Tang San's challenge rang out like a stone thrown into a still lake, leaving everyone present stunned.
A thirty-ninth-rank Soul Elder challenging Lin Yi, a fifty-second-rank Soul King by everyone's reckoning?
It sounded just like a mantis trying to stop a chariot! Yet the determination and steely resolve in Tang San's eyes left no doubt about his resolve.
To reclaim the Soul Ring that was so crucial to Dai Mubai, he was willing to put himself in danger.
On the Imperial Fighting Team's side, Yu Tianheng, Dugu Yan, and the others wore expressions of disbelief. They thought Tang San had to be crazy.
Chief Meng Shenji raised an eyebrow slightly, watching the youth who dared to challenge someone of a higher rank with keen interest.
The Shrek students were even more shocked.
"Little San! You can't!" Zhao Wuji hurriedly shouted. He knew Lin Yi's strength was unfathomable, and Tang San was taking far too great a risk.
"Third Brother! Don't be impulsive!" Xiao Wu grabbed Tang San's arm tightly, her beautiful eyes filled with worry.
Dai Mubai struggled to say something, but his injuries made him cough up a mouthful of blood.
Ning Rongrong, Oscar, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ma Hongjun all tried to dissuade him as well.
Tang San merely gently pushed Xiao Wu's hand away, his gaze fixed on Lin Yi. He repeated, "Lin Yi, do you dare accept my challenge?"
Lin Yi looked at the stubborn, resolute youth before him. The heaven-chosen protagonist's unyielding dignity and fiercely protective nature were on full display. He felt little stir within him; in fact, he found it somewhat... amusing.
He smiled faintly, amusement and condescension mingling in his expression. "Challenge me? Fine. I have one condition."
His gaze shifted to Xiao Wu, standing close beside Tang San, her face full of anxiety. He said slowly, "If you lose, I want her to leave Shrek Academy and join Heaven Dou Royal Academy, becoming a member of the Imperial Fighting Team."
His words set off an uproar!
No one had expected Lin Yi to make such a demand. This wasn't just about fighting over a Soul Beast—he wanted to poach one of Shrek's core members outright!
"Not a chance!" Xiao Wu immediately leapt up like a rabbit whose tail had been stepped on, glaring at Lin Yi.
Zhao Wuji's face darkened until it seemed water might drip from it. "Lin Yi! Don't push it!"
The other Shrek students also shouted angrily.
Tang San's body stiffened, his pupils shrinking sharply.
He had never imagined that Lin Yi's target would be Xiao Wu! He wanted Xiao Wu to leave Shrek, leave his side, and join their rival academy? That was harder to accept than any punishment!
He was caught in a terrible struggle. He had faith in his Hidden Weapons and the Tang Sect Secret Arts. Even with the enormous gap in Soul Power, he still had a chance to fight—and perhaps even create a miracle. But... what if?
What if he lost, and Xiao Wu had to leave? Could he bear that price? Did he dare gamble with Xiao Wu?
Lin Yi looked at Tang San's silence and the fierce struggle in his eyes, and sneered inwardly.
He knew what Xiao Wu meant to Tang San. She was Tang San's greatest weakness.
He had proposed this condition precisely to make Tang San back down.
After all, he didn't want to fight Tang San to the death in full view of everyone just yet and reveal too much of his strength.
An eerie silence fell over the scene. Everyone's eyes focused on Tang San, waiting for his decision.
But just as Tang San was torn between his options, almost ready to abandon the challenge because he couldn't risk losing Xiao Wu—
"Third Brother!"
Xiao Wu suddenly spoke. She stepped in front of Tang San and clasped his clenched fists in both hands. Raising her head, she looked up at him with wide eyes. The anger was gone from them, replaced by absolute trust and determination.
"I believe in you!" Xiao Wu's clear, ringing voice echoed through the woods. "Accept his challenge! I know you'll win! We won't be separated!"
"Xiao Wu..." Seeing the unreserved trust in her eyes, Tang San felt something deep in his heart stir.
That was right. How could he lose his nerve before the fight had even begun? How could he retreat when Xiao Wu trusted him so completely?
"Little San, kick his damn ass! We believe in you!" Dai Mubai growled through the pain.
"Third Brother, you can do it!" Ning Rongrong called.
Oscar, Ma Hongjun, Zhu Zhuqing, and even Zhao Wuji all looked toward Tang San. Though worry still lingered in their eyes, support and trust shone brighter! They believed in their companion, who always managed to create miracles!
Seeing his companions' trust and feeling the warmth of Xiao Wu's hand, every trace of hesitation vanished from Tang San's eyes. In their place burned an unrelenting will to fight!
He drew a deep breath, clasped Xiao Wu's hand in return, then raised his head and looked at Lin Yi, his gaze blazing and his voice firm as iron:
"Fine! I accept! If I lose, Xiao Wu will leave Shrek and join Heaven Dou Royal Academy!
"If you lose, return the Soul Beast! Let's settle this with one fight!"
Now it was Lin Yi's turn to be surprised.
He raised an eyebrow slightly, looking at the young boy and girl before him, who seemed ready to share life and death, and at the Shrek students united against him. That same sense of absurdity rose in his heart once more.
He'd only meant to use an unreasonable condition to make Tang San back down and spare himself the trouble. He hadn't expected... the other party to actually accept.
All because of this blind trust and so-called bond between companions?
How... laughably childish, yet... somehow moving?
Still, since the other party was determined to walk right into his hands, Lin Yi had no reason to back down.
Besides, he wanted to personally gauge just how much this heaven-chosen protagonist was worth after losing his chance at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and the Immortal Herbs.
"In that case..." Lin Yi walked out slowly and stopped in the center of the clearing, facing Tang San from a distance. "As you wish."
He looked at Tang San calmly. His Soul Power remained suppressed at the fifty-second rank, but the foundation of a sixty-sixth-rank Soul Emperor and the powerful Spiritual Power he had gained after the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's baptism gave him the imposing presence of a mountain standing firm beside an abyss.
"Control-type Battle Soul Elder, thirty-ninth rank, Tang San. Please instruct me!" Beneath Tang San's feet, two yellow Soul Rings and one purple Soul Ring rose into view. His Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul coiled around him, and his expression was utterly grave. He knew this would be the hardest battle of his life.
Lin Yi stood with his hands behind his back. He didn't even reveal his Soul Rings at once, merely saying, "Lin Yi. I accept."
The two faced off as their powerful auras began to collide in midair.
A battle born from a Soul Beast, yet entangled with emotion and dignity—a fight between opponents of different ranks—was about to erupt!
Everyone held their breath, their eyes fixed on the two figures in the clearing.
Zhao Wuji and Meng Shenji, the two powerful figures, also focused their attention, ready to respond at any moment if anything unexpected happened.
In the forest, all that could be heard was the uneasy growl of the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger and the rustle of wind through the leaves.
The battle was about to begin!
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