Blue Silver Grass was indeed tough—especially when reinforced through the Spider Web Binding, its resilience was extraordinary. Tang San poured every ounce of his Soul Power into the defense, shielding all seven members of his team without a single gap. But no matter how tenacious Blue Silver Grass was, it was still nothing more than a vine-like blade of grass.
The Martial Soul Fusion Technique unleashed by two Soul Masters at the fortieth rank was not one bit inferior in power to a Soul Skill executed by a sixtieth-rank Soul Master.
Ice Snow Drifting did not possess the sheer brute force of a Nether White Tiger, but its strength lay in its relentless, unending assault.
Amid the ear-splitting friction that set teeth on edge, the sticky and resilient Spider Web Binding had already begun to show signs of fracturing.
Countless snowflakes whittled away at every corner of Tang San's defense like a meat grinder, and under those snowflake blades sharper than any edged weapon, the outermost layer of defense was swiftly carved apart and shattered.
What Ice Snow Drifting would erode next was Tang San's ten-thousand-year Soul Ring technique—Blue Silver Prison.
When Tang San had first mastered Blue Silver Prison, he could release at most seven at once. In terms of individual toughness, a single Blue Silver Prison was inferior to the Spider Web Binding. But it excelled in that it could be deployed instantly at the opponent's exact position, and it provided crowd control.
As Tang San's Three Apertures Mastery Heart gradually matured, he had incorporated a great many techniques into the application of this fourth Soul Skill. It was, after all, a ten-thousand-year Soul Ring technique, and its operability far exceeded that of the Spider Web Binding.
The reason Tang San could deploy over a dozen Blue Silver Prisons was not because his Soul Power had increased by some great margin, but rather because he precisely calibrated the Soul Power released for each individual prison during combat.
In other words, the Blue Silver Prisons that all looked identical actually differed in effect—those that used more Soul Power were tougher, while those that used less were somewhat more fragile. By adjusting the power of each prison according to the threat posed by his opponents, Tang San could dramatically conserve his own Soul Power.
That was why, when he detected the opponent's Martial Soul Fusion Technique being unleashed, he was still able to layer multiple Blue Silver Prisons over the group to protect them all. This was the full extent of his effort—everything he had.
The seemingly delicate snowflakes clashed against the outermost Blue Silver Prison, and to the astonishment of the crowd, they were ground to pieces. Compared to the supple Spider Web Binding, the rigid Blue Silver Prison proved far more effective at resisting the cutting force of Ice Snow Drifting.
Flexibility feared sharpness, and sharpness feared solidity. Perhaps that was the underlying principle.
If anyone could have seen Shui Bing'er's face inside the pillar of blue light at that moment, they would have noticed that her expression had turned extremely grim. Although she had already rated Tang San quite highly before this match, his adaptability and reaction speed still caught her completely off guard.
Shui Bing'er was the lead in the Ice Snow Drifting fusion technique, so she could clearly feel the resistance the snow encountered with every strike.
She had seen Tang San layer the Blue Silver Prisons—seven tiers in total. The first tier had already been shattered under her assault, but Shui Bing'er realized that if things continued at this rate, then by the time she and Xue Wu had exhausted their Soul Power, they might not even have broken through all of Tang San's defenses.
A ten-thousand-year Soul Skill really was something else entirely. Even though it was a Control Type, its defensive capability was this formidable. The Blue Silver Prisons looked nothing spectacular, but their practicality was jaw-dropping.
They had already used a Martial Soul Fusion Technique. If they still couldn't win this match, then what hope would Tianshui Academy have of ever defeating Shrek Academy down the line?
A piercing phoenix cry rang out from the blue pillar of light that soared into the sky. Tang San suddenly felt the pressure lighten as the snow, which had been spiraling like a tornado mid-air, shot upward.
Hearing that brilliant phoenix cry and sensing the reduced physical assault but a far more oppressive mental pressure, Tang San suddenly understood.
Ice Phoenix—Shui Bing'er's Martial Soul was the Ice Phoenix, one of the pinnacle martial souls.
No wonder her Soul Skill control was so formidable. No wonder she could wield such a Martial Soul Fusion Technique. Her martial soul turned out to be this tyrannical and powerful.
Both were phoenixes, and the Ice Phoenix was in no way inferior to Huo Wu's Fire Phoenix. They represented two opposite extremes, yet both were peak existences. In terms of raw power, Shui Bing'er actually held a slight edge over Huo Wu.
And she had something Huo Wu did not—a fusion technique partner in Xue Wu.
Mid-air, the snow converged and gradually took shape. A colossal blue phoenix, seven meters long from beak to tail, materialized from thin air.
Unlike the fourth Soul Skill Huo Wu had used the other day, this Ice Phoenix appeared extraordinarily vivid and nearly solid. Its bright, piercing eyes and elegant tail feathers were breathtakingly beautiful.
The magnificent blue phoenix descended from the sky without so much as a wisp of worldly fire, dissolving into a dazzling streak of ice-blue radiance as it drifted gracefully downward.