On the arena, the air seemed to freeze.
Tang San looked like a man possessed. The Eight Spider Lances stabbed deep into the ground, providing immense support and explosive force, propelling his entire body forward like an arrow shot from a bow! In his left hand, he tightly gripped the Clear Sky Hammer—its body pitch-black, etched with dark crimson lightning patterns, exuding an aura as heavy as a mountain, domineering and peerless! Wherever the hammerhead passed, the air emitted a groan of unbearable pressure, as if space itself were about to be crushed by this extreme force!
The opening stance of the Disorderly Wind Hammer Technique! Carrying the supreme might of the Clear Sky Hammer, the Number One Tool Soul in the World, this single strike concentrated all of Tang San's Soul Power, all his rage, all his resentment, and all his killing intent! Its power had already surpassed the limits of the Soul Ancestor realm, approaching the peak of a Soul King! It even faintly touched upon a trace of the Law's essence!
"DIE—!" Tang San's hoarse roar echoed across the entire arena!
In the stands, everyone held their breath, their hearts almost leaping out of their chests! The members of Shrek Academy were so tense their fingernails dug into their palms! Xiao Wu wept uncontrollably, covering her mouth tightly, afraid that even the slightest sound might disturb Tang San. Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, Oscar, and the others roared inwardly: "He has to block it! Third Brother (Xiao San), you have to win!" Even though they knew the hope was slim, the appearance of the Clear Sky Hammer still gave them a sliver of unrealistic fantasy. Flender and Liu Erlong's hearts were in their throats; Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang's face was deathly pale, his body trembling slightly, both hoping for the Clear Sky Hammer to create a miracle and fearing Marco's unfathomable strength.
The students and teachers from other academies all wore expressions of shock and awe. The imposing might of the Clear Sky Hammer was too overwhelming! That pure, crushing sense of power made their very souls tremble! They asked themselves: if they were facing this hammer strike, aside from dodging, there would be absolutely no possibility of blocking it head-on! They might not even have a chance to dodge!
"The Clear Sky Hammer… is this the power of the Number One Tool Soul in the World?"
"Too terrifying! If this hammer lands, even a Soul King would be smashed apart, right?"
"Marco… how will he handle it? Dodge?"
"He'll probably have to dodge! It's not like he has to take it head-on."
Just as everyone thought Marco would choose to avoid the Edge, utilizing his ghostly movement technique to dodge—
Marco moved!
However, his actions caused everyone's pupils to contract sharply, their faces revealing expressions of disbelief, even thinking he had gone mad!
He did not dodge! He did not retreat! He didn't… even release any Spirit Ability!
Facing the colossal Clear Sky Hammer descending with earth-shattering, heaven-destroying force, Marco actually… still kept his hands in the pockets of his black combat suit! His demeanor was unnervingly calm!
He merely paused slightly with his feet, bent his knees, and assumed a preparatory stance similar to taking off for a jump. Then—
"Boom!"
A dull sonic boom erupted! The Azure Stone ground beneath his feet instantly exploded into a shallow crater! Utilizing the terrifying force burst forth in that instant, Marco's figure, instead of dodging or evading, shot upward against the Clear Sky Hammer capable of splitting mountains and cracking stone!
What left everyone utterly dumbfounded was that what he met the Clear Sky Hammer with was neither a fist nor a foot, but… his raised right knee!
Did he actually intend to use his knee to clash head-on with the Number One Tool Soul in the World, the Clear Sky Hammer?!
"He's insane!!"
"Using his knee to strike the Clear Sky Hammer?"
"Incredible!"
Exclamations and screams erupted instantly! Everyone believed Marco was committing suicide!
On the VIP seats, Bone Douluo Gu Rong (if he were present) would likely have shot to his feet in shock! Ning Fengzhi would have paled in horror! This was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot!
Yet, in the very next moment, what transpired brought all the gasps and doubts to an abrupt halt, as if a duck had its neck wrung!
Just as Marco's knee was about to collide with the Clear Sky Hammer—
"Hum—!"
A deep, dark, almost light-devouring black luster instantly enveloped Marco's entire right knee! The black was as profound as ink, shimmering with a metallic, icy sheen, exuding an indestructible, impervious solidity! Armament Haki, Hardening!
Simultaneously, an intangible, formless, yet transcendent will—one that seemed to look down upon all living beings with an air of supremacy and unrivaled dominance—erupted violently from Marco's knee as its epicenter! In the air, faint hints of azure-gold lightning flickered briefly! Conqueror's Haki, Entanglement!
Knee Strike VS Clear Sky Hammer!
"Boom—!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
An indescribable, terrifying roar, as if two metal mountains had collided at supersonic speed, exploded forth!
