131: Chapter 131 Dimensional Reduction Attack! You don't even deserve to stand before me!

Everyone moved.

Mu Jianqiu took the first step, treading toward the left-wing marker.

Lightning-attribute spiritual power skipped silently across his fingertips.

Senior Sister Song Ningshuang held her ice crystal longsword upside down as she walked toward the backcourt.

When passing by Huo Quji, she lowered her head and glanced at that mystic turtle spirit shield.

"Fourth grade? Little Junior Brother has quite the setup."

Huo Quji was about to respond, but meeting Senior Sister Song Ningshuang's eyes, he sensibly shut his mouth.

Disciple Nangong Yue stood firmly at the upwind position.

Her hands were behind her back.

The fire-attribute spiritual power in her palms heated up rapidly.

Ling Qingmeng walked to a spot two zhang to the right of Mu Jianqiu.

From entering the arena to taking her position, she had only uttered a single syllable.

"Mm."

Chu Feng and Qin Yu retreated to the periphery.

Chu Feng's hands formed seals, and space-attribute spiritual power spread out beneath his feet.

Qin Yu took out three formation flags and planted them in three different positions.

Shen Ji stood in the center of the arena.

His gaze swept over everyone's positions.

"Simulated combat."

"Disciple Nangong Yue starts by heating up; after three breaths, Mu Jianqiu and Ling Qingmeng will fire their lightning techniques simultaneously."

"Chu Feng's peripheral trapping formation will activate at the same time."

"Senior Sister Song Ningshuang and Gu Yunxi, seal off the retreat path at the fifth breath."

"Huo Quji, standby at the interception point."

"Start once you understand."

Disciple Nangong Yue pushed out both palms.

Scarlet-gold fire-attribute spiritual power turned into a broad heatwave, pushing forward.

The heatwave distorted the air.

One breath.

Two breaths.

Three.

Mu Jianqiu made his move.

Lightning flashed repeatedly under his feet as Lightning Steps stabilized his lower body, and his right palm suddenly pushed forward.

Thunder-Binding Lock.

Two finger-thick purple lightning arcs shot out crosswise at an extremely tricky angle.

Ling Qingmeng's fingertips formed seals simultaneously.

The Thousand-Thread Thunder Net that exploded in the void was half a beat late.

Before the dense, fine lightning threads could interweave and seal the top, a palm-wide gap appeared in the simulated poison mist zone.

Shen Ji raised his hand.

"Stop."

Spiritual power across the arena was abruptly withdrawn.

Mu Jianqiu withdrew his palm, looking at the lightning arcs that hadn't yet dissipated from his fingertips.

Ling Qingmeng stood in place, her fingers slightly curled.

Shen Ji looked at her.

"Half a breath slow."

Ling Qingmeng looked up.

"I'm not familiar with Mu Jianqiu's rhythm."

"That's why we need to train together."

Shen Ji turned to Mu Jianqiu.

"Before you strike, your left shoulder has a dipping motion. Have you noticed it yourself?"

Mu Jianqiu was stunned.

He moved his left shoulder, his brow furrowed.

Before this, no one had mentioned this detail.

"Exaggerate the range of this movement by thirty percent," Shen Ji said flatly.

"Let Ling Qingmeng receive your signal."

After speaking, Shen Ji walked straight toward the backcourt.

"Senior Sister Song Ningshuang, which breath has your ice-sealing reached?"

Senior Sister Song Ningshuang leaned on her sword hilt.

"Haven't moved yet; waiting for the fifth breath."

"That's exactly the problem."

Shen Ji stopped in front of her.

"What you're waiting for is the battlefield, not a command. The poison mist won't wait for someone to give you a signal."

"Start pre-charging your Cold Ice Sword Qi from the third breath."

"The fifth breath isn't the time for you to start sealing; it's the time for you to finish sealing."

The smile on Senior Sister Song Ningshuang's lips faded.

Her longsword stabbed diagonally into the bluestone slab.

Shen Ji turned and walked back to the center of the arena.

"Second time."

This time, Mu Jianqiu deliberately dipped his left shoulder before striking.

He pushed his right palm forward.

The Thunder-Binding Lock shot out.

Ling Qingmeng's peripheral vision caught that movement.

Her fingertips flew.

The Thousand-Thread Thunder Net spread out at the same instant.

The gap disappeared.

New problems followed one after another.

Chu Feng's peripheral trapping formation was a breath too slow to activate.

