Both sides soon arrived at Shrek Academy's competition arena.
Xu Sanshi jumped onto the platform first and folded his arms, looking utterly composed. Wang Dong was in no hurry either. He walked up leisurely and took his place on the other side.
Word spread like wildfire. Before a cup of tea could be drunk, a large crowd of spectators had gathered around the platform. There were new students and older students alike, all craning their necks to see.
"Isn't that Xu Sanshi? One of the outer courtyard's twin stars? Why is he fighting a new student?"
"I heard that new student declared he wanted to challenge Xu Sanshi. He even wagered a Mystic Water Pill!"
"Has he lost his mind? A new student challenging a Soul Ancestor who's almost at four rings? Isn't he just asking for a beating?"
Voices rose and fell as the crowd swelled. Dai Huabin happened to be passing by and squeezed through when he heard the commotion. When he saw that the person on the platform was Wang Dong, he froze.
This guy... how could he be this arrogant? He beat me up yesterday, and now he's challenging an older student? Does he really think he's invincible?
Wang Dong is definitely going to lose, Dai Huabin thought viciously.
On the other side of the platform, Huo Yuhao stood beside Bei Bei and Tang Ya, gripping the hem of his clothes as he watched the figure with long pink-and-blue hair, his face full of worry.
Tang Ya patted his shoulder and comforted him. "Don't worry. Xu Sanshi may be strong, but he probably won't actually try to kill him."
Bei Bei frowned, however, his tone tinged with gravity. "Hard to say. Xu Sanshi looks carefree, but he's fiercely competitive. Wang Dong said he wasn't worthy in front of all those people. He's bound to be simmering with anger. I'm afraid this fight won't end well."
Huo Yuhao bit his lip without speaking. Deep down, he actually had an inexplicable confidence in Wang Dong.
Although they had only known each other for two days, Wang Dong felt to him like a bottomless abyss. He could never tell how many trump cards Wang Dong was hiding.
Jiang Nannan stood behind them without a word. As she watched the boy with long pink-and-blue hair on the platform, a strange feeling welled up inside her.
They were complete strangers, yet looking at Wang Dong gave her an inexplicable sense of closeness, as though something unseen was drawing her toward him.
While she was still puzzling over it, Wang Dong released his martial soul on the platform.
A pair of fluffy pink-and-white rabbit ears sprouted from his head, twitching slightly. Combined with his handsome face, they made him look both adorable and dashing. A chorus of quiet gasps immediately rose from below.
"A rabbit martial soul?"
"That martial soul isn't particularly strong. How's he supposed to fight Xu Sanshi?"
"He's handsome enough, but unfortunately, his brain doesn't seem to work too well..."
Jiang Nannan froze. As she stared at the rabbit ears on Wang Dong's head, her pupils widened slightly. The Soft Bone Rabbit?
His martial soul was actually the Soft Bone Rabbit too?
She finally understood where that inexplicable sense of closeness had come from. Identical martial souls naturally produced a subtle resonance. But she soon shook her head. Precisely because she also possessed the Soft Bone Rabbit martial soul, she knew how powerless it was.
It simply couldn't compare with Xu Sanshi's Xuanming Turtle martial soul. The two weren't on the same level.
Xu Sanshi noticed this on the platform as well. He paused in surprise, then burst out laughing.
"Hahaha, interesting! Your martial soul is actually the same as Nannan's-the Soft Bone Rabbit! But..."
His tone shifted, brimming with confidence. "Even if you have the same martial soul as my Nannan, I won't hold back!"
As his words fell, he abruptly released his own martial soul, the Xuanming Turtle!
An enormous turtle-shaped phantom appeared behind him. Its shell was covered in intricate, mysterious patterns, and it exuded a heavy, imposing aura.
Then he thrust both hands forward. Soul power surged, condensing into an enormous shield before him-the Mysterious Underworld Shield Formation! In an instant, he became a wall of bronze and iron, standing there like an unshakable fortress.
