The Might of the Earth Tiger, Seven Unable to Defeat One

After the seven's first combined assault was effortlessly dismantled by Mountain Collapse and Earth Split, the atmosphere on the training field changed completely.

Ma Hongjun panted heavily, the phoenix flames in his palms flickering unsteadily. Looking at the unmoving brown-armored figure before him, he felt for the first time that the Evil Fire Phoenix he had always been so proud of did not seem quite so formidable.

Tang San's Blue Silver Grass was slowly regenerating, but that shockwave had shattered four of his main vines, draining a considerable amount of his spiritual power.

Xiao Wu did not rush in again after landing. Her gaze had grown more cautious. Having worked with Yun Tian for six years, she knew exactly what it looked like when he got serious.

"Again!" Dai Mubai was the first to regain his footing after being knocked back. The violent bloodline of his White Tiger martial soul made him all the more unwilling to admit defeat the more he was suppressed.

With a low roar, he charged at the front. White Tiger Fierce Light Wave gathered over his fists as his third soul ring lit up at the same time. The strength boost from White Tiger Vajra Transformation caused the muscles all over his body to swell another size.

Ma Hongjun gritted his teeth and followed. Phoenix flames formed a pair of translucent fiery wings behind him, and he soared into the air, diving down from above.

Tang San's Blue Silver Grass erupted from the ground once more. This time, he did not attack Yun Tian directly, instead weaving it close to the ground into a dense grid in an attempt to seal off Yun Tian's paths of movement.

Xiao Wu charged in from the right flank, while Zhu Zhuqing emerged from the shadows behind him. The ghostly blue glow on her claw blades had already condensed into tangible blade light.

Ning Rongrong's Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda cast three simultaneous boosts—strength, speed, and soul power recovery—forward. Six beams of light descended upon the six of them, and each of their auras surged higher.

The six attacks arrived at once again.

Yet this time, Yun Tian did not use Mountain Collapse and Earth Split.

He brought his hands together before him. Earth-yellow light rapidly gathered in his palms, forming a dense orb of light.

The patterns on the armor's surface seemed to come alive at that moment. Earth-element power flowed and converged along the lines of his armguards, ultimately forming a set of claw blades on his right hand that glinted with cold metallic light—the Earth Tiger Claw.

The weapon's first appearance.

"Earth-Rending Claw!"

Yun Tian's voice came from beneath the armored mask, carrying a cold metallic edge.

He swung his right hand sharply forward. Five earth-yellow claw streaks shot from the claw blades with a howl, carving five parallel tears through the air as they swept toward Dai Mubai, who was charging from the front.

Dai Mubai's pupils contracted sharply.

Those five claw streaks came incredibly fast, each wrapped in dense earth-element power, like five invisible blades slicing through the air.

Instinctively, he crossed his arms to block, driving the White Tiger Protective Barrier to its limit.

Bang.

The five claw streaks struck his barrier one after another. Each hit forced him half a step back. After five strikes, Dai Mubai had slid back more than a dozen paces, and five faint scorch marks had been left in the white tiger fur on his arms.

Ma Hongjun's diving attack arrived right after.

He dropped straight down from the sky, the phoenix flames gathered between his palms compressed into a small fireball at its limit, which he smashed fiercely toward Yun Tian's head.

This was a combined use of his second soul skill, Bathing Fire Phoenix, and his first soul skill, Phoenix Fireline. Its power was enough to send a soul master of the same rank flying outright.

Yun Tian glanced up at the descending blaze. He neither dodged nor retreated, merely raising his left arm to meet it.

"Earth-Rending Palm."

His left hand pressed through the air before him, and a thick earthen wall more than a foot wide rose from the ground out of nowhere, blocking the space between his head and Ma Hongjun.

The fireball exploded against the earthen wall in a shower of sparks. Its surface was scorched black and cracked, but it did not collapse in the end. Ma Hongjun's attack was completely blocked, and the recoil sent him flipping through the air. He staggered several steps when he landed.

"Fuck!" Ma Hongjun cursed as he stared at the scorched yet intact earthen wall after landing.

Xiao Wu's ambush cut in at that moment.

She seized the brief opening after Yun Tian unleashed Earth-Rending Palm, before his left arm had fully withdrawn. Her long legs twisted toward the center of his back like a whirlwind, the explosive power of the Soft-Boned Rabbit martial soul unleashed to the fullest at that instant.

If that kick landed solidly, even a defense-type soul master would suffer badly.

But Yun Tian's reaction was faster than her attack.

His right foot stamped the ground as he stepped forward, and the leg armor of the Earth Tiger Armor erupted with earth-yellow light.

"Earth Tiger Leap!"

The explosive force from the armor's lower body sent him sliding several feet forward in an instant. Xiao Wu's fierce twisting kick skimmed past the armor on his back and struck nothing but air.

Using the momentum of his forward burst, Yun Tian had already reached Xiao Wu's side. His right hand shot out, and his armored forearm pressed precisely against her shoulder. The force was not heavy, but it was enough to break her balance.

Xiao Wu was knocked off balance by the push and had to flip backward twice before regaining her footing, her face full of unwillingness and helplessness.

Zhu Zhuqing struck the instant Yun Tian pressed Xiao Wu and had yet to adjust his center of gravity.

The claw blades of the Nether Spirit Cat silently extended from the shadows, aiming directly for the right side of Yun Tian's armor, where she had previously observed the gaps to be more pronounced when he used Mountain Collapse and Earth Split.

Her judgment was accurate, and her timing was excellent.

Yet it was as if Yun Tian had eyes on the back of his head. Just as her claw blades were about to touch his armor, his upper body shifted half a foot to the left. At the same time, he swept the Earth Tiger Claw in his right hand backward. Five claw streaks flashed past Zhu Zhuqing's cheek, cutting off several loose strands of hair by her ear.

Had she rushed even half an inch farther forward, that claw would have sliced solidly across her neck.

Zhu Zhuqing retreated three steps, her face slightly pale.

She knew he had shown mercy.

Tang San's Blue Silver Grass net finally closed in at that moment.

Taking advantage of the others' relentless attacks, he had split the Blue Silver Grass into dozens of thin vines, weaving an impenetrable binding net beneath and around Yun Tian.

Now, he brought his hands together sharply. All the thin vines tightened at once, wrapping around Yun Tian from his ankles to his knees, from his waist and abdomen to his arms, cocooning his entire body in dark green.

"Got him!" Tang San shouted in a low voice, gripping the vine ends tightly in both hands.

The six of them almost sighed in relief at the same time. They had personally experienced the toughness and poisonous properties of Blue Silver Grass through years of cooperation. Once it wrapped around someone, even if Yun Tian possessed tremendous strength, there was no way he could break free instantly.

But at that very moment, Yun Tian's bound body suddenly shook violently.

His right foot stomped heavily against the ground. The light of his first and second soul rings lit up at the same time, and a layer of sharp earth-element spikes emerged over the shoulder and arm armor of the Earth Tiger Armor.

Those spikes were like inverted daggers, snapping the Blue Silver Grass vines wrapped around him one by one from within.

"Snap! Snap!! Snap!!!"

The sound of vines breaking rang out continuously like snapping strings, and dark green fragments filled the air.