"What's going on?" Tang San frowned, feeling uneasy.
Through the Blue Silver Vine, he could sense three life forces within the "Blue Silver Vine Ball," but all three were eerily silent, as if their souls had vanished.
"Could it be that Li Yu was just pretending to be calm earlier, but is actually already affected by my poison?" This was the most plausible explanation that Tang San could come up with.
As the thought hit him, his heart raced in panic.
Although he had put Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing at risk to uncover the secret of Li Yu's soul ring, he didn't want either of them to be seriously hurt—or worse, die—because of it.
"I have to end this quickly…" he muttered to himself, but then something unexpected happened.
Suddenly, the "Blue Silver Vine," which had been still for so long, glowed with a green light. Instead of tightening, the vines began to loosen!
"How could this happen?" Tang San watched, dumbfounded.
At that moment, he realized he had lost control of his own soul skill!
"Brother San, is it over?" Ning Rongrong asked, oblivious to the situation, her face lighting up with happiness.
"Loosened?"
"Is it… Miss Li Yu's loss?" The crowd in the stands was also surprised.
This turn of events felt too sudden.
"No, look at Tang San's face!" someone else pointed out.
Everyone shifted their attention, and it was clear that something was wrong. Tang San's eyes were wide with shock, his face pale. He waved his hands desperately as if trying to control something, but his expression told the crowd that his efforts were futile.
The next moment, everyone watched as the "Blue Silver Vine " began to open layer by layer, falling to the ground. Inside, green willow branches started to stretch out, and a massive ten-meter-high green willow tree suddenly appeared in the arena!
And to their astonishment, two figures—none other than Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing, who had been captured earlier—hung limply from the willow branches.
But what truly caught everyone's attention was the figure standing on the tip of one of the giant branches. The soul rings on this figure flared to life—purple, purple, purple, black!
As the soul rings glowed, a stunned silence fell over the Soul Fighting Arena. Everyone instinctively stood up, rubbing their eyes to make sure they weren't imagining things.
They had heard of "irrational soul ring combinations" before, but never had they imagined witnessing it in person. Four rings—three purple and one black—on a single person! If anyone had claimed such a thing before, they would've been laughed at. But now, this person, standing right before them, made the impossible seem real.
"How is this possible?" The thought echoed in everyone's mind.
A few people, however, had different thoughts. Among them were the academy committee members of Heaven Dou Empire Royal Academy, led by Meng Shenji, along with Shrek and Prince Xue Xing.
"Tang San, is this really all you can do?" Li Yu's cold voice cut through the silence, pulling everyone's focus back to her.
Tang San, feeling the trembling Blue Silver Grass under his control, felt a wave of helplessness wash over him. His gaze towards Li Yu was filled with regret.
He had acted impulsively!
With a soul ring combination like hers, how could Li Yu be weak? How could she not have some hidden trump cards?
For the sake of uncovering the soul ring secret, he had foolishly placed such a risky bet!
Wait...
Tang San suddenly remembered that Li Yu had been with Dugu Yan when they went to meet the academy committee.
Their relationship was clearly close!
That meant Dugu Yan must have told Li Yu everything about the battle at Soto City Soul Arena!
Li Yu likely already knew about his external soul bone and had come for it!
Tang San's mind raced back to when Li Yu had released her soul ring and defeated Dai Mubai. It seemed she had done everything in her power to make sure she took control of the situation. She had kicked Dai Mubai out of the game to prevent the Martial Soul Fusion Skill "White Tiger" from appearing.
The more Tang San thought about it, the angrier and more terrified he became.
"Despicable!" he spat, looking at Li Yu.
"Mm?" Li Yu raised an eyebrow, her eyes filled with cold fury. "You're looking for death!"
With a thought, the willow branches suddenly shot toward Tang San, while the vines he had summoned—his soul skills like "Tangle," "Parasite," and "Web Bind"—turned toward him as well.
Tang San's eyes narrowed. He activated his "Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track" to its maximum, flickering through the gaps between the willow branches, avoiding their lashes.
The ground of the arena was torn apart as the willow branches rampaged through it, leaving cracks and a cloud of dust.
"Ah!" A scream pierced the air.
It was Ning Rongrong, who had been circling on the side, and was struck by one of the willow branches. She was thrown off the stage, her clothes torn and revealing patches of her white skin.
