"Your close combat strength, I acknowledge."
After pulling away and standing at a distance, Feng Xiaotian looked over at Tang San, his face showing a hint of approval. As a control-type Soul Master, being able to engage him in such close combat would be enough to make many power-attack Soul Masters break out in a cold sweat.
Tang San's expression, however, wasn't good.
If it had been before, he could have used the opportunity just now to gain a decisive advantage. With a follow-up attack, one strike of the Clear Sky Hammer, he would've been able to execute his plan.
But now, there were suddenly many more variables. After this, Feng Xiaotian might not engage him head-on again. If the battle dragged on until his two flying mushroom sausages expired, his chances of winning would drop to less than forty percent.
He looked at his hands, wrapped in Blue Silver Grass, and a flash of hatred appeared in his eyes.
It was all Zhu Zhuqing's fault. She had damaged his Mysterious Jade Hand before it had fully matured, and it hadn't recovered even now. To ensure its healing, he hadn't dared to use it again.
Otherwise, given his previous progress in cultivation, those five little Wind Blades wouldn't have been a problem at all — he could've taken them head-on.
"Come on, let's continue."
Tang San felt frustrated but had to maintain a smile — that was his current mindset.
The plan he had carefully set up hadn't yielded the desired outcome in the first attack, and it had already been discounted.
Now, he could only rely on the intelligence he had gathered on Feng Xiaotian to try and play mind games. If that didn't work, he'd have to wait for the individual matches in the advancement rounds to go all out.
Feng Xiaotian gave him a deep look, then glanced at his teammates off the stage. After receiving their encouraging looks, he nodded.
"Tang San, you're stronger than I expected. You're a worthy opponent for me to go all out against. Originally, I was saving this technique for the finals, but since I've encountered such a formidable opponent as you, it's not out of place to use it now."
"Next, I'll attack you with my self-created spirit ability. Let everyone know that self-created spirit abilities aren't something only Tang San can have."
"The name of my ability: Gale Demon Wolf Thirty-Six Consecutive Strikes. Be careful."
Another self-created spirit ability?
The audience, who had just been marveling at the rapid, exciting close-quarters combat between the two, were still discussing Tang San's strength.
Upon hearing this, they became even more excited, and the cheers grew louder. This year's Spoul Master competition was truly a battle between dragons and tigers, though the Soul Masters with dragon and tiger martial souls seemed to be underperforming a bit.
He also has a self-created spirit ability?
Tang San was surprised but also a little pleased.
The surprise came from the fact that, aside from himself, this was the first time he had learned of someone his age also possessing a self-created spirit ability.
The pleasure came from the fact that Feng Xiaotian's words meant he would still engage in direct combat with him. This gave him a potential opportunity.
Gale Demon Wolf Thirty-Six Consecutive Strikes — just from the name, he could tell it was different from Huo Wu's Dance of the Fire Phoenix from the Blazing Academy. When it came to self-created spirit abilities, he didn't believe the Tang Sect's secret techniques would lose to a peer's self-created ability.
"Bring it on!"
Tang San exhaled slowly, focusing his gaze on Feng Xiaotian.
Feng Xiaotian's lips moved slightly, but he said nothing. This guy is so ungrateful — I show him such respect, and he doesn't even return the favor? Well, we'll settle this in battle then.
The second soult ring on his body briefly flashed, and the twin-headed Gale Demon Wolf behind him merged into his body. With the twin wolves possessing him, his state was adjusted to its peak.
A long howl came from Feng Xiaotian's mouth, and the aura and green light surrounding him intensified. By this time, he had already ascended into the sky.
A second howl echoed, and Feng Xiaotian's body abruptly began to descend from the air.
Strangely, his large body, with wings spread wide, made no sound as it fell. The green light enveloping him had completely retracted.
At this moment, his body and wings had aligned at a perfect angle, and the wind resistance seemed to have no impact on him. Only a wind-attribute Soul Master like him could find the best path of descent from within the wind itself.
Tang San's brow furrowed slightly, and a faint purple light flashed in his eyes. He could see the sharp edges of Feng Xiaotian's wings glowing faintly green under the sunlight. The so-called Gale Demon Wolf Thirty-Six Consecutive Strikes originated from those wings.
The third soul ring on Tang San's body began to glow faintly — Spiderweb Restraint. Before engaging directly, he needed to test his opponent's strength.
Feng Xiaotian, still mid-air, noticed Tang San's actions but didn't evade them. He simply tilted his body slightly, allowing his wings to come into contact with the Blue Silver Grass web just as it was about to strike him.
A glow appeared on his wings, and the Blue Silver Grass was instantly severed.
Without causing any delay, Tang San's third spirit ability was cut in half and left behind in Feng Xiaotian's wake.
Tang San's pupils contracted slightly. There was no resistance at all. He immediately abandoned his previous plan, and his left hand subtly moved behind his back.
"First strike!"
