"Grandma, I'm not dueling him! This is clearly picking on someone weaker!" Meng Yiran frowned, her voice full of resistance and her gaze carrying a measure of disdain as she looked at Lin Kong.
"You... you foolish child!" Chao Tianxiang nearly fainted with anger, her chest heaving.
You silly girl! Before an opportunity as tremendous as a Soul Ring, never mind picking on the weak-even drawing weapons against each other was commonplace! Why couldn't she see what mattered?
"It's settled! No more discussion!" Chao Tianxiang could not be bothered to argue with her granddaughter anymore. Her voice was hard as iron as she hammered the matter shut.
Meng Yiran reluctantly shuffled two steps forward, looking down her nose at Lin Kong with a tone that carried a hint of charity. "What you said earlier was infuriating, but I don't want to bully you. If you know what's good for you, there's still time to surrender."
Lin Kong raised an eyebrow, an amused curve tugging at his lips. "You think I'm not qualified to duel you?"
"Of course!" Meng Yiran blurted out without thinking.
"You think I'm certain to lose against you?"
"Of course!"
After questioning Meng Yiran, Lin Kong turned and swept his gaze over the Shrek group behind him, silently asking the second question.
Oscar was the first to panic. His face went white as he clutched Lin Kong's arm and pleaded repeatedly, "Brother Lin! My dear Brother Lin! Please, you have to win!"
As the one whose interests were at stake in this dispute, he was the most worried. Even Lin Kong's illustrious past record could not dispel the fear in his heart now.
Everyone else looked exceptionally grave as well.
Had it been some random level-thirty Soul Master, Lin Kong's past performances might have allowed them to relax a little. But Meng Yiran was a descendant of Dragon Duke Meng Shu, supported by a family with a deep heritage. She was in an entirely different category from an ordinary commoner Soul Master!
Even with the same Martial Soul, the difference in fighting strength between someone with an inherited legacy and someone without could be more than twofold! Those with a legacy could precisely select the most compatible Soul Rings and combine their Soul Skills seamlessly; those without one could usually only choose a Soul Ring blindly and barely improve their Soul Power.
"Brother Lin, I believe in you!" Ning Rongrong nodded firmly, her eyes full of conviction.
Xiao Wu clenched her fists, her face filled with self-reproach. "Brother Lin, it's all my fault... If I were in better condition, I should be the one taking this duel."
Tang San stood to one side, his expression shifting several times, with no telling what he was calculating.
Zhu Zhuqing's voice remained cool, but carried certainty. "Brother Lin, you can do it."
Just then, Ma Hongjun's eyes darted about, and he suddenly called out with a sly look, "Brother Lin! If you can't beat her, flirt with her! Charm that chick senseless!"
At those words, the entire scene fell deathly silent!
Everyone froze, turning in unison to look at Lin Kong.
Then they took another look at Lin Kong's handsome, refined face... Hmm, it seemed... that might actually work?
They instinctively turned back toward Meng Yiran, only to see her face turn scarlet in a flash, like a boiled shrimp. Then she abruptly erupted, pointing at Ma Hongjun and roaring, "You damned fatty! Get out here! Do you dare duel me? Get out here!"
Chao Tianxiang pressed a hand to her forehead, her head threatening to split. "Yiran! Calm down! Don't let your mind fall into disorder!"
"Aw!" Ma Hongjun slapped his own backside, looking chagrined. "Why didn't that scheme work?"
Ma Hongjun asked tentatively, "Brother Lin, why don't you give it a try?"
Lin Kong wore a righteous expression. "Am I that kind of person?"
Ning Rongrong agreed, "Exactly! Brother Lin isn't that kind of person."
Chao Tianxiang gripped her Snake-Head Cane so tightly that her knuckles turned white, towering waves surging through her heart.
She considered herself anything but naive. After so many years, her thoughts ran deep enough, yet compared with these little brats, she was simply a minor witch before a great sorcerer! Every last one of them had far too many tricks up their sleeves!
Meng Yiran took a deep breath and glared fiercely at Ma Hongjun before fixing her eyes on Lin Kong again. Her words came quickly, laced with embarrassment and anger. "Are you ready yet? Get over here! I can defeat you in one move!"
Lin Kong remained calm. He spoke unhurriedly, his tone so certain that he seemed to have seen through everything already. "Your Martial Soul is a Snake-Head Cane, or rather, a Serpent Cane Martial Soul. You want this Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent for your third Soul Ring because you value its speed-oriented traits. But that speed won't be bestowed on you yourself. It will be bestowed on your Serpent Cane Martial Soul. More precisely, it will increase the Serpent Cane's attack speed."
