Eight Spider Lances Decide the Victor

Dugu Yan looked at the long whip, now stripped of its thirty-six scales to reveal a surface of finer, black-gold metallic scales. Once such scales struck a person...

"There's a switch on the back. Press it," Qingxi said indifferently.

Dugu Yan picked up the handle and examined it. She pressed the switch, and the fine scales instantly retracted, transforming the weapon into a smooth, long whip.

Dugu Yan reattached the thirty-six scales to the whip and pressed the switch again; in an instant, the whip morphed into a sword resembling a fish spine.

Those scales were like hooks; once they landed on someone, they would surely tear away large chunks of flesh and skin.

"You must use this weapon with caution," Qingxi frowned. The lethality of this weapon was terrifying; like a venomous snake, once it coiled around a target, it meant either death or grave injury.

This was the weapon she had concluded, after much thought, was most suitable for Dugu Yan.

"Don't worry, Master." Dugu Yan nodded, put away the red scales, and returned to the spectator stands with Qingxi.

"Why are you at the Grand Arena?" Qingxi sat in the stands as the Shrek Team's group battle was about to begin.

"My teacher brought us here for training, but my spirit power level is too high, so I can't participate in group battles with my companions." Dugu Yan looked at the Shrek Team, who were dressed in unsightly mustard-yellow uniforms, and burst out laughing. "No way, what kind of trash team is this? Did they just crawl out of a latrine?"

Hearing Dugu Yan say this, the man sitting next to her explained, "I say, little sister, you must be new here, right? This Shrek Team has already won fourteen consecutive matches. You shouldn't underestimate them."

"Fourteen matches?" Dugu Yan looked toward the stage with rare seriousness, leaning in toward Qingxi. "Master, are they really that strong?"

At the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, she was the only one who had advanced steadily. It had taken Yu Tianheng and the others half a year to reach the Silver Soul Fighting Badge, and a full year to achieve it in group battles.

"They're decent. At the very least, they haven't revealed their trump cards yet."

Seeing the opposing spirit masters about to be defeated, the Shrek members were also running low on spirit power.

The opposing spirit masters exchanged glances and, almost simultaneously, pulled a pill from a hidden pocket at their waists. Instantly, their spirit power was fully restored.

"How is that possible!" The Shrek members were all shocked.

"Foul! That's a foul!" Flender paced anxiously in the lounge; they were actually using drugs.

"Flender, calm down. We must trust the little monsters." Yu Xiaogang watched the stage calmly; they still had trump cards left unused.

"Foul!!" The surrounding audience immediately began to jeer.

"It's a Second-Grade Spirit Nourishing Pill. It's said that this thing costs one thousand Gold Soul Coins per pill, and only one hundred are sold each month." Someone recognized the pill and whispered.

"This is getting interesting. This 'Shrek' team is going to lose for sure." Dugu Yan leaned back in her chair, watching the match on the arena stage with amusement.

Qingxi frowned slightly, bit off a piece of candied hawthorn, and watched the clearly disadvantaged Shrek members. "That might not be the case."

"It's a Second-Grade Spirit Nourishing Pill. What do we do?" Ning Rongrong took a step back. As the young sect mistress of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, she had naturally seen such things before.

But wasn't this stuff usually only sold in Tiandou City?

"Spirit Nourishing Pill? What's that?" Tang San controlled his Blue Silver Grass from a distance to attack, cold sweat sliding down his forehead as his spirit power began to reach its limit.

"It's a type of pill that can rapidly restore spirit power, though it's only effective for those below the Spirit King level."

"Does it have any weaknesses?" Tang San asked next.

"Weaknesses?" Ning Rongrong cast her spirit skill to support the others while quickly searching her mind for descriptions of the Spirit Nourishing Pill. "Right, this pill can only be used once every six hours. Does that count as a weakness?"

"Xiao San, what do we do?" Dai Mubai retreated to Tang San's side, already nursing injuries.

