"So what if it is? Do you think you can win now? Don't forget — you're alone, facing the six of us." The spider-type Soul Master woman spoke fearlessly.
Tang San smiled faintly. "But the only one among you who can actually fight is probably just you. I don't know how you managed to stay conscious and command your teammates after entering that state, but you still have to endure the negative effects of that enhancement. Even if you still have some Soul Power left, you can't possibly be at your peak. In that case, this team battle is going to become a duel between the two of us — wouldn't you agree?"
Kuang Xi had already fully regained consciousness. The Martial Soul Possession state on his body had dissipated, but his physical constitution was tough enough that he had wrangled himself free from the pain. "Who says I can't fight? Even with just my physical strength alone, I can crush you, you bastard."
Kuang Xi's fury had not diminished in the slightest because his Soul Power had been drained. He had never been this angry in his life. His formidable strength had been rendered completely useless by Tang San's Spider Web Binding, leaving his team in an absolutely dire position. The moment he finished speaking, he charged straight at Tang San.
The spider-type Soul Master woman did not stop Kuang Xi. She knew full well that with his strength, even without any Soul Power to back him up, he could wrestle a bull to the ground on raw physical power alone.
The reason she had been able to stay conscious during the Frenzy state was because of the negative effects brought by her thousand-year Soul Ring skill. Beyond its potent toxicity and the supple exterior it granted, her eight-thousand-year Soul Ring skill also carried the ability to reduce all negative effects by fifty percent.
In other words, while she fully reaped the benefits of the Frenzy's boost, she only had to endure half of the drawbacks it normally imposed.
That was why she had managed to stay as clearheaded as possible before, and now only half of her remaining Soul Power had been drained.
Between the expenditure from the earlier battle and the toll of the Frenzy state stripping away her reserves, all she had left was roughly thirty percent of her Soul Power.
Watching Kuang Xi barreling toward him, Tang San did not activate his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul. He needed to conserve his Soul Power for the fight against the spider-type Soul Master woman — their strongest opponent. A Kuang Xi stripped of his Soul Power was a fangless tiger. Did he really need Soul Power to deal with such an opponent?
As Kuang Xi charged at him with arms spread wide, Tang San advanced rather than retreating. His feet traced the Ghost Shadow Phantom Trail as he drifted forward to meet the rush.
The Ghost Shadow Phantom Trail rendered Tang San's movements unpredictable and elusive. Though he appeared to be charging straight ahead, Kuang Xi simply could not lock onto his true position.
With a slight shift, Tang San had already slipped to Kuang Xi's flank. His left foot deftly hooked behind Kuang Xi's ankle while his left arm swung up horizontally, driving his elbow hard into the larger man's back.
Though Tang San's physique did not look nearly as imposing as Kuang Xi's, his actual strength was not far behind.
Years of working as a blacksmith in his childhood, combined with the intensive physical conditioning he had undergone recently, had forged him an extraordinarily tough body.
Kuang Xi's legs were tripped out from under him, and before he could react, a tremendous force struck his back. His entire body went airborne and tumbled away.
It was right at that moment that the spider-type Soul Master woman finally made her move. Her thousand-year Soul Ring skill had already vanished for lack of sufficient Soul Power to sustain it, but from her palms, countless threads of spider silk shot forward, seizing the instant Tang San was momentarily stationary after sending Kuang Xi flying. The silk blanketed every angle of evasion available to him.
Tang San's brow furrowed slightly. "Still not giving up?" This time, he did not dodge. Instead, he let the spider silk wind around his body. In barely the span of a heartbeat, he was cocooned like a zongzi dumpling, a layer of pinkish silk covering him from head to toe.
The spider-type Soul Master woman was elated. "Quick! Throw him off the battle stage, and we win!"
But she quickly realized something was wrong, because none of her teammates responded. When she turned her head to look, she was stunned to find that every one of her Soul Power-depleted teammates had already been tightly bound by strands of blue-purple Blue Silver Grass. Without any Soul Power to resist the paralyzing toxin, not a single one of them could even speak.
A sudden chill raced through the spider-type Soul Master woman's heart, as though it had skipped a beat. An ominous premonition surged up from within her. Before she could even yank the spider silk to hurl Tang San off the stage, an overwhelming, incomparable pressure erupted from his body.
It was not the pressure of Soul Power. It was a wholly different aura — and for her, the effect it produced was devastating beyond measure.
A bizarre spectacle unfolded. The spider silk coating Tang San's body began to dissolve from his back, melting away like snow and ice. All of the silk frantically converged toward the spot on his back, as though it were no longer a physical substance but merely a form of energy being drawn in.