70: Chapter 70 Formidable Rival! All Seniors at Rank 4

An earthy-yellow halo of energy spread out from Shifeng, connecting with the energy of the great shields raised by the heavy shield-bearers beside him, instantly forming a solid and heavy "Combined Barrier."

The torrent of flying swords slammed into the barrier, erupting in a continuous stream of energy sparks and ear-piercing clashing sounds, yet it was like waves crashing against a reef; despite the massive momentum, it could hardly shake it in the slightest.

"Ice Crystal Mirror Image." Han Xue's cold voice rang out. With a light wave of her jade hand, three ice crystal mirror images, identical to her true form, instantly appeared and dispersed. At the same time, a cold, ring-shaped wave spread out from her center—"Frost Ring!"

The frigid aura spread, attempting to slow down the movement speed of Lin Feng and his teammates, interfering with their precise control of the flying swords.

"Hmph!" Lin Feng let out a muffled grunt, his mental energy highly focused as he maneuvered the flying swords to avoid the main area of the frost ring, but their formation was still affected slightly.

Just then, the Elemental Mage at the back of the opposing team finished chanting, and a fierce red light condensed at the tip of their staff: "Meteor Rain!"

In an instant, the sky above the arena seemed to be dyed red as countless scorching fireballs, the size of millstones, trailing flames, rained down indiscriminately upon Chen Yao's team's side of the field!

"Defend!" Lin Feng's pupils constricted; he had no choice but to divert his attention to control nearly half of the flying swords to return for defense, weaving a dense net of swords in the air that successfully intercepted and shattered most of the fire meteors.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Explosions rang out one after another as flames and shockwaves raged. Although Lin Feng had tried his best to intercept them, one or two slipped through and exploded at the edge of their formation.

One teammate couldn't dodge in time and was violently sent flying by the raging shockwave. When they landed, blood was already spilling from their mouth; it was clear they were seriously injured.

"Hahaha! Freshmen are just freshmen! No matter how flashy your coordination is, it's futile in the face of absolute strength and experience!" Shifeng let out a booming laugh, his confidence growing even stronger.

There was still no expression on Chen Yao's cold face, but her eyes grew increasingly profound. She ignored Shifeng's mockery, immersing all her mental energy into her [Heavenly Control] talent.

Heavenly Control could command anything that Chen Yao considered a weapon, and influenced by things like Planetary Devastation or earth-shattering techniques, the earth was clearly within Chen Yao's definition.

It was just that she lacked the energy to command it, but she could still sense it.

From the sensations coming from the earth, she could feel that the flying swords' attacks were not entirely ineffective; it was just that the force was being evenly dispersed and conducted underground by that thick layer of earth barrier.

"That's not right... Their defense is a single entity, the energy flows... There must be a core hub maintaining the balance..." Chen Yao calculated rapidly in her mind, her gaze sweeping over the five opponents like the most precise scanner.

Finally, her gaze locked onto the Battlefield Medic at the very back, whose hands were glowing with a soft healing light. She keenly noticed that whenever the flying swords concentrated their attacks, the earth energy at the Battlefield Medic's location would fluctuate slightly, creating an extremely subtle energy resonance with the ground under Shifeng's feet, quickly stabilizing the fluctuations in the defensive barrier.

"So that's it... Shifeng is the shield, and he is the energy source and regulator maintaining that shield! Break him, and this iron turtle formation will collapse on its own!" A flash of brilliance appeared in Chen Yao's eyes, and she immediately shared her discovery with Lin Feng via mental telepathy.

Lin Feng's spirits lifted, and without the slightest hesitation, he replied: "I trust you! What do I do?"

"Feint an attack on Shifeng to draw all their firepower. Create an opportunity for me, and I will break his defense from the side!" Chen Yao said concisely.

"Got it!"