Below the platform, Bei Bei sighed and remarked, "That guy's soul skill is like a turtle shell. Its defense is absurd. Even an ordinary Soul King would struggle to break through it. Wang Dong's only a new student. His chances don't look good."
Yet Wang Dong smiled on the platform. Unhurriedly, he withdrew his rabbit ears and raised his right hand. A pitch-black hammer appeared in his grasp out of thin air. The Clear Sky Hammer!
The hammer's head was ancient and weighty, with faint dark-gold patterns flowing across it. It radiated an aura that made hearts tremble.
The crowd below instantly erupted.
"Twin martial souls?!"
"The Clear Sky Hammer?! Isn't that the inherited martial soul of the Clear Sky Sect from ten thousand years ago? They say it used to be the world's strongest power attack system tool martial soul!"
"Where did this guy come from? The Soft Bone Rabbit and the Clear Sky Hammer!"
Bei Bei and Tang Ya exchanged glances, each seeing shock in the other's eyes.
Jiang Nannan's eyes widened too. As she stared at the Clear Sky Hammer in Wang Dong's hand, that strange feeling inside her grew even stronger.
Wang Dong hefted the Clear Sky Hammer and grinned. "Actually, stationary targets are my favorite things to hit."
Before he had even finished speaking, he exploded into motion, charging at Xu Sanshi with the Clear Sky Hammer in hand.
He moved so fast that he was before Xu Sanshi almost in the blink of an eye. Raising the Clear Sky Hammer high, he brought it crashing down with a fierce rush of wind!
BOOM!!!
An enormous crash rang out, and the entire platform seemed to shudder. Ripples spread across the Mysterious Underworld Shield Formation before Xu Sanshi, but it firmly withstood the blow. A smug smile curled his lips.
"That's it? You've got some strength, but you're still a long way from breaking through my defense!"
Wang Dong said nothing. He drew the hammer back and slammed it down again!
BOOM!
Another tremendous crash sounded. Xu Sanshi's smile faded slightly. He sensed that this blow was somewhat stronger than the last, though it was still within what he could withstand.
But then Wang Dong began bringing his hammer down again and again.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Every strike carried astonishing force, each heavier and faster than the one before it.
Wang Dong's hammer technique looked simple and brutal, yet it possessed a strange rhythm, as though he were building up some kind of power.
He grew faster and faster, his blows stronger and stronger. The hammer's impacts blended into a continuous thunder, like a stirring cadence of war drums.
Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer!
This was the Clear Sky Sect's supreme technique. Each strike stacked the force of the previous blow onto its own. The more strikes, the greater its power. And by now, no one knew how many strikes Wang Dong had stacked.
Xu Sanshi's expression finally changed. He could feel the force coming from his opponent climbing at a terrifying rate.
At first, he had been able to withstand the blows easily, but gradually, he began to struggle. Fine cracks appeared across the Mysterious Underworld Shield Formation, and his soul power was draining at a rapidly increasing rate.
"Th-this... what kind of hammer technique is this?!" Xu Sanshi gritted his teeth, desperately holding the shield formation together as veins bulged on his forehead.
Wang Dong gave no answer and kept swinging. His speed kept increasing, his strength growing ever fiercer, until he seemed to have become a tireless battering ram.
Even more alarming to Xu Sanshi was that Wang Dong's pupils had turned a brilliant gold at some point. An overwhelmingly domineering aura poured from his body, carrying a pressure that stemmed from the very level of his existence.
The golden dragon king bloodline was on full display!
Below the platform, everyone stared in stunned silence. The boy on the platform, with rabbit ears atop his head, the Clear Sky Hammer in his hand, and golden pupils, looked like an Ancient Ferocious Beast in human form as he smashed apart Xu Sanshi's defenses, one hammer blow at a time.
Bei Bei swallowed, his voice slightly dry. "This guy... just what kind of monster is he?"
Before you continue