"Mubai! Zhuqing!"
Tang San's roar exploded across the arena. His voice was hoarse, yet carried an unquestionable authority.
"Martial Soul Fusion Skill!"
The entire arena fell silent for a beat.
Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing exchanged a glance.
They both retreated at the same time, putting distance between them.
Dai Mubai moved to a spot slightly left of center, golden light from his White Tiger Vajra Transformation surging over his body.
Zhu Zhuqing used Shi Mo's tortoiseshell charge to propel herself away. Her figure became a black streak as she swept toward the right flank, the aura of the Hell Spirit Cat pouring wildly from her.
They were about ten meters apart—the ideal distance for their Martial Souls to resonate.
But to create that distance, Zhu Zhuqing had circled around to the side of the battle. She was only six meters from Yu Tianheng.
She hadn't noticed.
All her attention was on Dai Mubai. A Martial Soul Fusion Skill required their souls to resonate completely; she couldn't afford even the slightest distraction.
Yu Tianheng saw her.
His heart gave a hard thump.
Just as he'd expected!
He'd guessed it long ago. When the White Tiger and the Hell Spirit Cat appeared together, any family familiar with the history of Martial Souls would think of that legend.
And the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, the family he belonged to, had detailed records of all the Martial Souls under heaven.
But he'd been waiting all along.
Waiting for Tang San to reveal it.
Because a trump card was most terrifying before it was played.
Once revealed, it was just another card.
"This is the moment I've been waiting for."
Yu Tianheng's voice was so soft that only he could hear it.
His gaze locked onto Zhu Zhuqing.
She was emerging from the shadows, the aura of the Hell Spirit Cat surging wildly around her.
She was on the left flank, about ten meters from Dai Mubai—the ideal distance for a Martial Soul Fusion Skill.
A Martial Soul Fusion Skill required about three seconds of resonance, and the ones using it were most vulnerable during those three seconds.
She was only six meters from Yu Tianheng.
For a Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Soul Master, six meters was a distance he could cross in an instant.
Purple lightning burst inside him—not from his arms or his whole body, but from his legs.
He squeezed his Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Soul Power to its limit. He wasn't merely using it; he was burning through it.
He poured all his energy into his feet. In that instant, purple swallowed the blue lightning completely.
His figure vanished from in front of Tang San.
Zhu Zhuqing saw him.
Her pupils contracted. She unleashed the full speed of the Hell Spirit Cat, trying to dodge.
But she was too late.
Yu Tianheng reached his limit in that instant.
Purple lightning burst beneath his feet. Two charred footprints appeared on the bluestone floor where he had pushed off, and his body shot toward Zhu Zhuqing like a true bolt of purple lightning.
His right claw, wreathed in the last traces of purple lightning, struck her in the chest.
Not the shoulder. Not the arm. The chest.
Zhu Zhuqing flew like a kite with its strings cut and crashed into the arena's railing. It snapped on impact.
She tumbled twice and landed face-down. Blood sprayed from her mouth onto the floor, and she could no longer get up.
The entire arena fell utterly silent!
The cries of twenty thousand people surged together, struck the domed ceiling, and came echoing back with a force that made their eardrums ache.
Dai Mubai froze.
His hands were still in the position where he had been resonating with Zhu Zhuqing, but the glow of the Martial Soul Fusion Skill went out at his fingertips like a flame snuffed between two fingers.
"Zhuqing!"
His voice was hoarse, and the golden light of his White Tiger Vajra Transformation trembled violently.
Yu Tianheng stood where Zhu Zhuqing had fallen. The purple lightning around his right claw had completely faded, returning to a dull blue. It flickered twice, then vanished.
His arm was trembling. His Soul Power was almost completely drained, but he hadn't fallen.
His gamble had paid off.
But he had no time to celebrate.
If Tang San hadn't called for a Martial Soul Fusion Skill, if Zhu Zhuqing had been two meters farther away,
if his purple lightning had been even a little weaker, then any one of those variables going wrong would have left him on the ground instead.
But he had still taken the gamble.
Because he was the captain, and because Huangdou couldn't afford to lose!
He turned to face Tang San.
"Your trump card..."
