49: Chapter 49 focuses on restraint.

"Foul aura is dark, evil, violent, and corrosive to all things. Currently, there are roughly six universally recognized feasible ways to counter, purify, and neutralize it."

"First, the power of extreme fire. The purest blazing fires and primal holy fires in the world can burn away the dark and evil, purify filth, and counter the erosion of foul aura."

"Second, the power of extremely rigid and yang divine lightning. Divine lightning governs slaughter and breaks evil spirits; all dark, evil foul auras can be crushed and purified by lightning."

"Third, pure yang power. Pure yang righteous energy suppresses turbid foul aura, and through the mutual aid of yin and yang, the power of the foul aura can be neutralized layer by layer."

"Fourth, Buddhist purity divine powers. Transforming the dark and evil and purifying fierce auras can dissolve the violent demonic nature of foul aura from its roots."

"Fifth, the power of top-tier supreme bloodlines. High-tier bloodlines come with inherent primal coercion, capable of suppressing low-tier foul aura monsters and confining their ferocity."

"Sixth: The powers of the abyss and demon classes can also fend it off!"

Having finished explaining the six countering methods, the principal deliberately added a crucial prerequisite, his tone solemn:

"The above six powers merely possess counter attributes and do not represent absolute suppression."

"Ultimately, whether one can resist and neutralize the foul aura depends corely on the grades, tiers, and concentration of the foul aura of both parties."

"If the opponent's foul aura concentration far exceeds one's own countering power, one will still be backlashed and crushed by the foul aura."

"As for higher-dimensional countering methods like merit and heavenly dao order, they are too illusory. Given your realm at the present stage, you are completely unable to touch them, so there is no need to consider them."

As the voice fell, Ye Feng's eyes instantly burst with ultimate ecstasy and certainty!

The power of extremely rigid and yang divine lightning!

His Thunderstorm Berserk Rhino was inherently a lightning-attribute familiar, naturally fitting for breaking evil divine lightning!

Furthermore, he also possessed an S-rank demon-class familiar.

Previously, he had always feared Lin Ye's unsolvable foul aura suppression, feeling anxious and uneasy. But after hearing the principal's explanation, all his concerns instantly vanished into thin air.

Ye Feng turned his head, his gaze locked tightly onto Lin Ye not far away. The killing intent and sense of superiority in his eyes surged once more, and the corners of his mouth curled into a cold, winning smile.

Lin Ye took in all of this, his expression still calm and rippless. Deep down, however, his heart was completely devoid of ripples, even carrying a hint of detached mockery.

Outsiders only knew that divine lightning countered foul aura, but no one knew that his foul aura was not ordinary abyss turbid qi.

This was the primal foul aura capable of bearing the bloodline of the Primordial Taotie—extremely fierce, tyrannical, and able to swallow all things!

Ordinary divine lightning, let alone countering and neutralizing it, would probably only be directly swallowed, assimilated, and crushed by the foul aura!

Seeing that everyone had grasped the key points, the principal said no more, waved his hand, and concluded, "Today's special training ends here. Everyone return to rest peacefully, concentrate on polishing your familiars and divine kingdoms, and three days later, prepare with all your might for the City Tournament."

As the special training ended, the crowd dispersed in all directions. The setting sun spilled across the campus tree-lined paths, and the evening breeze dispersed the mugginess of the training ground that had lasted all day.

Lin Ye and Wang Hu walked side by side on the way back to the dormitory, avoiding the noisy crowd and chatting along the way about the upcoming City Tournament.

Wang Hu rubbed his chin with a serious expression, still somewhat nervous, "Brother Ye, there are too many experts in the upcoming City Tournament. Dong Junyan's Storm Envoy has its speed maxed out, and there's also Lü Lingyu's Lightning Light Clan with their fiercely strong long-range suppression. My Crimson Flame Heavenly Ape is fine in direct head-on clashes, but it's a bit at a disadvantage when encountering kiting types. How do you think I should fight safely in the future?"

Although he had followed Lin Ye all the way in a counterattack into the top ten, he was well aware of his own background; his foundation was indeed much weaker.

Lin Ye walked with steady paces and a calm expression, casually offering a few pointers on the most practical tactics, "Your Crimson Flame Heavenly Ape has sufficient explosive power and strong physical resistance. Focus on quick victories and swift resolutions; don't drag things out and wear yourself down by kiting opponents."

