Hu Yan Li broke free from the restraints binding him, his eyes nearly spitting fire. Though he had managed to withstand four attacks head-on thanks to his Soul Bone, the impacts left him dizzy and seeing stars. Two level-forty Soul Masters and two Soul Masters above level thirty-five, all striking the same spot with everything they had — if not for the Soul Bone, he would have been knocked flat long ago. Now, relying on the bonus attributes granted by his Soul Bone to instantly shatter the Blue Silver Grass bindings, how could he hold back? Every bone in his body cracked and popped, and his massive hands shot straight toward Xiao Wu, who had just made the final pounce.
At this point, Tang San's group control had already lasted ten seconds. The remaining six members of the Elephant Armor Sect still couldn't move.
If, at this moment, Hu Yan Li had chosen not to attack Xiao Wu — but instead relied on his defensive power to weather one more blow and freed his nearby teammates from their restraints first — then the outcome of today's battle would still have been anyone's guess.
But the attack to his head had left him muddled, and he could no longer maintain his usual composure. All he could think about now was finishing off his opponents first.
Seeing the opponent lunging for her, Xiao Wu was unfazed. Both feet sprang up simultaneously, tapping once on each of Hu Yan Li's arms. When it came to agility, how could this massive guy compare to her? Using the spring from her feet, Xiao Wu launched into the air, and with the aid of Tang San's Crane Control Dragon Catch, shot upward in an instant.
Xiao Wu was gone, but the other four had already landed solidly after their attacks. Hu Yan Li was now in a state bordering on frenzy. He lunged toward the four in front of him without hesitation, his third Soul Ring blazing to life. His enormous body actually leaped into the air, his entire frame wreathed in a blinding layer of purple light, locking directly onto Zhu Zhuqing — who had hit him the hardest — and came crashing down from above.
The moment her body was locked down, Zhu Zhuqing found that she could no longer move. Facing her opponent's colossal body bearing down on her, it seemed her only option was to brace and take the hit head-on.
After all, the Elephant Armor Sect wasn't like the Strength Clan, which had chosen all their Soul Rings for the same attribute. While focusing on defense, they also possessed their own offensive capabilities. The Press Kill that Hu Yan Li was now unleashing was one such technique. Once locked by this soul skill, the opponent's feet would temporarily lose the ability to move, leaving them no choice but to take it head-on. This was the greatest feature of his thousand-year soul skill, and it was the technique most suited to the Elephant Armor Sect's fighting style — developed through generations of research.
With their massive bodies plummeting from the sky, combined with the force of their own Soul Power, the pressure they could generate was unimaginable. As long as the opponent couldn't move to fight back, forget about agility-type Soul Masters — even a strength-type might not be able to withstand it. Of course, the prerequisite for this skill was that the target had to be within ten meters of the caster.
Unfortunately, Hu Yan Li, who was no longer thinking clearly, had forgotten one thing. That's right — Zhu Zhuqing was currently unable to move. But don't forget, her movements weren't the only ones that could be controlled.
The Blue Silver Grass reacted at just the right moment. Tang San effortlessly pulled Zhu Zhuqing from her position, dragging her aside together with Dai Mubai. Meanwhile, Jing Ling and Huang Yuan, under his control, were sent flying toward another Elephant Armor Sect disciple still trapped within his restraints.
"Netherwhite Tiger." Tang San's steady voice reached Zhu Zhuqing and Dai Mubai's ears. The two immediately charged toward each other without hesitation, the Blue Silver Grass binding them having already been released by Tang San.
This was Tang San's prepared trump card. The Shrek Seven Devils possessed two most powerful hidden abilities — one was Tang San's external Soul Bone, the Eight Spider Lances; the other was Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing's Martial Soul Fusion Technique. Right now, Tang San needed to control the entire field, making it clearly inappropriate for him to deploy the Eight Spider Lances. And the reason he had swapped Zhu Zhuqing in for Tai Long in this match was precisely to have this Netherwhite Tiger Martial Soul Fusion Technique as his ace in the hole.
Winning with the aerial version of the Meteor Human Hammer would certainly have been ideal, but if that failed, there was always Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing's devastating combined attack. Tang San believed that no matter how strong the Elephant Armor Sect's defenses were, a single person could never withstand the combined assault of Zhu Zhuqing and Dai Mubai. After all, once both had surpassed level forty, their Martial Soul Fusion Technique had evolved right along with them.
BOOM — a terrifying crater was smashed into the stage. Hu Yan Li's massive body was nearly completely embedded in the ground, cracks radiating outward from his body and spreading to every corner of the arena in an instant, demonstrating the terrifying power of that Press Kill.
"Xiao Wu!" Tang San called out sharply. With a flick of his wrist, a beam of pink light flew precisely toward Xiao Wu. She caught it in her mouth — it was one of the Excitement Pink Sausages from Oscar's newly acquired fourth soul skill.