His voice was calm.
"I knew about it all along."
Tang San's face was deathly pale.
He knew Yu Tianheng was telling the truth.
From the very beginning, Yu Tianheng had been waiting for this moment—waiting for Tang San to stake all their hopes on the Martial Soul Fusion Skill, then shatter it with one strike.
But something even worse was still to come.
In that instant when everyone from Shrek was distracted, when Dai Mubai turned to look at Zhu Zhuqing,
when Tang San froze, and Ma Hongjun forgot to breathe fire,
Osler sprang from the shadows without a sound or a trace of killing intent, charging straight for Ning Rongrong.
She was the core of Shrek's support. If she fell, Shrek's fighting strength would drop by thirty percent in an instant.
At the same time, Shi Mo moved.
The Black Tortoise's shell was like a moving wall as he crashed into Xiao Wu from the side. Tian Xuan's Azure Vine had wrapped around her ankle, leaving her no time to dodge. She could only take the hit.
Two targets, from two directions, at the same instant.
Ning Rongrong saw Osler's Ghost Leopard claw. Her pupils contracted, and the glow of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda trembled violently.
But she was too slow. How could a support-type Soul Master possibly evade an agility-type Soul Master?
"Rongrong!"
Oscar had seen Osler move the moment he started. He'd been watching the shadows in that direction, and his body reacted before his mind. He threw himself forward.
A figure blocked Ning Rongrong.
Oscar, a food-type Soul Elder and the weakest fighter on the team, put his body between Ning Rongrong and Osler.
Osler's Ghost Leopard claw pierced Oscar's shoulder, spraying blood across Ning Rongrong's face.
Oscar grunted. The force of the claw sent him stumbling backward, and the pain made his vision go black. But he clung tightly to Ning Rongrong's arm,
keeping her from being exposed to Osler's second strike.
"Oscar!" Ning Rongrong screamed.
Gritting his teeth, Oscar pulled a sausage from his clothes with his right hand. It wasn't an ordinary sausage; it was pink and faintly gleaming.
It was the Flying Mushroom Sausage.
He shoved it into Ning Rongrong's hand.
"Eat... eat it... fly..."
Tears poured from Ning Rongrong's eyes, but she didn't hesitate. She bit through the sausage, and a warm current flowed from her throat into her limbs.
Then her body grew light. Wings like a butterfly's spread from her back, her feet left the ground, and she began to rise into the air.
"Damn it!"
Osler gritted his teeth and looked up at Ning Rongrong.
Yu Feng saw Ning Rongrong fly into the air, and his eyes lit up. A support-type Soul Master in the air was a sitting duck.
But he didn't immediately charge at her.
A thought flashed through his mind: Ma Hongjun was still below, and that fat guy's Phoenix Fire Wire was waiting for him to make a mistake.
But Ye Lingling's face had gone as pale as paper. If Ning Rongrong stayed up there for even one more second, her support would reach Shrek again, and Huangdou's advantage would gradually disappear.
He gritted his teeth. To hell with it.
Yu Feng beat his Wind Bell Bird wings and dove toward Ning Rongrong, wind blades poised to strike. Once he got within five meters, he could cut her down.
"Not a chance!"
Ma Hongjun's roar came from below.
Yu Feng looked down and saw the fat guy's Phoenix Flame relight beneath him, gathering into an incredibly thin Phoenix Fire Wire.
Ma Hongjun had been waiting for this moment—for Yu Feng to grow impatient.
Yu Feng was moving too fast to turn in time. His body flew straight into the fire wire, while the wind blade he'd prepared shot toward Ning Rongrong.
"Ah!"
The Phoenix Fire Wire burned through his Wind Bell Bird wings, burned through his clothes, and seared into his skin. It wasn't an ordinary flame, but a sinister one.
Yu Feng screamed as he wobbled in midair, then finally crashed onto the arena. He rolled twice. Half his body was burned,
his clothes and skin stuck together as foul-smelling smoke rose from them. He lay on the ground, gasping, and tried to push himself up.
"Rongrong!"
Oscar's voice was hoarse, but with his shoulder pierced by the Ghost Leopard claw, he couldn't move.