The spatial barrier didn't close at the same time as the lightning and fire coverage.

Disciple Nangong Yue's fire-attribute heating intensity was too high.

Shen Ji called for a stop again.

He walked over to Disciple Nangong Yue's side.

"Suppress the heat by thirty percent. You're not burning them; you're flushing them out."

"Force them to instinctively thicken the mist barrier instead of detonating it directly."

The flames in Disciple Nangong Yue's palms shrank a bit.

Shen Ji turned to Chu Feng.

"Don't listen for a command for the timing of the trapping formation."

Chu Feng looked up.

Shen Ji pointed at the ground.

"Watch Disciple Nangong Yue's hands."

"When her palms reach their limit, that's your starting point."

"Use your eyes to watch the battlefield, not your ears to listen for orders."

Chu Feng's fingers forming seals paused slightly.

His gaze fixed intensely on the position of Disciple Nangong Yue's palms.

"Okay."

Shen Ji's gaze swept across the periphery.

"Gu Yunxi."

The girl in the white dress, who had been quiet on the sidelines, looked up.

"How far has the water-attribute infiltration spread?"

"Three zhang."

"Not enough. The Red-Scaled Lizard has short limbs, but its sprinting explosive power is extremely strong."

Shen Ji held up five fingers.

"A three-zhang deceleration zone—they can clear that in a single leap."

"Spread it to five zhang. It's better for it to be thin, but the area must be sufficient."

Gu Yunxi looked at her hands.

Her ten fingers moved slightly.

Water-attribute spiritual power was quickly recalculated and redistributed at her fingertips.

"Mm."

Shen Ji withdrew his gaze.

"Third time."

The third time.

Disciple Nangong Yue controlled the heat strictly, and the heatwave pushed forward steadily.

Mu Jianqiu's left shoulder dipped, and the Thunder-Binding Lock shot through the air.

Ling Qingmeng formed seals with her ten fingers, and the Thousand-Thread Thunder Net simultaneously sealed the top and descended.

The crossing purple lightning locks and the dense fine lightning threads intertwined.

The entire simulated poison mist zone was tightly covered.

Chu Feng stared at Disciple Nangong Yue's hand gestures.

The spatial barrier closed precisely one breath before the lightning and fire coverage.

Senior Sister Song Ningshuang's pre-charged Cold Ice Sword Qi completed its cut at the fifth breath.

Thick ice walls sealed off the retreat paths in three directions.

Gu Yunxi's water-attribute infiltration spread a full five and a half zhang.

Huo Quji stood at the interception point, holding his shield.

A fire shield stacked with the mystic turtle spirit shield; he didn't budge an inch.

The entire set of tactics was successfully executed.

Shen Ji stood in place.

His gaze locked onto the distance between Mu Jianqiu and Ling Qingmeng.

"Mu Jianqiu."

Mu Jianqiu turned his head.

"There's a gap of two point three zhang between you and Ling Qingmeng."

"Too far."

Mu Jianqiu's face darkened.

"Lightning techniques need space to be performed."

"When a fourth-tier demonic beast rushes out in actual combat, it won't leave you space to worry about appearances."

Shen Ji walked between the two of them.

He raised his hand and drew an imaginary line in the air.

"Close it to one and a half zhang."

"Your Thunder-Binding Lock goes in a straight line to lock onto the point, while her Thousand-Thread Thunder Net covers a large area."

"With a gap of one and a half zhang, the lightning arcs will pass exactly through the edge of her lightning net without interfering with each other."

Mu Jianqiu stared at that imaginary line on the ground.

He rapidly deduced in his mind.

He had practiced lightning techniques countless times, but he had never calculated such an extreme distance.

Shen Ji turned back to look at Ling Qingmeng.

"After the Thousand-Thread Thunder Net contracts, the residual electricity will spread along the ground."

"Control the direction well; don't paralyze Huo Quji in front with electricity."

Ling Qingmeng's cold gaze swept over Huo Quji.

"I can control it."

Shen Ji nodded.

"Again."

Fourth time.

Fifth time.

Sixth time.

After every round, Shen Ji could precisely pick out new blind spots on the field.

Fourth time.

He had Qin Yu shift the Shadow Evasion Formation half a zhang to the east.

The reason was that the Red-Scaled Lizard's heat perception was weakest in the southeast, making the survival probability highest.

Fifth time.

He kicked the back of Huo Quji's knee into place.

