Weapon-type Martial Souls didn't alter the physical appearance of their wielders, but when two powerfully built men let out a simultaneous roar, the sheer pressure was overwhelming. They advanced with nearly identical strides, bearing down on Tang San and Xiao Wu like twin thunderbolts. The iron hammers in their hands were already raised high.
Xiao Wu tapped her toes lightly against the ground, her body rising weightlessly into the air. Tang San's right hand pressed against the sole of her foot, and she alighted with a single foot on his right shoulder, striking the pose of a rooster standing on one leg.
After years of fighting together, their coordination was flawless. By the time she landed on Tang San's shoulder, Xiao Wu had already completed her Rabbit Martial Soul Possession. Her keen eyes locked onto the rapidly approaching opponents—once a gap appeared, that would be the moment she launched herself from above to unleash her Soft Technique.
Blue-black Blue Silver Grass surged forth, splitting into countless vines that raced to meet the Iron Blood Combination brothers head-on. At roughly equal levels, once the Blue Silver Grass latched onto a target, escape was virtually impossible. That was the fearsome power of a Control Type Martial Soul.
The Iron brothers showed no panic. Seeing dozens of Blue Silver Grass vines hurtling toward them, they immediately began swinging their hammers. The massive weapons spun in their hands as if weightless, weaving together into a veritable barrier.
Through careful observation, Tang San noticed that the brothers' hammer techniques bore a striking resemblance to his own Chaotic Wind Hammer Technique, though their rhythm wasn't as coordinated and their strikes lacked the same devastating force. What they did have was superior speed.
The first Soul Ring on both Tie Long and Tie Hu blazed to life. The moment the Blue Silver Grass vines entered the range of their hammers and attempted to breach their defenses to execute the binding skill, they were swept aside. Beyond the raw physical power of the hammers themselves, a peculiar shockwave launched the vines high into the air.
Shattering. That was the effect of the Iron brothers' first Soul Ring skill. It effectively neutralized the control of the Blue Silver Grass.
One on the left, one on the right, they swung their hammers in tight arcs, forming an impenetrable shell around their bodies while pressing forward rapidly. They were moments away from reaching Tang San and Xiao Wu.
"Up!" Tang San barked. With a shrug of his shoulders, he launched Xiao Wu into the air, sending her soaring behind the Iron brothers. His own feet moved in the Ghost Shadow Phantom Trail as he faced the brothers head-on. A violet glow shone from both his eyes, and his hands rose simultaneously.
Internal energy surged into his palms. His jade-white hands struck toward the Iron brothers at nearly the same instant, but Tang San himself slid forward with oil-slick speed beneath his feet. His hands circled outward, avoiding a direct collision with those two iron hammers. Instead, he guided them from the side, pressing lightly against the flanks of the hammers with a gentle push that created a hairline crack in the brothers' combined defense. In that fleeting instant, Tang San slipped through the gap like a phantom.
The hammers screamed through the air, the wind whipping Tang San's robes into a frenzy—yet neither had so much as grazed him.
Crane Control Dragon Catch was exceptional for controlling Hidden Weapons, but as a method of channeling internal energy, it was equally formidable. What Tang San had just employed was precisely the principle of redirecting a thousand pounds with four ounces of force.
The brothers, guided forward by the pull of Crane Control Dragon Catch, momentarily stumbled in their dense defense. Tang San's Blue Silver Grass had been waiting for exactly this—the vines surged in to exploit the opening.
But the Iron brothers were veteran fighters. They spun around with blinding speed, sweeping the vines aside once more.
A Weapon-type Martial Soul drew its strength from the word "weapon." It couldn't enhance the wielder's own physical abilities, but the intrinsic power it carried was fearsome indeed. The shattering effect of the first Soul Ring on their hammers didn't even require direct contact with the Blue Silver Grass—so long as the vines ventured within a foot of the hammer's range, they were blasted away before the binding effect could take hold.
The moment Tang San slipped through the brothers' combined defense was the same moment Xiao Wu descended from above, landing back on his shoulder in the exact same pose as before.
"Little San, finish them off." Xiao Wu giggled. She had sparred against Tang San's Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul more than anyone else, so she naturally knew the secrets hidden within it.
The instant Xiao Wu spoke, Tang San's second Soul Ring flared brilliant light.
The hammer-wielding Iron brothers stiffened simultaneously as blue-black vines began sprouting from their bodies. It was the second skill of Blue Silver Grass—Parasitism.
Indeed, their hammer technique had shielded their bodies remarkably well, but it had not yet reached the level of absolute impenetrability. Under Tang San's control, the Blue Silver Grass had been scattering seeds throughout the air the entire fight—especially during the brief moment when Crane Control Dragon Catch had forced an opening in the Iron brothers' defense, when seeds had slipped through unnoticed. The amount of Blue Silver Grass that had taken root on their bodies wasn't large, but as long as it could restrain them for even a few precious seconds, the surrounding vines would have ample time to complete their binding.
Sensing the numbing paralysis spreading from the parasitic vines, and watching the sea of Blue Silver Grass closing in from all sides, the Iron brothers exchanged a glance and let out another tremendous roar. Before the parasitic growth could fully immobilize them, they swung their hammers in a rapid spin, completing a full revolution. Their second Soul Rings blazed to life simultaneously, and both massive iron hammers were hurled from their hands—one hurtling toward Tang San, the other toward Xiao Wu.
The hammers tore through the air with a piercing shriek. The very atmosphere warped in their wake, and beneath the gray luminescence covering them, their size suddenly doubled. Even before they arrived, the terrifying destructive force they carried could already be felt bearing down.
The Iron brothers' second Soul Ring skill—Desperate Gamble.
*This is bad!* Tang San thought instantly. He thrust Xiao Wu skyward without a heartbeat's hesitation while his own feet moved in the Ghost Shadow Phantom Trail, darting sideways at full speed.