Silence.
For an instant, the entire arena fell silent.
Everyone was dumbfounded. They had never expected the Shrek-dominated match they had anticipated to start like this!
The Taoyuan Team's Hell Spirit Cat had instantly taken down Shrek's Evil Eye White Tiger!
Evil Eye White Tiger, what are you doing? Are you sleepwalking?!*
The entire audience was in disbelief. In a PK match where Shrek had the numerical advantage, the Taoyuan Academy, with fewer members and lower spirit power, had actually seized the offensive initiative!
"Am I dreaming? The Evil Eye White Tiger was taken out in one hit???"
"This Hell Spirit Cat is too cunning! There was nothing he could do!"
"Damn you, Evil Eye White Tiger! And you wanted to be the MVP? I was blind to have bet on you!"
"Shrek, kill them! I bet five thousand Gold Spirit Coins on you! If you lose, my wife will chase me down the whole street with a cleaver!"
"It's seven against four, what are you afraid of?! Just steamroll them and get it over with!"
After a brief moment of silence, a large portion of the audience erupted, slapping their thighs and cursing Dai Mubai for dragging the team down.
"Mubai!"
"Boss Dai!"
Tang San and Ma Hongjun's expressions changed.
Tang San reacted quickly. He used a strand of Blue Silver Grass to catch Dai Mubai's falling body, then turned to the slender woman behind him with a cascade of silver-blue hair. "Ye Lingling, please heal Mubai immediately. We can't lose his combat power in this fight."
"Mubai's Martial Soul is the White Tiger, and he's destined to have a battle with the opponent's Battle Tiger. If he doesn't beat Wang Sheng once, he'll have a mental block that he'll never be able to overcome."
On Shrek's side, Tang San immediately began coordinating with his teammates. "Tianheng, Dugu Yan, I know you see that they only have four people and their spirit power is lower than ours, and you might feel it's unsporting for you to team up with us."
"But what I want to say is, none of those four people are weak. Like me, they all have the ability to fight above their rank. If you don't actively cooperate with us, our chances of winning are very slim."
"Fine. For my uncle's sake, I'll listen to your command this once," Yu Tianheng said, his eyes narrowing. He could also see that the four members of the Taoyuan Team were no ordinary opponents. Last night, his uncle, Yu Xiaogang, had specifically sought him out and spoken with him at length, earnestly asking him to join forces with Tang San for this match. This was the first time his uncle had ever asked him for a favor; he had to take it seriously.
"Lingling, heal Mubai."
"Mmm."
Ye Lingling, positioned at the rear of the Shrek team, nodded. Her three Spirit Rings—yellow, yellow, and purple—flashed. Accompanied by a faint fragrance, a beam of white light descended from the sky. The light was peculiar, made of countless petals from the Nine Heart Flowering Apple, which gently drifted down onto Dai Mubai and merged into his body.
A miraculous scene unfolded. The wound in Dai Mubai's abdomen, which had been pierced by the claws, began to heal at a rapid rate.
"Not good. Her Nine Heart Flowering Apple Martial Soul can rapidly heal a Spirit Master's injuries."
Teacher said that a Spirit Master duel is no child's play. The biggest taboo is to stand by and watch the opponent make a move without thinking of a counter. We don't fight in turns.
"Zhuqing, the healing ability of the Nine Heart Flowering Apple is very powerful. If you can, find a way to take her out first."
"Okay."
"Wang Sheng, charge in and scatter them. Are you confident?"
"I'll do my best."
"Yiran, you take the central position. Pay attention to Wang Sheng's situation and use your first spirit ability to support his attack!"
At the same time, the specially trained Ning Rongrong reacted quickly, rapidly deploying her team.
The other three students of Taoyuan Academy, without a moment's hesitation, activated their Martial Souls, giving Shrek no time to react.
Boom—
Ning Rongrong was enveloped by her Golden Bell, and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda materialized. Her pagoda was no longer the small one that ordinary Spirit Masters held in their hands. Instead, it hovered behind her, its green body marked with faint golden patterns, standing over two meters tall. It was further encased in three sturdy golden bells, making it look indestructible.
"Seven Treasures Have a Name, First is: Strength!"
"Seven Treasures Have a Name, Second is: Speed!"
"Wang Sheng, go! If that hooligan grass-chicken dares to block your way, beat him to death! Smash his chicken beak and see if he dares to crow again!"
"All of you, use your real strength and end this fight as quickly as possible! Anyone who drags us down, I'll punish you on behalf of the teacher after the match! I'll pop your chests with my Wing Chun One-Inch Punch!"
