The barbs that came with the Ghost Vine quietly protruded. If Dai Mubai's skin hadn't become incredibly hard while in the White Tiger Diamond Transformation state, the toxin from the fusion of the Ghost Vine and the Man-Faced Demon Spider would have seeped into his body.
However, a level-37 Dai Mubai was no easy opponent to deal with. Seeing that brute force alone couldn't break free from the Blue Silver Grass, his bound hands immediately sprang into action.
The blades on his tiger claws snapped out and vibrated intensely against the Blue Silver Grass at a specific frequency. Bit by bit, the blades were cutting into the strands. Once Dai Mubai freed his hands and unleashed his full Soul Power, even these enhanced strands of Blue Silver Grass wouldn't be able to hold him.
Unfortunately, Tang San had never expected these strands of Blue Silver Grass to restrain Dai Mubai directly. After all, he was a Soul Venerable with thirty-seven levels of Soul Power. His goal was simply to use the Blue Silver Grass to temporarily hold Dai Mubai in place long enough to activate his third Soul Skill. The essence of a Control Type Soul Master was to seize control of their opponent from the very start of battle and maintain it until the fight was over.
The blue-green sphere of light had already been launched the moment Dai Mubai's tiger-claw blades began cutting into the Blue Silver Grass. Dai Mubai naturally spotted the sphere too. His body might have been bound, but that didn't mean he couldn't move at all.
He knew the sphere flying from Tang San's hand was likely his third Soul Ring's skill. Without a moment's hesitation for appearances, he twisted his body sideways and threw himself toward the ground.
What he needed now was time. As long as he had enough time to break free from the Blue Silver Grass binding him, then with his level-37 Soul Power combined with the doubled strength and attack boost of the White Tiger Diamond Transformation, he was confident he could knock away Tang San's third Soul Ring's attack.
Under the astonished gaze of everyone present, the blue-green light instantly unfurled into a massive net five meters in diameter that descended from above. Though Dai Mubai's body had rolled to the side, he still couldn't escape its range. The net expanded far too quickly, and moreover, the blue-green sphere had been launched using Tang San's Flinging Arrow technique — its forward velocity alone had reached a terrifying speed.
*Buzz.* The enormous spider web wrapped around him in an instant. Dai Mubai felt his entire body go taut as the massive web coiled tightly around him, trapping him within.
His tiger claws cut through the inner layer of Blue Silver Grass. Just as Dai Mubai prepared to continue cutting, a powerful numbing and burning sensation suddenly surged from the web strands — strands that looked even thinner than the Blue Silver Grass. Even the formidable durability of the White Tiger Diamond Transformation couldn't dispel the numbness.
The intense stickiness wrapped Dai Mubai's body tight as a rice dumpling. The spider web continued to constrict, and when the sharp edges of his tiger claws met the web, they were bounced straight off without leaving so much as a scratch.
Dai Mubai poured his full Soul Power into breaking free from both the numbness and the web, but the harder he struggled, the tighter the web coiled around him. That sensation of having nowhere to put his strength plunged the Evil-Eyed White Tiger into the depths of frustration.
The numbing sensation grew ever stronger, and his resisting Soul Power was naturally weakened as well. The blue-green luminous web kept tightening, and the bones in Dai Mubai's body began to crack and pop.
"That's enough," the Great Master said calmly.
Tang San quickly strode forward and ran his hand across the spider web. Strangely enough, the sticky web dissolved back into light, silently merging into Tang San's palm and vanishing. Even the strands of Blue Silver Grass wound around Dai Mubai transformed into flowing streaks of light and disappeared.
"That's my third Soul Skill — Spider Web Bind," Tang San explained as he helped the fallen Dai Mubai to his feet. At the same time, the hand supporting him drew the spider web's toxin back into his own body.
The Great Master walked up to the two of them. Regarding the thoroughly frustrated Dai Mubai, he said evenly, "Control — that is the unique ability of a Control Type Soul Master. Generally speaking, a Control Type Soul Master's attacks are quite weak. But their control is extraordinarily powerful. Below level sixty, an outstanding Control Type Soul Master can completely restrain an opponent within ten levels of their own. Aside from Martial Souls that specifically counter Control Types, the best strategy against a Control Type Soul Master is to deny them the chance to use their control. And you, as an offensive strength-type Soul Master — Control Types are your natural nemesis. In such a situation, you must keep your distance from the Control Type Soul Master."
His gaze swept across the others as the Great Master continued, "Every Soul Master has their strengths and weaknesses. There is no perfect Soul Master in this world. But..."
He paused here. "However, there can be a perfect team. A single person's power can never reach absolute dominance, but a team working in seamless coordination can achieve perfection. Through complementing each other's abilities, you can face any type of enemy. Tang San's third Soul Skill has extremely strong control, but it also has very obvious weaknesses — namely, the limitation on how many times it can be used and its effective range. Against an agility-type Soul Master, as long as you pay close attention to the moment he attacks and do your best to stay outside his reach, even the strongest spider web can't complete its bind. You are one unit. When facing an enemy together, the first thing you must do is compensate for each other's shortcomings and bring each person's strengths fully into play. When you achieve that, you will become an unstoppable force among your peers. Dai Mubai, continue today's lesson. Your next opponents will be the team of Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong, followed by the team of Oscar and Ma Hongjun."
Dai Mubai had already withdrawn his White Tiger Diamond Transformation by now. His heterochromatic eyes flickered with light, and this time he simply gave a firm nod without saying a word.
The Great Master turned his gaze to Tang San. "Since you already used your third Soul Skill on Dai Mubai, you'll take on one of his opponents for him. Xiao Wu, let me see your third Soul Skill."
Xiao Wu giggled and walked toward Tang San. "Xiao San, you'd better watch out~"