On Shrek's side, nobody panicked. Every member gathered their Soul Power and quietly waited for their leader to give the command. The two newly joined members, Huang Yuan and Jing Ling, had started breathing faster under the tremendous pressure, but the composure of the five veteran Shrek Seven Devils pulled them into maintaining steady spirits as well.
"Forward. Three steps." Tang San's low voice cut through the air.
All five others besides him and Oscar simultaneously took three rapid steps forward. Their auras surged back, colliding with the pressure rolling in from their opponents midair. Among the five, Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing had both already surpassed level forty and were in no way inferior to their adversaries in terms of presence.
Five streaks of black light shot upward at the same time, each one wrapping around one of the five fighters at the waist. This was none other than the special formation Tang San had invented — the Meteor Human Hammer. With this formation, the Shrek Seven Devils had once crushed the Imperial Battle Team, back when their overall levels had been a full tier below their opponents. Now, Tang San's Blue Silver Grass was far tougher than it had been then, and the length it could extend had already surpassed fifty meters — nothing like what it could do before. Just how powerful could this Meteor Human Hammer become?
"Xiao Ao, come."
Oscar rushed to Tang San's side. Tang San flipped his wrist, and a Flying Mushroom Sausage was already swallowed. One hand grabbed Oscar and hauled him onto his back. Then, his entire body launched skyward, soaring straight up into the air.
The Flying Mushroom Sausage took effect almost instantly. A pair of transparent wings materialized behind Tang San's back, and with Oscar riding along, he flew directly upward.
"Make yourselves light!" Tang San shouted again. The five who had stepped forward earlier all took a deep breath simultaneously, channeling their Soul Power to make their bodies as weightless as possible.
Among the seven, Zhu Zhuqing, Xiao Wu, and the agile-attack-type Jing Ling needed only to gather their qi and their bodies became nearly feather-light. Dai Mubai and Huang Yuan were heavier, but it wasn't a serious problem. Under the combined effects of Tang San's Mysterious Heaven Skill and Crane Control Dragon Catch, he actually managed to lift all five of them into the air at once.
Tang San had thoroughly studied the limits of Oscar's Flying Mushroom Sausage beforehand. Through testing, he had found it could bear roughly five hundred jin. The combined weight of all seven of them definitely exceeded that number, but not by much. After all, aside from Huang Yuan and Jing Ling, the Shrek Seven Devils were all only in their teens, with only Dai Mubai having a particularly imposing build. Under these circumstances, as long as everyone channeled their qi to lighten themselves, they fit just within the Flying Mushroom Sausage's capacity. This was the crux of his tactic. One of the most important reasons he had temporarily removed Tailong from the lineup was that the guy weighed far too much. Otherwise, Tailong's contribution at this moment would have been even greater than Xiao Wu's.
Tang San's sudden ascent into the sky drew a collective gasp from the audience. From the start of the preliminary rounds until now, there had been a few Soul Masters with flight ability, but none had ever done what Tang San was doing — carrying six people into the air by himself. Through the connections of his Blue Silver Grass, all seven members of the team rising into the sky simultaneously was a sight that left everyone in awe.
Originally, this match between Shrek Academy and Elephant Armor Academy had already attracted over sixty percent of the audience. Now, it drew practically every pair of eyes in the stands.
In the VIP box, Emperor Xue Ye exclaimed, "That Tang San can fly too?"
Ning Fengzhi smiled faintly. "I'd say that ability doesn't belong to him — it belongs to that support Soul Master. I'm sure they never do anything without purpose. Bringing in an extra person must have its significance."
Oscar, carried on Tang San's back, essentially served as Tang San's personal support. Without a moment's hesitation, he condensed a Recovery Large Sausage and stuffed it into Tang San's mouth. The moment the drain began, he was already replenishing Tang San's energy. The key to this match wasn't how the other five attacked — it was how Tang San controlled the battlefield.
When the Elephant Armor Academy team suddenly saw all seven of their opponents take to the sky, the seven members who had been pressing forward froze. They had never imagined encountering something like this on the competition stage. Just as the Great Master had said, their strength and defense were extraordinarily high, but that had come at the cost of agility. Agile-attack-type Soul Masters were manageable — at least there wasn't much either side could do to the other. But flying-type Soul Masters were the hardest counter to their abilities imaginable.
If everyone were on the ground, the Elephant Armor Sect disciples could fully exploit their formidable defense. But with their opponents in the air, the closest target they could reach was the head. While their heads were reasonably well-protected, the defensive value of all that fat on their bodies would go to waste. More importantly, all seven opponents taking flight instantly shattered their rhythm.
Tang San's hands simultaneously controlled five strands of Blue Silver Grass. The five people below him were like marionettes on strings. In an instant, they were pulled out of range of the fat fighters' attacks.
