"Blue Silver Grass really is a trash Martial Soul!" At night, Tang San slowly awoke, his thoughts churning.
"Looks like… it hasn't been exposed yet."
The night passed uneventfully. Early the next morning, at the Great Spirit Arena in Heaven Dou City, Yu Xiaogang nervously went to draw lots. When he saw the result, he let out a long sigh of relief. Their opponent was only an average team with just one Soul Ancestor. He immediately sent out the still-injured Yu Tianheng, Dai Mubai, Huang Yuan, along with Xiao Wu, Jing Ling, Ning Rongrong, and Oscar. In the end, they secured victory.
That gave the team some breathing space.
The following two days, they didn't encounter any particularly strong opponents either, and won in succession.
The Heaven Dou Royal Team had a similar run of easy matches—until the third day.
"Our morning match is against Skywater Academy," Meng Shenshou announced after checking the draw.
Inside the resting area, the mostly recovered Shrek team followed Tang San and Yu Tianheng to watch the match.
Just as they walked out of the passage into the viewing platform, they ran right into Blazing Academy heading toward the best seats. The atmosphere instantly turned sour.
Especially Xiao Wu, who glared at Huo Wu with resentment. Because of the explosion's aftermath, not only had she been injured, but the long hair she had grown for years was burned away in a large chunk.
She was forced to cut it short, which she hated.
"What are you looking at!? If you were afraid of getting hurt, you should've surrendered earlier!" Huo Wu snapped right back, glaring fiercely.
"You!" Xiao Wu's chest heaved in anger, and she lifted her foot, ready to confront her. Tang San quickly held her back.
Tap, tap, tap—footsteps came from behind.
Tang San glanced sideways—it was Canghui Academy, each of them glaring at Shrek with hostility.
Almost instinctively, Tang San's hand went to his waist. From his Soul Tool, he drew the Zhuge Crossbow. With the sound of its mechanism, the arrows loaded and locked in place.
Right now, Blazing Academy and Canghui Academy had them sandwiched. If a fight broke out, and Canghui attacked from behind, Shrek would take huge losses. But with the Zhuge Crossbow, things were different.
He could instantly wipe out the Blazing Academy members, then turn to deal with Canghui. At this distance, Blazing hadn't even released their Martial Souls yet.
He was absolutely confident—they couldn't block the arrows. They would die on the spot.
'Lunatic?' Ning Rongrong, behind him, was startled. She looked at Tang San in shock.
"If you're looking for trouble, we'll be more than happy to oblige." Tang San's gaze locked on Huo Wu as he spoke coldly.
"Lunatic!" Huo Wu sneered, glancing at Xiao Wu, then led her team forward, brushing past the Shrek group.
"Hah, so the one who glared first now acts righteous?" Canghui's captain sneered as his team also moved past. As he walked by, he said flatly: "A reminder—if you injure others inside the Arena during the tournament, you'll be disqualified."
With that, they left.
"This Tang San… does he have paranoia?" a faint whisper floated in the air.
Tang San's eyes flashed cold light, but he still put the Zhuge Crossbow back into his Soul Tool. "Let's go," he said calmly.
"Preliminaries, Round 16, Match 1—Heaven Dou Royal Academy versus Skywater Academy!" the host's voice soon rang out.
From the passage, amid thunderous cheers, Yang Yunhai strode out.
At his sides were Dugu Yan and Zhu Zhuqing, with Yu Feng, Shi Mo, Shi Mo, and Ye Lingling following closely behind.
Dugu Yan's brows furrowed slightly—on the opposite side, Shui Yue'er was staring straight at her man.
"Cough, Yue'er," Shui Bing'er's teammate Yu Hairou gave a subtle cough and tugged at her skirt hem.
'Sis, if you're going to sneak glances, at least pick the right place,' she thought speechlessly.
Shui Yue'er snapped back to her senses, glanced sideways, and her face flushed red. She quickly ducked her head like she'd been caught.
'Truly worthy of being called the continent's most famous fangirl,' Yang Yunhai sighed inwardly as he led his team forward.
With three treasures in his heart and his skills sharpened further, his Dao heart was firm as iron.
'Once the preliminaries are over, it'll be time to tell them about Yiner,' he thought quietly.
Soon, the two teams stood facing each other twenty meters apart. At the referee's signal, they saluted.
The referee raised his hand and announced loudly:
"Match—begin!"
"First Soul Skill, Extension!" Yang Yunhai, knowing Shui Bing'er's abilities, wasted no time. He summoned vine armor and his vine spear, then charged forward with his team.
"Third Soul Skill, Windstorm!" Yu Feng shot into the air, wings flapping to stir up a wind wall to shield his allies and disrupt the enemy.
"Fourth Soul Skill, Tornado!" Xue Wu spun gracefully in place, her movements like a dancer. Cold surged as she twirled, then her hands pushed outward.
A violent blizzard tornado roared forward, freezing the ground solid as it passed.
"They want to reshape the terrain to their advantage." Yang Yunhai's thoughts sharpened.
Bang!
The winds clashed. Yu Feng's wind wall shattered instantly under the tornado.
"Fourth Soul Skill, Xuanwu Barrier!" Shi Mo thrust his chest out, a jade-green shield dome expanding over the team.
