The Jinxu Longyuan Sword Appears, a Long Cry from Hell

Tang San had originally thought that with the sword intent from Sword Douluo protecting him, he could easily withstand the blow, but he still found himself struggling immensely against this strike.

Jiang Huai had actually held back his strength; if he had used his full power, Tang San breaking his sword would have been a minor issue—breaking his arm would have been the real disaster.

Chen Xin nodded in appreciation and said, "Jiang Huai didn't use his full strength. If he had, Tang San would have been lucky to escape with his life, let alone his skin."

Jiang Huai gripped his sword hilt and said, "Xiao San, I'm coming."

Hearing this, Tang San laughed and replied, "Bring it on!"

Although Tang San did not understand swordsmanship, using sword qi to protect his body was simple enough. As Jiang Huai slashed out, Tang San's protective sword qi shattered instantly, and the blade struck through.

Tang San reacted quickly, using his sword to block his head, but this single parry nearly exhausted all the sword intent Chen Xin had given him.

Chen Xin shook his head and remarked, "Utterly foolish. Blindly defending will only waste your soul power. If it were me, I would have seized the opportunity to counterattack."

In reality, it wasn't that Tang San didn't want to counterattack, but that Jiang Huai gave him no chance to do so; he could only struggle to protect his body from being struck.

Jiang Huai had already spotted Tang San's opening. He stepped back, channeled his sword qi, and his entire body began to shimmer with a purple glow.

Seeing this, Chen Xin secretly thought, "This is bad." Tang San was still panting at this moment, watching foolishly.

Chen Xin shouted in frustration, "Tang San, what are you waiting for? Attack!"

Tang San nodded upon hearing this and was just about to strike when Chen Xin transmitted a technique to him: the Seven Kill Sword Technique.

Tang San curled his lips into a smile and prepared to swing his sword. As the Seven Kill Sword Qi collided with the Xuanyuan Sword Qi, the phantom of the Ash Ruins Dragon King appeared behind Jiang Huai.

The sword qi on Jiang Huai's body was laced with dragon might, and Tang San nearly failed to parry as both of them unleashed their sword skills simultaneously.

Tang San: "Seven Kill Sword: The Kill character, obliterate all things."

Jiang Huai: "Nine Styles of Xuanyuan, Third Style: Xuanyuan Flowing Wave Style!"

Xuanyuan Flowing Wave Style: The sword path flows like water in an abyss, turning with fluidity and endless continuity. It has no obvious points of exertion, allowing one to overcome hardness with softness. By entangling the enemy's blade, one can follow its momentum to guide it, disintegrating their rhythm.

Tang San's "Kill" character was pushed back by the water-like sword qi. Jiang Huai used softness to overcome steel, his blade moving lightly until it neared Tang San's hand, where he reversed the motion to knock the sword away.

Tang San knew well that in a duel between sword cultivators, the one who drops their sword is the loser. He utilized Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to retrieve his sword before it hit the ground.

Jiang Huai frowned and asked, "Are you going to show your true skills now?"

Tang San laughed at this and said, "Then today, let me show you my talent, Brother Huai."

Tang San's Blue Silver Grass martial soul began to shatter and slowly converge. Ning Fengzhi frowned and said, "Is he attempting Soul Shattering Body Forging?"

Chen Xin countered, "This isn't Soul Shattering Body Forging; it's Soul Shattering Heart Refining."

Ning Fengzhi's eyes widened as he heard this, and he exclaimed, "Could it be!"

Chen Xin nodded and said, "That's right. It is shattering one's current martial soul to re-condense a new one. However, the previous soul rings will disappear, and it comes with the uncertainty of the new martial soul; the soul rings must be re-absorbed."

Ning Rongrong asked in confusion, "Then how does Tang San know this method?"

Soon, Tang San's Blue Silver Grass martial soul truly transformed into a Blue Silver Sword. He rotated his right hand, and the aura of a level 40 soul master vanished, replaced by the aura of a beginner swordsman.

Jiang Huai smiled with satisfaction and said, "Good lad, you actually know this technique."

Tang San replied, "It's all thanks to my teacher's guidance."

Jiang Huai slashed out, and Tang San used Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to dodge, then backhanded a strike while sending Blue Silver vines to attack Jiang Huai.

Jiang Huai chuckled, "Blue Silver Grass cannot stop me."

Jiang Huai kept his left hand behind his back and used his right hand to slash at the incoming Blue Silver Grass. Tang San curled his lips and said, "Brother Huai, do you remember what you said before? You said that the entanglement of Blue Silver Grass is inherent to it, and that this plant covers the entire Douluo Continent."