A few seconds later, Yu Feng struggled to his feet. Half his body trembled with pain, but the corners of his mouth curled upward.
"One!" he said.
Osler swept past Yu Feng, this time heading for Ma Hongjun.
The Phoenix Fire Wire had completely gone out. The attack had drained Ma Hongjun of all his Soul Power, and his legs buckled. He nearly fell to his knees.
He saw Osler charging at him and tried to dodge, but his body couldn't keep up with his brain's commands.
Osler's Ghost Leopard claw slammed into Ma Hongjun's chest, displaying the full power of a Ghost Leopard Soul Elder. Ma Hongjun flew like a cannonball,
crashed into the arena's railing, and snapped it on impact. He tumbled twice, landed face-down, spat out a mouthful of blood, and passed out.
Osler drew back his Ghost Leopard claw and turned to Yu Feng.
"Two," he said.
Yu Feng grinned, but the movement tugged at his burns, making him bare his teeth in pain.
At the other end of the battlefield, Shi Mo struck Xiao Wu and sent her flying at the same moment.
The Black Tortoise's strength couldn't be neutralized with soft techniques. Shi Mo's shoulder slammed into Xiao Wu's waist, and she flew like a fallen leaf before crashing onto the arena and skidding four or five meters.
She struggled to get up, but the pain in her waist made her suck in a sharp breath. Her face was as pale as paper.
Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth, dripping onto the bluestone floor.
"Xiao Wu—!"
Tang San's voice changed.
It wasn't anger. It wasn't worry.
It was fear!
He saw the blood at the corner of Xiao Wu's mouth, saw her clutching her waist, unable to stand, saw her face as pale as paper.
His eyes began to redden.
Not the purple of the Purple Demon Eye, but a murky, beastlike crimson welling up from deep within his pupils.
"Xiao... Wu..."
His voice turned hoarse, as if dragged up from the depths of his throat.
His breathing grew heavy and ragged. His chest heaved like a bellows, and each inhale carried a low,
inhuman whimper, like a beast driven to fury.
In the stands, Chen Jieqi had been watching Tang San from beginning to end.
He narrowed his eyes slightly, a knowing smile tugging at his lips.
Tang San's eyes turned completely red.
They were no longer human eyes.
They were the eyes of a Soul Beast, the eyes of a predator—the beast's eyes after it had lost control upon seeing Xiao Wu hurt.
"Roar—!"
A roar unlike any human sound erupted from Tang San's throat.
The Eight Spider Lances snapped open behind him, extending one after another—six, seven, then eight.
The blue-purple Spider Lances glinted coldly beneath the spotlights. Dark purple patterns surfaced along their shafts, like veins, like arteries, like an ancient and savage totem awakening.
He had hidden this trump card from the beginning of the fight until now. Even when Yu Tianheng had been overpowering him, even when lightning had countered his Blue Silver Grass, he hadn't used the Eight Spider Lances.
But now, rage had burned through his reason.
Chen Jieqi's lips drew into a slight line. He murmured,
"As expected, he's a killer. Xiao Wu gets hurt, and he's ready to kill..."
His gaze fell on Tang San's spread Eight Spider Lances, and his brow furrowed.
"No wonder he's a Child of Destiny. He's not only strong—he can also endure and conceal his strength. A man like that is certainly hard to deal with."
The entire arena erupted!
"What is that thing?!"
"A Spirit Bone! It's an External Soul Bone!"
"That kid from Shrek actually has an External Soul Bone!"
The gasps of twenty thousand people nearly lifted the dome. The warm glow of the crimson crystals fell on the Eight Spider Lances, reflecting an eerie, frigid light.
Countless pairs of eyes stared fixedly at the young man on the arena, his Spider Spear spread wide. Some were shocked, some greedy, and some afraid.
Several richly dressed, middle-aged men in the VIP seats rose to their feet at once.
The black-robed elder at their head murmured to himself, his eyes gleaming.
"An External Soul Bone... I can't believe one has appeared on a Soul Elder."
His companion lowered his voice.
"Look into his background."
"No rush,"
The old man slowly sat back down, but his gaze never left Tang San.
"Let's see first... whether he can control it."