Little Nine's words, especially the last look she gave Xiao Wu, infuriated Tang San. He realized his so-called younger brother hadn't given up on Xiao Wu after all, and how could he tolerate that?
"You should worry about yourself! I won't hold back at all in this battle."
With a gloomy expression, Tang San felt a murderous intent towards his younger brother for the first time—a chilling murderous intent.
He would kill even his own brother if he dared to covet his fiancée, let alone a so-called brother who was completely unrelated to him!
Even if we can't kill Little Nine in this battle, we must at least cripple him!
"Your Honor, according to the competition rules, the use of external forces that cannot be integrated into oneself is not allowed. What if someone uses such a force?"
Little Nine ignored Tang San's murderous gaze and turned to look at the referee beside her.
Although this referee didn't perform very well in the previous battle between Huo Wu and Shui Bing'er, that was mainly because Huo Wu and Shui Bing'er used such overpowered tricks that they unleashed combat power thousands of times greater than their own.
This referee was only at the Soul Douluo level, so he was naturally difficult to defeat. However, it cannot be denied that he was indeed a qualified referee, as he was quite accomplished in both strength and character.
He knew very well that Tang San's strongest fighting method was his unpredictable, ruthless, and vicious Hidden Weapon. Little Nine believed that he was not yet able to defend against such ruthless Hidden Weapon, especially the Peacock Plume and Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus that the opponent had already prepared.
That level of Hidden Weapon was something even an ordinary Titled Douluo would find difficult to withstand, let alone him.
He didn't want to push Tang San too far and have him unleash Hidden Weapon of that caliber that would instantly kill him.
It doesn't matter if he dies, but we absolutely cannot let the Shrek Team advance to the finals.
According to the data collected previously, if the Shrek Team loses three games, they will basically be excluded from the top fifteen and out of the finals.
The actions of Shrek and those world-renowned sects, nobles, and wealthy families have already demonstrated that those forces have no bottom line whatsoever.
Who knows what shameless tricks the other side might use to force the Shrek Team to advance to the finals?
Therefore, he needed to save his own life. If he couldn't stop the Shrek Team in the qualifying rounds, then he would have to stop the Shrek Team early in the upcoming finals, so that Tang Yuehua and the others' conspiracy against Sister Xiao Wu would fail.
The referee wasn't stupid; he immediately grasped the meaning behind Little Nine's words. He glanced meaningfully at Tang San on the other side and said in a cold, indifferent voice, "As an arbitrator of the competition, in order to maintain the absolute fairness of the competition, I have the right to act first and report later if anyone dares to violate the competition rules!"
As he spoke, Salas on the main stands nodded to himself. Then, the Demon Subduing Douluo and his companions reappeared on the outskirts of the arena and erected a defensive barrier to prevent anyone from interfering with the competition.
Because of the Shrek Team, the rules of the tournament have been repeatedly challenged. Although they don't care much about the tournament, they still have to maintain some semblance of dignity for the time being.
Seeing the sudden appearance of the Demon Subduing Douluo and his companions, and the referee's indifferent expression, Tang San abandoned the idea of using Hidden Weapon.
The scene of Little Nine beating up Ma Hongjun had made him realize that this so-called younger brother was not as weak as he had imagined, but was definitely a strong person of the same level as himself.
He wasn't very confident of defeating his opponent based on raw strength alone, but his most powerful Hidden Weapon was a major trump card.
As long as the opponent can be crippled, even if it violates the rules, I believe the Clear Sky Sect and other sects will help him get away with it.
However, this so-called younger brother was much smarter than he had expected, and had actually anticipated his move.
With Demon Subduing Douluo and others watching him, he had no chance to use Hidden Weapon. Even if he forced himself to use them, it would only give the other party an excuse to kill him.
He wouldn't do something so stupid!
" Tang San, Little Nine Jiu, are you ready?!"
The referee spoke indifferently, asking Little Nine and Tang San in a formulaic manner.
