The Free Agent

Chen Xuan's voice was not loud, yet it rang through the noisy Spirit Arena like a thunderclap, reaching every ear with perfect clarity.

"Didn't you say you didn't need me?"

The corners of his mouth lifted in a smile full of sarcasm and undisguised mockery.

Yu Xiaogang abruptly rose to his feet, his face livid.

His carefully orchestrated "Tang San Team Miracle" had, at this moment, been forcibly torn open by someone he had personally declared "did not need training."

Tang San panted heavily, the clothes on his back soaked through with sweat and clinging tightly to his skin. The dark blue scales hidden beneath his flesh emitted waves of chilling cold due to the extreme output of spirit power and violent emotional turmoil just now.

He looked at the figure vaulting onto the stage, his heart filled with conflicting emotions.

Did he hate him? A little. He hated how this person always used a condescending attitude to effortlessly shatter the world he had painstakingly built.

But more than that, he felt an inexplicable irritation. It was like a perfect puzzle suddenly having an incompatible iron sheet forcibly shoved into it, ruining the beauty and painfully digging into his palm.

"Chen Xuan, what are you doing?!"

Across from them, the Ironwall Berserker Team captain's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. He had raised his massive axe high, ready to strike Tang San while he was distracted, yet this "free agent" who had appeared out of nowhere ignored him completely and swaggered straight into the center of the Shrek Seven Monsters' formation.

Chen Xuan did not even spare him a glance.

He raised his right hand. Dark yellow light flowed across his palm, and the Wind Eagle Ring he had just acquired fit snugly against his wrist bone. With his movements, rings of cyan wind-element energy surged madly into his meridians.

The Five Elements circulated.

The Wood Shadow Stone served as the core, and the Wind Eagle Ring as the catalyst.

Originally, although Chen Xuan's earth and wood attributes could coexist, they had always moved with some sluggishness.

But in that instant, using the Wind Eagle Ring's "linking" effect, his earth, wind, and wood energies formed a rapidly spinning vortex within his dantian.

In this state, his Earth-Splitting Claws would no longer be merely a physical attack.

"Referee! He isn't on our side!" the Berserker Team captain roared.

The referee was equally bewildered. Since when had Shrek Academy gained someone who could take the stage for a spirit battle? And a "free agent" below level fifty, at that?

Just then, an authoritative voice came from behind the referee's stand.

"Let him fight."

Yu Xiaogang stared fixedly at the arena, his expression incomparably complicated.

Chen Xuan's appearance had disrupted all his plans. By his calculations, Tang San would be injured, but with the resilience of Blue Silver Grass and Oscar's sausages, he should at least have been able to stabilize the situation before wearing down the opponents in a battle of attrition.

But now, Chen Xuan had come.

An uncontrollable variable.

If this variable lost, Shrek lost.

If this variable won... then Yu Xiaogang's theories would lose completely and utterly.

"Fighting is fine."

Chen Xuan flexed his wrist. Earth-Splitting Claws unfolded in his palm with a crisp metallic ring.

He tilted his head toward the referee's stand, his tone as calm as if he were discussing the weather.

"But I have one condition."

"If I win this match, Shrek Academy records one point for me."

"If I lose, I'll get out of the academy with my luggage."

The entire arena erupted.

Wasn't this far too arrogant? As a temporary substitute teammate, he actually dared negotiate terms with the referee before the match?

Before the referee could speak, Yu Xiaogang suddenly sneered.

He stepped forward, placing himself between Chen Xuan and the referee.

"There's no need to record any points."

Yu Xiaogang's voice was as cold as ice, his gaze filled with ruthless severity.

"If you lose, I won't expel you from the academy. I'll make you watch with your own eyes as Tang San's Blue Silver Grass tramples you beneath its feet, proving that your so-called 'miracle' is utterly worthless before me."

It was an exceedingly vicious provocation.

It was also Yu Xiaogang's final stubbornness. He absolutely refused to believe that anyone in this world could overturn the Ten Core Competencies of the Martial Soul World that he had spent half his life compiling.

