The golden spatula erupted with a radiance only the sun could rival. The floor beneath Shangguan Hong suddenly turned into vast stretches of yellow sand, and within that sand, a noble emperor who had long slumbered awakened.
Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Dai Mubai stared blankly at the scene. They had never seen anything like this. What was that, a strange spatula? And what was with the three soul rings beneath Shangguan Hong's feet? Why was his second soul ring already a thousand-year one? That clearly exceeded the limit a Soul Master could withstand!
"A three-ring Soul Elder, with two thousand-year soul rings at that..."
Tang San felt his throat go unbearably dry. During their earlier chat, Shangguan Hong had already revealed that they were the same age-both twelve! In other words, despite his innate full soul power and twin martial souls, his talent had been crushed by someone his own age.
Not only that, Tang San had never even heard of Shangguan Hong's martial soul. There seemed to have never been a powerhouse with a spatula-type martial soul on the continent. What was that line he had just recited? A soul incantation?
Tang San's curiosity about Shangguan Hong knew no bounds, but the answer was soon revealed! Under the trio's gazes, the yellow sand beneath Shangguan Hong's feet suddenly began to churn. A mysterious being was about to break free of the earth!
Then, with a whoosh, a disc rose behind Shangguan Hong, radiating sunlight, majestic and sacred.
Appearing alongside the sand disc was a two-meter-tall humanoid clad in gilded eagle armor, its pauldrons spreading like an eagle's wings, an eagle mask covering his face. The armor did not look particularly protective, serving only to accentuate its wearer's nobility. He gripped an enormous golden scepter, and the golden light in his eye sockets held the imperial majesty of one who looked down upon the world!
"Shurima, your emperor has returned!"
A deep voice rang out from this ruler of an ancient empire. Though humanoid, he bore many eagle-like features, yet he did not seem frightening. Instead, he made people feel an involuntary urge to kneel in worship.
The Golden Spatula martial soul's second soul skill—Glory of Shurima! The long-slumbering Emperor of the Sands awakened beneath the churning yellow sands. His might was beyond question!
However, the creatures Shangguan Hong created with his soul skills lacked the ability to converse. They seemed capable of saying only a few fixed lines and could not communicate with others. Shangguan Hong alone could command them.
Gulp!
Facing the Sand Emperor, Dai Mubai swallowed. What was going on? Despite his rank 37 soul power, he felt an unprecedented sense of pressure! They were both Soul Elders, and this humanoid before him was merely one of Shangguan Hong's soul skills. His own martial soul was the White Tiger, a top-tier beast martial soul, the king of beasts!
"A Summoning System Soul Master?"
Tang San's pupils contracted. With his extensive theoretical knowledge, he recognized that Shangguan Hong belonged to the Summoning System, but he could not recall his teacher ever mentioning such a powerful Summoning System Soul Master! There were far too many mysteries surrounding this flippant fellow.
Yellow sand swept through the entire hotel. Shangguan Hong took two steps forward and patted the Sand Emperor's arm, then put on a harmless expression and spoke to Dai Mubai with a faint smile:
"As long as you can beat him, you win this match!"
"Enough talk! I said both of you could come at me together, so both of you come at me together!"
Dai Mubai had the pride of a senior student. As he was now, he considered himself no weaker than anyone at the Soul Elder level. Looking at it that way, although Shangguan Hong's martial soul was unusual, his soul rings abnormal, and his soul skills powerful... just how high could this kid's soul power be? An ordinary twelve-year-old was already a genius if they reached rank 25. With the same amount of time to cultivate, even if Shangguan Hong had innate full soul power, rank 32 would already be his limit.
So he, Dai Mubai, was not afraid in the slightest!
"Brother Shangguan, don't let your guard down!"
Tang San disliked hiding behind others, so he stood shoulder to shoulder with Shangguan Hong, deciding to face this together with his newly acquainted yet monstrously talented friend.
"All right, then. You guys do your best!"
Shangguan Hong did not mind either way. Cracking melon seeds, he found a chair and sat down, his movements carefree and his expression perfectly natural.
Tang San: ...
"What are you looking at me for? I'm a Summoning System Soul Master. Don't tell me you expect me to fight in person?"
Noticing Xiao Wu's strange gaze, Shangguan Hong retorted irritably. His physique was only a hundred million tiny bits stronger than a Support System Soul Master's of the same level, and besides, why fight in person when his summons could settle it?
Shangguan Hong's appearance had disrupted the atmosphere of the match considerably, but fortunately, things were finally back on track. There were simply a few more strange things involved.
Tang San looked at the Sand Emperor, who stood a head taller than him. The latter lowered his head to look down at him. He was clearly just a summon, yet Tang San read indifference in his eyes.
It was as though he, a twelve-year-old with rank 29 soul power, was merely an ordinary person, no different from an ant by the roadside.
How arrogant...
"Then, let's start again!"
"Tang San, rank 29 Control System Tool Soul Grandmaster! Martial soul, Blue Silver Grass!"
"Dai Mubai, rank 37 Power Attack System Soul Elder! Martial soul, White Tiger! Please give me your guidance!"
"Oh, right, I nearly forgot! Shangguan Hong, rank 35 Summoning System Soul Elder! Martial soul, Golden Spatula! Guidance and all that? Sure, sure!"
This was the most basic etiquette for a match. Perfectly normal.
Normal, my ass!!!
Dai Mubai's eyes nearly popped out of his head! What had he just heard? Rank 35?! Shrek's admission requirements were only to reach rank 25 by age twelve. He himself had been rank 25 when he enrolled, yet this kid was a whole ten ranks higher! Where had this monster come from? Compared to him, even Dai Mubai, Shrek Academy's strongest student, seemed utterly ordinary.
Perhaps Shangguan Hong had delivered too many shocks, for Tang San had already grown somewhat numb. He said nothing, focusing all his attention on the battle before him.
"One Blue Silver Grass and one bizarre spatula. Let me see for myself just what is so special about your martial souls!"
Under White Tiger Possession, Dai Mubai looked like a small giant. The instant his words fell, he was already in front of Tang San! His enormous tiger paw slammed down without hesitation!
"First soul skill, Entanglement!"
Tang San's pupils contracted. As he stepped into Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, the first hundred-year soul ring beneath his feet lit up. Dragon-like strands of Blue Silver Grass instantly bound Dai Mubai tight!
"Quite tough, but nothing worth mentioning to a Soul Elder. I only need three seconds to break free!"
After testing the toughness of the Blue Silver Grass, Dai Mubai grinned. His smile soon froze, however, because he saw that the towering Sand Emperor beside him had already raised his scepter!
This was a righteous one-against-two fight!
That thought had only just surfaced in Dai Mubai's mind when reality promptly refuted it.
"Do not stand before the emperor!"
The churning yellow sand gradually coalesced into human figures, revealing four armored desert soldiers wielding spears!
"Soldiers, advance!"