Good lord, both of them had unleashed their fifth Soul Skills—were they trying to settle this once and for all? No, Tang San immediately saw through their true purpose. The reason Huo Wushuang and his sister had gone all out, burning through their Soul Power to unleash such devastating attacks, wasn't to defeat him in a single blow. It was to buy time for Feng Xiaotian, who was already soaring into the air.
Even though Feng Xiaotian's Gale Devilwolf Thirty-Six Consecutive Slashes had lost to Tang San's Chaotic Wind Hammer Technique back in the day, its power was still formidable. Tang San wasn't facing just one opponent today. If Feng Xiaotian was given enough time to stack up his attack power, while Tang San himself was pinned down by Huo Wuhuo and Huo Wushuang and unable to use the Chaotic Wind Hammer Technique to build up force, then Feng Xiaotian would have every confidence of breaking him. This was a tactic they had rehearsed many times, and because Tang San had proven unexpectedly powerful, they had finally resorted to it.
The first to reach Tang San were five fireball meteors. His body flickered as he executed the Ghost Shadow Phantom Trail, and his Killing God Domain erupted in an instant—its ferocious killing intent forcibly shattering the lock Huo Wuhuo had established on his body. As he slipped through the gaps between those five fireballs, his right hand swept out, and a pale green sphere of light shot skyward. His third Soul Skill, Web Binding, was released, chasing after Feng Xiaotian who had already risen high into the air.
At that moment, the second wave of fireball meteors had already arrived before Tang San, accompanied by Huo Wushuang.
A sharp light flickered in Tang San's eyes. His form flickered as he retreated rapidly, and simultaneously, as his fifth Soul Ring blazed to life, his right arm was bathed in a radiant golden glow.
The Shrek students watching from the sidelines would hardly forget the deep impression the Blue Silver Overlord Spear had left on them back then. Every one of them held their breath, eyes fixed intently on the scene.
A golden spear, three meters long, materialized along Tang San's right arm. The fireball meteors were fast, but they couldn't match his speed. With the boost from the Blue Silver Emperor's right leg bone, Tang San had even competed in pure speed against the Agility-type clan. The velocity he could reach now was beyond what Huo Wuhuo and the others could possibly imagine.
In midair, Feng Xiaotian had already begun his Gale Devilwolf Thirty-Six Consecutive Slashes. Seeing the web hurtling toward him, his body spun abruptly, and his razor-sharp wings slashed outward, attempting to sever it.
But once again, he experienced the toughness of the evolved Blue Silver Emperor. With the power behind Feng Xiaotian's Thirty-Six Consecutive Slashes, he might have been able to barely cut through ordinary Blue Silver Emperor vines. But he forgot—Web Binding doubled the toughness of the Blue Silver Emperor. His wing strike failed to cut through, and instead the web harnessing his own momentum rushed toward him with startling speed, wrapping around his body. His custom Soul Technique was instantly interrupted.
Feng Xiaotian let out an unwilling growl. He knew all too well that the Web Binding carried poison—if he was truly ensnared, there would be no point in continuing the fight. Left with no choice, he was forced to pause his Gale Devilwolf Thirty-Six Consecutive Slashes, and his fifth Soul Ring erupted instantly. A powerful layer of cyan light burst from his body, transforming into countless razor-sharp, seemingly solid wind blades that exploded into a blinding tornado, shredding the web around him to pieces.
Feng Shuang Wolf's fifth Soul Skill—Tornado Wind Blade.
Huo Wushuang had grown impatient with Tang San's constant retreat. He skidded to a halt, both hands circling in front of his body before thrusting forward. The fifth Soul Skill hovering around him—a fire dragon that served as both offense and defense—roared to life and charged straight at Tang San. The fire dragon's explosive power was extraordinary, not only closing in on Tang San at tremendous speed but even his Killing God Domain couldn't dispel its lock.
Huo Wuhuo cooperated with her brother in perfect sync, directing the remaining fireballs to flank Tang San from both sides. Unable to lock on directly, she used her spiritual power to control them instead. The effect was equally devastating. In an instant, the brother and sister had placed Tang San in a killing zone.
And the golden light was released in that very same moment—Tang San's fifth Soul Skill, the Blue Silver Overlord Spear, detonated.
A flash of golden light vanished as quickly as it appeared, and the fire dragon froze in midair. No matter how hard Huo Wushuang tried to command it, the dragon refused to move a single inch. But the golden light that had pierced through it traced an arc through the sky, hurtling toward Feng Xiaotian, who had just stabilized himself and was beginning his Gale Devilwolf Thirty-Six Consecutive Slashes once more. Though the golden light had been weakened by half after passing through the fire dragon, that piercing sharpness and unstoppable momentum still brought Feng Xiaotian a suffocating sensation.
