Chapter 502: Five Years of Change (Part 1)

The two were still talking, but their bodies were already moving, subtly shifting to approach Tang San from two different directions. Meanwhile, Zhu Zhuqing had silently pulled Ning Rongrong to a spot ten meters behind him. The three of them had Tang San hemmed in a loose triangular formation, clearly intending to leave him no chance of escape.

Tang San said helplessly, "Five years apart, and this is how you greet your brother?"

Even as he spoke, he immediately sensed two more powerful auras erupting behind him. Without needing to look, he knew—Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong had also released their Martial Souls.

He instinctively glanced sideways, catching a glimpse from the corner of his eye, and inwardly startled.

If Dai Mubai having broken through to rank sixty was still within his expectations, then both Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong having obtained six Soul Rings was something he hadn't anticipated.

Both bore the same arrangement—two yellow, two purple, two black—as the radiant glow of six Soul Rings blazed around each of them.

Ning Rongrong's Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Tower seemed to have grown slightly larger, its six halos pulsing up and down in rhythm, casting a dazzling and resplendent brilliance that was nothing short of magnificent.

Zhu Zhuqing, after releasing her Martial Soul, seemed to grow even colder. An almost illusory quality now enveloped her entire frame. Though she stood perfectly still, her complete form seemed impossible to pin down.

Three out of four of his companions had broken through rank sixty. Even as Tang San marvelled at their progress, a flicker of dissatisfaction crept into his heart regarding his own advancement.

The truth was, his training hadn't been slow during the first two years he'd spent cultivating under Tang Hao.

But the two years of killing in Slaughter City, followed by his final year of refinement at Moon Pavilion, had elevated him in entirely different respects—his Soul Power cultivation had consequently lagged behind.

Zhu Zhuqing had always been the enduring, tenacious type, and she had reaped tremendous benefits from the immortal herb Tang San had provided her years ago. As for Ning Rongrong, these past five years she had trained day and night, driven by the desperate need to free herself from the pain of longing, and had only recently broken through the rank sixty threshold herself.

The moment she completed her breakthrough, Ning Fengzhi had already announced within the clan that she would be the next sect master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan.

Feeling the strides his companions had made, a surge of bold pride suddenly swelled in Tang San's chest. He hadn't reached rank sixty yet, but his own progress was no less significant than theirs!

With that thought, Tang San couldn't help but let out a long, resonant cry. "You don't believe who I am? Then let my strength speak for itself. Apart from us Shrek Seven Devils, who else could possibly wield this kind of power?"

Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun had no intention of standing around exchanging words. With Tang San's safety weighing on their minds, the two moved almost simultaneously.

Dai Mubai slid forward with a swift step, golden light erupting across his entire body as his first Soul Skill—White Tiger Protective Barrier—released its energy. At the same time, his body surged forward with explosive acceleration, tiger claws spreading wide as he charged head-on at Tang San.

"Halt." A deep, low voice rang out from Tang San's lips. Four clusters of blue light burst up from different spots on the ground—the Blue Silver Emperor's ten-thousand-year fourth Soul Skill, Blue Silver Prison.

Four cages of Blue Silver Emperor energy enfolded the bodies of Dai Mubai and the other three simultaneously. Even the charging Dai Mubai froze in place, all four of them halting in the same instant.

Even the blazing Phoenix flames wreathing Ma Hongjun's body were completely suppressed in that moment.

Appearances could be faked, but Soul Skills could not.

By now, Tang San had released his Blue Silver Emperor, and the stark black color of his fourth Soul Ring immediately caught Dai Mubai's eye, giving him a jolt of shock.

But Dai Mubai's tiger claws still instinctively raked toward the Blue Silver Prison before him.

It was then that a layer of brilliant blue radiance unfurled from Tang San's body—the Blue Silver Domain had appeared.

The greenery around the entrance to Shrek Academy was quite well-maintained, and wherever there was greenery, the tenacious Blue Silver Grass was never far behind. The instant the Blue Silver Domain was released, Tang San felt his mind connect with every blade of Blue Silver Grass in his surroundings.

Guided by the imperial aura of the Blue Silver Emperor, every stalk of Blue Silver Grass erupted into frenzied growth, transforming in the blink of an eye into Blue Silver Emperor stalks that rapidly spread around the Blue Silver Prison he had cast, intertwining with its structure.

In that instant, all four Blue Silver Prisons turned a resplendent gold. Dai Mubai's razor-sharp tiger claws struck against their surface but were forcefully rebounded.

Zhu Zhuqing met the same fate, and as for Ma Hongjun, he was suppressed even more thoroughly—Tang San's Blue Silver Emperor had been nourished by the supreme fire-type immortal herb, the Blazing Apricot. Though Ma Hongjun's Phoenix flames were formidable, incinerating Tang San's Blue Silver Emperor was simply out of the question.

"Looks and bearing can change," Tang San said. "But can my abilities change too? Boss Dai, take a good look."