He forced the shield-bearing posture to change from a direct front-on block to a forty-five-degree diagonal cut to deflect the force.

Sixth time.

He stood behind Senior Sister Song Ningshuang.

"The foundation of the ice wall is too shallow. The Red-Scaled Lizard's fire poison will melt through the surface."

"The ice wall must penetrate at least two feet into the ground, otherwise it will collapse instantly."

Senior Sister Song Ningshuang's Cold Ice Sword Qi poured into the ground.

The ice wall extended downward frantically, making a dull sound of freezing and cracking.

"Enough."

Senior Sister Song Ningshuang withdrew her sword.

The vibration from the sword hilt made her wrist slightly sore. She stared at Shen Ji.

"Have you actually fought a Red-Scaled Lizard or not?"

"I've seen others fight them."

Senior Sister Song Ningshuang didn't ask further.

The sun slanted westward.

Over a dozen of the indestructible bluestone slabs on the Martial Arts Arena had shattered.

Seventh time.

Disciple Nangong Yue started, the temperature precisely suppressed thirty percent below the critical point.

Mu Jianqiu's left shoulder dipped, and two Thunder-Binding Locks shot out.

Ling Qingmeng's Thousand-Thread Thunder Net simultaneously sealed the top and descended.

Chu Feng's barrier closed seamlessly.

Qin Yu's Shadow Evasion Formation silently took root in the southeast corner.

Senior Sister Song Ningshuang's sword qi poured two feet deep.

Gu Yunxi's five-zhang deceleration zone was laid out flat.

Huo Quji's forty-five-degree diagonal shield formation was in position.

From start to finish, it took only nine breaths.

No one overlapped.

Nothing was missed.

Senior Sister Song Ningshuang leaned on her sword, her chest heaving.

"Did we pass?"

Shen Ji looked around.

"Barely passable."

Mu Jianqiu scoffed.

He turned his head and didn't talk back.

Huo Quji jumped in place at the interception point in excitement, only for his legs to straighten under a single glare from Disciple Nangong Yue.

Shen Ji swept his gaze across the arena.

"Remember your respective 'Death Gates' within the formation."

He pointed at Disciple Nangong Yue.

"Your fire-attribute output is impeccable, but your close-quarters defense is zero. As long as a demonic beast rushes to the upwind position, you have no chance of survival."

"Your position can only be behind Huo Quji. If you wander off, even a god won't be able to save you."

Disciple Nangong Yue's expression turned solemn, and she nodded heavily.

Shen Ji looked at Huo Quji.

"Stacking the fire shield on the mystic turtle spirit shield, you can hold out for at most twenty breaths. After twenty breaths, your spiritual power will be completely drained."

"Within the first ten breaths, the frontal assault must be ended."

Huo Quji held the shield handle tightly.

Shen Ji turned to Mu Jianqiu.

"Lightning techniques have a strong burst but a slow recovery. After releasing a killing move, there will be a three-breath window."

"If those three breaths aren't filled, you'll be torn to pieces directly."

He turned his head to look at Ling Qingmeng.

"I'm leaving those three breaths to you."

Ling Qingmeng slightly lowered her eyes and accepted.

Shen Ji continued calling names.

"Chu Feng, the trapping formation can't withstand two direct hits from a fourth-tier demonic beast."

"Your task is to use space to buy time. If you can stall for three breaths, you win."

Chu Feng responded heavily.

"Qin Yu, the Shadow Evasion Formation is your life-saving talisman."

"Once the formation is set, you are not allowed to leave the eye of the formation even if you see your fellow disciples dying in front of you. If the formation breaks, you die."

Qin Yu gripped the formation flags in her sleeve tightly.

"Understood."

Shen Ji walked toward Senior Sister Song Ningshuang and Gu Yunxi.

"You two are the final line of defense for this team."

"If the front collapses, you are the barrier for survival. As long as the retreat path isn't broken, people can be saved."

Senior Sister Song Ningshuang raised her ice crystal longsword with one hand.

"With me, Song Ningshuang, covering the rear, even a fourth-tier demonic beast won't be able to smash through."

Gu Yunxi glanced at Senior Sister Song Ningshuang and then nodded to Shen Ji.

Shen Ji withdrew his gaze.

He walked toward the courtyard gate.

"Today's joint training ends here."

"We set off the day after tomorrow."

"Qingfeng Ridge is not the Martial Arts Arena. If you die there, you won't get a second chance."