Su Chen vs. Tang San (Part 1)

There was no wind on the arena.

Su Chen and Tang San stepped onto it at the same time, stopping thirty paces apart.

In the arena packed with tens of thousands, not a single person made a sound. No one even dared to breathe too loudly.

The blood and fire of the previous six matches had stretched everyone's nerves taut, like strings on the verge of snapping.

Su Chen did not move.

Neither did Tang San.

Their gazes crossed the thirty paces between them and collided in midair—silent, yet seemingly sparking with fire.

The referee's raised right hand trembled slightly.

It was the first time in his career.

Forcing down the shiver in his heart, he used every ounce of strength he had to roar the final command:

"Final match—begin!"

The instant the words fell, Tang San's right hand flicked out!

Three sleeve arrows shot low across the ground, not in straight lines, but in arcs!

One veered thirty degrees left, one forty-five degrees right, while the third stabbed straight down the middle.

Three paths of death converged precisely two meters in front of Su Chen.

A basic Tang Sect technique—Sealing Pouch.

It tested the opponent's first reaction.

Su Chen neither dodged nor evaded.

He merely turned his wrist, palm facing down, and pressed lightly.

Two pitch-black tears silently split open in the space before him.

Two Nether Shadow Leopards sprang from within, their claws tracing cold arcs as they precisely knocked away all three sleeve arrows.

The clash of metal was brief and sharp.

The next second, the Shadow Leopards retracted their claws and retreated behind Su Chen like ghosts, as though they had never appeared.

Only two.

In the stands, some were confused while others looked doubtful.

The unfathomably powerful Supreme Summoner of Abyss had opened the final match by summoning only two soul beasts?

In the VIP section, Ning Fengzhi's fingers froze in midair as he held his teacup.

"He's fishing." Bone Douluo's hoarse, certain voice came from behind him.

On the arena, Su Chen smiled.

"Tang San."

"You opened with hidden weapons because you're afraid of me."

"Afraid that my summons will fully spread out."

Tang San did not answer.

Actions were the best answer.

Blue Silver Grass began growing wildly beneath his feet, like countless green serpents creeping across the ground and silently claiming half the arena.

Su Chen continued speaking, his voice carrying the calm of someone who had seen through everything.

"In the previous team battles, you barely moved, but your eyes never stopped."

"You were calculating the switching time of my summons, their attack intervals, and every timing gap in their coordination."

"You figured it out."

Tang San finally spoke. His voice was calm, but every word was clear.

"The switching interval is 0.7 seconds."

"It takes 1.2 seconds for the Fearclaw Bears to form up."

"It takes two seconds for the Thunder Eagles to reach bombing altitude."

He raised his head, his blue eyes so tranquil they made one's heart shudder.

"It takes 0.4 seconds for the Shadow Leopards to go from stealth to striking."

"They are your fastest unit."

"So you sent out the Shadow Leopards first."

"As expected of Tang San," Su Chen praised.

Tang San's response was his third soul skill.

Spider Web Binding!

The Blue Silver Grass spreading along the ground instantly surged skyward, but its target was not Su Chen!

Hundreds of stalks frantically intertwined above the arena, forming an impenetrable green canopy that completely sealed off all aerial routes!

Want the Thunder Eagles to take flight?

Break this net first!

Such accurate judgment, swift action, and decisive execution!

Su Chen nodded and turned his right hand again.

Four Dark Golden Terrorclaw Bears fell from the void, their heavy bodies smashing the arena tiles into inch-by-inch cracks.

Without needing orders, they automatically formed a diamond-shaped battle formation and advanced with low growls.

You sealed the sky, then I would crush the ground.

Tang San took half a step back, opening the distance.

His right hand flicked repeatedly, sending four miniature Buddha's Fury Tang Lotuses shrieking out in four directions!

Boom!

The violent blast wave struck the chest of the leading Fearclaw Bear with perfect accuracy!

That Ten-Thousand-Year giant bear was actually blasted back three full steps by the force!

It lowered its head, looked at the scorched fur on its chest, and let out a furious roar that shook the entire arena.

It had only retreated three steps.

But the stands had already erupted!

"Tang San's hidden weapons can shake a Ten-Thousand-Year Fearclaw Bear!"

"That's the defense of a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast! It took a Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus head-on and only retreated three steps?"

At that moment, both sides' benchmarks of strength were completely rewritten!

The trace of amusement in Su Chen's eyes finally faded, replaced by genuine seriousness.

Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus was twenty percent more powerful than he had estimated.

Tang San's mastery of hidden weapons had surpassed the limits of every piece of intelligence.

He had to adjust his tactics.

Su Chen pointed his left index finger toward the sky.

Two Purple Lightning Thunder Eagles shot upward from behind him, their wings shaking out countless lightning feather blades that frantically sliced at the Blue Silver Grass net overhead.

A gap was torn through the grass net. The Thunder Eagles pierced through it, circled high in the air, and drew down lightning from the heavens.

Tang San's gaze lifted for 0.3 seconds.

That was the moment.

That was the 0.3 seconds Su Chen had been waiting for.

