Everyone at the feast stopped eating.
After all, how could eating at a feast be as interesting as watching a fight?
The crowd cleared a space. Lin Kong and Shen Zhinian stood facing each other, ten meters apart, as fighting spirit began to burn in the air.
"Savage Wolf Martial Soul, possess me!"
With a wolf's howl, Shen Zhinian grew taller. Fur sprouted on his face, and his upper and lower jaws jutted forward, turning into a ferocious wolf's head. His hands doubled in size, wolf claws sprang out, and faint flames appeared. A yellow Hundred-Year Soul Ring appeared beside him.
"Lin Kong, whether it's martial souls or soul rings, mine are better than yours. I'm giving you one last chance!"
After speaking, Shen Zhinian swiped his wolf claws through the air a few times, scattering little sparks.
The people around them whispered incessantly.
"I think Shen Zhinian has this in the bag."
"He already had a huge advantage. After he got his first soul ring, his wolf claws gained a fire attribute. Won't he tear through huge patches of Blue Silver Grass with a single swipe?"
"Lin Kong's in trouble! Where did he get the confidence to step out and challenge Shen Zhinian one-on-one?"
Almost everyone present favored Shen Zhinian. They thought Lin Kong was no match for him and that challenging him one-on-one was a thoroughly foolish move.
"Lin Kong, you can do it! Your teacher supports you!" Wu Yunsheng suddenly shouted.
Luo Enqi, who often bickered with him, called out as well, "Lin Kong, you can do it! I'm betting on you!"
Ding Qiuyu rose onto tiptoe and waved. "Lin Kong, I believe in you!"
Lin Kong looked over and nodded, then held out his right hand. A mass of black light shimmered and swirled in his palm. "Dark Blue Silver Grass, come forth!"
The Blue Silver Grass martial soul had neither offense nor defense, only a vitality attribute. The bigger problem was that its vitality attribute was not strong enough and was practically useless.
The Dark Blue Silver Grass martial soul had mutated from the Blue Silver Grass martial soul. While retaining its vitality attribute, it also possessed a death attribute. The two could transform into one another and coexist.
After Lin Kong summoned his martial soul, stalks of Dark Blue Silver Grass sprouted beneath his feet. Compared with ordinary Blue Silver Grass, they had black and white markings that made them look ominous and eerie. They spread rapidly, covering a five-meter radius, while growing larger and rising to over a meter tall.
"Th-this is that extreme?" Blue Silver Grass martial souls were common, and those present had seen plenty. Expanding its range of influence this far right at the outset was truly unexpected, leaving them astonished!
Shen Zhinian's expression shifted, becoming somewhat serious. Looking at the patch of Dark Blue Silver Grass ahead, he suddenly felt panic and unease rise in his heart. He hurriedly shook his head, casting aside those distracting thoughts.
"Awooo!"
After howling, Shen Zhinian charged toward the patch of Dark Blue Silver Grass. His wolf claws swept sideways, leaving a pale red semicircle in the air. With a swish, seven or eight Dark Blue Silver Grass blades were severed by his sharp claws. They fell to the ground, dissolved into black mist, and were swallowed back up by the Dark Blue Silver Grass. New blades grew from the severed stumps at a speed visible to the naked eye.
This was the special characteristic of the Dark Blue Silver Grass martial soul!
When Blue Silver Grass summoned by a Blue Silver Grass martial soul was cut off, the Soul Power used to form it would dissipate into the air, wasted for nothing, unless it fell to the ground and was buried in the soil, where the roots could absorb it. But the Dark Blue Silver Grass martial soul required no such trouble. Its blades themselves possessed this ability and could directly absorb that Soul Power back, with almost no loss throughout the process.
Shen Zhinian stood at the edge of the Dark Blue Silver Grass patch, constantly slashing with his wolf claws. Who knew how much Dark Blue Silver Grass he had cut down?
It was mowing grass! Mow from the outside toward the center!
"Good, very good. Zhinian has excellent combat sense. Against a Soul Master with a plant martial soul, choosing to destroy their martial soul to wear them down is a very sound tactic." The Shen family head offered a few words of smiling praise. "Lin Kong is a mere rank-eleven Soul Master. He doesn't have much Soul Power and can't maintain such a large area for long."
He had apparently forgotten that Shen Zhinian was also rank eleven!
One minute, two minutes, three minutes...
The Shen family head raised his sleeve to cover his face, too ashamed to face anyone!
"Hiss-if they keep wearing each other down like this, there's no telling whose Soul Power will give out first."
"Look, Shen Zhinian seems to be reaching his limit."
