Otherwise, it would only drain his and Hu Liena's Soul Power even faster, putting them at a disadvantage. His only option now was to take out Tang San first while the Martial Soul Fusion Technique's control zone still held, then pivot to help his teammates deal with the rest of Shrek Academy.
Xie Yue believed that even without himself and his sister, their side's strength was still far beyond what Shrek Academy could match. The situation may have slipped out of control, but victory would still be theirs. The moment he killed Tang San would be the moment the battle was decided.
What surprised Xie Yue, however, was that during his brief moment of stunned silence, Tang San hadn't attacked him. When Xie Yue snapped back to his senses and looked toward Tang San again, an extraordinary transformation had already taken place.
The scene inside the red mist was visible only to Xie Yue. To his shock, he discovered that eight thick, sinister long legs had sprouted from Tang San's back, just a short distance away.
Each leg was over four meters long, as thick as an arm, lustrous purple-black, and tipped with curved barbs that glinted with cold light. Every leg was segmented into two parts, and the needle-sharp tips were like unstoppable spears.
Soul Bone? In an instant, Xie Yue had deduced the origin of the Eight Spider Lances on Tang San's back. Before the match, they had studied Tang San's Soul Skills in great detail. Tang San had only four Soul Rings, and apart from the Chaotic Wind Hammer Technique—a self-created skill of the Clear Sky School—all four of Tang San's Soul Skills were already burned into their minds. Now, with such an obvious transformation occurring in his body, it clearly wasn't something a Soul Skill could produce. The only explanation was a Soul Bone. Erupting from his back—could it be a torso Soul Bone?
Xie Yue immediately pushed aside his plan to finish Tang San quickly. Although his opponent's Soul Power was significantly weaker than his own, the appearance of this Soul Bone had undoubtedly narrowed the gap between them. His greatest advantage now was still the Martial Soul Fusion Technique's debuff on Tang San. Xie Yue believed that as long as he was careful, he could not only complete the task the Pope had assigned, but still have enough reserve strength to help his partners.
But was it really as easy as he imagined?
The reason Tang San hadn't seized the moment to attack earlier was that he had used that brief window to release his external Soul Bone—the Eight Spider Lances.
The moment they appeared, Tang San felt his entire body lighten. The Eight Spider Lances' amplification effect directly neutralized the debuff from the opponent's Martial Soul Fusion Technique.
Xie Yue and Hu Liena's Martial Soul Fusion Technique relied primarily on the fusion of charm and Soul Power. When Tang San had discussed it with the Great Master the day before, he told the Great Master that he was willing to face these two powerhouses on his own—not because he had great confidence in his own strength, but precisely because of this Martial Soul Fusion Technique. He had actually been hoping the opponents would use it right from the start.
Once they activated the Martial Soul Fusion Technique, Xie Yue and Hu Liena couldn't use any other skills. And charm had absolutely no effect on Tang San, who possessed the Purple Extreme Demon Eye. So when Tang San ventured deep into the red mist, the influence he suffered was far less severe than Xie Yue had estimated. With the Purple Extreme Demon Eye, he could see everything around him with perfect clarity.
This was the first time the Eight Spider Lances appeared on the battlefield after absorbing the second Man-Faced Demon Spider's energy. In previous matches, there had been fleeting glimpses, but under Tang San's deliberate control, he had always held this powerful ability in reserve.
The four lower spider legs lifted Tang San's body into the air. Now extending to four meters, the Eight Spider Lances looked even more terrifying—especially the newly grown barbs, which shimmered with a layer of eerie blue light. The lethal poison they contained was the combined result of a hundred-year Man-Faced Demon Spider and a thousand-year Man-Faced Spider, further refined through Tang San's body by the Eight-Angle Ice Jade Grass and the Blazing Apricot Tender Shoot—the two supreme spirit herbs of extreme cold and extreme heat. Not even Dugu Bo would dare claim he could definitely neutralize this kind of toxin.
At the same time, after absorbing the second Man-Faced Demon Spider's energy, the Eight Spider Lances had fully evolved. They had not only grown larger but also become far more resilient and terrifying. They boosted Tang San's strength and agility from two different aspects. And the utility of the Eight Spider Lances themselves was immense.
During the Shrek Seven Devils' regular training, once Tang San deployed the Eight Spider Lances, even Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing using the Ghostly White Tiger couldn't defeat him. With the Eight Spider Lances' assistance, Tang San's burst power became absolutely terrifying—whether it was burst damage or burst speed.
This was the atmosphere Tang San and the Great Master had wanted to create: Tang San facing Xie Yue and Hu Liena's Martial Soul Fusion Technique was essentially one person standing against two opponents above level fifty. Without the ability to use Hidden Weapons, Tang San could normally only fight one of them even with the external Soul Bone, but the Martial Soul Fusion Technique had backfired on them, trapping them in a state where they couldn't use any other skills.
Though his Soul Power was vastly reduced, with his skills and the Eight Spider Lances, Tang San was far from helpless.
As for the battle outside, that would depend on how the other six of the Shrek Seven Devils performed.
Dai Mubai's tiger claws snapped out with a sharp metallic clang, and he lunged toward Yan below.
As a member of Spirit Hall's Golden Generation, Yan's combat ability was exceptional. Despite watching the six Shrek members fly free of Xie Yue and Hu Liena's Martial Soul Fusion Technique's domain, he showed not a trace of panic. Blazing dark-red flames erupted from his body. Simultaneously, under the effect of his first two Soul Rings, his body swelled violently.
His upper-body clothing shattered instantly. Yan's muscles bulged like granite, and in the span of a heartbeat, his body had expanded to over three meters—far larger than even Dai Mubai after using the White Tiger Diamond Transformation.
His twin fists collided with a resonant boom. And in stark contrast to the scorching flames wreathing his body, his eyes grew ever colder.