"I'm ready!"
Tang San had been conserving his energy for a long time, immediately spoke, but Little Nine on the other side gave a different answer.
"Wait, I've expended a lot of energy fighting Ma Hongjun earlier, so I need some time to recover. I hope we can resume the battle after a three-minute break."
According to the competition rules, both sides will have a three-minute rest period after each match in the qualifying rounds, and even the champion will have this right.
Three minutes is too short; without the use of medicine or Food-type Martial Soul products, three minutes is not enough to recover anything.
So the previous academy teams didn't pay attention to this, but Little Nine's situation is different now.
Although he beat up Ma Hongjun mainly to vent his anger for Senior Sister Zijing, who had been humiliated by him, he also wanted to obtain the Fire Phoenix Power from Ma Hongjun.
The power of Evil Fire was a byproduct of Ma Hongjun's Evil Fire Phoenix, complementing the power of the Fire Phoenix. Although he obtained the origin of Evil Fire, he could not support it alone, and he always felt that something was missing from relying solely on the origin of Evil Fire.
It wasn't until he saw Ma Hongjun compete in the qualifying rounds and felt a strange stirring of the Evil Fire power within his own body that he realized what he lacked was Ma Hongjun's Evil Fire Phoenix power.
Martial Soul is the foundation for the birth of Soul Power. Each type of Martial Soul will generate different Soul Power, and even Martial Soul Martial Soul of the same type will have subtle differences.
As a byproduct of the Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul, the power of Evil Fire, when separated, can still produce considerable effects, but without the complementary power of the Phoenix, it is ultimately somewhat inferior.
During his previous beating of Ma Hongjun, he had repeatedly tried to forcibly seize Ma Hongjun's Soul Power.
The Soul Power I've gained is currently merging with the Evil Fire power within my body, and it's a positive fusion reaction that will inevitably make me even stronger afterward.
This integration process takes a little time, and this three-minute break is just what we need.
Having been tricked by Little Nine, Tang San naturally realized he had been fooled. He had originally thought that Ma Hongjun could weaken the opponent, but now it seemed that he had actually helped the opponent.
Although he was very unhappy, he had no choice but to accept it due to the competition rules!
Three minutes passed in the blink of an eye. Although the time was short, Little Nine still managed to fuse the power of the Evil Fire Phoenix with the power of the Evil Fire, completing the transformation of his power.
"Power of Evil Fire, rise!"
Before the referee could speak, Little Nine, feeling the power within her body undergoing its transformation, let out a decisive shout.
The originally formless and colorless Evil Fire power suddenly transformed into a fiery red flame that enveloped Little Nine's entire body, like a giant, blazing torch.
Immediately afterwards, Little Nine's thin body began to expand rapidly and strangely, transforming into a five-meter-tall giant in the blink of an eye.
Strangely, although his body transformed into a giant, Little Nine's head remained completely unchanged.
His delicate, feminine face paired with his muscular, broad-shouldered, and burly physique looked utterly awkward!
Even Tang San, with his strong mental fortitude, couldn't help but twitch his face as he looked at Little Nine's bizarre appearance.
That kind of thing is just too shocking to one's values!
"Not bad!"
Feeling the powerful energy surging within her, Little Nine twisted her neck, her gaze towards Tang San still chilling.
Tang San harbored murderous intent towards him, but how could he not harbor murderous intent towards Tang San as well?
He was quite satisfied with the product of the fusion of the Evil Fire and the Phoenix power; his strength had at least doubled, making him more than capable of dealing with Tang San.
Neither of the brothers were talkative, and they decisively attacked after the referee waved his hand.
In an instant, afterimages flashed across the vast battle platform, accompanied by muffled impacts.
Although Tang San is a control-type Soul Master, due to the Tang Sect's inheritance, he can play as both Power Attack System Soul Master and an agility-attack type Soul Master. In addition, his Second Martial Soul, the Clear Sky Hammer, and his third Martial Soul, the Nine-Headed Bat King, make him an all-around existence.