Everyone looked over and saw Shen Zhinian take a large step back, putting more distance between himself and the Dark Blue Silver Grass patch. He took a deep breath and stared at it unwillingly, gritting his teeth. "You bastard Lin, you forced me into this. I won't hold back anymore!"
After delivering his threat, Shen Zhinian used his first soul skill. His yellow Hundred-Year Soul Ring shone, and he opened his wolf's mouth, flames gathering inside. Three seconds later, he spat them out. A wolf-head-shaped flame shot toward Lin Kong, raising the surrounding temperature.
"First soul skill, Wolf Flame Blast!"
Wolf Flame Blast swept over the Dark Blue Silver Grass patch. Its scorching heat made the blades wilt, unable to straighten. As plants, they were naturally countered by fire. It crossed the few meters in a flash and flew right in front of Lin Kong. Just as it was about to strike him, the Dark Blue Silver Grass grew wildly, rising taller and thicker to form a barrier in front of him.
Boom!
The Dark Blue Silver Grass within two or three meters was cleared away in a single strike!
"Where's Lin Kong?"
Everyone began searching the Dark Blue Silver Grass patch and soon found him.
"Quick, over there!"
"He's running-he's started running!"
"Holy shit, he's actually that fast!"
In the blink of an eye, Lin Kong rushed up to Shen Zhinian at an astonishing speed. As Shen Zhinian stared wide-eyed in disbelief, a fist landed on his eye socket, knocking his head backward.
"Awooo!"
Shen Zhinian swung a claw back at him and missed!
The next second, he felt a vicious kick behind his knee. His body staggered, and he nearly fell.
Shen Zhinian immediately twisted around to counterattack, but missed again.
To the onlookers, every step Lin Kong took landed on the Blue Silver Grass patch. Whenever he pushed off, the grass supplied extra force like a spring, increasing his speed even further. In the end, despite being a Tool Martial Soul Master, he surpassed Shen Zhinian, a Beast Martial Soul Master, in speed.
Thud! Smack!
Thud! Smack!
Lin Kong circled Shen Zhinian, his fists and feet landing one after another, as densely as if he were pounding a punching bag. Not a single blow missed. Faced with these attacks, Shen Zhinian initially tried to fight back. Later, when he realized he could not catch him, he covered his head with his arms and curled up, choosing to endure the blows.
"What incredible speed. Unfortunately..."
"He isn't a Beast Martial Soul Master. His punches and kicks have limited power. He can't even break through his defenses."
Quite a few people shook their heads and sighed!
"At first, Shen Zhinian couldn't stand the drain and had no choice but to unleash Wolf Flame Blast. I think Lin Kong will be the one who can't stand the drain in a while. Moving this fast consumes a lot of Soul Power."
He needed to change tactics!
"I'm done playing with you!"
Lin Kong stopped two meters in front of Shen Zhinian, a distance he could cross in a single step to attack with his wolf claws. Lin Kong stood calmly, not caring about the danger at all, and continued, "Let me show you my first soul skill!"
"Awooo!"
Shen Zhinian sprang into action, leaping into the air. His first soul skill, Wolf Flame Blast, gathered power inside his mouth as he pounced toward Lin Kong, looking ready to secure victory in one move.
As it happened, Lin Kong had the same idea.
"First soul skill, Netherworld Shriek!"
The Dark Blue Silver Grass grew vigorously, spreading upward from Shen Zhinian's feet and wrapping him up completely, entangling him outright. The next second, its blades rubbed against one another, producing a piercing shriek. Discomfort appeared on the faces of the surrounding people; Shen Zhinian, wrapped inside the Dark Blue Silver Grass, presumably felt even worse. Everyone saw it clearly: his wolf claws broke free of their restraints and slashed through a great deal of Dark Blue Silver Grass, but still more Blue Silver Grass wrapped around him.
Entanglement was an innate ability of Dark Blue Silver Grass. Netherworld Shriek could weaken an opponent's resistance while they were entangled, while the blades devoured the opponent's Soul Power to further weaken their resistance. Enhanced by the Ghost-Faced Netherworld Bamboo Soul Ring, the Blue Silver Grass had gained greatly increased flexibility and strength. As long as the opponent failed to break free in the first wave, they would never escape and would only have all their Soul Power drained away.
"A fire attribute granted by just one soul ring is far too weak. You want to counter my Dark Blue Silver Grass with that? You're nowhere close!"
"And now, it's over!"
The Dark Blue Silver Grass blades shifted, exposing Shen Zhinian's head. They heard him grit his teeth and say unwillingly, "I concede!"