Luu Qingshan’s eyelid twitched slightly, but he refrained from directly contradicting Yue Yunlan’s words.
"In any case, it’s better to be overly cautious than not cautious enough."
When Li Yunting thought about Ling Feng’s almost terrifying rate of progress, he found it hard to stay calm.
He instinctively glanced at Muu Liufeng, who sat silently by his side. Muu Liufeng sighed inwardly, hoping that this guy could hold on until the end of the competition.
On the Great Sword Fighting Platform.
After both sides reported their names, with the referee’s signal, the match officially began.
The Central Courtyard Sword Team immediately formed up, pushing into the Mixed Battle Zone right away. Led by Captain Luo Hong, along with two other team members, they surprisingly launched an active offensive against the East Courtyard Sword Team in a triangular formation.
Typically, any team facing the East Courtyard Sword Team would often adopt a defensive formation due to fears of Ling Feng’s personal strength, but the Central Court Second Team actually chose direct offense.
"A rather smart choice, the best defense is a good offense!"
From the referee’s seats, Tong Chengtai stroked his beard, a faint smile playing on his lips.
"That boy Luo Hong is indeed remarkable, but Ling Feng’s speed is quite a headache. Even if their triangular formation traps Ling Feng, the pressure from Lee Bufan and Goo Tengfeng is equally immense. They wouldn’t want a single Flag Guard to handle the remaining members, would they?"
"Haha, I’m quite curious to see what trump card the Central Court Second Team has up their sleeves to dare use such a strategy."
On the Sword Fighting Platform, the situation was ever-changing.
The triangular attack formation spearheaded by Luo Hong quickly locked down Ling Feng.
The three of them worked as a unified entity, continuously attacking Ling Feng. Even for Ling Feng, he found himself hard-pressed and unable to break free for a moment.
After all, this was just a competition, not a life-and-death duel.
According to the competition rules, one could not kill an opponent on the Sword Fighting Platform, nor deliberately cause severe injury or disable them. With these rules in place, this kind of team sword-fighting match focused more on tactics and skills.
Of course, a different type of match required signing a Life and Death Contract, which was a different matter entirely.
"Heh, locking down Ling Feng’s actions first was indeed smart, but they’re underestimating me, Goo Tengfeng."
Goo Tengfeng sneered, grunted, "Bu Fan, charge in with me. Gong Cheng, fall back to the Flag Guarding Zone and assist Xiaolin in defending to avoid a surprise attack by the opponent!"
Lee Bufan and Gong Cheng nodded and immediately moved into action.
Lee Bufan rushed forward like a thunderbolt, sweeping across with the force of wind and lightning, charging into the Mixed Battle Zone.
Simultaneously, Goo Tengfeng also boldly engaged, both spearheading towards the remaining two members of the Central Court Second Team like wolves among sheep.
With their strongest, Luo Hong, dealing with Ling Feng, the remaining two couldn’t possibly withstand their offensive.
However, facing the ferocious Lee Bufan and Goo Tengfeng, the two across them didn’t panic. Instead, they wore a slight, strange smile.
"Xuanal Eight Formation Map!"
As the last member of the opposing side retreated, drawing Lee Bufan and Goo Tengfeng into the Attack and Defense Zone, the Flag Guard of the Central Court Second Team exclaimed, and eight beams of light shot up from the ground. The light beams rotated around Lee Bufan and Goo Tengfeng like stars in motion, forming a net that firmly trapped them.
"No good, it’s an Array Master!"
Goo Tengfeng’s eyelid twitched, but it was too late by then; they had already fallen into the opponent’s Array Map.
Surrounded by mist, he and Lee Bufan were trapped in the Xuanal Eight Formation Map.
Goo Tengfeng gripped his long sword; the Xuanal Eight Formation Map resembled a Phantom Technique. Unless they could break through the Array, they would be caught in the Phantom Realm with no escape.
Crucially, they were still on the Sword Fighting Platform, meaning the remaining opponent could attack them.
Caught off guard, if the opponent succeeded, they would risk losing their combat ability.
As it turned out, the opponent’s strongest wasn’t Captain Luo Hong but their Flag Guard, a mysterious Array Master.
A master of arrays might not have strong combat abilities themselves, but once an opponent was trapped in their array, they held a godlike presence.
It’s no exaggeration to say that a powerful Array Master could fend off mighty armies.
Unfortunately, becoming an Array Master was relatively easy at entry level, but mastery was extraordinarily difficult. They were a rare talent within the entire Sky White Empire.
Surprisingly, the Central Court Second Team had hidden such a formidable Array Master, deeply concealed.
"Haha, I never thought that Goo Tengfeng would be so reckless, rushing straight into Liang Xiao’s Xuanal Eight Formation Map with Lee Bufan!"
In the audience, Luu Qingshan laughed heartily, "It looks like the first round, East Courtyard lost!"
Li Yunting didn’t rebuke Luu Qingshan this time. With Lee Bufan and Goo Tengfeng trapped in the Xuanal Eight Formation Map and Ling Feng surrounded by three opponents, the only one remaining, Gong Cheng, was no match.
This round, the East Courtyard Sword Team will likely lose—unless Ling Feng reveals his true strength.
However, would Ling Feng expose his capabilities just for one round’s win or loss?
After all, whether they won or lost this round, their qualification for the next stage was already secure. Moreover, there were two more matches to come, where the Central Court Second Team’s tactic wouldn’t likely succeed again.
"Damn it, why was Ling Feng trapped right from the start?"
Qin Wanwan was grinding her teeth in frustration, "Too sinister, the opponent is just too sinister!"
Lin Xian’er excitedly shook her fists, "Ling Feng, what are you waiting for? Unleash your swordsmanship and break out!"
"How shameless, using three people to hold back Ling Feng, it’s utterly disgraceful!"
Deng Yongshi was so anxious that she kept shaking her grandfather, her brow furrowed deeply, more agitated than those competing on the platform.
General Deng was speechless, noting that it should be called a tactic.
However, trying to explain that to a young girl whose emotions overshadowed her reason due to youthful exuberance was probably futile.
"Clang, clang, clang!"
Ling Feng’s sword speed suddenly increased significantly, striking sparks and scattering them around as he clashed with Luo Hong and the others’ blades.
"Hmph, if you want to break through our Golden Triangle, you’ll have to kill us all!"
Luo Hong gripped the long sword tightly; the scales of victory were tipping steadily towards their Central Court Second Team!
And this might be their only chance to win.
No matter what, Luo Hong would never give up, and neither would his teammates!
Ling Feng felt somewhat helpless; these guys were guarding meticulously, leaving him no chance to break through.
With the three of them united, their combat power roughly reached the Divine Origin Realm level. Without using some powerful killing moves, breaking through was truly difficult.
But given these people’s strength, enduring one of his killing moves would at best leave them crippled, if not dead.
Unexpectedly, facing weaker opponents was a burden, making him act with restraint.
However, Ling Feng wasn’t anxious because the key to winning wasn’t him; he just needed to leisurely play a minor role on the side.