Mo Hentian ended Tang Wulin with a single strike, leaving Yang Nianxia stunned and causing the three who were secretly observing, including Jing Shaoyu, to show expressions of surprise.
This Mo Hentian really dares to think and act, and he doesn't drag his feet at all!
"You…" Yang Nianxia was both shocked and angry, pointing at Mo Hentian, ready to say something, but was suddenly startled by a loud noise from behind, causing him to crouch down and cover his head, his three Soul Rings flying up in response.
However, this loud noise was nothing more than the sound made when the Clear Sky Hammer was activated. Mo Hentian raised his right hand, and the Clear Sky Hammer he had thrown out flew back to him as if it had eyes, landing back in his right hand.
Yang Nianxia watched this scene, his face turning a mix of blue and red, looking very ugly. How could he not know that he had overreacted, seemingly frightened out of his wits by Mo Hentian? No, this wouldn't do; he was the Dark Bear Yang Nianxia!
Yang Nianxia stood up again, took a deep breath, and his expression shifted from fear to calm, his eyes filled with tranquility. He said, "You are strong. If it were just me here today, I would probably be out of the game by now. But I am not alone. Logically speaking, since you have defeated my companion, I should fight you to the end. However, we both know that if we continue to fight, we will only end up hurting each other. So, why don't we retreat here? What do you think?"
Mo Hentian's expression was impassive, but the slight rise and fall of his chest indicated that he was tempted by Yang Nianxia's proposal.
Yang Nianxia keenly sensed this and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. He continued, "Since you don't object, I'll take that as your agreement. Let's both step back at the same time, how about that?"
Mo Hentian looked intently at Yang Nianxia. Although his gaze was ordinary, it made Yang Nianxia's heart race, and his muscles tensed involuntarily. Fortunately, Mo Hentian finally nodded, agreeing to Yang Nianxia's proposal.
Thus, the two exchanged glances and slowly retreated, neither turning their backs. In such a situation, exposing one's back to the opponent was a grave mistake.
"Brother Xiaoyu, what should we do? Should we take action?" Xu Xiaoyan immediately asked Jing Shaoyu as she watched Mo Hentian and Yang Nianxia retreating further away.
After pondering for a moment, Jing Shaoyu shook his head and said, "Forget it. Two heavily injured individuals aren't worth our effort. In their current state, retreating is just a delay. Let's not interfere."
"Okay." Xu Xiaoyan nodded.
Meanwhile, outside, Tang Wulin suddenly opened his eyes and stumbled out of the Login Pod, looking disheartened. His expression was quite dejected; being defeated in his proudest ability was a significant blow to him. The current Tang Wulin was not the clever and cunning all-rounder as depicted in the original work. Due to Jing Shaoyu's presence, his reliance on and application of the Golden Dragon King bloodline far exceeded that of his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul. He had gradually neglected his own positioning, viewing himself merely as a pure attack-type Soul Master.
"Tang Wulin, tell me, what is your Martial Soul?" A cold voice, as chilling as winter, reached his ears. This voice felt like a bone-chilling north wind, making him shiver; he was all too familiar with it.
"My Martial Soul is Blue Silver Grass." Tang Wulin immediately stood up straight and replied, raising his head to look at Wu Zhangkong.
"Oh?" A hint of a cold smile appeared on Wu Zhangkong's face as he said, "So you still know that your Martial Soul is Blue Silver Grass? I thought you not only disregarded my advice over the years but also forgot your own Martial Soul! Hehe!"
"Teacher Wu, I…" Tang Wulin wanted to retort that he hadn't forgotten, but looking at Wu Zhangkong's disappointed gaze, he felt a bit ashamed and lowered his head.
"Lift your head and look at me!" Wu Zhangkong's stern voice startled Tang Wulin into raising his head, and even Zheng Yiran, who was watching from the side, shivered slightly, showing a hint of fear. Wu Zhangkong, however, paid no mind to this and said, "Tell me, what gives you the confidence to compete in strength with a Clear Sky Hammer Soul Master? Is it your Golden Dragon bloodline? Your blacksmithing skills?"
"Teacher, I… I don't know. I just got a bit carried away," Tang Wulin stammered, "When I saw that person's Martial Soul, I felt an impulse; I didn't want to lose!"
"So you acted blindly, is that it?" Wu Zhangkong was even angrier. He said, "It seems you really have forgotten that you are just a Blue Silver Grass Soul Master! Remember, the Martial Soul is the foundation of a Soul Master! Do you still remember what your initial positioning was? Hmm?"