Everyone thought those two Shadow Leopards were Su Chen's pieces on the board.

But Nether Shadow Leopards came in groups of five.

Where were the other three?

The answer lay in Tang San's shadow.

Three pitch-black specters violently burst from the shadow beneath Tang San's feet!

No warning, no soul power fluctuation, no signal that could be sensed!

This was the most terrifying form of Nether Shadow Leopard infiltration—Shadow Fusion!

Three Shadow Leopards, three angles, three lethal claw strikes, all attacking Tang San's back, left ribs, and right knee at once!

The tens of thousands of spectators throughout the arena collectively gasped!

Tang San's pupils suddenly contracted to pinpoints!

The inner power of the Xuantian Technique exploded, and a layer of pale golden protective force burst from his body!

The first Shadow Leopard's claws tore against the protective force, scattering a string of dazzling sparks!

But the second Shadow Leopard's claws had already slashed across his left arm—

Riiip!

Cloth tore apart.

Three bone-deep claw marks suddenly appeared on Tang San's left arm!

Blood instantly poured forth, dripping from his fingertips—drip, drip—onto the cold arena floor.

Tang San had been wounded.

The entire arena fell deathly silent for one second before exploding completely!

"Tang San is hurt!"

"It was a trap! Su Chen had been laying out his plan from the very beginning! Those two Shadow Leopards were bait!"

Su Chen's voice pierced through the roaring crowd and reached Tang San's ears clearly.

"You thought I only summoned two Shadow Leopards at the start because I was holding back?"

"No."

"It was so the other three could infiltrate your shadow beforehand."

"From the moment the referee shouted 'begin,' three blades had been buried beneath your feet."

Tang San swung his hammer backward. The pitch-black Haotian Hammer carried an unmatched gust of force and sent the nearest Shadow Leopard flying!

He glanced at the wound on his left arm. It was not deep, but it was a declaration.

He raised his head and looked at Su Chen.

Then, he made a decision.

The Blue Silver Grass covering the entire arena withdrew like a receding tide and disappeared into his body.

His right hand tightly gripped the black giant hammer.

In the stands, Grandmaster abruptly rose to his feet, his pupils contracting.

He understood Tang San better than anyone.

Retracting the Blue Silver Grass was equivalent to cutting off his own hands and feet, abandoning control, planning, perception...

Tang San had cast aside every tactic in exchange for one thing at its purest and most extreme.

Power.

First soul skill—Haotian Hammer: Shatter!

Tang San stomped hard against the ground, turning into a straight black meteor!

The Haotian Hammer rose over his head and crashed down with a force that seemed capable of destroying the world!

No tricks.

No room left to spare.

Where the hammer landed, the center of the arena collapsed with a thunderous crash, forming a massive crater five meters wide!

The terrifying shockwave spread outward in a ring. The four Dark Golden Terrorclaw Bears staggered back, the two Shadow Leopards were hurled away by the blast, and even the Thunder Eagles high above were knocked off course!

Su Chen's heels carved two deep furrows into the ground. He retreated three steps before barely steadying himself.

He looked down at the cracks beneath his feet, then raised his eyes toward the youth gripping the black hammer, whose aura had reached its peak.

The Haotian Hammer.

The number one offensive martial soul in the world.

The power of that strike was a full forty percent greater than he had estimated.

It was not that Tang San had become stronger.

Tang San had been hiding his strength all along.

For the first time in this battle, Su Chen put away that relaxed smile.

"Tang San."

"You're finally serious."

He took a deep breath.

"Then I'll be serious too."

Su Chen spread his arms as though he wanted to embrace the entire world.

The space behind him did not crack open. Instead, it burst apart like a shattered mirror!

One!

Ten!

Twenty!

Countless pitch-black rifts tore open the veil of reality!

Ten Dark Golden Terrorclaw Bears formed ranks at the front!

Ten Nether Shadow Leopards spread out along both flanks!

Ten Purple Lightning Thunder Eagles blotted out the sky!

Ten Black Tortoise Giant Turtles held the rear!

Forty Ten-Thousand-Year-Class Soul Beasts descended upon the arena at the same time!

Unable to bear the immense weight and crushing soul power pressure, the entire arena let out a groan of strain.

The referee's face turned deathly pale. Instinctively, he staggered back several steps until his back slammed heavily into the railing.

At the peak of the imperial city, Bibi Dong slowly rose to her feet and looked down upon the shocking scene.

Su Chen stood in the very center of the forty-soul-beast army.

Like an emperor ruling the world, he had finally revealed every card up his sleeve.

He looked at Tang San, his voice calm yet ringing throughout the arena.

"Tang San, from this moment on—"

"what you faced was no longer one person."

"It was an army."

Tang San did not retreat a single step.

He gripped the Haotian Hammer tightly, lifted his head, and looked past the ten-thousand-year beast horde capable of leveling an entire city, finally locking his gaze firmly onto Su Chen.

Faced with such desperate odds, he laughed instead.

There was no fear in that smile, only fighting spirit burning at its peak.

"I had waited for this moment for a long time."

On the Haotian Hammer, the second Spirit Ring suddenly lit up!