Tyrannical Tang San

"Understood."

Dugu Yan turned around to face the furious Dai Mubai, a mocking smile curling the corners of her lips.

"The rules are simple: we compete however the teacher says we compete."

"You!"

Dai Mubai erupted in rage, letting out a tiger's roar as his first, third, and fourth soul rings lit up simultaneously!

"White Tiger Protection Barrier! White Tiger Vajra Transformation! White Tiger Meteor Shower!"

He was actually going to strike immediately!

However, as fast as he was, someone was faster.

A figure appeared before Dai Mubai like a phantom; it was none other than Dugu Yan.

"A Soul King?"

Dai Mubai felt a jolt of shock, but his attack was already launched and could not be retracted.

"Fifth Soul Skill: Serpent Python Swallows Heaven!"

Dugu Yan's expression remained unchanged as the fifth purple soul ring beneath her feet shone brilliantly.

A massive phantom of the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor soared into the sky behind her, opening its blood-red maw to swallow the sky full of meteor-like white light orbs in a single gulp!

"BOOM—"

Violent energy exploded within the mouth of the serpent phantom, yet it failed to shake it in the slightest.

"What?!"

Dai Mubai's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

His fourth soul skill had been neutralized by his opponent so effortlessly?

"There is a major realm of difference between a Soul Ancestor and a Soul King."

Dugu Yan's voice drifted over softly.

"Dai Mubai, you are too weak."

Before the words had even faded, the massive serpent phantom lunged forward, snapping its jaws toward Dai Mubai.

"Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda, manifest!"

At that very moment, a crisp voice rang out.

Ning Rongrong had appeared beside Dugu Yan at some point, the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda in her hand glowing brilliantly.

"Seven Treasures Glazed Tile, first: Power. Second: Speed."

Two beams of light landed precisely upon Dugu Yan.

Dugu Yan's aura surged instantly, and the speed and power of the serpent phantom were elevated to a whole new level!

"Rongrong, you!"

Oscar pointed at Ning Rongrong, too furious to speak.

Ning Rongrong merely glanced at him, saying indifferently, "I am a disciple of Blue Silver Academy now. Is there something wrong with following the teacher's orders?"

She turned to look at Dugu Yan and offered a sweet smile.

"Senior Sister Dugu, go for it."

Facing this empowered fifth soul skill, Dai Mubai felt an irresistible, crushing pressure wash over him, making it difficult even to breathe.

He could only cross his arms to protect his chest, pushing his soul power to its absolute limit.

"BANG!"

A dull thud echoed.

Dai Mubai was sent flying like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily into the ground and rolling over a dozen meters before coming to a stop, a trail of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.

With just a single move, the strongest combatant of Shrek, their captain, had been defeated!

Oscar and Ma Hongjun gasped, their feet instinctively shuffling backward.

What kind of monsters were these people from Blue Silver Academy?!

On the field.

Just as everyone's attention was drawn to Dai Mubai's defeat, Ah Yin, who had already walked to the edge of the arena, slowly turned around.

Her gaze fell once again upon Tang San.

In that look, the hatred had not diminished; instead, it had grown even more intense.

"I said, this is only the beginning."

She whispered, as if speaking to herself, or perhaps making a vow to a child she had never met.

She raised her hand and clenched it into the empty air.

"SWISH!"

A vine of Blue Silver Grass, shimmering with a pale golden luster, emerged from the ground like a living creature and instantly coiled around Tang San's ankle.

A sense of alarm surged in Tang San's heart; he tried to break free, only to discover that the vine, despite its slender appearance, was terrifyingly tough.

More importantly, a pressure of imperial authority emanated from the vine, causing even his soul to tremble.

That was... the absolute suppression of ordinary Blue Silver Grass by the Blue Silver Empress!

In front of her, his martial soul could not muster even the slightest thought of resistance!

"Snap!"

Ah Yin gave her wrist a light flick.

The golden vine transformed into a long whip, lashing fiercely against Tang San's back!

A crisp, explosive sound rang out.

The clothing on Tang San's back instantly shattered, and a whip mark, deep enough to reveal bone, extended from his left shoulder all the way to his right waist.

The flesh curled outward, yet strangely, not a single drop of blood flowed out.

"Ugh!"

Tang San let out a muffled groan of pain, his body trembling violently.

This was not merely physical pain.

A strange energy burrowed into his body through the wound, frantically ravaging his meridians while simultaneously keeping him conscious, preventing him from fainting.

It granted only pain, offering no release.

"Third Brother!"

Xiao Wu's eyes were bloodshot with rage, and she charged forward again, disregarding everything.

"Rongrong! Stop her," Dugu Yan said.

"You got it, Senior Sister."

The Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda in Ning Rongrong's hand lit up once more.

"Third: Soul. Fourth: Defense."

Two beams of light landed on Dugu Yan.

Xiao Wu's Charm had no effect on Dugu Yan, whose mental power had been amplified, and her Waist Bow was easily blocked by the defense-buffed Dugu Yan.

"Xiao Wu, don't waste your energy."

Dugu Yan easily clamped down on Xiao Wu's wrists.

"Teacher's order is for this individual battle to continue until one side... personally admits defeat."

"You interfering like this will only prolong Tang San's suffering."

Xiao Wu's body stiffened.

She turned her head to look at the center of the arena.

"Snap!"

Another whip strike.

This time, it lashed across Tang San's thigh.

Tang San could no longer hold himself up and collapsed completely to his knees, veins bulging on his forehead as cold sweat poured down like rain.

Ah Yin walked slowly to stand before him, looking down at him from above.

There was not a trace of expression on her face.

"The first whip is to reclaim, on behalf of my child, the first ray of sunlight he should have seen upon entering this world."

Her voice was ethereal and distant, clearly reaching the ears of everyone present.

Tang San jerked his head up, his pupils contracting violently.

What did she mean?

He... was he not her child?

This thought exploded in his mind like a thunderbolt!

"Snap!"

The third whip lashed against his chest.

The fabric on Tang San's chest turned to dust, and a crisscrossed whip mark was branded onto his skin.

"The second whip is to reclaim, on his behalf, the first call from a father he should have heard."

Ah Yin's voice remained devoid of any fluctuation.

Tang San's breathing became incredibly heavy; he looked into Ah Yin's eyes, attempting to find a trace of familiar emotion within that deep blue.

But there was none.

There was nothing at all.

There was only a deathly silence, a hatred that made him feel as if he were plummeting into an abyss.

An absurd and terrifying conjecture began to sprout wildly in his heart.

Could it be...

Could what the teacher said be true?

Was he, in reality, an... outsider?

"No... impossible..."

He muttered to himself, his mind beginning to drift into a daze.

"Snap!"

The fourth lash!

"The third lash is to reclaim for him the first embrace from a mother that he should have felt."

With every word Ah Yin spoke, the golden vine whip in her hand descended once.

Each time, it precisely avoided Tang San's vital points, yet delivered the most extreme agony to every single one of his nerve endings.