Chapter 96: Steel Bones
Seeing the team being somewhat delayed and even the attack formation starting to break down, one person along with Yu Tianxin surrounded Yang Xiong. In their eyes, several Soul Kings were the weak points.
From the scene, it was clear that Shrek's team was at a disadvantage. Even though Oscar and Ning Rongrong were assisting from behind, under the suppression of Tang San, the gap in strength between the battle soul masters was too wide.
The opponent had six attacking-type battle soul masters, while Shrek only had four. Tang San couldn't abandon his control over the team and switch to a single offensive role, as that would make the team even more vulnerable, especially since he had to keep an eye on the two support soul masters.
This forced Yang Xiong and Dai Mubai to face two opponents each, and the strength of these two was not weak. Xiao Wu and Tai Long were barely holding on. At this rate, unless something big changed, it seemed inevitable that they would lose.
However, Thunder Academy also had a weakness. Despite their incredible offensive power and explosive potential, they lacked support soul masters. Their endurance was significantly weaker, especially when Oscar had already given everyone a Super Recovery Sausage at the start of the match, as the first soul skill didn't consume much soul power.
Yu Tianxin, the team captain, seemed a bit agitated. As captain, he urgently needed to break through Yang Xiong's defense and disrupt Shrek's formation.
Suddenly, lightning flashed around Yu Tianxin's body, and his right arm grew significantly in size. It even became covered in a layer of scales, and his five fingers turned into claws.
Yang Xiong was surprised. He had seen this move before: it was the Dragon Transformation of the Blue Electric Tyrannosaurus family, a family secret and the foundation of their power.
Yu Tianxin's first soul ring flashed, and a terrifying force emanated from his right claw, activating his first soul skill: Thunder Dragon Claw.
Yang Xiong merely snorted, clenched his fists, and the entire fist turned silver. Ignoring the interference of the others, he launched a powerful punch—this was his Bone Crushing Punch.
In an instant, Yang Xiong stood still, while Yu Tianxin was forced back several steps.
Though Yang Xiong's Bone Crushing Punch seemed simple, it was the result of years of training. It focused on the accumulation of soul power and the impact of his body weight. It wasn't something that could be easily dealt with.
Yu Tianxin was astonished. He hadn't expected his soul skill to be so easily countered. His own strength was even weaker than Yang Xiong's, and this was still just a regular Soul King, right?
At that moment, Yu Tianxin felt humiliated. Here he was, the wielder of the strongest beast martial soul in the world, unable to defeat a normal body martial soul user, especially when his opponent was just a Soul King. To make matters worse, they were now both attacking Yang Xiong together.
Yu Tianxin stopped caring about the rest of the arena. His only focus was to defeat the opponent before him with all his might.
His third soul ring glowed, and countless bolts of lightning surged from his body. The Blue Electric Tyrannosaurus martial soul's power increased dramatically, and his soul power doubled. The blue light surrounding him turned purple, and his body grew bulkier, indicating that this was a top-tier lightning-type enhancement soul skill, not unlike Dai Mubai's White Tiger Vajra Transformation.
However, Yang Xiong wasn't afraid. It was just a simple enhancement soul skill. Let Yu Tianxin experience the difference in their strengths. After all, no matter how much Dai Mubai enhanced himself, he was no match for Yang Xiong.
Even with the enhancement, Yang Xiong's body was surrounded by a silver glow. His hands moved quickly, effortlessly defending against their attacks. At times, he even counterattacked and struck both of them, clearly remaining calm under the pressure.
If Yang Xiong fighting two opponents was considered normal, the other members of Shrek were having a much harder time. Even though Dai Mubai had used his third soul skill to enhance himself, he still found it difficult to fight two opponents, especially since Lei Tian's strength was clearly on par with his.
Xiao Wu and Tai Long were struggling. They had eaten Oscar's Super Recovery Sausage, but the gap in strength was still too great.
Thankfully, Ning Rongrong provided quick enhancements to the others, or they would have been completely overwhelmed. Meanwhile, Yang Xiong never accepted any enhancement soul skills. In this regular arena match, he wanted to showcase his own strength, just as he had done during the previous Soul Master Tournament, where he fought alone and didn't rely on others.
Moreover, Yang Xiong was well aware that his soul power was much deeper than that of others at the same level. If Ning Rongrong enhanced him, the consumption on her part would be too great.
At that moment, Yu Tianxin gritted his teeth and activated his second soul ring. Lightning exploded from his body, enveloping him in purple lightning, with the force amplifying significantly due to his third soul skill's effect: Thunderstorm.
At the same time, the other Soul King who was attacking Yang Xiong also activated his third soul skill, another large-scale lightning attack.
The two massive bolts of lightning combined, seemingly multiplying their power, and exploded with terrifying force. Not only Yang Xiong but even the surrounding people felt a tingling sensation from the electric shock.
Yang Xiong snorted coldly, and his entire body turned silver. His muscles were covered in a layer of silver energy, and his body hardened, as if it had been forged from iron.
Facing the oncoming thunder, Yang Xiong crossed his arms in front of his head, his body merging as one.
