Dugu Yan looked at the long whip, now stripped of its thirty-six scales. Its surface was covered in even finer black-gold metal scales. If those scales landed on someone...
"There's a switch at the back. Press it," Qingxi said calmly.
Dugu Yan picked up the handle and examined it. She pressed the switch, and the fine scales instantly retracted, turning it into a smooth-looking long whip.
Dugu Yan fitted the thirty-six scales back onto the whip, then pressed the switch again. In an instant, the whip became a sword that looked like a fishbone.
The scales were like hooks. If they landed on someone, they would tear away a great deal of flesh.
"Be very careful when you use this weapon." Qingxi frowned. Its lethality was terrifying, like a venomous snake: once it coiled around someone, they would either die or be wounded.
After much thought, this was the weapon she had decided suited Dugu Yan best.
"Don't worry, Master." Dugu Yan nodded, put away Red Scale, and returned to the spectators' seats with Qingxi.
"What are you doing at the Soul Fighting Arena?" Qingxi asked as she sat in the spectators' seats. Shrek's team battle was about to begin.
"My teacher brought us here to train, but my Soul Power Level is too high, so I can't take part in team battles with my friends." Dugu Yan looked at Shrek Team, dressed in a uniform the color of manure, and burst out laughing. "Seriously, what kind of lousy team is this? Did they just crawl out of a latrine?"
Hearing her, the big brother sitting beside her explained, "I'm telling you, miss, you must be new here. Shrek Team has already won fourteen matches in a row. Don't underestimate them."
"Fourteen matches?" Dugu Yan looked toward the stage with unusual seriousness, then leaned closer to Qingxi. "Master, are they really that good?"
At least at Heaven Dou Royal Academy, everyone except her had advanced through the ranks one step at a time. It had taken Yu Tianheng and the others half a year to earn Silver Soul Fighting Badges, and a full year to earn Silver Soul Fighting Badges in team battles.
"They're decent. At the very least, they haven't used their trump cards yet."
The opposing Soul Masters were on the verge of defeat, and the Shrek members had little Soul Power left.
The enemy Soul Masters exchanged glances. Almost in unison, they pulled pills from hidden pockets at their waists, and their Soul Power instantly recovered completely.
"How is that possible?" Everyone from Shrek was shocked.
"That's against the rules! They're cheating!" Flender fretted in the Resting Room. They had actually used medicine.
"Flender, calm down. We have to trust the Little Monsters." Yu Xiaogang watched the stage calmly. They still had a trump card they hadn't used.
"Cheating!!" The surrounding spectators immediately started shouting.
"That's a Second-Grade Spirit Nourishing Pill. I heard each one costs a thousand Gold Soul Coins, and they only sell a hundred each month," someone whispered after recognizing the pill.
"Now this is interesting. That whatever-they're-called Shrek lot is doomed." Dugu Yan leaned back in her chair, watching the fight on the Soul Fighting Stage with amusement.
Qingxi frowned slightly, bit into a candied hawthorn, and looked at the Shrek members, who were clearly at a disadvantage. "Not necessarily."
"It's a Spirit Nourishing Pill. What do we do?" Ning Rongrong took a step back. As the young sect master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, she had naturally seen this kind of thing before.
But wasn't it usually only sold in Heaven Dou City?
"Spirit Nourishing Pill? What's that?" Tang San controlled the Blue Silver Grass from a distance to attack. Cold sweat slid down his forehead, and his Soul Power was already starting to give out.
"It's a pill that quickly restores Soul Power. It only works on people below Soul King."
"Does it have any weaknesses?" Tang San continued.
"Weaknesses?" Ning Rongrong supported everyone with her Soul Skill while quickly searching her memory for information about the Spirit Nourishing Pill. "Right, it 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 wounded.
"Protest!!! They used pills!! The Great Soul Arena is cheating us out of our hard-earned money!" The shouting from the spectators' seats grew louder and louder. Many had bet on Shrek Team, and if they lost, they would likely lose everything.
"This..." The host watched the crowd grow more and more agitated, then anxiously looked toward Supervisor Ao backstage.
Supervisor Ao shook his head indifferently.
The host instantly seemed reassured. He cleared his throat and said, "My apologies, everyone. Soto City Grand Arena has not prohibited the use of weapons, pills, or other items. You may pick up a handbook at the front desk shortly to verify this. For now, the match will continue."
"Despicable!" Zhao Wuji was so furious that he smashed a table to pieces.
Hearing the host, Tang San looked up toward Yu Xiaogang, as if seeking the Grandmaster's advice.
When Yu Xiaogang nodded, Tang San sneered. Eight spider-like legs sprouted from his back. He used Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, moving at incredible speed as he darted among the enemy Soul Masters. The spikes on his Eight Spider Lances pierced their skin and injected venom.
In the blink of an eye, every Soul Master collapsed.
"What kind of Soul Skill is that?" The spectators, who had been making a racket moments before, fell silent.
"Could that be... an External Soul Bone?" Dugu Yan stared at the stage in surprise, her eyes flickering as the Eight Spider Lances, like spider legs, were reflected in them.
It was her second time seeing an External Soul Bone. She just didn't know which was stronger, this one or her own.
"There's more," Qingxi said calmly, eating her candied hawthorn. She had thought they would use Hidden Weapons, but she hadn't expected an External Soul Bone.
"They have another trump card?" Dugu Yan glanced at Qingxi and saw that she wasn't joking.
Dugu Yan completely put aside her contempt for this team and watched the people onstage with absolute seriousness.
"Third Brother, you're amazing!" Xiao Wu squealed and threw herself into Tang San's arms, planting a loud kiss on his cheek.
"Xiao Wu..." Tang San put his arms around Xiao Wu, his expression blank. The cheek she had kissed burned hot.
"I... I didn't mean to." Xiao Wu hurriedly pulled away from Tang San's embrace, poking her two little fingers together as she looked at him pitifully.
"I'm not blaming you." Tang San rubbed Xiao Wu's head, his eyes full of tenderness.
Ning Rongrong hid behind Zhu Zhuqing, frowning slightly as a trace of disgust showed in her eyes.
Doing the things lovers did under the name of siblings—only those two could pull that off.
"All right, you two, quit rubbing it in everyone's faces." Dai Mubai spoke up at just the right moment, then looked at the host nearby. "Can you announce the result? Or they're going to die."
Dai Mubai pointed at the opposing Soul Masters. Their faces had already turned blue and purple as the poison attacked their hearts.
"I announce that Shrek Team has won this Soul Fighting match!" The host finally snapped out of it and hurriedly declared the result.
"Shrek! Shrek..." In an instant, the spectators' cheers for Shrek Team reached a fever pitch.
Tang San walked over to the opposing Soul Masters. The spikes of his Eight Spider Lances pierced their wounds again and drew out the poison.
He watched as they struggled to get back to their feet, frowned slightly, and said disdainfully, "Pills are nothing but external aids!"
"Damn it!" Dugu Yan couldn't help cursing. "He really showed off with that line."
He was such a show-off!
As if his External Soul Bone wasn't an external aid?
"Their character may not be much, but their strength is definitely impressive," Qingxi remarked.
A faint glow shone in her eyes. Although the Eight Spider Lances had drawn the poison back out, in the few moments it had taken, the poison had already spread throughout their bodies with their blood and damaged their hearts. It couldn't be dealt with simply by drawing it back out.
"This batch of Soul Masters has suffered damage to their foundations. Their cultivation will probably never advance again," Qingxi murmured.
Before you continue