Entanglement, Suppression

The onlookers surrounding them all grew excited when they heard those words.

They were even more excited than Shi An himself.

They had probably never seen a battle between Soul Saints in their entire lives.

They could brag about it for the rest of their lives after going back.

Zhu Zhuqing looked at Shi An, her eyes filled with worry.

After all, this matter seemed to have arisen because of her.

She did not know how strong Shi An was, but his opponent was a Soul Saint.

Dai Mubai, standing nearby, was even more excited. He felt that Shi An was definitely no match for Flender.

This time, Shi An would probably be beaten badly. Although Dai Mubai would not be the one teaching him a lesson personally, he still felt immensely satisfied.

"Then... let's begin!" Shi An waved his right hand, and a ring of walls rose from the ground. In an instant, they formed a semicircular barrier, like a huge bowl overturned on the ground.

Everyone around them was pushed out, their faces filled with confusion and astonishment.

What was this...

He was sealing it off so no one could watch?

Damn it!

The story I could've bragged about for a lifetime is gone just like that!

The barrier radiated a brown glow. The dim lighting posed no obstacle to Shi An.

Of course, the same was true for Flender, since his Martial Soul was an Owl.

Seeing the barrier around them, Flender nodded slightly, quite pleased with Shi An's idea.

He was a flying-type Soul Master, so Shi An used the barrier to restrict his flight.

That was a very clever decision.

But...

Damn it, raising such a massive earthen wall barrier in one go—was that really something a Soul Elder could do?

Flender stared at Shi An in amazement, feeling that he could not see through this young man at all.

Shi An did not care about Flender's surprise and attacked immediately.

The ground caved in and began spinning, turning into a Quicksand Vortex. Chains clattered out from the earthen wall overhead and swept toward Flender.

Shi An stood cautiously where he was as Earth Spikes and earthen spears rose from the ground one after another, dense as countless arrows as they rained down from above.

Flender's feet sank, and he felt his body slowly being dragged downward. Looking down, his brows rose slightly.

He flapped the wings on his back, trying to pull his feet free from the quicksand.

Yet the quicksand's suction was far too strong. He could only struggle with his wings while launching a Soul Skill at the arrows shooting toward him from all directions.

"Fourth Soul Skill: Cat Claw Blades!"

The purple Thousand-Year Soul Ring lit up. Flender swung both hands, and ten golden claw streaks tore through the air with shrieking winds.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sounds of refined iron colliding echoed across the field. The claw streaks struck the Earth Spikes and earthen spears, scattering stone fragments that smacked against the ground and walls.

Shi An knew he could not stop. The moment he did, Flender would seize the opportunity and defeat him in one blow.

So from the very beginning, he gave it everything he had.

Bang!

A thirty-foot earthen snake burst from the ground, opening its jaws to bite at Flender's back. Its sharp fangs gleamed with deadly cold light.

Flender's pupils contracted sharply. He had not expected Shi An to possess such an ability.

Was this a Soul Beast?

No, that was not right. There was no life aura or Soul Power fluctuation.

This was an inanimate object!

Flender had no time to think further. He could not turn around, so he could only rely on instinct and attack behind him.

"Fifth Soul Skill: Gale Annihilation!"

The gray Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring lit with a deep, eerie glow. Flender's wings began flashing and trembling at extreme speed, stirring fierce gales within this "giant bowl."

The greenish winds converged into a tornado and wrapped around the Puppet Snake.

The immense wind pressure and tearing force immediately swept the Puppet Snake up, producing crisp cracking sounds.

Its body could not withstand the pressure and was breaking apart. Shi An waved his hand, and the Puppet Snake instantly shattered into a sky full of dirt fragments.

Then another Puppet Snake burst from the ground and lunged at Flender again.

"What?!"

Flender could hardly believe it. Shi An's methods had clearly surpassed the limits of a Soul Elder.

Even some Soul Kings might not have been able to put him under such pressure.

Using a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Skill had already been somewhat excessive on his part, yet Shi An proved even more troublesome than he had expected.

Immense delight rose in his heart. If such a monster entered Shrek Academy, its fame was bound to soar.

Flender indulged in the fantasy, happier than if he had picked up ten thousand Gold Soul Coins.

Even if he failed to defeat Shi An within the time it took to burn an incense stick, he believed Shi An would eventually come to Shrek Academy to register.

The howling wind echoed by his ears as Shi An accelerated the Quicksand Vortex.

Not only that, the overturned giant "bowl" was constantly shrinking. He was compressing the space, leaving Flender with less and less room to move.

The chains had already encircled Flender. If Flender wanted to break through the blockade and fly into the sky, he would have to use his Martial Soul Avatar and greatly increase his strength.

But would he?

Would Flender, a dignified Soul Saint, really use his Martial Soul Avatar against a twelve- or thirteen-year-old boy?

If he truly used his Martial Soul Avatar, everyone would think he was a pathetic excuse for a Soul Saint.

This concerned both Flender's pride and Shrek Academy's reputation.

If he really used it...

Shi An would have no choice but to take Zhu Zhuqing and escape through Earth Tunneling. He had no intention of actually honoring the wager and joining that damn Shrek Academy.

No facilities, no resources, only a few half-baked teachers, and later that damn "master," Yu Xiaogang. That was not an academy at all.

It was a half-baked cult chapel.

If Tang San had not later given them Immortal Herbs, Tang San would probably have been the only one among them capable of becoming a Title Douluo.

Those thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant as a huge hand reached out from the earthen wall overhead.

It descended over Flender's head, intending to press him completely into the ground.

Two curved blades shot through the air like twin wheels of light, streaking toward Flender's flank with piercing shrieks.

"Good lad! What are all these bizarre abilities?!"

Flender had lost count of how many times he had been shocked. Looking at the attacks converging on him from every direction, the sixth Soul Ring around his calf suddenly lit up.

"Sixth Soul Skill: Golden Feather Guard!"

Feathers appeared in midair and swiftly wrapped around Flender. They glowed with a faint golden light that joined together, forming an oval turtle shell.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound of metal clashing rang out as sparks burst from every collision. The dense sounds continued like a symphony, and Flender was forcibly pressed downward.

Shi An had no intention of relaxing. The quicksand beneath them slowed, but it transformed into a sharp, hardened spiral meat grinder.

Crack! Crack! Crack!