His Gale Devilwolf Thirty-Six Consecutive Slashes had only completed a single rotation, and he knew he couldn't withstand such a locked-on attack. Helplessly, he had to stop for a second time, unleashing his fifth Soul Skill once more. Relying on the precisely controlled Tornado Wind Blades—wave after wave of impact—combined with his backward retreat in midair, he barely managed to neutralize the remaining force of the Blue Silver Overlord Spear.
At the same time, not far in front of Tang San, the condensed fire dragon exploded alongside the detonating fireball meteors, transforming into a rain of fire amid thunderous booms. But the original target of that attack—Tang San—had vanished.
Tang San had only disappeared from Huo Wushuang's sight, not from Huo Wuhuo's. Because when he reappeared, he materialized exactly between Huo Wushuang and his sister, a mere single step from Huo Wuhuo.
Seeing Tang San suddenly enlarged before her eyes, Huo Wuhuo was utterly startled. Almost without hesitation, she unleashed her Rejecting Fire Ring. She had no confidence in facing Tang San head-on.
But with the release of the Rejecting Fire Ring, Tang San vanished once more. No matter how fast Huo Wuhuo's third Soul Skill activated, it could never match the speed of his Instant Transmission.
This time, when Tang San reappeared, he was directly behind Huo Wuhuo. Glistening, thick Blue Silver Grass whipped around the female Soul King's body. The tiny, sharp barbs pierced through her clothing and sank into her skin—which was still weakened from the recent use of the Rejecting Fire Ring, her Soul Power at its lowest.
A fierce numbing sensation spread through Huo Wuhuo's entire body. With her physical capabilities, how could she possibly break free from the Blue Silver Emperor's grip?
By now Huo Wushuang had reacted as well, and Feng Xiaotian in the air was frustrated beyond measure. Forgoing any further power accumulation, he dove downward, his razor-sharp wings slashing directly at Tang San.
Tang San made a single simple motion, and once again Feng Xiaotian's custom Soul Technique was terminated. The Blue Silver Emperor swung, and the thoroughly bound Huo Wuhuo hurtled toward Feng Xiaotian like a meteor hammer. Never doubt Tang San's accuracy—using Huo Wuhuo as a giant projectile, his Hidden Weapon technique wouldn't miss by even a fraction.
A brilliant blue-gold radiance erupted from the ground as Huo Wushuang charged toward Tang San, his figure suddenly sluggish as the blue-gold light devoured him.
Tang San's fourth Soul Skill, Blue Silver Prison's variant—Blue Silver Thrust Array—was unleashed.
In the next instant, Tang San was face to face with Huo Wushuang. Instant Transmission once more. The Blue Silver Emperor and those dazzling six Soul Rings vanished, replaced by the Clear Sky Hammer descending from his hands.
Huo Wushuang, already thrown off balance by Huo Wuhuo's capture, had converted all of his defensive Soul Power into offensive energy concentrated in his fists. Though the dizziness was brief, by the time he recovered, all he could see was the Clear Sky Hammer growing before his eyes.
This Soul King who possessed the Single-Horned Fire Dragon could only grunt as Tang San's hammer smashed him unconscious on the spot. And that was Tang San holding back. If his opponent had been someone from Spirit Hall, this single strike could have been fatal.
Feng Xiaotian felt as though he might cough up blood. His Gale Devilwolf Thirty-Six Consecutive Slashes had evolved over the past five years into Fifty-Four Consecutive Slashes—he believed them to be tremendously powerful. But no matter how devastating a skill was, it was useless if you couldn't execute it. Tang San had forcibly interrupted his technique three consecutive times and forced him to burn through his high-consumption fifth Soul Skill twice. Now, though he had caught Huo Wuhuo, all he could do was watch helplessly as Huo Wushuang crumpled beneath Tang San's hammer.
A purple-gold light suddenly erupted from Tang San's eyes. Feng Xiaotian, alarmed, tried to dodge, but the radiance had already swept past him.
The luminous glow slowly receded from Tang San's eyes, and his calm voice rang out. "Do you want to continue? Or would you rather test your technique against my Chaotic Wind Hammer once more?"
Feng Xiaotian descended to the ground, looking down at Huo Wuhuo in his arms—the Blue Silver Emperor binding her body had already disappeared when Tang San struck Huo Wushuang down. All that remained on his face was bitterness. Five years of effort—for what? Wasn't it all so he could surpass the man before him, prove to Huo Wuhuo that he was stronger, and earn the right to marry her? But today, five years later, he was still the one who lost. The gap hadn't shrunk despite all his hard work—if anything, it had grown even wider.
