Yu Tianlin still wanted to say something, but the referee had already signaled for both sides to get ready, so he swallowed the words that had reached his lips.
All he could do was glare furiously at Lan Kai, then make a hand signal to the other members of Shrek Academy behind him.
The others understood at once and quickly formed a formation.
On the other side, Lan Kai's team had arranged themselves quite casually. The other six surrounded him like stars around the moon, with Lan Kai standing at the very front by himself. He looked less like he was there to compete and more like he was out for a stroll.
At the referee's command, the explosively popular match finally began.
All fourteen people on the field released their Soul Rings in unison. Then, on Shrek Academy's side, Xu Lizhi's Soul Ring flashed, and he tossed his Martial Soul buns to the others.
The others caught the buns and ate them in a few bites. At the same time, another female Soul Elder with a Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda used three amplification Soul Skills to empower Yu Tianlin, who stood at the very front.
Yu Tianlin let out a long dragon's roar, and his body abruptly swelled. His arms grew especially bulky, and layer upon layer of dragon scales covered them.
Four Soul Rings rose from beneath his feet—two yellow, one purple, and one black. Astonishingly, one of them was a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring.
In the next moment, Yu Tianlin, bolstered by the combined amplification of Xu Lizhi and the female Soul Elder with the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda, activated his Soul Rings one after another. Blue light blazed from his body, forming a terrifyingly thick bolt of lightning that shot toward Lan Kai.
"Pay for the sin of insulting Shrek's glory with your life! Taste my Blue Lightning Dragon Blast!"
Yu Tianlin roared, his eyes bulging with fury. He seemed to already be picturing Lan Kai and the six people behind him being reduced to ashes by his lightning—not even worth trying to save.
Yet faced with the terrifyingly thick bolt of lightning, Lan Kai showed no intention of using a Soul Skill. He merely took a step forward, put something in the pocket over his chest, then planted his hands on his hips and stuck out his chest, standing directly in the lightning's path.
The next instant, the terrifying lightning struck Lan Kai in the chest, sparks flying. Yet the scene Yu Tianlin, the countless spectators, and even the referee had expected to see never happened.
The bolt struck Lan Kai squarely in the chest, showering the air with sparks, but it didn't damage even a thread of his school uniform. It looked less powerful than a toy water gun.
"Impossible! That kid must have cheated somehow!"
In the private box, Cai Yue'er shot to her feet and glared furiously at Lan Kai, who had effortlessly blocked Yu Tianlin's all-out attack with his chest. She seemed ready to rush out again and kill him.
But her gaze soon landed on Juggler, the terrifying expert who had killed her with a single strike several times. Even wearing her Battle Armor in full, she couldn't beat that man.
For some reason, Juggler's expression seemed a little odd. But the moment he noticed Cai Yue'er looking at him, he turned toward her and flashed an especially mocking smile.
On the field, Yu Tianlin stared at Lan Kai, who was completely unharmed, and his anger surged. He poured even more Soul Power into his attack.
Yet whether he pushed his Soul Power output to 100% or 1,000%, the result seemed no different.
Lan Kai seemed to find it a little boring, so he swung his left arm in a full circle in front of himself, casually erasing Yu Tianlin's all-out attack—powered by two people's support—as though it had never existed.
"All right, it's our turn now.
"Two and a half minutes have already passed. There are only five minutes left of the agreed-upon quarter of an hour.
"If I don't knock all of you down within five minutes without using even one-tenth of my Soul Power, I'll lose my head."
Lan Kai glanced at the Soul Power detector on his wrist, which also functioned as a watch. Then he loosened his joints and walked step by step toward the people from Shrek Academy.
"Damn it, you dare look down on us!"
Yu Tianlin bellowed and charged straight at Lan Kai.
Aside from the female Soul Elder with the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda and Xu Lizhi, the other four members of Shrek Academy also rushed at Lan Kai, apparently intending to take him down in one go—or even kill him.
Lan Kai suddenly accelerated, reaching Yu Tianlin in almost an instant. He dipped his body slightly and slammed a punch into Yu Tianlin's lower right side.
Yu Tianlin's movement froze. A wave of intense pain swept through his entire body and brain. His Martial Soul almost immediately left its possessed state, and he crumpled onto the ground, his face twisted in agony.
"One!"
After knocking Yu Tianlin out with a Liver-Exploding Fist infused with the Light of Orb, Lan Kai leaned back slightly to dodge the charge of another Agility Attack System Soul Elder. He grabbed her wrist, flung her toward another Power Attack System Soul Elder, then followed with a textbook flying kick that sent them both tumbling aside.
"Two! Three!"
Next, when the Defense System Soul Elder tried to charge him behind a shield wall, Lan Kai stopped his fierce rush with just one hand. Then he thrust that hand upward, flipping the shield right out of the Soul Elder's grip. With the man's chest completely exposed, Lan Kai drove an elbow into his sternum, sending him flying onto Yu Tianlin, who lay twisted in a heap on the ground.
"Four!"
The Orb Ring appeared in Lan Kai's hand. With a casual sweep, he blocked Ye Xinglan's incoming Stargod Sword, then followed with a sweeping kick that sent her flying sideways.
Unfortunately, Ye Xinglan landed right where Xu Lizhi and the female Soul Elder with the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda were standing.
"Five!"
Lan Kai checked his watch. There were still four minutes left.
"No, that makes four."
With Xu Lizhi supporting her, Ye Xinglan stood up again. She clutched her stomach with one hand and gripped the Stargod Sword with the other, her gaze still fixed intently on Lan Kai.
"Three!" "Two!" "One!"
Except for Yu Tianlin, who had passed out from the pain and been judged by the referee incapable of continuing the fight, the other Soul Masters Lan Kai had knocked down just now all got back to their feet.
"Ye Xinglan, we'll concentrate our Soul Power on you. Even without Yu Tianlin to activate the Seven-in-One, we can still form the Six-in-One with you at the center!"
The Defense System Soul Elder Lan Kai had elbowed away hastily made the suggestion, and the others nodded again and again.
Ye Xinglan had intended to refuse, but in this situation, it was hard to say whether she could hold out for four minutes on her own.
Besides, Shrek Academy's glory was about to be ground into a stinking ditch by Lan Kai, and Ye Xinglan couldn't shirk her share of the blame.
For Shrek's glory, she would do it without hesitation!
"Mm. Leave it to me!"
Before you continue