned to the hotel. There was no way they did not see it. A soul screen was hung in the hotel lobby itself.
“That’s a thorough analysis. It went right to the heart of the matter!” Xie Xie could not help but give his praise.
Tang Wulin nodded slightly. “This commentary isn’t as simple as it seems. It looks like we’ll have to be more careful in our upcoming matches. We must hide what we can. Otherwise, if more of our secrets are discovered by our opponents, it’ll be tougher for us in the matches to come. Now that she’s said all that, it’ll be harder for us to gain the upper hand.”
His win today did not come easy. Forcefully withstanding Su Mu’s powerful control was quite a heavy burden on his body, but the final result was satisfying. He only managed to win with a bit of luck. If Su Mu had focused all his attention on this match the minute he got on stage, it would have been quite difficult for Tang Wulin to emerge victoriously.
In any case, he had overcome this obstacle. The few rounds of solo competition were knockout rounds. It was impossible for him to see Su Mu again in the one-against-one competition. As for the other members of Monster Academy, the one whom Tang Wulin dreaded the most was still Long Yue. Exactly how strong was that Madman Long? Until now, it was still a mystery.
The pressures of the public opinion, the Star Luo Empire’s home field and from Monster Academy had made everyone return to their respective rooms and continue their cultivation after the match had ended. Ye Xinglan was an exception because she had to continue crafting battle armor. Her companions’ battle armor was still waiting to be completed by her. At the same time, she was continuously accumulating experience within her own crafting as she continued her search for the knack of making a one-word battle armor’s core component in the future.
Ye Xinglan was usually the quietest among the team. At the same time, she was also the one with the most tenacious personality. Although she did not make a show of it, the resources of the entire team were focused on her. She was working harder than anyone else.
If there was anyone among the Shrek team who had the highest possibility of becoming a one-word battle armor master first, it would undoubtedly be her.
Not only did the unexpected emergence of a dark horse not reduce the influence of this year’s competition, it had in fact intensified it. The officials of the Star Luo Empire had not given any other statements other than those required to maintain peace and order. They allowed things to take their respective courses and hoped that everything ended well.