Tang San had thought that with Sword Douluo's sword intent protecting him, he could easily withstand the attack. Instead, he still struggled to block the strike.
Jiang Huai had held back. If he had used his full strength, breaking Tang San's sword would have been the least of his worries. Losing a hand would have been far worse.
Chen Xin nodded in approval. "Jiang Huai didn't use his full strength. If he had, Tang San would have been lucky to escape with his life, let alone without a serious injury."
Jiang Huai tightened his grip on the sword. "Xiao San, here I come."
Tang San grinned. "Bring it on!"
Tang San didn't understand swordsmanship, but using sword qi to protect himself was simple enough. Jiang Huai struck, and Tang San's protective sword qi shattered. The blow kept coming.
Tang San reacted quickly, raising his sword to block the strike aimed at his head. That single block nearly used up all the sword intent Chen Xin had given him.
Chen Xin shook his head. "Utterly foolish. Constantly defending will only waste your Soul Power. If it were me, I'd look for an opening to counterattack."
In truth, Tang San wanted to fight back, but Jiang Huai gave him no chance. He could only struggle to keep his body from being hit.
Jiang Huai had already found Tang San's weakness. He retreated, circulating his sword qi as purple light shimmered across his body.
Chen Xin saw this and thought, This is bad. Tang San was still standing there, panting and staring blankly.
Frustrated, Chen Xin shouted, "Tang San, what are you waiting for? Attack!"
Tang San nodded and was about to charge when Chen Xin sent him a move from the Seven Kill Sword Technique.
Tang San's lips curled as he prepared to swing. The Seven Kill Sword Qi collided with the Xuanyuan Sword Qi, and the phantom of the Ash Ruins Dragon King appeared behind Jiang Huai.
Dragon might mingled with the sword qi around Jiang Huai. Tang San could barely hold his ground as the two unleashed their sword techniques at once.
Tang San: "Seven Kill Sword—Ten Thousand Things Perish!"
Jiang Huai: "Nine Styles of Xuanyuan, Third Style: Xuanyuan—Flowing Wave Style!"
Xuanyuan—Flowing Wave Style: The sword moved like water flowing through a deep abyss, its smooth, rounded turns carrying on without end. It had no obvious breaks in its force, allowing softness to overcome strength. After entangling the opponent's sword, it could guide it aside and disrupt its rhythm.
Tang San's "Perish" was swept back by sword qi that flowed like water. Jiang Huai overcame strength with softness, lightly bringing his sword toward Tang San's sword hand before turning his wrist and knocking the weapon away.
Tang San knew that in a sword spar, whoever lost their sword lost the match. He used Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to snatch his weapon before it hit the ground.
Jiang Huai frowned. "Are you going to show me what you can really do?"
Tang San grinned. "Then today, Brother Huai, I'll show you what I'm capable of."
Tang San's Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul shattered and began to slowly gather again. Ning Fengzhi frowned. "Is he trying Soul Shattering Body Forging?"
Chen Xin corrected him. "This isn't Soul Shattering Body Forging. It's Soul Shattering Heart Refining."
Ning Fengzhi's eyes widened. "Could it be...?"
Chen Xin nodded. "That's right. He's shattering his current Martial Soul to condense a new one. But the Soul Rings he had before will disappear, and the new Martial Soul is unpredictable. He'll have to absorb Soul Rings all over again."
Ning Rongrong asked in confusion, "Then how did Tang San learn about this method?"
Before long, Tang San's Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul had truly transformed into the Blue Silver Sword. He turned his right wrist, and the aura of a Level 40 Soul Master vanished, replaced by that of a novice swordsman.
Jiang Huai smiled in approval. "Well done, kid. I didn't know you could do this."
Tang San replied, "It's all thanks to my teacher."
Jiang Huai swung his sword. Tang San used Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to dodge, then sent Blue Silver Vines whipping toward Jiang Huai with a backhanded slash.
Jiang Huai chuckled. "Blue Silver Grass can't stop me."
With his left hand behind his back and his sword in his right, Jiang Huai cut down the Blue Silver Grass surging toward him. Tang San's lips curled. "Brother Huai, do you remember what you said before? You said Blue Silver Grass could entangle people naturally, and that this plant grew all across the Douluo Continent."
"What?!"