At the point of impact, space itself seemed to distort! A visible shockwave, blending deep black, azure-gold, and dark red light, spread outward in a spherical frenzy! The incredibly sturdy arena floor, centered on the collision point, cracked and collapsed like fragile glass, with rubble instantly pulverized into dust! Violent air currents mixed with rampant energy turbulence slammed against the protective barrier surrounding the arena, emitting ear-splitting groans. The light shield twisted violently, flickering unsteadily as if on the verge of shattering at any moment!
Blinding light temporarily robbed everyone of their vision; deafening noise stole their hearing!
The entire Martial Arena seemed to freeze in that instant.
As the light and shockwave slowly dissipated...
The scene in mid-air became clearly visible to all.
Time seemed to stretch.
There was Marco, suspended in the air, maintaining his knee-strike posture. His knee, coated in profound Armament Haki, was locked firmly against the head of the Clear Sky Hammer, which crackled with dark-red lightning patterns! Ripples of distorted energy continued to spread from the point of impact!
Marco's expression remained calm! Not even the hem of his clothes was ruffled! As if that earth-shattering collision had been nothing more than a gentle breeze to him!
And as for Tang San!
"Pfft—!"
He shuddered as if struck by lightning, his eyes bulging with extreme shock and disbelief! A fountain of blood gushed from his mouth! His left arm, gripping the Clear Sky Hammer, emitted a sickening "crack"—clearly, the arm bone had fractured instantly under the terrifying recoil force! The furious power of the Clear Sky Hammer had actually been... forcibly blocked back by a single knee strike! No, not just blocked—the impact transmitted through the hammer, a mix of overwhelming force and domineering will, had surged like a tsunami, instantly overwhelming his Soul Power defense and ravaging his internal organs!
"No... way..." This single thought was all that remained in Tang San's mind.
The next moment, he could no longer hold the Clear Sky Hammer, his Martial Soul instantly dissipating. His entire body was flung away like a kite with its string cut, hurled by that irresistible, immense force in a wretched parabolic arc. Accompanied by the sound of shattering bones and spurting blood, he crashed heavily onto the edge of the arena dozens of meters away!
"Boom—!"
A large crater was smashed into the arena's edge, dust and debris shooting skyward, completely swallowing Tang San's figure!
Dead silence!
A deathly stillness!
The entire Martial Arena was so quiet you could hear a pin drop!
Everyone's mouths hung agape, eyes wide as saucers, as if witnessing the most inconceivable event in the world! Using a knee to withstand the Clear Sky Hammer? And... winning?! Not only winning, but directly blasting Tang San away?! This... was this really something a human could do?!
The members of Shrek Academy stood frozen in place as if under a paralysis spell. The tears on Xiao Wu's face solidified, the prayers on Dai Mubai and the others' faces stiffened, while Flender, Liu Erlong, and Grandmaster stood like clay or wooden statues, their minds utterly blank.
The people from other academies felt as if they had seen a ghost, their bodies turning ice-cold.
Marco's figure slowly descended from mid-air, his posture as graceful as a feather. His feet lightly touched the ground, landing precisely at the exact spot from which he had leapt, not a fraction off. He patted the non-existent dust from his trouser legs, his hands still tucked in his pockets, as if he had merely performed a trivial, insignificant task.
His calm gaze turned toward the dense cloud of dust that had yet to disperse at the arena's edge. His invisible Observation Haki had already spread out like quicksilver, clearly perceiving within the dust a presence whose aura was withered to its extreme, whose bones were shattered beyond count, yet who still clung tenaciously to life... and was brewing an extremely subtle, yet lethally threatening, energy fluctuation!
"Oh? Still have a trump card?" Marco's brow raised slightly, a flicker of surprise and... deeper amusement passing through his eyes.
Right at that moment—
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh—!"
A series of extremely faint, yet piercingly sharp, sounds of something cutting through the air erupted violently from that cloud of dust!
Countless points of cold light, like a sudden storm or a swarm of locusts, accompanied by shrill shrieks, shot toward Marco—who stood in place seemingly defenseless—from all sorts of tricky, vicious angles, aiming for his vital points in a dense, overwhelming barrage!
Needles! Poisonous needles as fine as ox hair! Crossbows! Small yet fierce short crossbows! Darts! Flying darts swift as lightning! And various oddly-shaped Hidden Weapons shimmering with eerie glows of dark blue, emerald green, and other strange colors! Densely packed, numbering no less than a hundred! Each one contained immense penetrating power and... potent poison!
Tang Sect Hidden Weapons! Sand Shooting Shadowing! Tight-Back Flower-Decorated Crossbow! Along with flying needles, coin darts, and others launched via various secret techniques... Even while grievously wounded and on the brink of death, Tang San could still unleash such a vicious, such a dense, killing blow!
The entire arena erupted in an uproar! No one had expected that after suffering such severe injuries, Tang San still possessed the ability to launch such a terrifying attack! Moreover, these Hidden Weapons were clearly coated with potent poison!
"Be careful!"
"Weren't those forbidden during the tournament?"
"How despicable!"
The Shrek members were also stunned; they hadn't expected Tang San to resort to Hidden Weapons either.