The Spirit Hall Academy Team stood silently, an intense, icy killing intent pressing toward the Shrek Seven Devils like a blade.
"The finals of the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament are about to begin. Competitors, take your positions. The match will start in fifteen minutes."
With the referee's announcement, the two teams' match officially began.
Grandmaster raised his right hand first, and each of the Shrek Seven Devils did the same. Their eight hands stacked together as they shouted in unison, "We will win!"
On the other side, the Spirit Hall Academy Team heard the Shrek Academy team's rallying cry. Their captain, Xie Yue, curled his lip and sneered. "We will win? Today, we'll show them what true strength looks like. The gap in Soul Power is an insurmountable chasm.
"Even the weakest Soul Master among us is about as strong as their captain. I'd like to see what makes them think they can win."
His cold, sinister gaze swept over his companions. Xie Yue said icily, "His Holiness the Pope is watching, and so are the elders. We won't just win this match—we'll crush them and give them no chance at all.
"I'll deal with Tang San. What are we?"
"Cham-pions!" A more powerful roar rang out from the Spirit Hall Academy Team.
"Get ready. Both teams may release their Martial Souls."
Once the teams were in position, the Cardinal serving as referee immediately announced the start.
The fourteen competitors stared at one another without a word, but the violent clash of their auras brought the tension to a fever pitch in an instant.
All seven members of the Spirit Hall Academy Team moved almost simultaneously, their surging Soul Power erupting from within.
At the front stood Xie Yue and two others. Each had the ideal configuration of five Soul Rings: two yellow, two purple, and one black.
The other four behind them each had the ideal configuration of four Soul Rings: two yellow and two purple.
Every one of them wore a look of fierce determination.
One of the female students at the rear quickly stepped back, and a brilliant golden scepter appeared in her hand. Without a doubt, she possessed an auxiliary-type tool Martial Soul.
But aside from Qian Xun'an, no one knew that this female student was Qian Renxue.
The Soul Rings around her and the scepter in her hand were nothing but disguises.
The Shrek Seven Devils began releasing their Martial Souls at the same time. They took their positions in order, with Tang San and Dai Mubai at the front. Zhu Zhuqing, Ma Hongjun, and Xiao Wu stood behind them, while Ning Rongrong and Oscar formed the back row. They had arranged themselves in a two-three-two formation.
Unlike the previous match, Shrek Academy didn't use the Seven-in-One Fusion Skill this time. Instead, all seven released their Martial Souls in the usual way.
All seven had four Soul Rings, but the most striking was Tang San, who possessed a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring.
Pope Bibi Dong furrowed her brows and unconsciously looked toward Grandmaster. Xiao Gang, you've changed the formation again.
Qian Xun'an, however, was utterly confident. The Spirit Hall side had a Soul Emperor in reserve for this match.
No matter how hard Shrek Academy struggled, they couldn't win.
Qian Xun'an had already warned Qian Renxue not to make a move until the very last moment.
He wanted to see whether the Golden Generation truly had the strength to match their arrogance.
"Begin!" As he announced the start of the final match of the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament, the Cardinal referee quickly retreated, clearing the arena.
The first member of the Spirit Hall Academy Team to move wasn't their captain, Xie Yue, who stood at the front, but his younger sister, Hu Liena.
With a light step, Hu Liena seemed to need only a turn to reach the front. As she released her Martial Soul, she appeared to grow more beautiful, and a large, fluffy tail sprouted from her back.
At the same time, Tang San, standing at the front of his team, reached back and caught a pink glow Oscar tossed to him. Then he strode forward.
He headed straight for the opposing team's seven members, while six strands of Blue Silver Grass shot from his right hand and wrapped around the waists of his six teammates.
Blue Silver Grass control was underway.
Hu Liena watched Tang San approach with a cold gaze. The five Soul Rings around her flashed in a precise sequence: first the black fifth ring, then the fourth, third, and second, and finally the yellow first.
Each time a Soul Ring pulsed, the red light around her grew brighter. Behind her, Xie Yue moved as well.
Xie Yue didn't wield one Moon Blade, but two. Both were blood-red, crescent-shaped blades, and he gripped each one by its center.
As he moved, he spread his arms and hurled himself backward into his younger sister.
A red curtain of light appeared and spread out. The instant Xie Yue and Hu Liena collided, the glow enveloped them both.
At the same time, the red light burst outward like an expanding sphere, covering nearly half the arena.
The Spirit Hall Academy Team had opened with a Martial Soul Fusion Skill!
The Spirit Hall Academy Team had opened with their Martial Soul Fusion Skill, Yao Mei!
Red light flashed. The two figures became one—a person with long, flowing hair whose gender was impossible to discern.
The greatest strength of this Martial Soul Fusion Skill was its control. Within Yao Mei's range, everyone's senses were reduced by fifty percent, and their Soul Power was suppressed by fifty percent.
All their movements were slowed by fifty percent.
Tang San's arms jerked, and the Blue Silver Grass connecting to them rippled. All six of his teammates were flung out of the red mist at once.
The spectators saw something different: just as their cries of surprise died away, six figures soared out of the red mist.
