And then.
The two Shi Brothers raised their defensive formation and slowly advanced toward him.
"Oh-ho—"
"Not only are you not running away, you're coming right at me?"
Tang Wu watched them approach, surprise flickering across his face.
"Then... I'll start by taking you two down and see whether your turtle shells are tougher, or our Martial Soul Overlap Skill comes out on top."
Among the forms Blue Silver Grass could take were crossbows, blades, spears, swords, halberds, rapid-fire cannons, and chains that were both firm and flexible.
All kinds of weapons took turns appearing.
There was nothing Tang Wu couldn't make, only things you hadn't thought of yet.
You could say...
In Tang Wu's hands, Blue Silver Grass's talent for taking shape had become a dazzling art.
He could mold it at will, with a thousand changes and a thousand forms.
To break through the Shi Brothers' defensive formation, Tang Wu didn't choose to meet it head-on. Instead, he took a roundabout approach.
All sorts of flashy attacks came at them from the gaps in their defense, so numerous that they struggled to keep up.
Tang Wu pressed his advantage, swinging Blue Silver Grass like a whip at Shi Mo and Shi Mo without slowing down.
He aimed through the gaps in their defense at the most vulnerable spot between a person's legs.
"Oh, ho-ho-ho—"
"Y-you despicable coward! You don't play fair—you sneak up on me, you trick a fifteen-year-old like me!"
"Is this all you've got? Come on, if you've got the guts! We won't give in!"
A heartrending scream burst from the two brothers.
Shi Mo and Shi Mo took a heavy blow, their eyes bulging like a bull's, but it only stoked their fighting spirit.
Tang Wu stared in disbelief.
"Are you kidding me—how are you still fine?"
"You're the first people I've ever met who can shrug off an attack like that. I, Tang Wu, hereby declare you the 'strongest defense.'"
Against opponents like these, the only way to show them respect was to give it everything he had.
Tang Wu attacked again.
This time, he would defeat the two of them once and for all.
Bam—
Shi Mo: "Aaaah! My pillar stands like an ancient tree reaching for the sky. It will never bend!"
Bam—
Shi Mo: "Aaaah! My testicles are like an iron fortress, indestructible!"
Even Tang Wu couldn't help but admire these two brothers' endurance.
After all that, they still wouldn't lower their defenses. They were the manliest men among men, the toughest guys among tough guys.
"You're still holding on after all that. You're no ordinary opponents. Looks like I'll have to hit you with a real haymaker."
The shape of Blue Silver Grass's tip shifted, molding itself into a heavy hammer.
Metallic light glinted across the hammerhead. When it struck the ground of the Spirit Fighting Arena, it rang out with a metallic clang.
Shi Mo and Shi Mo: ヽ(ﾟДﾟ)ﾉ
"Wait, wait! We admit we were too stubborn just now. We'll lower our defenses right away."
"Don't—aaaah, stop—"
Unfortunately, it was already too late by the time he said that.
Terrified of the hammer, Shi Mo and Shi Mo had to speak within three seconds.
But unfortunately for them, exactly three seconds elapsed between Tang Wu's starting his attack and its completion.
In other words...
The Shi Brothers had only just opened their mouths the previous second, and the attack was already right in front of them the next.
As they stared at the hammer, barely 0.1 meters away, the brothers' faces turned ashen. It felt as if time had stopped, and a procession of memories flashed before their eyes.
When the vision ended, they both managed a bitter smile.
Was even this three-second delay part of your plan?
Haji Wu, you bastard!
"AAAH—" ×2
With two screams, Shi Mo and Shi Mo were dealt a grievous blow and could no longer get back up.
Yikes—
That was awful. Just awful...
The more than one thousand male spectators who witnessed the scene all sucked in a sharp breath.
That was too brutal.
It was simply too brutal.
Was he even human? He was a demon!
They looked at Tang Wu, who seemed harmless enough on the arena floor, and stiffened all over, their faces as though they'd seen the devil himself.
Oscar's face went pale. Without a word, he edged farther away from Tang Wu.
He was afraid Tang Wu might accidentally do the same thing to him. He wasn't built like the Shi Brothers; one blow like that could really kill him.
"With those two out of the way, the rest should be much easier to deal with..."
With the Shi Brothers' defense broken, Tang Wu swept aside the remaining opponents in short order.
Neither Yu Tianheng nor Dugu Yan could last more than a single exchange against him.
They were all roadkill.
With the Blue Silver Overlord Spear and Ma Hongjun's flames providing enough thrust, it reached its destination, and the Explosive Burning Chili hidden inside immediately exploded.
BOOM—
Able to use the traits of other Martial Souls at will and combine them however he pleased, Tang Wu had now reached the realm of a half-step ultimate life-form.
Any enemy who stood in his way could only be mercilessly sent flying off the stage.
"I'll go down on my own. No need to trouble yourself."
At this critical moment, Ye Lingling raised a hand to stop Tang Wu and said she was willing to cooperate.
She obediently walked toward the Soul Fighting Arena, so she wouldn't get beaten up and then thrown off.
The final winner was obvious. Under Tang Wu's merciless domination, the Heaven Dou Royal Team hadn't been able to fight back at all.
Third floor, private room.
Flender smiled.
"Well... Xiao Gang, do you want to eat this table as it is, or mix it with water first?"
"Haha, impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
Faced with Flender's question, Gangzi tried to bluff and play dumb, hoping to wriggle out of the situation.
"How could two Beast Martial Souls possibly produce the effect of a Martial Soul Fusion Skill with two tool-type Martial Souls?"
"Fake! This has to be fake..."
"Xiao Gang, don't change the subject. You clearly swore you'd eat this table."
But...
Flender latched onto that point and had no intention of letting Gangzi off the hook.
"Uh, Flender, did I say that? How come I don't remember?"
"You did. It was in the previous chapter, and the title made it perfectly clear."
"Haha, I was only joking. I never said I'd actually eat it."
"But you swore on your own Martial Soul. If you break that oath, the consequences will be serious."
Flender looked completely serious. He wasn't joking at all.
Swearing by one's Martial Soul was extremely binding on the Douluo Continent.
Usually, if someone broke an oath they had sworn, punishment really would come down on them.
Seeing Flender lay it all out, Gangzi stopped pretending and gave up.
"So what? What about it..."
"Either way, my Soul Power will hardly improve at all for the rest of my life. I'll break my oath if I want. What can you do about it?"
"I'll tell you this, Flender: I, Yu Xiaogang, am not eating this table!"
Despite Flender's warning, Yu Xiaogang had no intention of honoring his oath. He insisted on breaking it.
He jumped around, exposing his every ugly side, like a furious, helpless monkey.
An extra chapter, free to read before the novel goes premium.
Thank you, dear readers, for all your support. I finally made it this far. It wasn't easy.
Feeling blue, eating mushrooms—