Crack, crack, crack!
The tornado slammed against it, frost forming until an icy shell covered the barrier like an overturned bowl.
Boom!
Yang Yunhai's spear slashed. The ice shattered, clearing their vision to a frozen battlefield. Xue Wu continued her dance, while storm clouds gathered overhead.
"Captain, let me cover with my third skill," Shi Mo offered nervously.
"No need!" Yang Yunhai snapped his hand, unleashing spiked vines that tore into the icy ground, cracking it apart.
"Go!" He surged forward, boots pounding fissures in the ice.
"First Soul Skill, Ice Seal!" Shui Bing'er's hand lifted, frost spreading rapidly across the ground.
But Yang Yunhai didn't slow. His vines pierced the creeping frost, freezing but then glowing faintly blue. The ice halted its spread.
"Hm?" Shui Bing'er's eyes widened slightly.
With a pull, the frozen vines ripped out, shattering the icy surface.
"What strength!" Shui Bing'er's face turned solemn.
"Captain, let's block them!" Yu Hairou urged. Shui Bing'er glanced at Xue Wu and nodded.
"First Soul Skill, Ice Seal!" she repeated, aiding her teammates.
"Third Soul Skill, Windstorm!" Yu Feng tried again, wings beating hard to disrupt Xue Wu.
"Second Soul Skill, Ripple Wave!" Qiu Ruoshui clapped her hands, sending a blue wave crashing upward.
"Damn!" Yu Feng veered away helplessly.
'Should've just used Wing Blades…' he thought bitterly. His first skill, which turned his wings into blades, had hardly seen use. Now he regretted it.
Swish, swish, swish!
Yang Yunhai, Zhu Zhuqing, and Shi Mo engaged the front line while Shi Mo stayed back to guard Ye Lingling. Yu Feng dove low, joining the melee.
Yang Yunhai countered Shui Bing'er's Ice Seal with another vine.
"Third Soul Skill, Netherworld Terrorclaw!" Zhu Zhuqing blurred forward, claws aimed at Yu Hairou.
"Second Soul Skill, Shield Form!" Shi Mo hurled his shield at Gu Qingbo, then roared: "Third Soul Skill, Turtle Shell Burst!"
The shield shattered midair, sending shards flying. The girls squealed, dodging frantically.
"First Soul Skill, Shield Fusion! Second Soul Skill, Shield Form! Third Soul Skill, Turtle Shell Burst!" Shi Mo's younger brother mimicked him, hurling his shield.
"Old Mo, Little Mo, you guys are going to die single," Yu Feng muttered even as he dove toward Qiu Ruoshui.
The difference in cultivation was clear—Skywater was being beaten back.
"First Soul Skill, Ice Seal!" Shui Bing'er, realizing the danger, cast it again, then ran to Xue Wu's side.
The two clasped hands. With a boom, a blue-white light pillar pierced the sky.
"A Martial Soul Fusion Skill!?" Yu Xiaogang exclaimed from the stands.
"Fourth Soul Skill, Petrification Gaze!" Dugu Yan's eyes flashed, beams of pale light shooting skyward.
The clouds above turned gray, the fusion unraveling. Shui Bing'er and Xue Wu fell back to the ground, shocked.
'She knew the timing perfectly!?' The crowd gawked.
Yang Yunhai's vines lashed out, binding the two.
"Third Soul Skill, Light Repel!" Shui Bing'er gritted her teeth, bursting light to shove the vines back.
Boom!
Yang Yunhai stabbed his spear into the ground, his body glowing blue as his power shifted to ice attribute.
Swish!
With blinding speed, he lunged, vines trailing.
"We surrender!" Shui Bing'er shouted decisively.
If Yang Yunhai got close, she knew they were finished. Around her, Zhu Zhuqing's claws pressed to Yu Hairou's throat, and the rest of her team was losing badly.
'Decisive and willing to admit defeat. Much better than Tang San,' Yang Yunhai thought, nodding.
"Yang Yunhai, why didn't my skill work on you?" Shui Bing'er asked, her beautiful eyes fixed on him.
"Forgive my rudeness." She added softly.
"Because my Martial Soul has a degree of ice resistance," Yang Yunhai replied with a smile. "As for why—you'll see soon enough."
"Ice resistance!" Shui Bing'er gasped, then sighed. "Thank you for telling me."
Even without it, she knew they'd have lost. Dugu Yan's perfect timing had shattered their fusion skill in a single strike. Their trump card was useless.
"Ice resistance!?" the audience erupted.
First fire immunity, now ice immunity? Next time against Thunderclap Academy, would it be lightning immunity too?
In the Shrek section, Tang San's fists clenched, his eyes burning with unwillingness.
Yang Yunhai had it. He didn't. It wasn't fair!
"Your Majesty, do you know the reason?" Ning Fengzhi asked curiously from the VIP area.
"Haha, we promised Yang we wouldn't reveal it," Emperor Xue Ye chuckled, stroking his beard. He guessed it was related to Yang Yunhai's lightning attribute.
"Since he said we'll see soon, let's wait and watch," Ning Fengzhi said with a faint smile.
Yang Yunhai still had many secrets.
"Heaven Dou Royal Academy wins!"
The referee's voice rang out.
(End of Chapter)
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