"What!"

Tang San lifted his Blue Silver Sword slightly, and suddenly, a massive amount of Blue Silver Grass vines flew from all directions, entangling Jiang Huai.

Tang San thought he had already won, but in reality, Jiang Huai had been holding back a major move.

Tang San walked forward and suddenly heard Jiang Huai's voice; he was so startled that he froze in place.

Jiang Huai suddenly appeared beside Tang San and smiled, "Xiao San, I really underestimated you. Are you ready to face a real battle?"

Tang San kicked out upon hearing this, but Jiang Huai used his sword to block the kick and retreated.

Tang San once again used his Blue Silver Grass innate skill, Entanglement, but Jiang Huai flashed behind him and delivered a hand-blade strike that caused Tang San great pain.

Tang San let out a cry and swung his sword backhanded, but Jiang Huai caught the tip of his Blue Silver Sword between two fingers.

"Xiao San, you are still just a beginner at sword practice."

Jiang Huai knocked Tang San's sword away with a single strike, and the blade hit the ground with a crisp "ding."

Tang San had lost.

Two days later...

Flender, Liu Erlong, Zhao Wuji, Dai Mubai, and Yu Xiaogang returned successfully. All five of them had obtained their own soul rings.

After absorbing his soul ring, Dai Mubai's soul power level reached level 45, thanks to the remaining medicinal power helping him improve.

After consuming the pill Jiang Huai gave him, Qin Ming also successfully broke through to the Soul Saint realm; he would soon need to obtain a seventh soul ring with fire attributes.

After Yu Xiaogang absorbed his third soul ring, his martial soul underwent a change. It gradually took on the image of a dragon; scales appeared on Luo Sanpao, its tail turned into a dragon's tail, and horns grew on its head.

Yu Xiaogang's soul power level also reached level 36, also boosted by the residual medicinal power. If Yu Xiaogang had remained as decadent as a dog like before, he likely would have remained a Soul Master for the rest of his life.

After the five of them returned, Dai Mubai sparred with Jiang Huai again, only for Dai Mubai to be defeated by Jiang Huai once more.

Liu Erlong spent a few days doting on Yu Xiaogang, while Flender counted his money in his office. Zhao Wuji continued to stabilize his cultivation; his dream now was to push toward becoming a Title Douluo, as producing a few heaven-defying little monsters had become a secondary concern.

Jiang Huai brought Gu Yue to train in the academy's mimicry training rooms, Ning Rongrong trained in the Gem Mimicry Training Room, Oscar was still training his escape skills without a shred of ambition, and Ma Hongjun spent his days melting an entire iceberg in the Ice Mimicry Training Room.

Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing practiced together to stabilize their Martial Soul Fusion Skill, while Xiao Wu continued her cultivation because Yu Xiaogang had said that even when reaching a bottleneck, one could still cultivate to accumulate soul power.

Tang San was at the largest forging factory in Heaven Dou City purchasing new components for his hidden weapons. Upon learning of Tang San's situation, Tai Tan brought his own good-for-nothing son and grandson to pay their respects to Tang San.

It looked like a peaceful scene of cultivation, but in reality, there were less than two months left until the Continental Advanced Spirit Master Elite Tournament.

Yu Xiaogang immediately summoned the main members of Shrek: Jiang Huai, Dai Mubai, Gu Yue, and Xiao Wu as the four core members; Tang San, Ning Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing, Oscar, and Ma Hongjun as members who could be fielded at any time; and Tai Long, Jiang Zhu, Huang Yuan, and Jing Ling as substitutes.

Jiang Huai, Gu Yue, Dai Mubai, and Xiao Wu, along with Tang San, Ning Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing, Oscar, and Ma Hongjun, totaled nine people who formed the Shrek Nine Devils.

Jiang Huai and Gu Yue were the hidden combat power of the Shrek Nine Devils and would absolutely not take the stage unless it was a last resort.

Soon, Yu Xiaogang, Flender, Liu Erlong, and Qin Ming led the team, taking the nine of them toward the Sunset Forest to hunt for soul rings.

Yu Xiaogang patted Jiang Huai on the shoulder and said, "Xiao Huai, I hope that before the tournament arrives, you can reach level 50 Soul King, because Spirit Hall is a formidable enemy in this competition; they have three Soul King members. I want you to be the captain, with Dai Mubai and Gu Yue as vice-captains. The three of you will command the entire tournament."

Jiang Huai, wearing his mask, spoke from behind it: "Alright, I will do my best to reach level 50."