Outside the Heaven Dou Great Spirit Arena.
The morning sun was just right, warm but not scorching, and soft light bathed Tang Chuan and Xiao Ruier as they walked side by side, the atmosphere subtly delicate.
Suddenly, Tang Chuan stopped. He turned to look at Xiao Ruier beside him, his voice carrying a hint of unnatural apology as he whispered,
"Ruier, that thing with Ye Lingling before… are you still angry about it?"
Hearing this, Xiao Ruier also stopped.
She didn't immediately look at Tang Chuan, but instead turned her face slightly, the sunlight illuminating her fair neck. After a moment, she let out a soft hum, her voice betraying little emotion, and said,
"I'm not that petty."
Immediately after, Xiao Ruier's golden eyes glared at Tang Chuan, with a touch of playful reproach.
"But, you're not allowed to let other girls hug you casually anymore. Otherwise…" She paused, her voice lowering slightly, but with a rare hint of willfulness.
"Otherwise, I really won't talk to you."
Tang Chuan looked at her, clearly caring but pretending to be magnanimous, and felt a sense of relief. He quickly promised, "Okay, I promise! The situation was sudden then, I didn't even react."
The next second, he leaned in a little, a playful smile in his voice as he whispered,
"But… the way you were jealous earlier was quite cute."
Upon hearing this, a faint blush instantly appeared on Xiao Ruier's cheeks. She then raised her hand and lightly punched Tang Chuan's shoulder, scolding with a smile,
"Who was jealous? Stop spouting nonsense!"
However, just then, both of their brows furrowed almost simultaneously. They felt the scene before them subtly distort, and a sudden sense of oppression in their hearts.
They felt that something was not quite right, and there was a faint, ominous premonition.
"Not good, it seems we've been followed."
"Could it be someone from Shrek Academy?"
"No, it shouldn't be. People from Shrek Academy wouldn't have the guts!"
The relaxed smiles on Tang Chuan and Xiao Ruier's faces vanished instantly, replaced by identical expressions of solemnity and vigilance. Their sharp gazes swept around.
Not far away, in the shadow beneath a building.
An old man in a moon-white Soul Master robe was staring intently at them with a cold gaze. This person was Shi Nian, the leading teacher of Canghui Academy, whose Martial Soul was Fading Dream, a level 72 mental-type Soul Master.
Seeing their sudden alert reaction, a trace of surprise appeared on his wrinkled face, and then he sneered softly,
"Hmph, are these two brats here to participate in the fighting soul competition, or to flirt? But, none of that matters anymore."
"Once you've completely stepped into this old man's Fading Dream Illusion, everything… will be over. As long as you two die, then Canghui Academy will definitely win this afternoon's fighting soul competition."
After speaking, his figure, like Gui Mei, completely merged into the shadows behind him.
Shi Nian did not notice that, at this moment, on a rooftop not far behind him, a middle-aged man with a wisp of golden hair falling across his forehead had silently appeared.
His gaze was like a torch, a hint of disdain curled at the corner of his mouth, and golden light faintly flowed in his eyes as he coldly watched Shi Nian's every move below.
At the same time, Tang Chuan and Xiao Ruier continued to walk side by side towards Tianxing Academy, but their hearts gradually sank.
They keenly noticed that this road felt unusually long today. They had walked for a long time, yet the surrounding scenery seemed to repeat itself, and the outline of the academy in the distance remained tantalizingly out of reach.
Even more bizarrely, every few minutes, a hawker pushing a cart would pass them with his head down, and the items sold on the cart were all identical.
As another such hawker was about to cross their path, Tang Chuan's eyes suddenly darkened. He abruptly stopped and coldly shouted at the hawker,
"Stop pretending! Show yourself!"
Hearing this, the hawker's body stiffened slightly. Then, he raised his head, and the simple and honest expression on his face instantly became twisted and eerie, before he burst into laughter,
"Hahaha! I didn't expect you, kid, to discover the trick so quickly?"
The next second, the hawker's figure rippled like water, finally transforming into Shi Nian's sinister appearance. At this moment, he looked at Tang Chuan and Xiao Ruier mockingly, and said sharply,
"But what can you do even if you found out?"
"At this moment, you two have completely fallen into this old man's Fading Dream Illusion! Here, I am the Dominator! Just wait for death!"
As he spoke, Shi Nian slowly spread his arms, as if embracing the entire World, his tone filled with the smugness of controlling everything.
"Heh heh, to us, you're just a Soul Bone gift package delivered right to our doorstep." Looking at the smug Shi Nian before him, Tang Chuan not only showed no fear, but instead a cold arc formed at the corner of his mouth as he sneered.
"With your Soul Power of over seventy levels, plus the Illusionary Wisdom Skull within you, do you think… you can stir up much trouble?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the smugness on Shi Nian's face instantly froze, turning into extreme shock and horror. He cried out in a lost voice,
"You… how do you know I have a Soul Bone?! And a skull?!"
This Illusionary Wisdom Skull was his biggest secret and reliance, never mentioned to outsiders!
Filled with shock and anger, Shi Nian stopped talking nonsense. A fierce glint appeared in his eyes as he said sharply, "Since you like to seek death, then I shall grant your wish!"
As his words fell.
He quickly formed hand seals, and the surrounding space violently twisted. Countless grotesque illusions, accompanied by mental attacks, swept towards Tang Chuan and Xiao Ruier like a tide!
...Meanwhile, inside the Heaven Dou Great Spirit Arena.
On the Douhun Stage, Tang San's Dark Blue Silver Grass was being suppressed and pushed back by the Blazing Academy team's violent fire-attribute attacks.
At this moment, Master's face was as gloomy as stagnant water. He clenched his fists and cursed in a low voice, "Damn it!"
"Little San's Blue Silver Grass is completely countered."
"It seems that for Shrek Academy to win the championship in this competition, Little San might have to Cultivate the Clear Sky Hammer ahead of schedule."
The fire attribute of Blazing Academy was simply the natural nemesis of Tang San's Blue Silver Grass, which greatly reduced the effectiveness of Shrek Team's core control tactics.
In his anxiety, Master's gaze inadvertently swept towards a small charcoal stove set up on the side of the stands for brewing tea, with a kettle of water boiling on it.
At this moment, there was very little water left in the kettle.
The bottom of the kettle sizzled under the scorching flame, and the water inside was about to boil dry.
Just as this ordinary scene came into his sight, Master's pupils suddenly contracted, and a sharp glint shot out from his eyes, as if he had thought of something.
"Water! It is the source of Life Qi! It can nourish all things!"
Staring at the kettle of water that was about to be boiled dry by the flames, a strange thought flashed through Master's mind like lightning. He murmured softly,
"Blazing Academy's fire-attribute Martial Soul Abilities can counter Little San's Blue Silver Grass because Blue Silver Grass is essentially wood-attributed, and fire restrains wood, which is why it's suppressed…"
"Tang Chuan's Blue Silver Grass contains extremely vast Life Qi, even capable of influencing surrounding plants… How similar is this manifestation of Life Qi to the characteristic of water nourishing all things?!"
Thinking of this.
Master's breathing suddenly became rapid, and a sickly flush appeared on his face.
"Since fire can restrain wood, it can also restrain water. Does that mean the fire attribute could also, conversely, restrain Tang Chuan's Blue Silver Grass, which is full of Life Qi?!"
"If this deduction holds true…"
"Then haven't I found a way to counter Tang Chuan's Blue Silver Grass?"
"If Little San starts Cultivating the Clear Sky Hammer now, and if he adds a fire-attribute spirit ring to the Clear Sky Hammer, then wouldn't that be…"
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