Feng Xiaotian had already reached the air directly above Tang San. As he spoke, his wings merged into his arms, which transformed into two large blades, glowing with a green light as they slashed down towards Tang San, as if intending to cut him in half.
Clang!
The sound of two metal weapons clashing echoed from the stage.
Tang San's right leg retreated as his body bent down. A black hammer was held in his hand, meeting Feng Xiaotian's strike from below.
Feng Xiaotian was sent flying, spitting out a mouthful of blood, his gaze fixed on the black hammer in Tang San's left hand.
Tang San wasn't unscathed either. His body slid far back across the stage, and a trace of blood appeared at the corner of his mouth.
The impact Tang San suffered was more severe than Feng Xiaotian's, but first, he managed to mitigate much of the force by sliding backward. Second, he remembered what Tang Hao had told him: He was touching. He wouldn't allow himself to look so beaten. Gritting his teeth, Tang San forcibly swallowed the blood in his mouth.
"Good, very good, Tang San. I didn't expect you to be hiding a second Martial Soul. Defeating you now will make this even more exciting!"
Feng Xiaotian's arms were still trembling slightly, and his wings had reappeared, yet he laughed heartily.
He immediately recognized that the hammer in Tang San's left hand was his Martial Soul, confirming that Tang San was a Twin Martial Soul wielder. However, he didn't recognize the Clear Sky Hammer, only finding it vaguely familiar.
It wasn't surprising. The Clear Sky Hammer wasn't particularly eye-catching in appearance, and it had been out of the public eye for so long that it wasn't strange that Feng Xiaotian didn't recognize it.
But just because Feng Xiaotian didn't recognize it didn't mean others wouldn't. While most of the audience was still in shock over Tang San's second Martial Soul, a few people in the far north corner of the stands couldn't sit still.
"Twin Martial Souls? The Clear Sky Hammer?"
The most visibly shaken was Emperor Xue Ye. As soon as he saw the camera focus on the hammer in Tang San's hand, he immediately turned to look at the three Education Board members behind him.
Seeing their equally shocked expressions, his gaze slowly shifted to the side.
Similarly, Salas, who was seated next to them, didn't dare to speak. However, his eyes were locked on Han Li in the front row.
No, to be precise, the entire audience's eyes were now focused on Han Li, trying to see how he would react.
The appearance of the Clear Sky Hammer meant that the Clear Sky Clan, which had been forced into seclusion by the Spirit Hall, was now back in the public eye.
Yet Han Li still maintained a faint smile. After scanning their faces, he calmly said, "Yes, the Clear Sky Hammer. Let's continue watching the match."
The audience hadn't anticipated such a reaction from him. For a moment, the stands fell into an eerie silence, which stood in stark contrast to the cheers and noise in the arena.
Salas took a step forward, only to be stopped by a glance from Han Li, forcing him back into his seat. Emperor Xue Ye opened his mouth to speak but ended up saying nothing, turning his gaze back to the arena.
Ning Fengzhi ignored the glance from Yu Yuanzhen, who was trying to exchange looks with him. However, under Ning Fengzhi's lowered head, his eyes flashed with a sharp light.
He hadn't expected Tang Hao to allow Tang San to reveal the Clear Sky Hammer at this time. Han Li's reaction was also puzzling, while Salas's behavior was as expected. Even though Ning Fengzhi prided himself on his wisdom, he couldn't quite grasp the current situation.
Back in the arena, after shouting out, Feng Xiaotian didn't stop. He once again launched an attack.
His opponent's strength only made him more excited. Defeating such a powerful opponent would prove his strength even more.
Although he had lost the momentum from his aerial strike, the first blow had already inflicted injuries on his opponent. In this situation, pursuing perfection would only give the opponent time to catch their breath, which went against his attack philosophy.
So, this time, he moved even faster.
In a dive, Feng Xiaotian abandoned the wing strike and was once again knocked into the air by Tang San's hammer. However, unlike before, Feng Xiaotian didn't stop. Using the force from Tang San's hammer, he spun in mid-air, and his left-wing quickly slashed toward Tang San again.
Tang San was also struggling. He wanted to swallow the last flying mushroom sausage that Oscar had prepared for him, but Feng Xiaotian's relentless storm of attacks left him no opportunity to do so.
He attempted to use the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to dodge, but unlike Feng Xiaotian's previous wind blades, the flexibility of his wings, which were now his arms, far exceeded that of the wind blades. Feng Xiaotian was also faster. While the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track was powerful, its effect was to dodge and evade — not teleport.
Tang San didn't dare gamble on whether his physical body could withstand a direct hit from these attacks.
As a result, he could only grit his teeth and use the Clear Sky Hammer to counterattack, relying on his Purple Demon Eyes to observe and aiming his strikes at the same part of Feng Xiaotian's body. His goal was to force Feng Xiaotian to abandon his continuous strikes, hoping that Feng Xiaotian's injuries would catch up to him first.
The battle briefly entered a deadlock.