After Possession, Zhu Zhuqing's eyes changed color simultaneously—her left eye turning dark green, her right eye a clear blue. The long hair on her head settled naturally against her back, and as her body moved, she trailed a series of faint afterimages, making it nearly impossible to pin down her exact position. Her attacks were also extraordinarily sharp. Her claws targeted vital points exclusively, forcing Zhao Wuji to release his own Martial Soul.
Zhu Zhuqing's timing was exquisite to perfection—it struck at the very instant when Zhao Wuji's power relaxed after shattering Tang San's Blue Silver Grass and pulling Xiao Wu's body back. Otherwise, her attack power alone would not have been sufficient to break through Zhao Wuji's defenses.
However, once Zhao Wuji completed his Martial Soul Possession, Zhu Zhuqing's attacks were no longer so effective. Zhao Wuji's body was as if forged from steel—even her cat claws at full force could only manage to tear through the clothes on his body.
Xiao Wu's Soft Technique hit a wall for the first time. No matter how much force she applied, she simply could not move Zhao Wuji's body even an inch. Even when she flipped backward and struck the backs of Zhao Wuji's knee joints with both hands, it still had no effect.
Xiao Wu was growing desperate, but at this moment she had absolutely no way to deal with her opponent.
In truth, it wasn't that Xiao Wu's Soft Technique was weak—it was that her technique happened to be completely countered by Zhao Wuji. The skill granted by her first Soul Ring required her to control her opponent's body through flexibility before it could be unleashed, producing a one-hit-kill effect. But the gap between her strength and Zhao Wuji's was simply too vast—even with Tang San's help, controlling Zhao Wuji was out of the question. Unless her Soul Power could reach a level comparable to Zhao Wuji's, her Soft Technique would remain least effective against a power-focused Soul Master like him.
With his Blue Silver Grass shattered, Tang San's face turned pale instantly. But at this moment he didn't hesitate in the slightest—he surged forward in a single lunge, and thick vines appeared on Zhao Wuji's body once more, causing his body to stiffen for a brief moment just as he was about to exert force. This was none other than the second Soul Ring skill of Blue Silver Grass—Parasitism—taking effect.
Seizing this brief window, Tang San had already arrived in front of Zhao Wuji, while Zhu Zhuqing silently appeared behind him—one cat claw striking at his throat, the other at the base of his ear, both targeting the most vulnerable points on the human body.
Before Zhao Wuji could break free from the Blue Silver Grass, Tang San suddenly threw a punch straight at his chest.
Zhao Wuji laughed heartily, making no hurry to free himself from the Blue Silver Grass. He thrust his chest forward—clearly, he wanted to see just how much strength Tang San had.
A glint flashed in the depths of Tang San's eyes, and Zhao Wuji's laughter came to an abrupt halt. He was startled to discover that Tang San's seemingly full-power punch had landed on his chest feeling as light as nothing at all, while because he had concentrated his Soul Power to push forward against his chest, he suddenly felt as though he had applied force in the wrong direction.
With Tang San and Xiao Wu's strength alone, they were naturally insufficient to move Zhao Wuji's body—but if it was his own force, that was a different matter entirely.
Tang San's extended right fist suddenly transformed into an open palm, and with a backward pull, Crane Control Dragon Catch was executed in the very instant Zhao Wuji's force went awry, sending his body stumbling forward. At the same time, Tang San's right foot shot forward, kicking the tip of Zhao Wuji's toe. Even with Zhao Wuji's formidable Soul Power, he lost his balance under these circumstances.
Tang San's timing was no less impeccable than Zhu Zhuqing's. Through the ingenuity of Crane Control Dragon Catch, he had effectively used his own strength combined with Zhao Wuji's own force to move Zhao Wuji's body.
"Up!" Tang San bellowed, channeling all the power in both arms, and actually lifted Zhao Wuji's body clean off the ground.
"Xiao Wu!" With Zhao Wuji completely off the ground for the first time, Xiao Wu's technique finally had room to take effect.
Her two slender legs instantly wrapped around Zhao Wuji's waist, her hands seized his ankles, and the first Soul Ring on her body blazed with brilliant light. Just like that, she spun Zhao Wuji's body violently through the air three full rotations, leaving him head-downward, crashing heavily toward the ground.
Although Zhu Zhuqing's earlier attacks had failed to produce any destructive effect, they had nonetheless disrupted Zhao Wuji's ability to react. Combined, the strength of all three had finally completed this attack.
A thick vine formed of Blue Silver Grass wrapped around Xiao Wu's waist at the very instant before her body, carrying Zhao Wuji's, was about to slam into the ground. Zhao Wuji crashed headfirst into the earth in a spinning fall, while Xiao Wu was suddenly lifted away by Tang San's Blue Silver Grass, making a graceful turn in the air before drifting gently downward.
BOOM—Zhao Wuji's massive body, empowered by Martial Soul Possession, slammed into the ground with devastating force. His entire head had actually sunk completely into the earth.
Xiao Wu drifted down gently, landing right on Tang San's shoulder—her single foot perched on his right shoulder, both arms extended to maintain her balance, gasping for air in deep breaths.
She had given everything she had in that attack. Had it not been for Tang San's ingenious Crane Control Dragon Catch, she would never have been able to execute that devastating finishing throw—a Soft Technique that combined the skills of both her Soul Rings.
"Xiao San, did we hit too hard?" Xiao Wu asked nervously.
Tang San shook his head. "Teacher Zhao hasn't even used his Soul Skills yet."
He glanced at the incense stick on the ground nearby. At this point, only a third of the incense had burned. Yet in their previous combined attack, Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Zhu Zhuqing had given absolutely everything they had, using every trick in their arsenal.
Tang San quickly retracted the Blue Silver Grass parasitically attached to Zhao Wuji's body. He had no intention of letting his Blue Silver Grass get shattered by his opponent again—although it consumed relatively little Soul Power, having it destroyed repeatedly still took a significant toll on his reserves.
Zhao Wuji braced both arms against the ground and pulled his head free.
Tang San and the others hadn't gotten a good look before, and it was only now that they could clearly see what he looked like with Martial Soul Possession active.
Zhao Wuji's entire body was covered in a thick layer of brown fur, his height had exceeded two and a half meters, his muscles coiled and bulging across his frame, his amber eyes radiating an overbearing aura. Seven Soul Rings pulsed rhythmically around his body.
(End of Chapter)