"...Control-type Soul Master." Tang Wulin felt extremely ashamed and instinctively wanted to defend himself, saying, "Teacher, because it has always been Shaoyu directing, so I…"
"So you mean to say that it's all Jing Shaoyu's fault?" Wu Zhangkong was so angry he laughed. His smile was pleasant, but it instilled fear in everyone present.
"No, that's not what I meant!" Tang Wulin immediately explained anxiously upon seeing this.
"Enough!" Wu Zhangkong snorted coldly and said, "Come to my office after class today!"
"Yes." Tang Wulin immediately drooped his head like a wilted eggplant, looking completely dejected.
"Go stand aside!" Wu Zhangkong turned his gaze away and said. Tang Wulin's performance today had genuinely angered him. He actually had high hopes for Tang Wulin, but today's performance had truly disappointed him. Not recognizing one's own abilities and strengths in battle, failing to understand one's own positioning, and blindly trusting in strength were not major issues. The key was that this child's mindset had also become problematic, which was what worried Wu Zhangkong the most.
He had initially thought of taking him to meet his own teacher in a few days. After all, Tang Wulin's Golden Dragon bloodline had a high similarity to his teacher's Scarlet Fire Dragon Martial Soul, and having his teacher guide him would undoubtedly benefit the child greatly. But now it seemed that this idea was somewhat inappropriate for the moment. Wu Zhangkong's gaze flickered, his thoughts unclear. At least, it was not suitable for his teacher to guide him until this child resolved his own issues.
Tang Wulin silently walked to stand behind Wu Zhangkong, next to Zheng Yiran, who was curiously observing him. Zheng Yiran had clearly heard the conversation between Wu Zhangkong and Tang Wulin and was surprised. This Tang Wulin, along with that Jing Shaoyu, were actually students of this icy handsome teacher, and it sounded like they were part of the same small team? Zheng Yiran thought of Xu Xiaoyan and Gu Yue, who were close to Jing Shaoyu, and seemed to understand a lot more.
Returning to the competition scene, Jing Shaoyu and the other two had already left the battlefield and continued along the open areas of the forest. Along the way, they encountered several students, who, upon seeing the three of them, consciously retreated, not wanting to seek trouble, even showing a hint of avoidance.
After all, they were a trio; unless one was an extremely confident lone wolf, who would be foolish enough to take on three?
In the distance, a thicket suddenly parted, and a figure stumbled out, falling less than a hundred meters in front of Jing Shaoyu and the others. It was a boy with wings growing from his ribs, resembling a tiger or leopard. He was robust but appeared weak, floating with two yellow and one purple Soul Rings, clearly a Soul Venerable with the Martial Soul of a Winged Tiger.
His disheveled appearance immediately alerted Jing Shaoyu and the others, and they stopped, watching the Winged Tiger boy.
Sure enough, within three seconds of the Winged Tiger boy's appearance, three figures rushed out from behind him. These three came with great momentum, each with their own characteristics. The leader caught Jing Shaoyu and the others' attention the most; his aura was cold and dark, surrounded by a stream of pitch-black energy that seemed to devour all light, obscuring his features and making it difficult to discern his face.
His figure flickered, moving so quickly that he left a trail of afterimages behind him. These afterimages slowly dissipated several dozen meters after he passed, indicating that he was already significantly stronger than the Winged Tiger Soul Master.
Behind the dark boy followed two other youths of varying appearances. They were certainly not ordinary, but standing behind the dark boy, they appeared quite plain, leaving no impression.
The Winged Tiger Soul Venerable, upon seeing the three, completely disregarded his image and rolled on the ground, aiming directly at Jing Shaoyu and the others, trying to divert the trouble!
Jing Shaoyu and the others immediately understood this person's intention, and their expressions turned serious. Gu Yue's face turned cold as she raised her hand, and dozens of ice spikes appeared out of thin air, shooting towards the Winged Tiger Soul Venerable in unison with her movement.
At the same time, a dark light erupted from the dark boy, containing the power of darkness and devouring. As it passed, the surroundings grew dim, as if all light had been swallowed. This dark light also shot straight towards the Winged Tiger Soul Master.
Caught in a pincer attack, the Winged Tiger Soul Master immediately turned pale. He hadn't expected that Jing Shaoyu and the others would be so decisive in attacking him; he had miscalculated.
This was the Winged Tiger Soul Master's last thought. Under the combined assault of the ice spikes and dark light, he instantly transformed into a white light and vanished.