As for his own Blue Silver Ghost Vine Martial Soul, he didn't use it much. It wasn't that he didn't want to, but the Evil Fire Phoenix power surrounding Little Nine Jiu was too strong, and even the Blue Silver Ghost Vine, which has fire immunity, had difficulty resisting it.
Unlike his original destiny, Tang San, as Ah Yin's child, possessed the bloodline of the Soul Beast Blue Silver Emperor. Although his Martial Soul was Blue Silver Grass, it was essentially the Blue Silver Emperor, a top-tier Martial Soul no weaker than the Clear Sky Hammer.
However, due to Wang Hao's influence in this life, Tang San became the son of Tang Hao and Tang Yuehua. Although Tang Yuehua's Martial Soul mutated into the Blue Silver Ghost Vine Acquired to Ah Yin's original power, Tang San also inherited this Martial Soul power.
However, it is still far inferior to the Blue Silver Emperor, not to mention that Tang San lacks Ah Yin's Blue Silver Emperor Bloodline.
Furthermore, since it was Xiao Jiu who inherited Ah Yin's Blue Silver Emperor bloodline, she naturally had a certain degree of restraint against the Blue Silver Ghost Vine. Therefore, Tang San's Blue Silver Ghost Vine not only had no effect on Xiao Jiu, but it would even become Xiao Jiu's power instead.
Therefore, after using the power of the Blue Silver Ghost Vine once, Tang San decisively abandoned this Martial Soul power and switched to using his Second Martial Soul, the Clear Sky Hammer, and his third Martial Soul, the Nine-Headed Bat King, in Martial Soul.
Because of his father Tang Hao's guidance, Tang San had already mastered these two Martial Soul, so there was no conflict when using them at the same time.
The Clear Sky Hammer Martial Soul, unleashed at the Nine-Headed Bat King's extreme speed and with its berserk power, is not as simple as one plus one.
The fusion of extreme speed and near-extreme power produces an effect that is astonishingly powerful.
Tang San, who was originally only at the peak of the Soul King, forcibly unleashed the combat power of the Soul Saint level, and kept suppressing Little Nine, who had grown larger.
However, this state did not last long before it was reversed, and the key to the reversal was that Little Nine, who was being relentlessly hammered, suddenly reached out and grabbed the handle of the Clear Sky Hammer.
Sensing something was wrong, Tang San pulled hard, but the difference in strength between the two was too great. The Clear Sky Hammer only trembled slightly and failed to escape from Little Nine's large palm.
Tang San's combat awareness was not weak. He immediately planned to restore his Second Martial Soul, the Clear Sky Hammer, to its original Soul Power and retrieve it into his body. However, his expression changed the next moment.
How is that possible?
This was not only Tang San's incredulous exclamation as the person involved, but also the inner monologue of countless spectators around him.
Because Tang San was unable to transform the Clear Sky Hammer into his original Soul Power and return it to his body as he wished, it was still tightly held in Little Nine's hand, and was even forcibly taken away by her.
They simply snatched it away, even causing Tang San to temporarily lose control of his Second Martial Soul, the Clear Sky Hammer.
This is not surprising. Although the Clear Sky Hammer is known as having the strongest attack power, it only reflects its attack effect. It does not have a great advantage in terms of pure strength. At least in terms of strength, it is definitely not as strong as the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, a top-tier Beast Martial Soul.
Tang San's third Martial Soul, the Nine-Headed Bat King, is strongest in terms of extreme speed, but not so much in terms of strength.
Previously, Tang San was able to continuously confront Little Nine Little Nine -on thanks to the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer. However, now that Clear Sky Hammer Jiu has seized the handle of the Clear Sky Hammer, forcibly interrupting the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer, Tang San is no longer able to continue his clash with Little Nine.