A tiger's roar burst from Dai Mubai. Still in midair, he activated his First Soul Skill, White Tiger Protection Barrier, and his Third Soul Skill, White Tiger Vajra Transformation, at the same time.
Huge wings of flame unfurled from Ma Hongjun's back, while Xiao Wu dropped straight toward the ground. The Shrek Six Monsters had entered combat in an instant.
"Unless you can fly, there's no way you can escape my Martial Soul Fusion Skill," Xie Yue said coldly.
As Xie Yue lunged forward, Tang San's voice reached his ears. "Then we'll just fly."
A faint glow suddenly appeared on the backs of all six, whether Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing were already in the air or their teammates were still on the ground.
The glow formed into wings. All six accelerated at nearly the same time, bursting out of the red mist and soaring into the sky.
"How is that possible?" Pope Bibi Dong watched the Shrek Six Monsters fly out and couldn't help widening her eyes.
Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing dove straight at Yan, another Soul King on the opposing team, while Ma Hongjun and Xiao Wu went to meet the other three Battle Soul Masters.
Qian Xun'an watched calmly and murmured, "That food-type Soul Master really is a rare find."
In the next instant, Tang San released his Eight Spider Lances. Each leg was over four meters long and as thick as an arm, gleaming purple-black. Cold light flashed along their slightly curved barbs. Each leg had two sections, and its sharp tip was like an unstoppable spear.
They shot toward Xie Yue in an instant.
Dai Mubai's tiger claws sprang out with a metallic clang as he pounced on Yan below.
Of the four remaining members of the Spirit Hall Academy Team, three Battle Soul Masters stepped forward to meet Ma Hongjun and Xiao Wu.
Only the auxiliary Soul Master remained where she was, making no move.
Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing switched to skirmishing after their first clash with Yan. They avoided meeting him head-on, relying on Zhu Zhuqing's speed to launch sneak attacks while Dai Mubai drew his attention from the front.
A cold glint appeared in Tang San's eyes. He brought his hands together in front of his chest. Each time the light in his eyes flickered, the air seemed to grow a little more still.
The Eight Spider Lances on his back stabbed out again and again from impossible angles. He controlled his movements entirely with the lances.
Xie Yue's Moon Blades were even stronger than Tang San had expected. Every clash with the resilient Eight Spider Lances left a mark. Some of the smaller barbs were even sliced off.
Suddenly, after knocking aside two attacks from the Eight Spider Lances, Xie Yue spun around. One of the two Moon Blades in his hands shot out, spinning as it flew.
A cold smile touched Xie Yue's lips.
Xie Yue sneered. "So what if you can see me inside Yao Mei? I've got the upper hand now. You won't get another chance!"
The shrill whistle of the Moon Blade and the increasingly eerie red patterns on it put Tang San under immense pressure. But this was when his combat instincts came to the fore.
As the Moon Blade tore through the air toward him, Tang San snapped his outstretched arms back and twisted rapidly in midair. He hurled the Clear Sky Hammer in his left hand, weighing five hundred jin, straight at it.
With a thunderous crash, the Clear Sky Hammer and the Moon Blade both shot away.
"So what if you can use the Clear Sky Hammer to block my Moon Blade?
"You've only got one Clear Sky Hammer, while I have two Moon Blades. Let's see how you'll stop my attacks from the front and behind."
Xie Yue attacked again with his Moon Blades.
As Tang San's pupils contracted, he struck once more—with the Clear Sky Hammer.
The Clear Sky Hammer and the Moon Blade were both knocked away. Then something astonishing happened: the Clear Sky Hammer, flung off course, intercepted the other Moon Blade in midair and clashed with it again.
"No, that's impossible!"
Xie Yue's pupils, set in his androgynous face, contracted sharply.
Xie Yue took a deep breath and seemed unhurried as he stared at Tang San. "You're the first person to face my self-created skill. You should consider it an honor to lose to it."
Tang San replied coldly, "You haven't won yet.
"When Feng Xiaotian used the Thirty-Six Consecutive Slashes of the Gale Demon Wolf against me, he probably thought the same thing. You saw how that turned out."
Xie Yue gave a disdainful laugh, the eerie light in his eyes blazing. "A rookie like Feng Xiaotian can't compare to me. My self-created skill has no flaws. Behold—Full Moon!"
Xie Yue moved, his body spinning like a whirlwind. In an instant, both he and his Moon Blades vanished. All that appeared before Tang San was a gigantic white disc.
To defeat Tang San, Xie Yue had finally unleashed his strongest attack.
Tang San's eyes lit up, and he began to move—or, more precisely, his body began to spin as well. The eight Spider Lances on his back stretched out fully, and as Tang San spun, they became a whirlwind.
One after another, Tang San's Eight Spider Lances shattered beneath Xie Yue's Full Moon Soul Skill.
But Tang San's resistance wasn't over. He didn't have a ninth spider leg, but he had something else.
At the final moment of the spinning attack, the Clear Sky Hammer finally appeared. It shot out from Tang San's whirling body and slammed into his opponent's Full Moon.
A deafening grinding roar rang out, and countless sparks burst from the point where they collided.
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