As soon as the Human Emperor Banner came out, I became the Lord of the Old Ones

Chapter 162 It’s hard to tell the truth from the false
What happened next was exactly the same as the previous match.

Even more brutal.

Xiong Chenghu buried himself in Joe Cole's arms, completely overwhelming his opponent's defenses like a flood breaking down a dam.

Joe Cole flew out like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily into the edge of the ring. He activated the "Spiky Jellyfish" safety device, was bounced back, and fell back into Xiong Chenghu's control.

The fifteen-year-old boy made up for his lack of competition experience with a volcanic burst of passion.

His "dive takedown" is more ferocious and graceful than Xiong Rulong's.

As his arms gripped his opponent's waist like hydraulic clamps, and he rotated to exert force, both of their toes left the ground. Like giant human spinning tops, they first soared into the air, spun 360 degrees, and then crashed down heavily.

The chilling impact echoed throughout the vast stadium.

The audience's hearts trembled along with the solid ring.

There's absolutely no need to finish them off.

The thunderous slam knocked Joe Cole unconscious.

"How can this be?"

Gu Xingzhou, the senior card maker in charge of the commentary, was somewhat incoherent. "An astonishing change occurred on the field. At the moment his guardian spirit was torn apart, Xiong Chenghu actually endured the excruciating pain in his brain and the disruption of his life magnetic field to execute a near-perfect dive slam. It's really hard to imagine just how thick-skinned this fifteen-year-old boy's nerves are!"

He certainly had reason to be suspicious.

Guardian spirits, especially combat spirits of bronze rank or higher, have a very close spiritual link with their spirit masters.

While sharing perspectives and perceptions, we must also share the burden of harm and suffering.

In a sense, guardian spirits are the second body and external brain of the spirit master.

Spirit Masters can certainly manipulate guardian spirits and unleash dazzling skills.

However, when the guardian spirit is severely damaged, the spirit master also has to bear serious consequences.

When a guardian spirit is torn apart by an enemy, it's like having dozens of lightning bolts strike your brain.

Mild cases may involve foaming at the mouth, muscle spasms, and brief loss of consciousness.

In severe cases, it can cause ruptured blood vessels in the brain, cerebral edema, and various symptoms of concussion.

In extreme cases, there have even been tragedies where the guardian spirit was severely damaged, resulting in the spirit master suffering brain death on the spot.

Judging from Xiong Chenghu's clumsy handling of the "Giant Sword" and the "Great Rock Turtle," he had only just begun learning the art of spirit control and could not possibly know how to sever the spiritual link between the guardian spirits in time when they were severely injured.

So how could he possibly seize a fleeting opportunity and execute a diving slam with such agility?
The answer was quickly revealed.

The spiritual flames emanating from the "Giant Sword" and the "Great Rock Turtle" trembled for a while.

It has changed its appearance, becoming similar to cotton wool, but softer and more translucent.

"This is... a 'Mirage Jellyfish'?"

Gu Xingzhou murmured, "The two guardian spirits activated by Xiong Chenghu are not the bronze-level 'Giant Sword' and 'Great Rock Turtle,' but the iron-level 'Illusion Jellyfish'?"

“Interesting. The tactics employed by the Kuangtie team members today were quite interesting.” Kelly Gracie laughed. “As we all know, the ‘Illusion Jellyfish’ has no offensive or defensive capabilities other than being able to briefly mimic the forms of other Guardian Spirits. It consumes very little life force when controlled and its mental link with the Spirit Master is not very strong. This was originally its weakness, but Xiong Chenghu has taken advantage of it and turned it into a secret weapon.”

"It seems that Xiong Chenghu predicted his opponent's psychological activities before he went on stage, and led his opponent into his trap step by step."

"Based on the two matches just now, I don't think this was a spur-of-the-moment decision by the players."

"It seems that the Kuangtie team is trying out a completely new tactic or even a completely new concept."

"I can't predict how far they can go in the end, but I have a feeling that Kuangtie's new concept is very likely to become the most controversial hot topic in this Dawn Cup."

The war correspondent's hunch was right.

On the first day of the competition, all seeded players were separated.

Wei Fang, Carlos, and Chu Zhifeng, who were the pre-match favorites, did not encounter much of a challenge.

Although they also finished off their opponents with dazzling skills.

However, no thrilling and intense battles took place.

So much so that the three matches of the Kuangtie team, especially the two spectacular diving takedowns by the Xiong brothers, were replayed repeatedly on the big screen.

After the first day of competition ended, the spectators, still feeling excited, often talked about the Xiong brothers' brilliant performance on their way home.

Even if major media outlets received bribes from the Shattered Star Club, they wouldn't dare exclude the Xiong Brothers' two matches when selecting the ten best matches of the day, otherwise they would be sure to be scolded by readers.

All three commentators gave the Kuangtie team extremely high praise during the post-match review.

Even Gu Xingzhou, who never hides his biases, told reporters that the major crisis facing the Kuangtie Club has forced the inheritors of the cardless style to confront their own shortcomings and begin to use sealing cards to make up for their deficiencies—regardless of whether they can perfectly integrate the cardless style with the spirit control technique, such attempts are worth encouraging.

"This is not only a victory for the Kuang Tie team, but also a victory for the Spirit Control Technique."

While praising them, Gu Xingzhou sighed, "If the Kuangtie Team had abandoned outdated ideas and introduced spirit control techniques into their training and matches a few years earlier, when their roster was more complete, perhaps they would have achieved even greater success!"

The professional analysis from the three commentators and the top ten highlights from the first day of the competition spread throughout the entire city of Dawn in just a few hours.

The outstanding performance of the Kuangtie team continued to gain traction and quickly became a hot topic of discussion throughout the city.

For many, this was the first time they had experienced the visceral, immersive charm of a no-card game in such a vivid and thorough way.

He couldn't help but feel a sense of goodwill and curiosity, and after gaining a deeper understanding of the Kuangtie Club's predicament, he had a completely new perspective on the conflict that occurred half a month ago and Chu Zhifeng's choice.

"If Chu Zhifeng had stayed with the Kuangtie team, he might have been able to achieve even better results in this year's Dawn Cup, right?"

"Even the Xiong brothers can execute a diving takedown so spectacularly, if it were Chu Zhifeng, wouldn't he be able to throw Wei Fang and Carlos so hard they'd be spinning around and break bones?"

"Chu Zhifeng certainly has the right to choose his own path, but the Shattered Star Club is ultimately the domain of 'Golden Boy' Carlos. Can the Shattered Star team's coaching staff truly unleash Chu Zhifeng's full potential?"

"Hey, do you guys think Chu Zhifeng might run into a player from the Kuangtie team in a later match?"

"Haha, it would be so interesting if he accidentally slipped up and got beaten by his former sparring partners and substitutes!"

(End of this chapter)