"Protest!!! They're using pills!! The Grand Arena is swindling our hard-earned money!" The shouting from the stands grew louder; after all, many people had bet on the Shrek Team, and if they lost, they would lose everything.

"This..." The host looked at the increasingly agitated crowd and glanced nervously at Supervisor Ao in the background.

Supervisor Ao shook his head indifferently.

The host felt as if he had swallowed a reassurance pill and cleared his throat. "Apologies, everyone. The Soto City Grand Arena does not prohibit the use of weapons, pills, or other items. You may pick up a manual at the front desk later to verify. Now, the match continues."

"Despicable!" Zhao Wuji was so angry he smashed a table to pieces.

Hearing the host's words, Tang San looked up toward Yu Xiaogang, as if seeking the Grandmaster's advice.

Seeing him nod, Tang San sneered. Eight spider-like legs emerged from his back. He executed the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, moving with extreme speed as he wove between the opposing spirit masters, the tips of his Eight Spider Lances piercing their skin and injecting venom.

In an instant, all the spirit masters collapsed to the ground, unable to rise.

"What kind of spirit skill is that?" The previously noisy spectator stands fell silent at once.

"Is that... an External Spirit Bone?" Dugu Yan looked at the stage in surprise, her eyes flickering as she stared at the spider-leg-like Eight Spider Lances.

This was the second time she had seen an External Spirit Bone, though she wondered whose was stronger—his or hers.

"There's more, you know." Qingxi ate her candied hawthorn calmly. She had expected him to use hidden weapons, but she hadn't anticipated an External Spirit Bone.

"There's still a trump card?" Dugu Yan glanced at Qingxi, seeing she wasn't joking.

Dugu Yan completely set aside her contempt for the team and watched the figures on the stage with absolute seriousness.

"Third Brother, you're amazing!" Xiao Wu shrieked and threw herself into Tang San's arms, planting a kiss on his cheek.

"Xiao Wu..." Tang San reached out to wrap his arms around her, his expression dazed, his cheek burning where she had kissed him.

"I... I didn't mean to." Xiao Wu hurriedly pulled away from Tang San's embrace, poking her fingers together and looking at him with a wronged expression.

"I'm not blaming you." Tang San ruffled Xiao Wu's hair, his eyes filled with tenderness.

Ning Rongrong hid behind Zhu Zhuqing, frowning slightly, a trace of disgust flashing in her eyes.

Acting like lovers under the guise of being siblings—they were the only ones capable of such a thing.

"Enough, you two, stop flaunting your romance." Dai Mubai spoke up at the right moment, glancing at the host to the side. "Can you announce the result yet? Otherwise, they're going to die."

Dai Mubai pointed at the opposing soul masters, whose faces were already turning a bruised purple as the poison attacked their hearts.

"I announce that the Shrek Team is the winner of this soul fight!" The host finally snapped out of his daze and hurriedly announced the result.

"Shrek! Shrek..." In an instant, the cheers from the audience for the Shrek Team reached a fever pitch.

Tang San walked over to the opposing soul masters, the tips of his Eight Spider Lances piercing their wounds once more to draw the poison back out.

Watching them struggle as they tried to climb to their feet, he frowned slightly and said with disdain, "Medicinal pills are, after all, merely an external force!"

"Damn it!" Dugu Yan couldn't help but curse, "He really got to play the cool one."

This guy is so good at acting high and mighty!

Is his External Spirit Bone not an external force, then?

"Although their character is lacking, their strength is indeed impressive," Qingxi commented.

Her eyes emitted a faint glow. Even though the Eight Spider Lances had retracted the poison, in those few seconds, the toxin had already spread throughout their bodies via the bloodstream and damaged their heart meridians; it wasn't something that could be resolved by a simple extraction.

"These soul masters have damaged their foundations; I fear their cultivation will stop here," Qingxi murmured.