Lin Feng took a deep breath, a flush crossing his face, as he poured out his mental energy without reservation. All the flying swords in the air emitted a resonant hum, their radiance intensifying. No longer attacking in a scattered manner, they converged into an unprecedented torrent of steel, like a drill, frantically slamming against the frontal defense of Shifeng!

"A deathbed struggle!" Shifeng roared, his feet seemingly rooted to the earth as earthy-yellow energy surged wildly, pushing the Combined Barrier to its limit to hold firmly against the impact of the torrent of flying swords.

Han Xue also controlled her ice crystal mirror images and her true form, continuously releasing ice spikes and ice spears, attempting to interfere with the control of Lin Feng and his team. The entire "Rock Blade" team's attention was almost entirely drawn to this violent frontal attack.

At this very moment, Chen Yao moved.

She extended her slender jade fingers and pointed into the air. Five flying swords located at the edge of the sword swarm, which had seemed unremarkable, suddenly broke away from the torrent. A layer of glaze-like luster, as if alive, flowed over the sword bodies, and their spirituality increased sharply.

The five flying swords, as if endowed with independent life, traced five extremely tricky and eerie arcs, silently bypassing the deadlock zone in front, like five life-reaping, ghostly blue lightning bolts, piercing straight at the Battlefield Medic at the back!

"Watch out!" Han Xue was the first to realize something was wrong, her expression changing drastically. She abandoned her interference with Lin Feng without hesitation, instantly laying down layers upon layers of thick, solid "Ice Crystal Barriers" in front of the Battlefield Medic, while her true form also moved rapidly, attempting to block them with her body.

"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!"

The five flying swords slammed fiercely into the Ice Crystal Barrier; shattered ice flew everywhere, but they failed to break through.

However, Han Xue's sudden movement disrupted the balance of the Combined Barrier. The frontal barrier shattered.

Sword light flashed by, and blood splattered!

Han Xue let out a muffled grunt; her shoulder was pierced by a flying sword, bringing forth a spray of blood.

Countless flying swords, as if possessing eyes, stopped with extreme precision in front of the throats of every member of the opposing team, the beam of light emitted from the sword tips already burning a tiny red dot onto their skin.

The entire arena went silent in an instant.

The referee's figure appeared beside the Battlefield Medic like a phantom and announced in a deep voice: "Shifeng's team, ruled out!"

"We... lost." Shifeng looked at the dissipating barrier, then at the injured Han Xue and his ashen-faced teammates, and closed his eyes bitterly.

"We won..." Chen Yao breathed a sigh of relief. Her face instantly turned pale, her body swayed, and a trickle of blood spilled from the corner of her mouth. The backlash from overusing her talent was not light.

Lin Feng was also nearly mentally exhausted, relying on a flying sword to support himself so he wouldn't collapse. Another teammate was even more seriously injured. The five of them supported each other, barely managing to walk off the arena.

---

"Phew... All Tier 4, truly troublesome." In the viewing stands, Sai Wei watched the staggering figures of Chen Yao's team with a solemn expression. "That Shifeng's defense—if it came to a head-on clash, my Thunder Spear would probably take a great deal of effort to break through."

Li Yuan also nodded, his gaze turning to the "Blazing Roar" team, who were warming up on the other side. This team's composition was quite similar to "Rock Blade."

A Tier 4 mid-stage Berserker wielding a flaming great axe as the main attacker, a Tier 4 Elemental Mage providing area-of-effect strikes, an assassin in the shadows, and most crucially, one—a Battlefield Medic holding a Holy Light Codex—making it another tough-to-crack lineup of iron walls plus healing.

"Indeed, a brute-force attack is not the best choice; the consumption is too great, which is unfavorable for the finals." Li Yuan rubbed his chin, his brain racing as he thought of a way to break the deadlock.

Just then, a soft little hand gently tugged at his sleeve. Li Yuan looked down, meeting Laya's golden eyes, which were clear and held a hint of eagerness.

"Brother Li Yuan, perhaps... it doesn't have to be that troublesome."