Though Huo Wuhuo's face was twisted with unwillingness, she knew Tang San had shown mercy. She didn't know what that purple-gold flash had been, but she had clearly felt the overwhelming spiritual pressure behind it. Whether it had struck her or Feng Xiaotian, the consequences would have been unpleasant. Especially for her—her body still hadn't recovered from the numbness.
Ma Hongjun burst into hearty laughter, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Shrek forever! Shrek is victorious!"
His voice snapped the entranced spectators from their stupor, and in an instant, the cries of "Shrek forever! Shrek is victorious!" erupted, echoing through nearly every corner of the academy.
Tang San had long since reached a state where praise and humiliation could no longer sway him. He reached down, grabbed Huo Wushuang from the ground, and struck several times on his shoulder, using the Mysterious Heaven Skill to stimulate the circulation of his blood. Only then did Huo Wushuang regain consciousness. Looking at Tang San, his face flushed red. No matter how unwilling he was, he knew—they had lost this match. Lost completely, and it had been three against one!
Once Tang San confirmed Huo Wushuang could stand steadily, he walked over to the dejected Feng Xiaotian and Huo Wuhuo. A vine of Blue Silver Emperor extended, touching Huo Wuhuo's arm, and he withdrew the paralytic toxin he had injected into her body.
Huo Wuhuo's natural resistance to toxins had always been high, and with Tang San's assistance, the numbness throughout her body vanished immediately.
The Four Elements Academy students, who had been strutting with arrogance moments ago, now hung their heads low.
Feng Xiaotian sighed. "It seems like I'll never surpass you in this lifetime."
Tang San turned his gaze toward Xiao Wu, who looked a bit flustered by the cheers in the distance, and let out a soft sigh. "If only Xiao Wu could return to normal—I'd give up all my cultivation without a second thought. A Soul Master's strength is important, but to me, she matters more."
Seeing the lonely sorrow in Tang San's expression and the fleeting grief deep in his eyes, Feng Xiaotian's heart stirred. His gaze instinctively drifted to Huo Wuhuo beside him. That's right—he had already obtained the most precious thing. Why let this one defeat weigh on him?
Huo Wuhuo couldn't help asking, "What's wrong with Xiao Wu? She doesn't seem quite right."
Tang San didn't answer her question. "Brother Feng, shall we find somewhere to talk?"
Feng Xiaotian nodded. "That's exactly what I was thinking. Huo Wuhuo, you and Wushuang take everyone back first. I'll have a chat with Tang San."
Huo Wuhuo replied stubbornly, "No, I want to hear this too. Let Big Brother take them back."
Feng Xiaotian had never been able to handle Huo Wuhuo. He looked at Tang San helplessly. Tang San said mildly, "Then come along."
Huo Wushuang led the Four Elements Academy students away with a somewhat sheepish air. The Shrek Academy teachers naturally wouldn't miss this opportunity to teach their students a lesson. Of course, none of that was something Tang San and the others needed to worry about.
The Shrek Five Devils brought Feng Xiaotian and Huo Wuhuo to their wooden cottage. Tang San took Xiao Wu's hand once more, and the uneasy panic she had shown earlier vanished the moment she touched him.
Huo Wuhuo kept glancing at Xiao Wu, but in her eyes, Xiao Wu showed no reaction whatsoever—as if they had never met. Huo Wuhuo's curiosity had always been intense, and she wanted to ask, but Feng Xiaotian stopped her with a look.
Back in the cottage, they found the largest room and took their seats. There was no real enmity between them, and since Tang San had just defeated them, Oscar, Ma Hongjun, and Ning Rongrong naturally harbored no strong hostility toward them anymore.
The moment Feng Xiaotian sat down, he addressed Tang San. "Tang San, believe it or not, the earlier confrontation with your academy's students wasn't us deliberately picking a fight. Perhaps it's because Shrek Academy's reputation as the number one academy in the world is so overwhelming that the students have become a bit arrogant as well."
Oscar chimed in from the side, "That still doesn't explain how it escalated the way it did. If I'm not mistaken, you deliberately let the Four Elements Academy students provoke us to draw us out."
Feng Xiaotian looked at Oscar with some surprise, thinking to himself that the Shrek Seven Devils' brilliance had mostly been overshadowed by Tang San in the past—this Oscar was no ordinary person either. It wasn't just the aura about him, but his mind was equally sharp.