84: Zhao Hao seeks help as the traditional divine realm encounters a bottleneck (Part 1)

The announcement of the knockout round matchups, with Yuncheng No. 1 High School facing Shadow Academy, instantly ignited the fervor of the entire Star Domain League. These two teams, which displayed distinctly different styles in the group stage and had a history of 'grudges,' meeting early was undoubtedly the most anticipated focal battle of the first round of knockouts.

At the Yuncheng No. 1 High School base, the atmosphere was heavy. Everyone knew that Shadow Academy would be their most severe challenge since the start of the competition.

Lin Zhou locked himself in the tactical analysis room, with replays of Shadow Academy's group stage battles constantly playing on the light screen in front of him. The more he watched, the tighter his brows furrowed.

Shadow Academy's tactics were extremely treacherous and insidious. They rarely engaged in direct confrontations, instead weakening, dividing, and tormenting opponents through various means.

Common tactics of Shadow Academy:

Shadow Infiltration: Utilizing stealth units like Shadow Walkers and Phantoms to bypass the front lines and directly assassinate backline healers and spellcasters, or destroy critical structures.

Curse Weakening: Extensively using debuffs such as Weakness Curse, Aging Spell, and Torment to continuously reduce enemy kin's attributes, attack speed, and morale.

Undead Sea Tactic: Summoning a large number of low-tier undead (skeletons, zombies) as cannon fodder to deplete enemy forces and Divine Power, while mixing in elite undead units (Death Knights, Liches) to deliver fatal blows.

Mind Control: High-tier units possessing skills like Mental Enslavement and Whispers of Chaos have a chance to turn some of the opponent's kin, creating internal chaos.

Terrain Modification: Using skills such as Dark Canopy and Corrupted Earth to alter the battlefield environment, creating areas advantageous to the undead and disadvantageous to the living.

"Their core combat strategy is 'attacking the mind first,'" Lin Zhou said, pointing to a segment in the recording where Shadow Academy, through continuous curses and sneak attacks, caused a Divine Domain team known for its strict discipline, the Holy Paladins, to suffer a mental breakdown, ultimately leading to command errors and defeat. "They are good at finding and exploiting the opponent's weaknesses, whether tactical or psychological."

"So what do we do?" Zhao Hao irritably scratched his hair. "It sounds disgusting! Are we just going to keep defending passively?"

"Defense is fundamental, but we must never be passively beaten," Lin Zhou said gravely. "We need to build a 'comprehensive defense and counter-system.'"

He began to lay out the tactics:

"The core defensive circle will be formed by Stone Breaking Heaven's Mountain Giant and Su Yueyao's Moon Elves. The Mountain Giant provides physical barriers and area control, while the Moon Elves are responsible for dispelling curses and healing. This is our Foundation, and it must not be broken."

"The middle counter-circle will be primarily composed of my Hundred Schools Kin. The Literary Heart Elves' Aura of Righteousness Barrier will cover the core circle, providing magical protection and evil dispelling; the Legalist Enforcers' Net of Law and Insight of Penal Codes will be responsible for clearing out infiltrating stealth units and interfering with key enemy skills; the Tiangong Dwarves will be ready to repair fortifications at any time and set up Blazing Rune Traps at critical intersections."

"The outer mobile strike group will consist of Lei Huang's Thunder Giant, Zhao Hao's Dragon, and Yan Li's Blazing Phoenix. Your task is not to blindly attack, but to act as a 'fire brigade' and 'counter-punch.' Once you discover an enemy's main assembly point or important curse source, you must destroy it with overwhelming force! At the same time, be wary of the opponent's mind control and maintain your focus."

"Scouting and harassment will be handled by Zhou Feng's Shadow Demon Wolf. Your task is not direct combat, but to use your stealth advantage to detect enemy movements and ambushes in advance, and to harass enemy spellcasters with Fear Howl."

Lin Zhou's tactical thinking was clear, defining each team member's role and task, forming a multi-dimensional, offense-defense integrated system.

"Remember, against Shadow Academy, patience and discipline are more important than anything else. Don't be provoked by their taunts and harassment; strictly execute the tactics. If they can't find our weaknesses, they will naturally reveal their own!"

The team members nodded, convinced by Lin Zhou's arrangements. Even the usually impulsive Zhao Hao realized that this match could not be won by individual bravery alone.

However, just after the tactical meeting, Zhao Hao approached Lin Zhou alone, with a rare look of struggle and... a hint of imperceptible frustration on his face.

"Old Lin, there's something... I want to talk to you about," Zhao Hao rubbed his hands, finding it difficult to speak.

Lin Zhou was a little surprised and motioned for him to sit down: "What's wrong?"

