"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—!"
The piercing sound of projectiles cutting through the air was sharp and grating. Dense as a rainstorm, Hidden Weapons shimmered with eerie glows of dark blue, emerald green, and deep purple, carrying a sickly sweet scent. Like a swarm of death, they instantly blanketed the ten-zhang space around Marco! Needles, crossbow bolts, darts, shuttles, nails... all kinds, launched from treacherous angles, vicious and ruthless, sealing off every possible escape route! Even more terrifying were the few nearly imperceptible golden glints mixed among them—thin as strands of hair yet shimmering with a dark golden luster. They moved with astonishing speed, faintly locking onto several vital acupoints across Marco's body!
"Hidden Weapons! And they're poisoned!"
"Despicable! He actually used poison!"
"It's over! So close! So many! There's no dodging them!"
"Is Tang San insane?! He's going for the kill?!"
The spectator stands erupted in an uproar, filled with gasps of shock and angry curses! No one had expected that Tang San, despite being severely injured and nearly incapacitated, could still unleash such a vicious, dense barrage of lethal attacks! Moreover, the Hidden Weapons were clearly coated with potent poison! This was no longer a competition or a friendly spar—it was outright murderous intent! The Shrek team was also stunned. They recognized it as Tang San's Hidden Weapon technique, but they never imagined he would unleash it at this moment, in such a ferocious manner!
In the VIP seats, the team leaders from various academies paled drastically, some even leaping to their feet! Using poisoned Hidden Weapons was an extremely egregious violation in the Soul Master Tournament!
In that split second, facing this sudden storm of death, Marco's pupils contracted sharply! His Observation Haki had long been fully activated, his perception heightened to the extreme! In his eyes, those Hidden Weapons seemed to move in slow motion, and he instantly detected those few subtle, dark golden glints among them!
"This aura..." Marco's heart jolted. "Tough, restrained, penetrating... specialized in breaking through hard defenses and protective energy... Dragon Whisker Needles!"
He instantly recalled the description of these items from the original work—fine as ox hair, indestructible when infused with Soul Power, specifically designed to pierce internal protective energy and body-protecting Soul Power. Once they entered the body, they would curl upon contact with blood, causing excruciating pain—utterly vicious! Even with his current mastery of Armament Haki and formidable physique, facing such defense-piercing, insidiously poisonous Hidden Weapons, he couldn't claim to withstand them with absolute certainty, especially in such numbers. If even one slipped through...
Moreover, the opponent had actually resorted to such a sinister weapon in a match, clearly harboring murderous intent!
At this thought, a surge of icy rage, like a Cold Stream, instantly swept through Marco's heart! His original intention had merely been to spar and teach this arrogant "protagonist" a lesson, while also gauging his capabilities. He never expected the other party to be so ungrateful, employing such ruthless methods! Once Dragon Whisker Needles entered the body, the consequences would be unimaginable! This had crossed his bottom line!
"You're seeking death!"
A cold glint flashed in Marco's eyes. He no longer held back in the slightest!
"Fifth Spirit Skill, Elementalization!"
Just before the sky-full of poisoned Hidden Weapons could strike his body, Marco inwardly shouted! The fifth Soul Ring beneath his feet suddenly lit up with a profound black light, and an arcane fluctuation instantly spread outward!
"Hum—!"
Marco's entire body, along with his clothing, transformed in an instant into a fiercely burning, yet completely temperatureless, translucent azure-red flame! The flames swirled and danced as if alive, his form flickering within them, seemingly fused with the fire, indistinguishable from one another!
This was precisely his Fifth Soul Skill—Elementalization! Transforming himself into a pure elemental energy body, rendering physical attacks nearly ineffective, granting extremely high resistance to attacks of the same attribute, and greatly enhancing speed and flame power!
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh—!"
A dense barrage of hidden weapons shot into the human-shaped azure flame like a torrential downpour! However, the expected scene of flesh and blood flying or poisoning and collapse did not occur! Those poisoned steel needles, throwing darts, and crossbow bolts, upon contact with the azure flame, passed through as if piercing empty air or sinking into a bottomless sea, completely unimpeded... flying straight out from the other side of the azure flame, clattering and scattering across the ground without even stirring a single ripple! The potent toxins on them were utterly useless against the elementalized flame body!
And those few exceptionally vicious, dark golden Dragon Whisker Needles, designed specifically to break through protective energies, met the same fate! Although their material was special and incredibly tough, faced with this state of complete physical immunity, they too were rendered useless, silently passing through the azure flame and landing on the empty ground in the distance.
"What?!"
"They... they passed right through?!"
"Ignored?! All of them ignored?!"
"Is this Elementalization?! That's too overpowered!"
"Even the poison had no effect!"
The entire arena was shocked! Everyone widened their eyes, staring in disbelief at this scene! Such a dense and vicious hidden weapon assault had been so easily, so bizarrely, neutralized! This completely exceeded their understanding!
"Not good!" Amidst the dust and smoke, Tang San, barely maintaining his last shred of consciousness to release the hidden weapons, saw this and his heart sank, despair instantly flooding his mind! His final desperate strike... had actually been completely useless?!
However, before he could react in any way—
"Whoosh—!"
The human-shaped azure flame shuddered violently, instantly shifting from stillness to motion! Transforming into a blazing azure streak of light, moving at extreme speed, it traced a long fiery tail through the air, appearing as if teleporting, instantly crossing several dozen meters to arrive at the dust-filled edge of the arena, right before Tang San!
