The referee's face changed slightly when Poison Douluo suddenly appeared on the Douhun Stage, and he inwardly groaned.
A Titled Douluo's status was revered; how could a mere referee dare to offend him?
But it was his duty, so he steeled himself and took a step forward, bowing respectfully as he said:
"Poison Douluo Your Excellency, the competition is currently underway. You... your sudden appearance on stage might be a bit against the rules, wouldn't it? Please, Your Excellency, don't make things difficult for us..."
"Rules?" Hearing this, Dugu Bo's emerald eyes widened, and an invisible pressure instantly made the referee break out in a cold sweat. Then, he let out a cold snort, his voice echoing throughout the arena:
"This old man is here for the safety of all upcoming matches! If we let certain insidious methods go unchecked, who knows how many excellent young talents from various academies will suffer in the future!"
With that, he ignored the cowering referee and directly squatted down, pretending to examine the condition of Canghui Academy's captain and a few other team members.
A moment later, Dugu Bo slowly stood up, his gaze directed towards the VIP section.
"Everyone! After my preliminary investigation, the condition of these seven students from Canghui Academy is extremely dire! Their blood has been almost completely drained, their life force severely depleted, nearly exhausted!"
"Their Soul Power Origin has suffered even greater damage, as if it was forcibly plundered and completely emptied by something! This is definitely not an injury that can be caused by normal Soul Skill clashes!"
"Such methods are insidious, vicious, and go against the natural order. For the fairness of the competition and the safety of all participating students, this old man implores the competition organizing committee to immediately dispatch Soul Masters skilled in healing and investigation to the stage for a thorough examination! Give Canghui Academy and all participating students an explanation!"
Dugu Bo's words.
Were like a giant rock thrown into a calm lake, instantly stirring up a storm throughout the arena!
"What? Blood drained? Life force exhausted?"
"This... what kind of evil technique is this?"
"Could Shrek Academy have done it?"
"What exactly happened in that seven-colored light just now?"
Immediately, countless suspicious, fearful, and probing gazes simultaneously shot towards the Shrek team member, Tang San, who was the only one still standing on the Douhun Stage!
In the VIP section.
Emperor Xue Ye, Ning Fengzhi, Salas, and others now had extremely serious expressions.
If Dugu Bo's words were true, then the nature of this matter had completely changed!
This was no longer a simple matter of competition results, but involved some evil act that might be intolerable to the Spirit Master's world!
Just as Dugu Bo's voice fell and the entire arena was in an uproar.
A leading instructor from Canghui Academy also rushed onto the Douhun Stage, his eyes bloodshot.
He pounced next to a shriveled, weakly breathing student, picked him up with trembling hands, and then abruptly looked up at the VIP section, roaring:
"Referee! Competition Organizing Committee! I want to file a complaint! Devouring a Soul Master's Soul Power and life force is the act of a degenerate, an Evil Soul Master! This is behavior intolerable to the entire Spirit Master's world!"
"This Tang San from Shrek Academy! At such a young age, he possesses the cultivation of a Spirit Ancestor, and even has a ten-thousand-year fourth spirit ring! This in itself is illogical! I now have reason to suspect that his cultivation was obtained by devouring the cultivation and life force of others!"
"He is a degenerate, an Evil Soul Master!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the entire arena erupted again!
"Tang San is an Evil Soul Master?!"
"He Cultivates by devouring others' Soul Power and life force? This..."
"No wonder he Cultivates so quickly!"
"Too terrifying! He even used such methods in the competition!"
In the VIP section.
Ning Fengzhi's expression changed slightly. He stood up from his seat. As the Sect Master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, he was highly respected and should have immediately expressed his stance, supporting a thorough investigation of the matter to uphold the fairness of the competition.
However, just as he was about to speak.
The Hidden Weapons cooperation agreement with Tang San flashed through his mind like lightning!
The words on the tip of his tongue were directly swallowed back.
Salas, the Spirit Hall Platinum Bishop next to him, had no such qualms. A glint flashed in his eyes, and with a flicker of his figure, he instantly appeared on the Douhun Stage.
