He Didn't Hold Back-He Nearly Died!

Flender's sharp eagle eyes fixed on Tuoba Xi, and when their gazes collided, sparks seemed to fly through the air.

A faint scent of gunpowder hung in the surroundings.

Flender said calmly, "Child, aren't you going too far? Wuji is a teacher at my academy, and he has diligently fulfilled his duties these past few years."

Tuoba Yan laughed. "Does teaching at Shrek Academy automatically make someone a good person? Flender, I have no interest in wasting words with you. Move aside!"

Flender asked, "And what if I don't?"

Tuoba Yan tilted his head slightly and looked toward Spirit Eagle Douluo at his rear flank.

Without needing Tuoba Yan to say anything, Spirit Eagle Douluo stepped forward and stood beside him.

Flender's pupils contracted. He had nearly overlooked the fact that there was also a nine-ring Title Douluo here.

Tuoba Yan stepped forward.

Just as he was about to go around Flender, Flender took a large step to the right and blocked his path.

Tuoba Yan barked, "Flender, move aside!"

There was no denying that Flender was a money-grubber. He had the mind of a crooked merchant.

But Flender was also a deeply loyal man.

For the sake of brotherhood, Flender had willingly given up the woman he loved, withdrawn from the competition, and pushed her completely into Yu Xiao Gang's arms.

Flender was one of the few people on Douluo Continent whom Tuoba Yan had no desire to clash with.

Faced with the rebuke, Flender did not budge.

Tuoba Yan took a step back and moved right, intending to circle around Flender and seize Zhao Wuji.

To everyone's surprise, Flender stepped forward again and stopped Tuoba Yan, preventing him from capturing Zhao Wuji.

Tuoba Yan raised his hand to grab Flender's arm.

Flender activated Martial Soul Possession. Soul Power surged around him, forming a fierce gale that forced Tuoba Yan back several steps.

Seven soul rings descended from above Flender's head.

Flender had always been an unruly man.

He had been that way in his youth, and he remained that way even now, in his fifties.

Tuoba Yan clutched his chest. The impact just now had tugged painfully at his nerves.

After his battle with Zhao Wuji, Tuoba Yan's Soul Power was now depleted. He could not possibly be Flender's match.

Then again, Tuoba Yan had only defeated the overconfident Zhao Wuji with a considerable amount of luck. Now that he faced a speed-attack Soul Sage, even at his peak, he would not have been Flender's opponent.

"Insolence!"

A stern voice tinged with anger rang out beside Tuoba Yan's ear, accompanied by the sound of tearing wind.

Spirit Eagle Douluo instantly activated Martial Soul Possession and shot toward Flender like an arrow.

"Seventh Soul Skill—Cat Owl Avatar!"

Light burst from Flender's entire body, and energy formed an owl around him, one that looked remarkably like Susanoo from the Naruto world.

The owl spread its wings, spanning five meters.

What a coincidence.

Spirit Eagle Douluo's martial soul was the Fire Spirit Eagle, making her, like Flender, a speed-attack Soul Master.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The sounds of fists and feet colliding rang continuously through the sky. Flashes of light erupted from time to time.

Before long, with a loud bang, Flender was driven from the air to the ground by Spirit Eagle Douluo's eagle talons. Dust billowed everywhere.

"Pfft!"

Flender spat out blood.

He grabbed Spirit Eagle Douluo's foot with both hands, trying to push it away.

Spirit Eagle Douluo's long leg was like a ten-thousand-pound boulder. No matter how Flender struggled, he could not break free.

Spirit Eagle Douluo said calmly, "Yan, do what you came to do!"

As a Title Douluo, defeating a seven-ring Soul Sage of the same type was nothing worth taking pride in.

Spirit Eagle Douluo remained utterly calm, as though she had merely done something routine.

Tuoba Yan nodded and walked toward Zhao Wuji.

Zhao Wuji lay in a sunken pit in the ground.

As Tuoba Yan drew closer, he suddenly realized that Zhao Wuji's injuries were even more severe than he had imagined.

The Dragon Whisker Needles had caused immense damage. His skin tissue had curled up, especially around the muscles—the key points where his arms exerted force.

Two of the four areas on his arms and legs had been struck by Dragon Whisker Needles.

Self-Created Soul Skills such as the Flame Burst Spiral Ball and Buddha's Wrath Fire Lotus had further worsened Zhao Wuji's injuries.

As everyone knew, injuries required rest and recuperation.

It was worth mentioning that after nearly an hour of combat, Zhao Wuji had continuously exerted himself, further aggravating those injuries.

Zhao Wuji saw Tuoba Yan approaching. He tried to resist, and his finger bones twitched. He had only just managed to lift his head with tremendous effort, but before he could sit up, Tuoba Yan planted a foot on his chest and stomped him back to the ground.

Looking down at the severely injured Zhao Wuji, Tuoba Yan suddenly had an idea.

If poison were applied to the Dragon Whisker Needles, it would certainly greatly increase the killing power of those hidden weapons.

Quite a few Dragon Whisker Needles were scattered across the ground.

Reviewing the battle, Tuoba Yan had to admit that Zhao Wuji was an expert.

Of the more than ten thousand Dragon Whisker Needles he had fired, only a single-digit number had struck Zhao Wuji. Most of them had been avoided by various means—through soul skills, by using the terrain, or by taking objects as shields.

Looking back on the battle, Tuoba Yan silently admitted that he had barely won.

At the beginning, Zhao Wuji had looked down on a child of eight or nine.

Zhao Wuji's carelessness had first caused his right arm to be struck by a Dragon Whisker Needle, affecting its ability to exert force.

For a strength-type Soul Master, being unable to fully unleash his strength could very likely be fatal.

Later in the battle, after Zhao Wuji was attacked by Buddha's Wrath Fire Lotus, he finally realized that Tuoba Yan was no ordinary opponent. After suffering a loss, he decisively unleashed his Martial Soul Avatar, intending to end the battle quickly.

However, that was precisely what Tuoba Yan had wanted.

Martial Soul Avatar could greatly enhance a Soul Master's combat ability, but it had a time limit.

Once that time was up and the Martial Soul Avatar vanished, the Soul Master's agility, strength, defense, and other attributes would not merely fail to remain enhanced—they would plummet.

Relying on the Chicken Charm's divine ability, Tuoba Yan wore Zhao Wuji down from afar while Zhao Wuji maintained his Martial Soul Avatar. He waited for Zhao Wuji to enter the cooldown period after using Martial Soul Avatar and for all his attributes to decline.

It was precisely under those conditions—one injured and one weakened—that Tuoba Yan, a three-ring Soul Elder, finally gained the qualifications to fight Zhao Wuji, a seventy-first-level seven-ring Soul Sage.

In the end, relying on the charms of his Saint Martial Spirit, which was at least a top-tier martial soul, his control over flames, his Soul Power recovery ability that differed from ordinary people, Soul Power purer than that of almost anyone else, numerous Self-Created Soul Skills, and especially his seventy-thousand-year soul bone, Tuoba Yan had nearly defeated Zhao Wuji in a mutually destructive battle.

Tuoba Yan touched his ring and drew out the dagger he had bought from Flender's shop. With a crack, the sharp dagger cleanly severed Zhao Wuji's head, and blood sprayed out.

"Wuji!"

Flender cried out in anguish.