"Begin!"
At the referee's command, the air over the Soul Fighting stage grew taut.
The brothers Tie Long and Tie Hu exchanged a glance, then charged fiercely toward Lin Kong and Ning Rongrong from the left and right in a pincer formation, their hands gripping heavy forging hammers. Their feet drove hard against the ground, and their hammers sliced through the air with fearsome, howling gusts.
"Seven Treasures Have Names, First: Strength!"
"Seven Treasures Have Names, Second: Speed!"
Ning Rongrong cried out, and an exquisite seven-story pagoda materialized above her palm, its body shimmering with flowing colors. Her first two soul rings lit up simultaneously, and two dazzling beams fell upon Lin Kong, boosting his strength and speed by thirty percent.
But to Lin Kong, this boost was almost as good as useless. He had no need for it.
This was the awkward position support-type Soul Masters occupied in two-person teams: often, even the boosts they poured everything into were of no use to their teammates; one careless moment could also make them the enemy's primary target, forcing their teammates to divide their attention to protect them.
Lin Kong's expression did not change. He merely waved a hand casually.
Swish, swish, swish-
Dark blue silver grass sprang up across the arena, covering the surroundings at a speed visible to the naked eye and spreading toward the charging Tie brothers.
"Hah!"
A cold glint flashed through Tie Long's eyes. His first soul ring lit up, and he swung his forging hammer with both hands, smashing it down at the dark blue silver grass before him. As the hammer fell, it unleashed a powerful vibrating force that drove the entangling blades back.
"Ha!"
Tie Hu followed close behind, bringing his hammer down to cover his elder brother's opening. Hammer shadows flew as he forcibly smashed clear a vacant stretch before him, blocking all the surging dark blue silver grass.
The brothers worked together seamlessly, hammer blow following hammer blow as they held firm against the encroaching dark blue silver grass and pressed toward Lin Kong and Ning Rongrong step by step.
"Brother Lin, they..." Watching the two draw ever closer, Ning Rongrong could not help voicing a warning.
"Don't talk." Lin Kong's tone remained indifferent.
Ning Rongrong immediately covered her mouth, not daring to say another word, and merely clutched the hem of her clothes nervously.
Lin Kong narrowed his eyes slightly, a cold gleam flashing in their depths. With a thought, the dark blue silver grass on the ground suddenly grew faster, its numbers multiplying several times over. Its blades rose to half a person's height, sweeping toward the Tie brothers like an ink-black jungle.
"Hah!" "Ha!"
The Tie brothers roared together, abruptly doubling the speed of their hammer swings. Their hammer shadows formed an impenetrable wall, barely blocking the dark blue silver grass before them once more and keeping them from being completely swallowed.
They knew perfectly well that they were tool Martial Soul Soul Masters. Once this strange dark blue silver grass entangled them, they would surely be bound tight, left like meat on a chopping block without the slightest room to resist!
"Second Soul Skill, Growth!"
The icy words left Lin Kong's mouth, and his second soul ring lit up.
Rumble-
The dark blue silver grass grew wildly, its blades becoming thicker and tougher. It even circled around both sides of the Tie brothers to their rear, sealing off their retreat and forming an impenetrable ink-black cage. Attacked from front and back, the pressure on them soared!
"Let's risk it all!" Tie Long's expression turned exceedingly ugly as he roared through gritted teeth.
"That's right!" Tie Hu's eyes also reddened, a trace of resolve flashing through them.
From the moment the dark blue silver grass stopped their charge in the first clash, they had already foreseen their defeat. This luxuriant mass of dark blue silver grass before them, like a natural disaster, was simply beyond their ability to contend with!
Since that was the case, they would stake everything on one throw!
"You two, watch out!"
Tie Long and Tie Hu raised their heads at the same time and let out a deafening roar. The next second, their second soul rings lit up together as they simultaneously unleashed their strongest soul skills!
The brothers' gazes first swept over Lin Kong, then abruptly locked onto Ning Rongrong behind him, their eyes fierce. They swung their forging hammers with both hands, using their soul skills' boosts to push the hammers' speed to the limit before suddenly letting go. Like cannonballs, the two heavy forging hammers hurtled viciously toward Ning Rongrong, wrapped in fierce gusts!
"Aaaah!"
Ning Rongrong screamed in terror, her small face as pale as paper.