Tang San's body rotated a half-turn in midair, and five Meteor Human Hammers were launched simultaneously, swinging downward from five different directions. Each one landed toward the outer perimeter of the seven Elephant Armor fighters. At the same time, countless Blue Silver Grass vines erupted from Tang San's body, launching their binding skill at all seven opponents at once.
From the moment the team took off to the launch of the attack, the entire process took only a dozen seconds or so. What surprised Tang San was that the seven Elephant Armor Sect disciples reacted with impressive speed. The tallest and most massive among them, Huyan Li, let out a thunderous shout, and the seven fat fighters quickly clustered together into a back-to-back formation. At the same time, they extended their enormous, fan-like hands to slap down at the five descending from above.
Seeing this, Tang San felt a jolt of alarm. These seven people already had monstrous defense, and in this formation, they were practically airtight. Breaking through their formation would not be easy at all. This was the scenario Tang San had been most eager to avoid.
The five Blue Silver Grass strands pulled Dai Mubai and the others back up just before they entered striking range. Tang San knew full well that although he had exploited the opponent's greatest weakness, these fighters were extremely shrewd. What they wanted to do was take a beating if necessary in order to grab hold of at least one Shrek Academy member. With their terrifying weight and strength, holding just one person would effectively unravel the entire Meteor Human Hammer formation.
Though the fighters were pulled back, the Blue Silver Grass binding did not stop. Pure black Blue Silver Grass, bristling with razor-sharp barbs, surged madly around all seven fat fighters' bodies. In just moments, they were wrapped as tight as a cocoon.
These Blue Silver Grass vines were essentially extensions of Tang San's own body. The instant the binding was complete, Tang San immediately sensed the problem. The barbs on the Blue Silver Grass couldn't even pierce the opponents' terrifying skin, and neither the corrosive nor the paralytic poisons could penetrate. The enemy's defensive power exceeded even his estimates.
The seven Elephant Armor Sect disciples roared almost in unison, and explosive force erupted from their bodies. The extremely pliable Blue Silver Grass was slowly forced open by their horrifying strength, gradually splitting apart. At the same time, Tang San clearly saw the second Soul Ring on each of the seven opponents light up simultaneously.
He made an immediate and precise judgment: the first Soul Ring was for defense; the second must be some kind of strength enhancement.
Blue Silver Grass was the very body of Tang San's Martial Soul. Nourished by four Soul Rings — especially the last ten-thousand-year Soul Ring and its attribute bonus — this Martial Soul once dismissed as trash had long since become extraordinarily tough. Shortly before, when Tang San had reached that state of fusion with the wild Blue Silver Grass in the surrounding environment, his own Blue Silver Grass had undergone a subtle transformation. Though the change was slight, its texture had become significantly denser. At this moment, with a full-body binding on the opponents, even with their astonishing strength, breaking free was not something they could do at will.
One, two, three, four, five. Tang San counted silently. The three members who had reached level forty tore free of the Blue Silver Grass in five seconds. The strongest, Huyan Li, needed only four seconds. But the four members who had not yet reached level forty took over seven seconds to break loose.
Oscar quickly stuffed another Flying Mushroom Sausage into Tang San's mouth while simultaneously preparing a Recovery Large Sausage.
After a brief calculation of time, various pieces of information flashed through Tang San's mind, and he immediately launched the second round of attacks.
"Twenty seconds. Take down Huyan Li." Tang San's shout rang out as the Blue Silver Grass binding activated once more. His first, second, and fourth Soul Rings lit up almost simultaneously.
The seven Elephant Armor Academy disciples, with their enormous bodies, were the perfect targets standing right there. The Blue Silver Grass whipped up at blinding speed, binding their bodies once again. At the same time, the five fighters led by Dai Mubai rapidly descended, and under Tang San's Crane Control Dragon Catch, all of them hurtled toward Huyan Li in unison.
Huyan Li snorted in disdain. Restraining us again? Do you think that doesn't cost Soul Power? With our seven massive bodies, just a few rounds of full binding would drain that Control Type Soul Master dry. Once he couldn't hold on and dropped from the sky, this match would be over. Try to take me down? I doubt that'll be so easy.
—
I saw jj soliciting votes, and our lead seems to have shrunk. Brothers and sisters of the Tang Sect, if we want victory, we have to hold firm. Cast your monthly votes. Tomorrow brings the climax. Oh, right — one more thing. As you all know, Xiao San's updates have always been around nine thousand characters. Twelve thousand is really unsustainable right now. On top of everything, I'm washing diapers every day... So if you're going to cast update-vote tickets, please make them for nine thousand characters. No need to go for twelve thousand. Heh heh.
(End of chapter)