Hammering Through the Stone Prison

"Begin."

The moment Wu Changkong spoke, Han Lan moved first.

She neither charged forward nor retreated. She simply raised both hands, palms up, her movements perfectly steady. A white Soul Ring glimmered beneath her feet, and the earthy-yellow Soul Spirit on her shoulder trembled slightly.

The next instant, a ring of earthy-yellow light patterns suddenly lit up beneath Tang Wulin's feet.

His heart tightened. Almost instinctively, he tried to lift his hammer and retreat, but he was still half a step too late.

Several stone pillars shot out of the ground without warning, astonishingly fast, surrounding him in an instant. They then closed together overhead, forming a sealed stone prison within a few breaths.

The sidelines immediately fell silent.

Han Lan had won her previous two matches with this very move.

Her Martial Soul was the earth element, and her First Soul Skill focused on control as well. It neither suppressed nor injured her opponents—it trapped them first. If an opponent failed to break out within ten seconds, the match was essentially over.

Standing inside the stone prison, Tang Wulin neither rammed about blindly nor immediately tried to push the pillars.

He merely glanced around, then lowered his eyes to the ground beneath him.

Wu Changkong had already begun counting down.

"Ten."

Outside the arena, Han Lan's expression remained pleasant, but her gaze was intensely focused.

She knew very well that direct combat was not her strength. She had already witnessed Tang Wulin's power. If he truly got close, she would stand no chance whatsoever. Thus, from the outset, she had never intended to give him an opportunity to approach.

Inside the stone prison, Tang Wulin slowly exhaled.

He did not panic.

Not because the stone prison before him was too weak, but because his previous matches had taught him