Although she was the young lady of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and had undergone plenty of practical combat training, she had never experienced being so relentlessly targeted, with her life hanging by a thread. If those two hammers struck her, she would certainly suffer grievous injuries!
Lin Kong turned to the girl trembling with fright, and a reassuring smile suddenly curved his lips. "Watch me. Don't be afraid!"
Seeing the confidence in his eyes, Ning Rongrong's panicked heart settled. She nodded firmly and returned a sweet smile. "Okay, Brother Lin!"
Lin Kong's gaze sharpened, and he thrust one hand forward!
In an instant, countless blades of dark blue silver grass seemed to be drawn by an invisible force, gathering, entwining, and twisting together wildly into an enormous, entirely ink-black python. Spreading the fanglike tips of its grass blades, it lunged fiercely at the two forging hammers whistling toward them!
Bang-!
A deafening crash erupted. The formidable force within the forging hammers shattered the grass blades at the python's front inch by inch. Shredded blades scattered like ink-black raindrops, and at first glance, it actually seemed as though the dark blue silver grass could not stop this thunderous blow at all.
But once released, the hammers were water without a source-their force could only grow weaker, while Lin Kong's dark blue silver grass flowed endlessly, growing without cease!
At first, the forging hammers could blast through the grass blades like a storm sweeping away rotten wood. After advancing two or three meters, their momentum visibly faltered, and they could only shake the grass blades aside through inertia. Farther still, that savage force was already an arrow at the end of its flight, struggling even to shake the blades.
By then, Tie Long and Tie Hu had long since been completely enveloped by the dark blue silver grass blanketing the sky and earth, their vision utterly obscured. They could only vaguely hear the hammers tearing through the air, with just one anxious thought remaining in their minds: Did it work?
The spectator stands were silent as well. Everyone unconsciously slowed their breathing, their eyes fixed on the churning sea of ink-black grass in the center of the Soul Fighting stage.
"Did Lord Black Prison Asura block them?"
The murmuring had barely begun before it abruptly stopped.
On the Soul Fighting stage, the wildly surging dark blue silver grass slowly receded and shrank down, finally vanishing altogether to reveal the scene it had concealed.
Everyone stared, dumbfounded-
Lin Kong held Ning Rongrong securely with one arm, sheltering her completely in his embrace, while his other hand extended casually, gripping the handles of both forging hammers with apparent ease. He stood utterly unmoving; not even the hem of his clothes had stirred.
Silence!
Deathly silence!
The next second, Lin Kong flicked his wrist lightly, and the two forging hammers landed before the Tie brothers with a clang as though they had eyes of their own. All the dark blue silver grass entwined around the brothers withdrew as well.
Looking at Lin Kong, who had not budged an inch, the last trace of unwillingness on Tie Long's and Tie Hu's faces turned into admiration. They exchanged a glance, then bowed deeply to him, their voices utterly sincere. "Thank you for showing mercy, Lord Black Prison Asura!"
"We lost! We accept our defeat wholeheartedly!"
They had fought him two against one, and he had even brought along a support-type Soul Master who needed protection, yet despite giving it everything they had, they could not even force Lin Kong back a single step!
Only then did the referee snap out of his dreamlike daze. His face flushed red as he shouted with all his might, "The winner of this two-person Soul Fighting match-Lord Black Prison Asura!"
Only after shouting did he suddenly realize his mistake and hurriedly correct himself, his voice even louder. "The Black Prison Demonic Light Team!"
It really was... Ning Rongrong had barely had any presence throughout this entire battle!
Lin Kong lowered his head to look at the girl still trembling slightly in his arms. His voice softened unconsciously as he asked with concern, "Are you all right?"
Only then did Ning Rongrong snap out of her dreamlike daze and realize that Lin Kong was holding her tightly in his protective embrace. His warm breath lingered around her nose, and her cheeks instantly flushed crimson. She hurriedly pulled free of his arms and lowered her head, her voice as faint as a mosquito's hum. "I-I'm fine!"
Lin Kong thought, Mm, not bad progress!
He would not indulge in the wild fantasy that he could win Ning Rongrong over in a single night. Heh, that little witch's temperament simply had not found an opportunity to flare up.
Still, today counted as a good beginning!
(Author's note: Starting today, there will be five chapter updates a day, three at 18:00 and two at 24:00. Thank you all for your support. Please send some recommendation votes and monthly votes!)