In the spectator stands of the Soul Battle Arena, Grandmaster and the others were initially startled when they saw the shadow soul beasts they had never encountered before. Then, they all stood up abruptly, their faces filled with shock.
They had lived for decades, and the abilities displayed by Cheng Xiao on the Soul Battle Stage were unlike anything they had ever heard of. Just the ability to summon shadow soul beasts alone was already extraordinary, not to mention the other abilities. Moreover, Cheng Xiao was only at a little over thirty levels, yet he could already summon more than ten shadow soul beasts. What would happen when his spirit power increased? What kind of scene would that be?
On the Soul Battle Stage, Tang San could only flee awkwardly from the attacks of the Man-Faced Demon Spider. His external spirit bone had not fully fused with him yet, so the abilities it granted were not as powerful as he had imagined.
Moreover, the Eight Spider Lances were derived from the Man-Faced Demon Spider itself. Now, Tang San was using the Eight Spider Lances to attack the Man-Faced Demon Spider, which was akin to attacking it with its own bones. How could the spider tolerate such a thing?
The Man-Faced Demon Spider, enraged beyond belief, lunged at Tang San, who was darting around like a mouse. It couldn't stand the fact that this human spirit master was using the bones of its kind to attack it. How could it endure such an insult?
The Man-Faced Demon Spider's two front legs swept forward, sending a fierce flash of cold light toward Tang San's Eight Spider Lances. With a loud crash, Tang San was sent flying. Since his external spirit bone had not fully fused with him, the terrifying strike from the Man-Faced Demon Spider nearly shattered the Eight Spider Lances.
Tang San didn't fare much better. The pain radiating from his back caused him to inhale sharply, and a mouthful of blood sprayed from his lips, splattering onto the ground.
In the spectator stands, Flender was dumbfounded by the scene in front of him. He murmured, "Even though this isn't the real body of the Man-Faced Demon Spider, its strength is almost on par with the one Tang San absorbed."
Grandmaster said nothing in response, his face darkening as his confidence vanished. His rough hands clenched tightly, unable to bear watching his disciple's misery on the Soul Battle Stage.
"How could this happen..." Tang San muttered, slowly rising from the ground and retracting the Eight Spider Lances into his body. He knew better than anyone how strong the Eight Spider Lances were, but against the Man-Faced Demon Spider's powerful strike, they had nearly shattered.
Tang San was astonished, his expression growing grim. Grandmaster had once said that as long as he used the Eight Spider Lances, his opponent wouldn't last more than a few rounds. But now, it seemed that he was the one struggling to last.
Due to the incomplete fusion of his external spirit bone, Tang San's face was pale, making his already tense expression even harder to look at.
At that moment, even Flender wanted to tell Tang San to give up. But Tang San wasn't his disciple, and since Grandmaster hadn't said anything, Flender, as the headmaster, didn't know whether he should intervene.
He sneaked a glance at Grandmaster, whose face remained grim, his fists clenched tightly. However, Grandmaster showed no intention of having Tang San surrender. Could it be that Tang San still had a trump card?
"Tang San, surrender. You can't beat me," Cheng Xiao called out as he strode forward, his shadow soldiers following closely behind him. Though the shadow beasts weren't particularly powerful, they would grow stronger alongside Cheng Xiao and evolve into more formidable entities. This was the terrifying aspect of the shadow soldiers.
"Surrender?" Tang San lowered his head, his eyes faintly glowing purple. He had made up his mind. If even the Eight Spider Lances couldn't win him the match, then he would have to resort to his ultimate weapon.
"You're celebrating too early!" As Tang San raised his right hand, a black box appeared out of nowhere. It was one of his Tang Sect mechanical hidden weapons—the Zhuge Divine Crossbow!
With a press of the mechanism, a series of clicking sounds echoed, and the audience saw only a blur. The next moment, a rapid succession of thuds rang out. The speed was so quick that even Cheng Xiao and the spectators, including Flender, were shocked.
"Not good! That kid's out for blood!" In the VIP box of the Emperor Battle Team, Qin Ming leaped to his feet when he saw the black box in Tang San's hand. He prepared to smash through the glass to intervene.
However, just as Qin Ming was about to unleash his spirit, Cheng Xiao on the stage remained calm and composed. Facing the Zhuge Divine Crossbow, which was powerful enough to kill a forty-level Soul Ancestor, Cheng Xiao's eyes showed nothing but serenity, with a trace of disdain.
As the sixteen crossbow bolts streaked through the air like lightning, mere inches away from Cheng Xiao, shadows suddenly rose from the ground like specters. Leading the charge was a three-meter-tall ape-like soul beast, the most powerful of Cheng Xiao's shadow soldiers—a ten-thousand-year soul beast.
With the appearance of the shadow soldiers, Tang San's crossbow bolts clattered harmlessly to the ground.
"How is this possible?" Seeing his ultimate weapon fail, Tang San stood frozen in place, utterly dumbfounded. He could never have imagined that his prized Tang Sect hidden weapon, the Zhuge Divine Crossbow, wouldn't even scratch his opponent.
As Tang San stood there in a daze, Cheng Xiao's figure swiftly approached. Cloaked in dark mist, his heavy fist ripped through the air and landed squarely on Tang San's chest.
With a loud thud, Tang San was sent flying like a cannonball, landing outside the Soul Battle Stage.
Tang San tried to get up, but his spirit power and internal energy were completely depleted. No matter how unwilling he was, he had no choice but to succumb to exhaustion and fall unconscious.
According to the rules of the Great Soul Arena, being knocked out of the stage meant defeat. After Tang San was eliminated, Cheng Xiao casually kicked Dai Mubai off the stage as well, marking the end of the two-on-two Soul Battle.
As the announcer loudly declared the victory, the Shrek Academy teachers immediately rushed to Tang San and Dai Mubai. These were Shrek's prodigies, and they couldn't afford any harm to come to them.
As the battle ended, Cheng Xiao waved his hand, and the shadow soldiers returned to the shadows. He then jumped off the Soul Battle Stage and left with Ye Lingling.
Their graceful departure ignited the crowd's excitement. The audience loved watching unpredictable, thrilling battles like this one. As Cheng Xiao exited, the entire arena echoed with the chant of "Shadow Begonia Duo."