Chen Xuan seemed to hear him. He turned his head to look at Yu Xiaogang, then suddenly laughed.

There was a trace of pity in that smile.

"Master, you still love to gamble."

Chen Xuan's gaze passed Yu Xiaogang and fell upon Tang San, whose face was pale but whose back remained straight.

"But unfortunately, once a piece is placed on your board, there's no taking it back. You think I'm a chess piece?"

He turned back, his eyes turning as sharp as blades.

"No. I'm here to flip the table."

Before his words had faded—

Clang—!!!

The Berserker Team captain could no longer endure it. With a roar, he unleashed his berserk state to the fullest. His massive axe carried a terrifying gust that tore through the air as it cleaved down toward Chen Xuan's head!

This axe strike was overwhelmingly powerful. It could split even iron armor apart.

"Watch out!" Xiao Wu screamed.

Tang San's eyes nearly split apart as he tried to pull out the Zhuge Divine Crossbow in his hand, only to find that his arms felt as heavy as lead.

He could not move.

Not because of his injuries, but because of fear.

He understood the oppressive force of such pure power too well. It was an attack he had no way of resisting at present.

Yet the expected spray of blood never appeared.

Chen Xuan did not even dodge.

At the instant the massive axe was about to strike his head, the ground beneath his feet suddenly exploded.

Not upward, but downward and outward!

A ring of earth-yellow shockwaves spread out instantly from Chen Xuan at the center.

Immediately afterward, a cyan afterimage shot into the sky.

Chen Xuan transformed into a streak of cyan and yellow light, abruptly changing direction three meters above the Berserker Team captain's head.

"What?!"

The Berserker Team captain was shocked. His vision blurred, and his neck suddenly turned cold.

Chen Xuan's left hand clamped tightly around his throat, dark yellow claw blades already deeply embedded in his flesh.

At the same time, Chen Xuan twisted his right leg at an extraordinarily strange angle and viciously kicked another berserker in the abdomen.

Bang!

That berserker did not even have time to scream before he flew backward like a broken sack, smashing heavily into the protective barrier at the edge of the arena. He slid down with blood flowing from his nose and mouth, utterly unconscious.

The entire arena fell silent.

Everyone stared with wide eyes as if they had seen a ghost.

What kind of speed was that? What kind of strength?

Berserker-type Spirit Elders feared pain the least. What they feared most was control!

Yet Chen Xuan's first move had used neither ropes nor nets. Instead, he had employed the most violent method possible—throat locking and a heavy kick!

The gravity amplification of the earth attribute, combined with the explosive speed of the wind attribute.

Chen Xuan released his hand. The Berserker Team captain clutched his throat and collapsed to the ground without even making a sound. His legs twitched twice before he fell completely silent.

The last remaining berserker and the support spirit master were terrified out of their wits.

They looked at the youth in the plain gray robe as if they were staring at a ferocious beast ready to devour its prey.

Chen Xuan flicked his wrist. A drop of blood still hung from the dark yellow claw blade.

He looked down at the remaining two, a cold curve forming at the corner of his mouth.

"Your captain was strong."

He lifted his foot, stepped on the berserker's chest, and ground down hard.

"But he made one mistake."

Chen Xuan bent down, leaned close to the man's ear, and said softly,

"He thought that breaking someone's legs would let him win."

"But he forgot."

"In this world, there is a kind of person."

"Even if you break his legs, he can still use his teeth to bite through your throat."

Boom—!!!

The Five Elements energy within Chen Xuan erupted completely at that moment.

The heaviness of earth, the violence of wind, and the vitality of wood fused together perfectly.

The clothes on his back stirred without wind, faintly revealing a strange image—the sight of towering ancient trees growing from the earth, standing firm amid raging winds.

At that moment, the Ironwall Berserker Team's final two members felt a tremor rising from the depths of their souls.

They had no doubt that if they did not take another step back.