Tang Wulin had won the first two matches by himself. Yun Xiao had never even made a move. All anyone knew was that Yun Xiao had a Ten-Year Soul Ring and a Star Disk Martial Soul.
But Tang Wulin had already learned about Yun Xiao's Soul Skill while they were waiting below the stage. Now was the time to put it to use.
"Good!"
Yun Xiao gave a soft shout, and the white Soul Ring beneath his feet lit up.
Xie Xie stood in front of Xu Xiaohui, facing Tang Wulin. He had abandoned his earlier reckless style and was waiting for Xu Xiaohui's support Soul Skill to take effect.
At the same time, he was on guard in case Tang Wulin tried to attack Xu Xiaohui first.
But Tang Wulin didn't move forward. He even took two steps back, standing right beside Yun Xiao.
That only left Xie Xie more confused.
Even Wu Zhangkong, watching from the sidelines, couldn't figure out why. By rights, Tang Wulin should have known to take Xu Xiaohui out first.
Is Tang Wulin waiting for Yun Xiao's Soul Skill? Wu Zhangkong guessed.
As it turned out, Wu Zhangkong was right.
The Star Disk in Yun Xiao's hand lit up, and then he appeared where Xu Xiaohui had been standing.
So where was Xu Xiaohui?
The answer was obvious: Yun Xiao and Xu Xiaohui had switched places.
His first Soul Skill was Position Swap. This seemingly rather useless Soul Skill proved incredibly useful in this match.
Xu Xiaohui now stood beside Tang Wulin, looking a little bewildered.
That's a pretty good Soul Skill, Wu Zhangkong couldn't help thinking.
Tang Wulin hadn't even needed to act before Wu Zhangkong declared Xu Xiaohui and Yun Xiao out.
With two support-type Soul Masters right beside the opposing team's main attacker, they could only be eliminated.
Just like that, Yun Xiao had used a single Soul Skill to trade one for one, leaving the match at one-on-one.
It was hard to say whether that was a gain or a loss. But Yun Xiao knew Tang Wulin had already beaten Xie Xie twice. If nothing unexpected happened, surely he could win again this time!
"Perfect! Now that those two are off the stage, we can have another one-on-one. Tang Wulin, this time I'm definitely going to beat you!"
Xie Xie wasn't affected by Xu Xiaohui's elimination. Her Soul Skill had been good, but a one-on-one fight with Tang Wulin would be even better.
"Bring it on, Xie Xie!"
Tang Wulin summoned his Blue Silver Grass. Gold markings still ran along its strands, making it far tougher than before. He figured Xie Xie's Light Dragon Dagger wouldn't be able to cut through it right away.
The Light Dragon Dagger gleamed coldly in Xie Xie's hand. He didn't rush to attack Tang Wulin; he still remembered their fight at East Sea Park yesterday all too clearly.
That guy was more like a Power Attack System Soul Master, wasn't he? His strength was simply astonishing.
There was no way Xie Xie had an advantage in a head-on fight.
Still, Xie Xie didn't hesitate for long. His eyes narrowed, and he entered a state of intense focus.
Soon, Xie Xie moved. He circled around Tang Wulin from the side, the Light Dragon Dagger in his hand tracing a golden arc through the air.
Tang Wulin stood his ground, unruffled, and controlled his Blue Silver Grass to protect himself.
His Soul Ring was older than Xie Xie's, but Tang Wulin understood that his Soul Power was weaker. And the same situation as yesterday's battle at East Sea Park probably wouldn't happen again—Xie Xie would be ready for Tang Wulin to close in.
That left the two of them in a standoff on the stage.
Xie Xie kept circling Tang Wulin without attacking, while Tang Wulin kept his Blue Silver Grass up defensively.
"This won't work. My Soul Power is lower than Xie Xie's. If we keep this up, I'll definitely lose."
Tang Wulin realized he couldn't just keep dragging things out.
Just then, Xie Xie, circling nearby, saw Tang Wulin withdraw his Blue Silver Grass.
"What's Tang Wulin doing?"
Xie Xie was baffled. He had indeed been wearing down Tang Wulin's Soul Power, but he hadn't planned to win by exhausting it completely. He was just looking for an opening, waiting until Tang Wulin had used up some Soul Power before launching his attack.
Tang Wulin's next move gave Xie Xie his answer.
Two hammers suddenly appeared in Tang Wulin's hands.
"Those aren't Soul Tools." Wu Zhangkong frowned. He couldn't understand what good a pair of non-Soul Tool hammers would do on the stage.
Xie Xie couldn't figure it out either, but he didn't dwell on it. Tang Wulin had lowered his Blue Silver Grass defense, and that was the perfect opportunity.
Light Dragon Slash!
This strike gathered nearly half of Xie Xie's Soul Power, and it was incredibly fast. Even if Tang Wulin summoned his Blue Silver Grass again, Xie Xie didn't believe it could stop the attack.
But what happened next left Xie Xie dumbfounded.
Xie Xie was attacking from behind Tang Wulin. Just as the Light Dragon Dagger was about to hit him, a silver hammer blocked it.
And the hammer was completely unharmed by the strike, which had concentrated nearly half of Xie Xie's Soul Power. Instead, the impact left Xie Xie's arm numb.
"Those hammers are extraordinary. They must be made of rare metal," Wu Zhangkong judged from the sidelines.
That was indeed Tang Wulin's Thousand-Refined Sinking Silver Hammer. The strength of Thousand-Refined Sinking Silver meant that not even a strike using all of Xie Xie's Soul Power could damage it.
Xie Xie gritted his teeth, his face twisted in frustration. How could such a powerful strike have been deflected so easily?
Despite his frustration, Xie Xie quickly recovered and attacked Tang Wulin again.
This strike came from a trickier angle, aimed straight at Tang Wulin's heel.
But the result was the same: a hammer knocked the Light Dragon Dagger aside.
"Damn it!"
The next several times Xie Xie attacked, the same thing happened. It was as if Tang Wulin knew where each attack would come from—every time, he blocked it with perfect precision.
"I can't drag this out any longer."
Feeling his Soul Power running low, Xie Xie's aura suddenly changed. A dark-black dagger appeared in his left hand.
At the sight of it, Wu Zhangkong's eyes flickered.
As soon as the dark dagger appeared, Xie Xie's aura turned ghostly, and his speed increased by at least thirty percent.
"Clang!"
But Tang Wulin still blocked his attack.
"Stop!" Wu Zhangkong walked over and said in a deep voice, "Tang Wulin wins!"
"Teacher Wu! I haven't lost yet!" Xie Xie still wanted to keep fighting. He couldn't bear to admit defeat.
Wu Zhangkong gave Xie Xie a cold look. "Do you think you still have a chance of winning? You even used your second Martial Soul, and you still couldn't touch Tang Wulin. How do you expect to win?"
"I..." Xie Xie wanted to argue, but then he realized Teacher Wu seemed to be right.
"Xie Xie, so you have Twin Martial Souls! No wonder you're so strong," Tang Wulin said with a smile.
"Tang Wulin, where did you get those hammers?" Wu Zhangkong asked him.
"Oh, these?" Tang Wulin lifted the Thousand-Refined Sinking Silver Hammers in his hands. "I'm a blacksmith. They're my forging hammers, for working metal!"
"Blacksmithing? How can a pair of hammers for working metal be so sturdy?" Xie Xie said, unable to believe it.
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