With this little interlude over, Jing Shaoyu and the dark boy faced each other from less than fifty meters apart. The dark boy's appearance was now revealed to the three; he was a pale-faced youth, his complexion as white as a corpse. His looks were nothing special, merely handsome, but his hair was quite striking, being gray like Shen Yi's, and even his eyes were gray, exuding a strange aura as if he came from another world.
In his hand, he wielded a massive scythe. The handle was ordinary, about three meters long, but the blade was what caught Jing Shaoyu's attention. The blade, over one and a half meters long, was engraved with eerie dark purple patterns that, at first glance, were shocking, and upon closer inspection, unsettled the soul. A name immediately surfaced in his mind: Death Inscription!
This was a scythe that connected to the world beyond death!
Jing Shaoyu thought to himself, the memories fed back by the Origin Spirit Martial Soul made him very familiar with this scythe, no longer a stranger.
"Undying Xu Yucheng!" Xu Xiaoyan exclaimed upon seeing the gray-haired boy's scythe Martial Soul and the four yellow Soul Rings floating behind him. "Brother Xiaoyu, this guy is Undying Xu Yucheng, ranked nineteenth on the Young Genius List, with the Martial Soul of the Dark Demon Scythe, a level 41 attack-type Battle Soul Master."
"Why are all his Soul Rings a hundred years old?" Gu Yue asked curiously.
"Uh—" Xu Xiaoyan stammered, caught off guard. This was indeed a blind spot for her; she had only focused on collecting basic information about these individuals, and had only gathered more detailed intel on one or two people, Xu Yucheng not being one of them.
"Because of his Martial Soul." At this moment, Jing Shaoyu explained, "His Martial Soul is called the Dark Demon Scythe, also known as the Scythe of Death. It is a weapon-type Martial Soul that is so powerful that it remains obscure. This Martial Soul is both a blessing and a curse for Soul Masters; it provides them with immense attack power while also eroding their vitality and physical strength. This leads to the fact that the body of a Martial Soul Master with this Martial Soul is very fragile, unable to withstand high-level Soul Rings."
"Ah?" Both Xu Xiaoyan and Gu Yue showed expressions of surprise. Xu Xiaoyan said, "There's actually such a Martial Soul; the world is indeed vast and full of wonders!"
"That's natural." Jing Shaoyu continued, "If a Dark Demon Scythe Martial Soul Master cannot reach Soul Sage before the age of thirty, they will die directly due to the erosion of their Martial Soul. Even if they reach Soul Sage before thirty, it becomes even more difficult afterward, as they need to become a Title Douluo before forty, or they will still die."
"Indeed, it is a curse." Gu Yue said.
"Are you Jing Shaoyu?" With less than fifty meters between them, Xu Yucheng heard Jing Shaoyu's words clearly. His expression remained unchanged as he said, "You are quite knowledgeable; it seems your level 5 repair skills are genuine. Now, I give you two choices: withdraw voluntarily or be forced to withdraw by me."
"Hehe," Jing Shaoyu chuckled and shook his head, saying, "You are quite confident, as expected of the number one genius of Mingdu. I'm curious, why did you leave the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy to come to Shrek Academy? Logically speaking, a genius like you, even with a flaw in your Martial Soul, should not be let go by the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, right? Could it be that they think you cannot break through the limitations of the Dark Demon Scythe Martial Soul? Hmm, it's possible; such shortsightedness is not uncommon."
Xu Yucheng's expression did not change, but the two behind him showed anger, saying, "Who do you think you are to dare speak ill of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy!"
"Speak ill? Am I wrong?" Jing Shaoyu smiled lightly.
The two wanted to say more, but Xu Yucheng raised his hand to stop them. He was quite frank, directly stating, "My purpose in coming to Shrek Academy is simple; only Shrek Academy has the strength to help me surpass the limits of my Martial Soul."
"That's not surprising." Jing Shaoyu realized. This was indeed a fact; in the entire Soul Master world, if one were to discuss the research on Martial Souls, Shrek Academy would rank second, and no one would dare to claim the first. You could question Shrek Academy's level of soul guide technology, but you could never doubt their research level on Martial Souls; this was a universally acknowledged statement.
"Talking more is pointless," Xu Yucheng raised the Dark Demon Scythe and said, "It seems you have no self-awareness, so let me help you recognize yourselves!"
"Alright, I also want to see what kind of strength the Dark Demon Scythe, which connects to the world beyond death, possesses." Jing Shaoyu responded without holding back.
The six of them immediately drew their weapons, and a great battle was about to break out!
Brothers, there's only one update today, but it's a big chapter of four thousand words! It's the end of the month, so please vote for the monthly ticket!