"Ning Rongrong, out!" Meng Shenji's voice rang out immediately.
Tang San, dodging for his life, felt his heart sink but didn't stop to check on Ning Rongrong.
It was just a match, and Meng Shenji was there—Ning Rongrong wouldn't die.
"Is this it? You can't even touch me, yet you want to defeat me?" Tang San mocked coldly. "A Four-ring Soul Sect, is this all you've got?"
"Heh, is that so?" Li Yu's indifferent voice replied.
The next moment, Tang San felt something shift. Just as he was about to retreat, he found himself unable to move.
Inside the arena, a massive green sphere, created by the willow branches, had formed around Tang San and Li Yu. The audience couldn't see them anymore, only the giant willow tree glowing faintly, emitting a strangely comforting aura.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Inside the sphere, Tang San, surrounded by dense willow branches, was helpless. One by one, the branches wrapped around his limbs and neck. With a mere thought from Li Yu, he could be strangled to death.
Li Yu walked toward him slowly, and with each step, the branches parted, creating a path for her as if she were walking on steps made of willow branches.
"Is this all your strength?" Li Yu asked disdainfully.
With a subtle gesture of her mind, the willow branches tightened around Tang San. The green leaves on the branches became like sharp blades, slicing into his skin.
Within moments, Tang San was covered in blood.
"Ugh..." he groaned, blood dripping from his lips.
His eyes blazed with fury as he glared at Li Yu, and silver light flashed from his left palm. The next moment, the "Clear Sky Hammer" materialized.
But, to his dismay, Tang San had no strength left to wield it. He didn't even seem to have the intention to swing it.
"Do you know what this is?" Tang San spoke through clenched teeth, his voice full of threat.
"Oh?" Li Yu raised an eyebrow. "Of course, I know what the 'Clear Sky Hammer' is. But are you using it to threaten me?"
She smiled coldly. "It's just a martial soul. Nothing special."
"A twin martial soul, so proud, so arrogant? You want to use it to swear allegiance to me?" Li Yu mocked.
"Do you really think you have the right to swear allegiance to me?" she continued, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "How about this? Kneel and beg, and I might spare your life."
With that, Li Yu released the grip of the willow branches on Tang San, unafraid of any tricks he might still have.
"Ugh!" Tang San hit the ground hard, unable to stand as his tendons had been severed.
Lying there, struggling to hold himself up with his hands, his pale lips and cold sweat showed how badly he was hurt.
Still, he stared at Li Yu with cold defiance. "You country bumpkin, this is the 'Clear Sky Hammer,' the number one weapon martial soul in the world!"
"A country bumpkin?" Li Yu's eyes turned icy. Without a word, she slapped Tang San across the face.
Smack!
Tang San's head snapped to the side, blood spilling from his mouth, and several of his teeth flew out.
"How dare you?" Tang San gasped, staring in disbelief.
"This is the 'Clear Sky Hammer,' the martial soul only awakened by disciples of the Clear Sky Sect!" Tang San snarled. "How dare you treat me like this? Don't you fear the revenge of the Clear Sky Sect?"
"Oh?" Li Yu narrowed her eyes. "How interesting. You lose a Soul Fighting match and call for your master? Are you a giant baby?"
Tang San froze, his face flushing with anger. But before he could speak again, Li Yu interrupted.
"What about the Clear Sky Sect? Are you even part of it now?" Li Yu's words stung like a slap. "Do they even acknowledge you? Stop bringing them up just because you feel like it. I've seen shameless people, but none as shameless as you!"
Tang San's rage built up, but his face turned even redder.
"Even if they don't acknowledge me, I'm still blood of the Clear Sky Sect! If I die, won't they do something about it?" Tang San shot back.
"Heh," Li Yu sneered, slapping him again.
Smack!
Tang San's face swelled, and he lay there in disbelief at how things had turned so badly.
"Let me go back!" Tang San's thoughts screamed.
"I'm not interested in anything else about you. Next, get ready to pay the 'betting funds'!" Li Yu said coldly as she turned her attention elsewhere.
The arena went silent. Everyone's attention was fixed on the scene unfolding before them.
Meng Shenji's voice rang out: "Shrek's side, all of you, leave. The winner... is Li Yu!"