Tang San gently lifted the Blue Silver Sword. Blue Silver Grass vines shot out from all directions and wrapped around Jiang Huai.
Tang San thought he had won, but Jiang Huai had been saving his best move for last.
Tang San stepped forward, then suddenly heard Jiang Huai's voice. Startled, he froze.
Jiang Huai suddenly appeared beside Tang San and grinned. "Xiao San, I really underestimated you. Ready for a real fight?"
Tang San kicked at him. Jiang Huai blocked the incoming foot with his sword and retreated.
Tang San used the Blue Silver Grass talent skill, Entanglement, again. Jiang Huai flashed behind him and struck him with a hand chop, making Tang San wince in pain.
Tang San cried out and swung his sword behind him. Jiang Huai caught the tip of the Blue Silver Sword between two fingers.
"Xiao San, you're only a beginner at swordsmanship."
Jiang Huai knocked Tang San's sword from his hand. It hit the ground with a clear clang.
Tang San had lost.
Two days later...
Flender, Liu Erlong, Zhao Wuji, Dai Mubai, and Yu Xiaogang returned successfully. All five had obtained Soul Rings.
After absorbing his Soul Ring, Dai Mubai's Soul Power Level rose straight to Level 45, thanks to the remaining medicinal energy.
After taking the pills Jiang Huai had given him, Qin Ming also broke through to the Soul Saint realm. He would obtain a fire-type Seventh Soul Ring when the time came.
After Yu Xiaogang absorbed his third Soul Ring, his Martial Soul changed. It gradually began to take on the shape of a dragon. Luo Sanpao grew scales, its tail became a dragon's tail, and horns sprouted from its head.
Yu Xiaogang's Soul Power Level also reached Level 36, thanks to the remaining medicinal energy. If he had stayed as listless as before, he might have remained a Soul Elder for the rest of his life.
After returning, Dai Mubai sparred with Jiang Huai again—and lost to him once more.
Liu Erlong spent several days being lovey-dovey with Yu Xiaogang. Flender counted his money in the office, while Zhao Wuji continued to stabilize his cultivation. His dream now was to break through to Titled Douluo; teaching a few extraordinary little monsters had become secondary.
Jiang Huai trained with Gu Yue in the academy's Mimicry Training Room. Ning Rongrong trained in the Gem Mimicry Training Room, while Oscar kept practicing how to run away, showing no ambition at all. Ma Hongjun spent his days melting an entire iceberg in the Ice Mimicry Training Room.
Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing trained together to stabilize their Martial Soul Fusion Skill. Xiao Wu continued cultivating, since Yu Xiaogang had told her that she could keep training and accumulate Soul Power even after reaching a bottleneck.
Tang San was buying new Hidden Weapon parts at the largest forge in Heaven Dou City. After Tai Tan learned about Tang San's situation, he brought his good-for-nothing son and grandson to pay their respects to him.
Everything seemed peaceful, but less than two months remained until the Continental Advanced Spirit Master Elite Tournament.
Yu Xiaogang immediately gathered Shrek's main team members. Jiang Huai, Dai Mubai, Gu Yue, and Xiao Wu were the four core members. Tang San, Ning Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing, Oscar, and Ma Hongjun could take the field as needed, while Tai Long, Jiang Zhu, Huang Yuan, and Jing Ling were substitutes.
Together, Jiang Huai, Gu Yue, Dai Mubai, and Xiao Wu, along with Tang San, Ning Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing, Oscar, and Ma Hongjun, made up the Shrek Nine Devils.
Jiang Huai and Gu Yue were the Shrek Nine Devils' hidden strength. They absolutely wouldn't take the field unless there was no other choice.
Before long, Yu Xiaogang, Flender, Liu Erlong, and Qin Ming led Jiang Huai and the others to Sunset Forest to hunt for Soul Rings.
Yu Xiaogang patted Jiang Huai on the shoulder. "Xiao Huai, I hope you can reach Level 50 and become a Soul King before the tournament begins. Spirit Hall will be a formidable opponent this time. They have three Soul King team members. I want you to be captain, with Dai Mubai and Gu Yue as vice-captains. The three of you will lead the team throughout the tournament."
Jiang Huai spoke through his mask. "All right. I'll do my best to reach Level 50."
Before you continue