Ning Rongrong cast two buffs on Wang Sheng. The already domineering Battle King Tiger received a 40% boost to its strength and speed, becoming even more savage.
"I think you're just in a hurry to win so you can go kiss Teacher!" Meng Yiran teased, but she had already followed Ning Rongrong's command, holding her Necromantic Snake Staff and moving to the center of their formation, ready to launch a Snake Blade to assist Wang Sheng at any moment.
"I'm definitely going to kiss Teacher! Unless you all don't want to see what he looks like!"
"I have to say, Senior Sister Rongrong, you truly are the successor of the largest trade organization on the continent, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School. You're such a good calculator. We only get to see Teacher's face, but you get to kiss him. So, if we also want to kiss him, what do you get to do?"
"Do? Of course, I'll 'do' him!"
"..."
"ROAR!"
Possessed by the tiger that exuded the aura of a king, Wang Sheng's presence was incredibly powerful. He charged forward like a tiger descending a mountain. The sleeves on his arms were completely burned away, and his arms turned fiery red, but he met the Phoenix Fire Line spewing from Ma Hongjun's mouth head-on and landed a punch squarely on his jaw.
Ma Hongjun's body went flying, a mouthful of blood spraying out, his front teeth knocked loose.
"The hell? My teeth!"
"The hell? What kind of physique is that?"
Ma Hongjun was dumbfounded.
Even the Blue Silver Grass barrier that Tang San had released could barely hinder his advance. Seeing the grass wrapped around Wang Sheng's legs being snapped by sheer force, Tang San knew the guy's strength had increased significantly, not to mention the terrifying power boost from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda.
"Tianheng, Dugu Yan, we must adopt the most stable strategy. You two protect Ye Lingling together. We absolutely cannot let the Hell Spirit Cat assassinate her.
"I, Dai Mubai, Fatty, and Xiao Wu will be responsible for wearing down the opponent. As long as Ye Lingling is alive, we have countless chances for trial and error! We'll exhaust their spirit power and claim victory!"
Although Yu Tianheng felt it was a bit shameful to use such tactics in a seven-on-four fight and didn't really agree with Tang San, he recalled his uncle's instructions and took a deep breath. "Fine."
"Good." Tang San nodded and continued.
"Fatty, don't fight Wang Sheng. Your Phoenix Fire Line is a mid-range skill. Find a chance to get close to Ning Rongrong and hit her with your flames. Interfere with her line of sight so she can't buff her teammates. If you can use the Point Strength Method and hidden weapons I taught you to break her Golden Bell Shield and take her out, we'll have won half the battle!"
"Xiao Wu, you coordinate with Mubai. It's two-on-one. Find an opportunity to take down Wang Sheng."
"I'll keep an eye on that Necromantic Snake Staff, observe the situation, and create output opportunities for you all at any time!"
Tang San's reaction was also very quick. Ever since joining Shrek, he had been observing Taoyuan Academy. He had seen Dai Mubai's fight with Zhu Zhuqing and knew of Ning Rongrong's power. His deployment was, in fact, perfect.
But what he couldn't predict was just how strong the current Taoyuan foursome had become...
At this moment, Dai Mubai had also been revived, the torn wound in his abdomen completely healed. He let out a roar. "Zhu Zhuqing! I'll remember this! I gave you a chance, and you didn't take it! Don't blame me for being ruthless and destroying a beautiful flower!"
"You might have gotten me with a sneak attack once, but I have a second chance, and even a third chance to get back up, until I'm trampling you under my foot!" Dai Mubai roared, his evil eyes filled with rage.
"Then I'll just kill you a second time, and a third time. I'll kill you as many times as you revive."
Weng—
[Third Spirit Ability—Hellish Cross Slash.]
The third Spirit Ring around Zhu Zhuqing flashed.
A terrifying Hellish Cross Slash locked onto Dai Mubai. The powerful slashing force descended upon him. He couldn't dodge. Two gruesome, bloody wounds were instantly carved into his body.
Dai Mubai collapsed again, his combat ability lost.
Nine Heart Flowering Apple? Its healing is powerful, but it can't remove my hell mark. As long as I lock onto him once, he will be severely injured. Every time he revives, my Hellish Cross Slash can lock onto him again. Infinite revivals, infinite kills,* Zhu Zhuqing thought coldly.
Since you're guarding Ye Lingling and won't let her get hurt, then I'll just lock onto Dai Mubai indefinitely. I refuse to believe your spirit power is endless enough to keep reviving him.
Dai Mubai: ???
(End of Chapter)