Ignoring the surrounding gazes, Salas walked directly to a Canghui student, then extended his gaunt finger and gently placed it on the student's wrist pulse.
A trace of pure Soul Power probed in, and Salas's face instantly became ashen.
"What? Is it really as Dugu Bo said?"
With a slight frown, he slowly withdrew his hand and turned to face Emperor Xue Ye in the VIP section, his voice carrying a formal coldness and seriousness as he loudly declared:
"Your Majesty, after my personal verification, Poison Douluo Your Excellency's words are not false!"
"The life Origin of these seven students from Canghui Academy is severely damaged, almost exhausted! Their Soul Power Foundation has also suffered heavy damage! Such injuries are definitely not caused by ordinary Martial Soul Abilities; they were indeed caused by some external force forcibly plundering and devouring!"
At this point, he paused, his tone carrying an unquestionable meaning.
"In the future, at best, their Foundation will be damaged, and their cultivation will be difficult to advance further."
"At worst... there is a risk of premature death!"
Salas's personal confirmation, like a final judgment, completely pushed Shrek Academy and Tang San into the eye of the storm!
Immediately, the entire Great Spirit Arena fell into a dead silence, an oppressive atmosphere, as everyone's gaze gathered on Tang San, awaiting his explanation.
Or rather... awaiting the final verdict from the competition organizing committee!
Facing Salas's forceful accusations and the questioning gazes from the entire arena, Tang San's face appropriately showed a hint of grievance. He then stepped forward and retorted:
"Absurd! This is simply nonsense!"
"Bishop Salas, and this instructor, you keep saying I am an Evil Soul Master, relying on devouring others' life force to Cultivate? Where is the evidence? Just based on their current appearance?"
As he spoke, he pointed to the half-dead Canghui Academy students on the ground.
"Everyone, please be clear! How dangerous was the Seven Shura Illusion that Canghui Academy used just now? All of us from Shrek were deeply trapped within it, our five senses stripped, our Soul Power in disarray. To protect myself, to break the illusion, I had no choice but to use all my Soul Power, even overdrawing it, to barely defeat them!"
"My Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul does indeed come with paralyzing toxins; this is no longer a secret from previous matches! As for that ten-thousand-year fourth spirit ring?"
At this point, Tang San's face showed a hint of arrogance as he forcefully explained:
"That was absorbed by me, with the protection of my elders, after experiencing countless near-death situations, relying on my own will and talent to absorb a higher-level spirit ring! This only proves that I, Tang San, am exceptionally talented and have an unyielding will! How can this be an excuse for you to slander me as an Evil Soul Master? Is having good talent also a crime?!"
"On the contrary, it's their Canghui Academy!" Tang San changed his tone, counter-accusing:
"Using such a dangerous illusion Soul Skill, capable of severely damaging others' minds, is inherently disregarding the safety of opponents, and their intentions are wicked! Now that their Soul Skill has been broken and they've suffered a backlash, their injuries are severe. Isn't this due to their own lack of skill and their own doing?"
"Why push this responsibility onto us, Shrek?!"
His words were fast and urgent, seemingly logical and well-founded, but in reality, they completely avoided the core strange points of life force depletion and blood drying up. He attributed everything to the backlash of the illusion and the normal toxic effects of his Martial Soul, and even turned the tables, accusing Canghui Academy of malicious intent.
Tang San's righteous and wronged demeanor, coupled with his deliberately guided logic.
Actually caused some uninformed audience members to waver and feel confused.
"It seems... to make some sense?"
"The backlash from an illusion can indeed be very severe..."
"Could it really be that Canghui Academy messed up themselves?"
Salas, after hearing Tang San's sophistry and specious arguments, showed not the slightest hint of wavering on his face. Instead, a cold, somewhat mocking smile appeared.
He had long since received a secret order from Spirit City, clearly knowing that Tang San was Tang Hao's son, and a target that Spirit Hall absolutely wanted to eliminate quickly!
Now that he had finally seized an opportunity to capture him and bring him back to Spirit Hall.
How could he let him go because of a few clever arguments from Tang San?
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