Countless bolts of lightning struck his body, but it felt as though they were hitting pure iron, with no reaction at all.
When the lightning finally dissipated, Yang Xiong's arms slowly relaxed. Despite his skin being scorched by the lightning, it seemed as though nothing had happened.
Over the years, Yang Xiong had rigorously trained his body, particularly focusing on defense. Every battle with experts like Zhao Wujie had refined his body. Through years of studying his martial soul, he had developed a defensive soul skill: Steel Bones.
When using this soul skill, he infused all his soul power into his skin and bones, causing the pores to close and his body to harden, as if his soul power were distributed throughout his skin, muscles, and bones. His blood boiled, raising the activity of his soul power to its maximum.
In fact, this wasn't the first time Yang Xiong had used this technique. When he fought against Fire Dance's ultimate skill, Fire Dance Sun, he had used Steel Bones to remain unharmed.
However, based on Yang Xiong's estimations, it would be very difficult for even a Soul King to break through his defense, and even a Soul Emperor might find it challenging.
This self-created soul skill was not just for defense, and with time, it could perhaps be developed into an offensive amplification skill.
Yang Xiong twisted his muscles and smiled disdainfully. "Yu Tianxin, is this really all you've got? I guess I overestimated you."
Yu Tianxin immediately grew furious and continued his attacks alongside the other Soul King. However, Yang Xiong returned to his normal state and continued to contend with both of them.
If Yang Xiong's one-on-two combat was impressive, the rest of Shrek's team was in trouble.
Xiao Wu, although agile and capable of teleportation, was at a disadvantage against a lightning-type Soul King. The Soul King she was facing was Lei Mie, whose martial soul was the Thunder Blade.
At that moment, the situation suddenly changed. Dai Mubai's two opponents fused their bodies together, and one of them transformed into a Soul King, using their third soul skill to face Dai Mubai. Meanwhile, Lei Tian transformed into a giant Thunder Eagle, heading straight for Shrek's two support members, Oscar and Ning Rongrong.
Tang San, who had been facing Lei Dong, was shocked. Several Blue Silver Grasses wrapped around Oscar and Ning Rongrong, attempting to pull them away from Lei Tian's attack range.
However, Lei Dong responded swiftly, using his fourth soul skill: Heavenly Thunder Web. A giant web of lightning erupted, and the web was filled with terrifying electrical energy. When Tang San, Oscar, and Ning Rongrong were all caught within the web's range, it became a group control skill. Unfortunately, animal martial soul control skills were not instant, and they struggled with identifying friend from foe.
Yang Xiong was also surprised. His hands turned into silver fists and struck at Yu Tianxin and the other Soul King. The two opponents were pushed back several steps. In that instant, Yang Xiong used the momentum from his retreat to teleport and appeared next to Ning Rongrong and Oscar.
Tang San also noticed something was wrong. The Blue Silver Grass surrounding Oscar and Ning Rongrong immediately loosened, and Yang Xiong teleported them out of the Thunder Web's control range.
However, Tang San wasn't as quick. Clearly, Lei Dong's main target wasn't the two support members, but Tang San himself. At this moment, Tang San was trapped inside the massive Thunder Web, and even using Ghost Shadow Perplexing Step couldn't get him out in time.
Tang San gritted his teeth and used his third soul skill, Blue Silver Hurricane Formation. Countless Blue Silver Grasses immediately became razor-sharp, forming a large array to counter the Thunder Web.
But Lei Dong's Heavenly Thunder Web was filled with lightning, and its toughness was incredibly high. Even the sharpness of Blue Silver Hurricane couldn't cut through it. When the Blue Silver Grass touched the Thunder Web, it quickly turned black.
Meanwhile, the opponents who had been surrounding Yang Xiong, Yu Tianxin and the other Soul King, suddenly turned to attack Tang San. Even Lei Tian joined in, and several bolts of lightning shot toward Tang San. He was overwhelmed by the attack.
Yang Xiong, after rescuing Oscar and Ning Rongrong from the Thunder Web, quickly teleported back in front of Yu Tianxin. His hands, like claws, struck at both opponents' chests, forcing them to defend.
Meanwhile, Tang San was in a much worse situation. With the interference from the others, he missed the best chance to escape and was completely trapped in the Thunder Web. The terrifying lightning caused him to spasm slightly.
Yang Xiong and Dai Mubai exchanged looks. Dai Mubai immediately activated his fourth soul skill: White Tiger Meteor Shower. The massive meteor shower covered half of the arena, and all of Thunder Academy's members were caught in the attack range, including Lei Dong and Yu Tianxin, who were now struggling to keep up.
Yang Xiong quickly approached Tang San, his hands like silver claws, and forcefully tore through the parts of the Thunder Web that were holding him.
At this moment, Tang San, though looking rather disheveled, was freed from the Thunder Web. He quickly spoke, "Thanks, Yang Xiong."
Yang Xiong simply nodded. "How are you? Can you keep going?"
Tang San showed a hint of determination on his face. "Of course, I won't give up so easily."
However, Tang San's face was darkened, and there were grid-like marks all over his body. Saying this, it made him look a bit ridiculous.
(END CHAPTER)
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