Zhao Hao sighed and mumbled, "I feel... my Dragon kin seems to have hit a Bottleneck."

He opened his Divine Domain panel and shared it with Lin Zhou:

Zhao Hao Divine Domain Core Data:

Core Kin: Red Dragon

Quantity: 12 (8 adults, 4 young dragons)

Average Rank: LV17 (Adult Dragons), LV10 (Young Dragons)

Hero Unit: Zhao Hao (LV22)

Main Issues:

Slow Growth: Dragon Bloodline is powerful, but the growth cycle is extremely long, and the rate of Rank advancement is much slower than other kin.

Scarce Numbers: Difficult to breed, making it hard to achieve numerical advantage.

Resource Black Hole: Maintaining the existence and growth of Dragons requires massive amounts of high-quality food (energy-rich meat, magic crystals) and specific environments (dragon lairs, high-concentration energy fields). The input-output ratio can appear low in certain situations.

Single Tactic: Although individually powerful, tactical options are relatively limited and easily countered by specific means (e.g., powerful anti-air methods, Dragon-slaying attributes).

"Look," Zhao Hao said, pointing at the data, his tone somewhat low, "the group stage was fine, but in the knockout rounds, opponents are getting stronger and stronger. My Red Dragons can still fight, but it feels increasingly difficult. Lei Huang's Thunder Giants are generally LV19 now, but my main Red Dragons are only LV17. And there are so few of them; losing even one would break my heart. I feel... I can't keep up with your pace anymore."

He looked up at Lin Zhou, his eyes complex: "Old Lin, I know your path is unconventional, and you have broad knowledge. Do you... do you think I've taken the wrong path? Or, is there any way to... Break through?"

Lin Zhou looked at Zhao Hao, this usually boisterous and confident teammate, now revealing his inner confusion and doubt about his own path. This was a Bottleneck that many deities following the traditional top Bloodline route would face after developing to a certain stage—the speed at which potential was realized could not keep up with the changing demands of the environment.

Lin Zhou didn't answer immediately, but pondered for a moment. Zhao Hao's Dragon Divine Domain undoubtedly had immense potential, but it did have problems with slow growth, high consumption, and insufficient tactical flexibility. A short-term Breakthrough would be difficult with conventional methods.

He thought of his own Dao of Civilization, and the all-encompassing nature of the Hundred Schools of Thought. Perhaps... "Haozi," Lin Zhou slowly began, "your path is not wrong. The power of Dragons is top-tier in any era. The problem you're encountering is a common challenge for many powerful Bloodline Divine Domains."

He changed his tone: "However, powerful strength also requires correct usage and enough 'wisdom' to wield. Have you ever considered what else your Dragons can do besides spitting Dragon Breath and engaging in melee combat? Or, how to make them 'smarter' and more adaptable to complex battle situations?"

Zhao Hao was taken aback: "Smarter? Dragons are already quite smart... what else can they do?"

"For example," Lin Zhou guided him, "learning some simple battle formation coordination? Or, using Dragon Might, not just for deterrence, but to develop something like a 'Dragon Might Domain' that slightly boosts allied morale or weakens enemies within its range? Or even, drawing inspiration from the combat techniques of other flying creatures to enrich the Dragons' attack methods?"

Zhao Hao was a bit bewildered by this; he had never deeply considered these things. His Family Legacy was to continuously purify the Dragon Bloodline and enhance individual strength, not emphasizing such 'techniques' and 'development.'

Lin Zhou looked at him and knew that more concrete ideas were needed. He thought for a moment and said, "How about this: after the competition, if you're interested, I can try to 'look at' your Dragons using my methods. Perhaps it can give you some inspiration from another perspective."

He didn't make a full promise, but the words "my methods" made Zhao Hao's eyes light up! He had personally witnessed how Lin Zhou's miraculous 'thought' powers could turn decay into wonder!

"Really? Old Lin! You have to keep your word!" Zhao Hao instantly became excited, his previous frustration swept away, and he clapped Lin Zhou's shoulder hard. "I knew finding you was the right choice!"

Watching Zhao Hao perk up again, Lin Zhou smiled. Helping teammates overcome Bottlenecks was also part of improving the team's overall strength. Moreover, he was quite interested in studying the so-called "traditional top-tier kin." This might, in turn, promote his understanding of his own Dao of Civilization.

Just as the two were talking, within Lin Zhou's main Divine Domain, the death passage, which had just calmed down, stirred again! But this time, it was not an impact, but a strange... tranquility, and a faint, probing mental fluctuation, like a tentacle, gently touching the Dharma Barrier.

The entity on the other side of the passage seemed to have changed its strategy.