"When encountering high-speed mobile familiars like the Storm Envoy, you don't need to chase and fight them. Hold your formation and use fire to block their movement paths. When running into the long-range suppression of the Lightning Light Clan, get in close and stick to their face; their fragile bodies can't withstand your Heavenly Ape's melee burst."

"In short, it comes down to one sentence: your Crimson Flame Heavenly Ape can fight in melee and engage in ranged combat. If you encounter a ranged attacker, find a way to get close; if you encounter someone whose physical body is stronger than your Crimson Flame Heavenly Ape, attack from a distance!"

"By then, just drag out your other familiars too. Anyway, the main focus is just countering them!"

A few simple and straightforward sentences precisely hit all the key points of countering.

Hearing this, Wang Hu's eyes lit up, and he instantly understood, "Got it! Anyway, I'll just stare at the opponent's weaknesses. If their physical body is poor, I'll play the physical game with them; if they attack from a range, I'll get close to them. I won't play fancy tricks with them!"

After discussing tactics, Wang Hu couldn't help but speak up with full anticipation, "To be honest Brother Ye, if I achieve good results in this City Tournament, am I hoping to charge into the top ten of the Nantan Prefecture Competition six days later?"

Having staged a counter-attack all the way, his mindset inevitably swelled, and he also wanted to try out the stage of Quanzhou's top geniuses.

Lin Ye turned his head to glance at him, offering no perfunctory comfort, his tone objective and straightforward, "The top ten of the State Competition? Don't even think about it!"

The anticipation on Wang Hu's face instantly froze as he collapsed his face and wailed, "Are you really giving me no face at all?"

"It's not that I'm giving you no face; it's that your divine kingdom's conditions can't keep up," Lin Ye calmly explained, his reasoning clear and every word true. "Our awakening time is too short—barely over ten days when all is said and done. Your divine kingdom has a shallow foundation and insufficient primal thickness."

"The top geniuses in the Nantan Prefecture Competition will all have high divine kingdom strength, and the time flow rate they can bear is also much higher. Their divine kingdoms are stable, and the number of times their familiars have undergone generational evolution far exceeds yours."

"Your divine kingdom has natural limitations and cannot bear high-tier time flow rates. The evolutionary upper limit of your familiars is locked for the short term. No matter how perfect your tactics are, the gap in hard strength cannot be made up."

This wasn't a matter of talent, but an absolute chasm in the accumulation of time and resources.

Hearing this, Wang Hu didn't get angry; he just sighed helplessly, completely coming to terms with reality in his heart.

Seeing him in low spirits, Lin Ye shifted the topic, his tone composed, "But you don't need to be discouraged either."

"With your current strength, your familiars' combat power, and your resume of making the school's top ten this time, maybe the City Tournament won't be too big of an issue. Securing a recommendation quota to a top divine university steadily by then should still be no problem!"

As soon as these words came out, Wang Hu instantly regained his spirits, his brows and eyes lighting up.

Right!

He was originally just a mediocre B-rank talent. Being able to walk to this step had long since exceeded his dream expectations. Securely entering a good university and having a bright future ahead meant there was no need to be greedy for temporary rankings in the State Competition.

"That's true! I'll listen to you!" Wang Hu grinned broadly, completely laying down his burden, "Then these three days I'll rest properly and stop grinding pointlessly!"

Over the next three days, the entire Cangnan No. 3 High School completely entered a tense atmosphere of preparation.

Aside from Lin Ye and Wang Hu, almost all the top ten contestants of the school immersed themselves in the special training grounds, polishing their familiars day and night, simulating battles, and consuming resources to sprint for breakthroughs.

Ye Feng was even more frantic. Unwilling to spare any cost, he overdrew his family's precious resources to infuse the Thunderstorm Berserk Rhino with the origin of thunder, undergoing special training day and night to frantically enhance its foul aura resistance and thunder lethality, all just to crush Lin Ye with his own hands in the City Tournament.

Xiao Qingwu, Dong Junyan, Zhao Feng, and others also went into seclusion for bitter cultivation, everyone tightening their nerves and waiting in full battle array.

Only Lin Ye and Wang Hu could be called two major anomalies.

The two of them ate when it was time to eat and drank when it was time to drink. They slacked off normally during class, headed straight for the cafeteria after class, and returned to the dorms at night to watch shows and chat, showing not the slightest hint of special training.

Wang Hu had completely relaxed his mindset and had no desires or demands. As for Lin Ye, it was because he currently had nothing left to do; time acceleration couldn't be used, and familiar strengthening couldn't be used either. Whatever remained could only be taken slowly.