No words were needed. Through the pull of the Blue Silver Grass, Tang San had already directed Xiao Wu toward her target — the smallest member of the opposing team.
At this very moment, Tang San was pushing his field-control abilities to the absolute limit. First, he had saved Zhu Zhuqing from Hu Yan Li's Press Kill at the last possible instant, while simultaneously directing the two to execute their Martial Soul Fusion Technique, then released the Blue Silver Grass from their waists. At the same time, he guided Jing Ling and Huang Yuan toward the same Elephant Armor Sect disciple. Then he took the Excitement Pink Sausage from Oscar and hurled it to Xiao Wu using a Hidden Weapons technique, while launching her body toward the weakest opponent. The entire sequence was accomplished in virtually a single instant. Tang San himself hadn't even noticed that at this moment, he had subconsciously activated the Three Apertures Mind ability of Split Attention Control.
Tiger roars erupted from Dai Mubai's mouth. Accompanied by the savage cries, Dai Mubai — already in his White Tiger Diamond Transformation state — swelled even further, white fur laced with black tiger stripes bursting wildly from within his body.
Zhu Zhuqing was enveloped in a faint black glow, her figure flickering until she appeared almost translucent as she drifted silently toward Dai Mubai.
A faint smile crossed Dai Mubai's face. His twin pupils merged into one as he opened his arms to receive Zhu Zhuqing's ethereal form. The two figures silently fused into one.
A massive black pillar of light, three meters in diameter, shot skyward the instant their bodies merged, and an incredibly terrifying tiger roar swept across the entire arena. In that moment, not only were the spectators in the stands stunned — even the teams competing on the four adjacent stages found their movements sluggish, instinctively glancing toward where the black light had erupted.
The black light dissipated as it burst outward, and with it, the figures of Zhu Zhuqing and Dai Mubai vanished. In the very spot where their bodies had merged, a gigantic White Tiger appeared with elegant poise. The tiger was translucent throughout, with white fur, black stripes, and twin purple eyes, coldly watching Hu Yan Li as he clawed his way to his feet, covered head to toe in dust.
The last time, the Netherwhite Tiger had been eight meters long and two meters tall. This time, it had reached a terrifying ten meters in length and three meters in height. Though the Elephant Armor Sect's members were each staggeringly large, they looked utterly dwarfed before this horrifyingly massive White Tiger.
Unlike last time, when it had immediately unleashed the explosive Martial Soul Fusion Technique — the Netherwhite Tiger Break — upon appearing, the enormous White Tiger simply charged straight at Hu Yan Li. From its broad back, a pair of massive wings unfurled, and its already colossal body glided through the air toward him.
A winged tiger, wings sprouting from its flanks. The terrifying pressure was so immense that even Hu Yan Li, who had already activated his Soul Bone, felt he could barely breathe.
The last time they had performed this Martial Soul Fusion Technique, Zhu Zhuqing hadn't yet reached level thirty, but now both she and Dai Mubai had surpassed level forty. The power of a Martial Soul Fusion Technique grew in proportion to its casters' strength. They were no longer limited to a single explosive strike. The great White Tiger was poised and unhurried as it lunged directly at Hu Yan Li.
At that moment, Jing Ling and Huang Yuan's attacks simultaneously poured down upon one opponent's head. The Blue Silver Prison on that opponent burst open instantly. On the other side, a remarkable transformation overtook Xiao Wu.
The Blue Silver Prison opened just the same, but Xiao Wu's entire body was now suffused with a dazzling pink glow. Her petite frame seemed to have swelled slightly, causing her sleeves and pant legs around the calves to burst at the seams. She landed with exquisite grace on the shoulders of the Elephant Armor Sect's weakest member, her two feet clamping around the opponent's neck in an inward-pointing stance. The next instant, her Waist Bow activated.
With Xiao Wu's original strength, she wouldn't have been able to throw this opponent, even with her Waist Bow — the opponent's weight was simply too great, and his strength equally staggering. But with Tang San's precise calculations, Xiao Wu — having consumed the Excitement Pink Sausage — experienced an instantaneous boost in explosive power. Coupled with her Soul Power being one or two levels above her opponent's, she was a perfect match for this weakest Elephant Armor Sect disciple.
Watching Xiao Wu's still-slender figure flip through the air, swinging that massive body with devastating force before slamming it heavily into the ground — the pressure on this Elephant Armor Sect disciple's neck was unimaginable. Unfortunately, what still commanded the entire arena's attention was the colossal Netherwhite Tiger overhead; otherwise, Xiao Wu's strike would undoubtedly have left a deep impression on everyone watching.
Hu Yan Li certainly wasn't going to stand there and take it. As Tang San's Soul Power was being steadily consumed, his brothers were on the verge of breaking free from the control. Relying on his weight of five hundred jin, Hu Yan Li dropped into a crouch, raising both arms simultaneously to block the two massive tiger claws lunging toward him.
(End of chapter)