He paused, his gaze sharp as a blade as he looked straight at Meng Yiran. "So, you're an exceedingly rare Agility Attack System Soul Master with a tool Martial Soul!"
Finally, he asked casually:
"Am I right?"
Chao Tianxiang and Meng Yiran both shuddered, their pupils abruptly contracting as their expressions froze!
Every point hit home!
He had actually gotten everything right!
"S-so what?"
Meng Yiran stiffened her neck, her tone as stubborn as a little calf.
So what if you've seen through my fighting characteristics? My Soul Power Level is much higher than yours. That absolute gap is enough to crush every fancy tactic!
Lin Kong did not answer. He merely walked forward slowly and stopped three feet before her, his voice steady. "Lin Kong. Martial Soul: Dark Blue Silver Grass. Level twenty-one, Control-Type Battle Spirit Master!"
"Meng Yiran. Martial Soul: Serpent Cane. Level thirty, Agility Attack System Battle Spirit Master!" Meng Yiran replied coldly, her eyes full of disdain.
"Please!"
"Here I come!"
Whoosh-
A strong gust swept through the woods, sending several withered yellow leaves spiraling down.
Before her words had faded, Meng Yiran shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow. Pushing off with her feet, she covered several meters in a single stride. The two-meter Serpent Cane in her hands whistled through the air as it thrust straight at Lin Kong's face, the serpent head atop it hideous and terrifying!
Lin Kong merely retreated at an unhurried pace, his steps as light as though he were strolling through the woods. No matter how Meng Yiran accelerated her charge, the Serpent Cane remained one foot from his face, as though stopped by an invisible barrier, unable to advance an inch.
During the chase, Meng Yiran suddenly noticed something wrong with the feeling beneath her feet. She sharply lowered her head, her beautiful eyes widening-at some point, she had stepped into a dense patch of grass. Dark Blue Silver Grass a palm's height tall covered several meters of ground around her.
As she ran in pursuit, those soft blades of grass had silently dissipated the force beneath her feet and even shifted her center of gravity slightly, greatly reducing the speed she took such pride in!
"First Soul Skill, Snake Blade!"
Meng Yiran's gaze sharpened as she shouted.
With a soft click, the serpent head atop the Serpent Cane abruptly sprang open, and a gleaming, two-foot blade shot out, flashing with a sinister chill. The blade cut through the air, instantly crossing the distance she had never been able to bridge and driving straight toward Lin Kong's face. It shone with a dim blue sheen, clearly steeped in deadly poison that could seal a throat upon drawing blood.
Meng Yiran snorted inwardly. Grandma is watching from the side anyway. Even if I accidentally hurt you, she'll step in to save you! I won't hold back in this match!
Swish!
The Snake Blade traced a tricky arc through the air, its cold gleam biting, swift and vicious, carrying a deadly threat.
Unfortunately...
With a soft swish as it sliced through the air, the Snake Blade ultimately struck nothing.
Meng Yiran abruptly stopped. She lowered her head and stamped hard on the Dark Blue Silver Grass beneath her feet, then looked up at Lin Kong's feet and understood the crux of the problem-his steps actually matched the rhythm of the Dark Blue Silver Grass perfectly, allowing him to accelerate.
Gritting her teeth, she raised an eyebrow and sneered, "Is running away all you can do?"
"I'll take my time playing with you." Lin Kong chuckled, his tone as relaxed as though he were teasing a little cat with its fur standing on end.
Whoosh!
A thick strand of Dark Blue Silver Grass suddenly shot out of the ground and wrapped around the trunk of a towering tree nearby. Lin Kong pulled hard against it, launching himself into the air and landing steadily on a thick branch, looking down at Meng Yiran on the ground.
He grinned, his tone full of mockery. "Fly up here if you can!"
"Ngh-ah!"
Meng Yiran's pretty face flushed with anger. She stamped her feet fiercely and swung her Serpent Cane like a raging wind. With several sharp swishes, more than a dozen blades of Dark Blue Silver Grass were severed. The deadly poison on the Snake Blade rapidly seeped through their cut ends, and the originally blue grass visibly blackened and withered.
This was why Lin Kong had not completely engulfed Meng Yiran in Dark Blue Silver Grass from the start.
The Snake Blade's attacking power was far too formidable. Not only could it easily sever his Martial Soul's vines, but the overpowering poison was even more dangerous. Once it clung to the grass blades, it was highly likely to invade his body when he reclaimed his Soul Power. If he could avoid that risk, he absolutely would.
Since a battle of attrition would not work, he could only use another approach to defeat Meng Yiran.