Oscar's almond-shaped eyes lit up immediately. "Xiao San, you're like an encyclopedia of the Martial Soul world. Impressive, really impressive."
He wasn't the only one. Everyone except Xiao Wu—even Zhao Wuji—looked at Tang San with a noticeably different gaze. After all, Soul Beasts were just as varied and bizarre as Martial Souls, and their age and rank were never easy to determine. Tang San had merely listened to Zhu Zhuqing's description and yet managed to identify the exact species and strength of the Soul Beast they were about to face, even going so far as to detail its full characteristics. It was clear just how deep his knowledge of Martial Souls ran. It was something even Zhao Wuji admitted he couldn't have done himself.
Tang San smiled bashfully. "It's all thanks to my teacher."
If anyone deserved to be called an encyclopedia, it was the Great Master rather than Tang San. The Great Master's research into every aspect of Martial Souls had long since reached its pinnacle. As his disciple, Tang San's theoretical knowledge—on top of his considerable personal strength—was more than sufficient for him to serve as a lecturer at any academy.
Zhao Wuji couldn't help but ask, "Since you know this Soul Beast so well, what's the best way to capture it?"
Tang San answered without hesitation. "All serpent-type Soul Beasts fear aggressive avian predators—especially long-beaked cranes. We don't have anyone with a crane Martial Soul, but Fatty's Phoenix is essentially king among birds. His Martial Soul aura should be able to exert a certain amount of suppression on the Phoenix-Tailed Crested Serpent. This serpent isn't particularly aggressive; the main thing we need to watch out for is making sure it doesn't escape."
"It's coming." At that moment, Zhu Zhuqing's voice cut through the air. With a sharp cry, she dove straight from the sky without a shred of fear toward what she knew to be a thousand-year Soul Beast. Her claws and her first Soul Ring blazed to life simultaneously as she unleashed her Nether Assault.
It was a massive serpent, looking exactly as Zhu Zhuqing had described—six or seven meters in length, with a vivid red fleshy crest atop its head that gave it a savage appearance. Its swiftly hurtling body slammed directly into Zhu Zhuqing's descending form. Her Nether Assault struck straight down at the crest on its head.
The Phoenix-Tailed Crested Serpent reacted with startling speed. Even while charging forward at full tilt, it managed to twist its head aside in the nick of time. Zhu Zhuqing's claw missed the crest and instead slammed into its body with a muffled thud, reducing its forward momentum by a noticeable degree.
The Phoenix-Tailed Crested Serpent seemed startled. It jerked its head to one side and abruptly opened its mouth, spewing a cloud of seven-colored mist directly at Zhu Zhuqing. At the same time, the bright red crest on its head flared with light, and the brief deceleration from moments ago was instantly overcome.
Dai Mubai shouted almost reflexively, "Watch out!" When concern turned to panic, he immediately unleashed his thousand-year Soul Ring skill—White Tiger Diamond Transformation. His body swelled rapidly in size as he lunged toward the Phoenix-Tailed Crested Serpent at full speed.
"Seven Treasures, Named: Second—Speed." Ning Rongrong's clear, crisp voice rang out at precisely the right moment. Dai Mubai felt his body grow light, and his forward momentum surged once more, allowing him to intercept the charging Phoenix-Tailed Crested Serpent at the last possible heartbeat.
With a tremendous crash, Dai Mubai grunted and was sent skidding back nearly ten meters. But the Phoenix-Tailed Crested Serpent's charge ground to an abrupt halt as well. Its massive body contorted in midair before crashing to the ground.
"The seven-colored mist it sprayed is just a bluff—it's non-toxic," Tang San's voice called out at just the right moment. At the same time, Blue Silver Grass that had already been prepared underground erupted from the earth, tightly wrapping around the downed Phoenix-Tailed Crested Serpent's body. It specifically coiled around the two wing-like fins, preventing the creature from taking flight again.
Fatty unleashed the full pressure of his Martial Soul. The Phoenix-Tailed Crested Serpent seemed to sense the aura of the Evil Fire Phoenix, and its body trembled. However, it was a thousand-year Soul Beast after all, and it wasn't the type to accept death so easily. Although it was temporarily grounded, its movement was far from crippled.
Tang San suddenly felt the Phoenix-Tailed Crested Serpent's body turn slick as oil beneath his Blue Silver Grass. Not only were the thorns unable to pierce its scales, but the creature writhed so violently that it slipped free of the grass entirely. Even without flight, it slithered across the ground at an astonishing speed—within the blink of an eye, it had already put ten meters between them.
"Trying to run? Think it'll be that easy?" Zhao Wuji's deep, rumbling voice echoed through the clearing. His third Soul Ring blazed to life, and the thousand-year Phoenix-Tailed Crested Serpent's body went rigid, its speed plummeting. It was none other than Zhao Wuji's third Soul Ring skill—Gravity Enhancement.
Immediately after, Zhao Wuji's fourth and fifth Soul Rings ignited simultaneously. His body launched into the air, and when he came crashing down, the fourth Soul Ring skill—Positioning Tracking—guided him to land directly in front of the thousand-year Phoenix-Tailed Crested Serpent. Gravity Compression activated at the same time.
No matter how slippery the Phoenix-Tailed Crested Serpent might be, before Zhao Wuji's overwhelming Soul Power, it had no room left to maneuver.
Against a thousand-year Soul Beast, the Immovable Bright King could handle it with ease. He might not have appeared to do much, but the explosive power he displayed in that instant sent a chill through every student watching. Tang San finally understood just how lucky he had been during his own fight with Zhao Wuji that day. If Zhao Wuji had combined his Soul Skills from the very start, he probably wouldn't even have had the chance to deploy his Hidden Weapons.