The azure flame condensed, and Marco's figure reappeared. His face was icy, his eyes devoid of any warmth, looking down imperiously at Tang San, who lay collapsed in a pit of rubble, drenched in blood, with broken arm bones and a fading breath.
"Dragon Whisker Needles... so utterly vicious." Marco's voice was cold, like millennia-old ice. "Since that's the case, let you also taste what agony is!"
Before the words even finished, Marco's right hand shot out like lightning, fingers forming a claw, covered in profound Armament Haki, and grabbed Tang San's intact right shoulder blade! The force was so great that Tang San couldn't help but let out a pained groan!
Immediately, a savage, domineering, and utterly destructive force surged from Marco's palm into Tang San's body! This power was not Soul Power, yet it was even more violent! Like a torrent sweeping away all before it, it instantly shattered the already chaotic and feeble Soul Power defenses within Tang San, then charged forward with unstoppable momentum, crashing deep into his body, ruthlessly suppressing and sealing his Soul Power! At the same time, this force rampaged along his meridians and bones, as if countless steel needles were piercing through him, bringing tearing agony, yet it skillfully avoided vital points, merely suppressing the circulation of his Soul Power and physical strength to the utmost!
"Arghhh—!" Tang San let out a piercing scream, veins bulging on his forehead as cold sweat instantly drenched his entire body! He felt like a punctured balloon, all his strength rapidly draining away, making even moving a finger excruciatingly difficult! The operation of the Profound Heaven Skill was forcibly interrupted, and the Eight Spider Lances, deprived of Soul Power, dimmed and hung limply on his back.
Marco had sealed Tang San's Soul Power and most of his physical strength!
"No! Stop!" "Let Xiao San go!" "Referee! He's breaking the rules!"
Below the stage, the Shrek team watched with eyes wide in fury! Xiao Wu cried out and tried to rush onto the stage, only to be firmly held back by Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing. Flender, Liu Erlong, and Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang were even more shocked and enraged, shouting angrily!
However, Marco paid no heed! His anger had not subsided! The viciousness of the Dragon Whisker Needle had thoroughly enraged him! Since the other side had disregarded the rules and resorted to a killing move, he saw no need to hold back either!
"This punch is to teach you your place!"
Marco clenched his left fist, devoid of any Soul Power fluctuation, relying solely on his physical strength, coated with Armament Haki, and delivered a heavy blow to Tang San's abdomen!
"Pfft!" Tang San's eyes bulged as he vomited a mouthful of blood mixed with stomach fluids, his body curling up like a shrimp.
"This punch is to teach you a lesson for your malicious heart!"
Another punch landed on Tang San's chest! The crisp sound of cracking bones was clearly audible!
"And this punch is for your own lack of judgment!"
A third punch smashed into Tang San's shoulder blade! Tang San was sent flying like a ragged sack, crashing against the protective barrier at the edge of the arena before bouncing back and collapsing to the ground, blood gushing from his mouth, his breathing now shallow and labored.
Marco exercised extreme control, avoiding truly vital areas, but each punch landed with immense force, precisely targeting painful spots. This was purely physical punishment—a humiliating beating designed to inflict excruciating pain without causing immediate death.
"Stop! We concede! We concede!!" Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang could no longer hold back, his voice hoarse and distorted as he roared! He could see that Marco was truly enraged; if this continued, Tang San would either die or be crippled!
"Referee! End the match now! This is malicious assault!" Flender's eyes were red with urgency.
Liu Erlong's eyes blazed with fury, her Soul Power surging wildly around her, almost ready to charge onto the stage regardless of the consequences!
On the arena, the referee was also stunned by the sudden turn of events. He never expected the match to escalate like this—from Tang San using a poisoned Hidden Weapon to Marco's furious retaliation, everything happened in the blink of an eye! Now, hearing Shrek Academy's concession and protests, he snapped back to reality and was about to step forward to intervene—
"Boom!"
Another heavy, muffled thud! Marco kicked Tang San in the ribs, sending him tumbling once more before he collapsed in the center of the arena, barely clinging to life, unable even to cry out in pain.
Only then did Marco stop, slowly straightening his posture as the chilling aura of killing intent around him gradually receded. He glanced at Tang San lying on the ground like a dead dog, his gaze cold and detached, as if looking at an insignificant insect.
"Shrek Academy violated the rules by using poisoned hidden weapons with intent to murder a competitor! The offense is extremely severe!" The referee, having finally regained his composure, shouted with a livid face, his voice amplified by Soul Power to carry across the entire arena. "This match is awarded to Heaven Dou Royal Academy Team One! Shrek Academy's actions constitute a serious breach of tournament regulations. I will immediately report this to the tournament committee and Platinum Bishop Salas! You can expect severe punishment!"
The referee's words struck like a final, brutal hammer blow to the hearts of everyone from Shrek Academy! Not only had they lost the match, with Tang San critically injured and on the brink of death, but they now faced harsh penalties from the tournament committee! They had tried to gain an advantage only to suffer a greater loss—a classic case of the remedy being worse than the disease.
The entire arena fell into dead silence! Everyone was stunned speechless by this bloody, violent, and shockingly abrupt turn of events! Looking at the dark figure standing like a demon god on the stage, radiating an icy aura, and then at the pitiful blue-clad youth on the ground, whose fate was unknown, a chill ran from the soles of their feet straight to the crowns of their heads!
Marco was not only terrifyingly powerful—his methods were equally ruthless and merciless! To provoke him led to such a miserable end!
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