"It's about to begin."
Tang Sui murmured, and on the battle stage, amidst the dazzling storm of light and shadow, Feng Xiaotian soared into the air. With a mere tremor of the wings on his back, he ascended by fifty meters, carried by the flowing wind.
That was a distance beyond Tang San's Blue Silver Grass's reach.
"Not good, Feng Xiaotian is likely about to unleash his ultimate move." Master's expression shifted slightly as he also sensed the change in Feng Xiaotian's aura.
Others who witnessed this scene couldn't help but show a hint of worry.
In previous matches, they had observed that while many members of the Divine Wind Academy could fly, Feng Xiaotian, their captain and a power-type soul master, had never flown.
His sudden ascent now, with sufficient soul power to sustain it, clearly indicated his confidence and deliberate choice to take to the sky.
Tang San, standing on the ground, fixed his gaze on Feng Xiaotian in the air. He slightly lowered his stance, adopting a vigilant posture, and remained motionless.
Feng Xiaotian, with his wings spread in the air, looked down at Tang San and declared loudly, "Tang San, you are indeed more powerful than I imagined. But no matter how much stronger you become, I must defeat you today! For I will now attack you with my self-created soul skill. You will be honored to be defeated by my self-created soul skill. And this soul skill is called—Thirty-Six Consecutive Slashes of the Gale Demon Wolf!"
The instant his final syllable faded, Feng Xiaotian shot forth like an arrow. The wind blades around him sliced through the air with a formidable sharpness, as if to cleave space itself, surging towards Tang San with an unstoppable force, a dazzling light flashing in his eyes.
Huohuo, watch this, I'm about to defeat Tang San!
I will definitely fulfill my promise to you and not disappoint you!
"Tang San! Let me warn you, once my self-created soul skill is complete, the power of my final strike will exceed the sum of all previous attacks! You can still surrender now if you wish!"
The wind blades streaked by, narrowly severing a few strands of Tang San's black hair on his right side, a sight that sent shivers down one's spine.
Heeding the opponent's warning, Tang San calmly uttered two words: "Come."
"Good! You truly are a man!"
Feng Xiaotian's lips curved upwards. He utilized every second of the arena time, launching his attacks while mentally counting the charge-ups for each wind blade.
The spectral image of the twin-headed wolf behind him gradually merged with Feng Xiaotian's body—his second soul skill, Dual Wolf Fusion.
Under this condition, his own attributes for attack, defense, and agility would all increase by fifty percent. Combined with his third soul skill, Gale Wings, his state was already at its peak.
Only with the assistance of these two soul skills could his self-created soul skill be unleashed. From a certain perspective, his self-created soul skill was by no means inferior to Tang San's fourth soul skill, which he used in his darkened state, and it consumed less soul power.
"Roar—!"
Amidst the domineering roar of the Gale Demon Wolf, Feng Xiaotian moved.
His body descended like a shooting star, yet strangely, his massive form with spread wings made no sound as it plummeted.
Centering on him, the azure light emanating from his body was all contained, as if someone had used a large black sack to capture all the stars hanging in the night sky, concealing all sharpness, only to reveal an edge capable of slicing through iron when approaching the enemy.
At this moment, his body and wings achieved perfect cohesion.
The absence of sound indicated that the wind's resistance had minimal impact on him.
Only a wind-attribute soul master like him could so quickly and accurately pinpoint exploitable trajectories within the wind, finding the best descending path.
"Swoosh—!"
The sharp edges of his wings shimmered with a faint azure light under the sunlight. The so-called Thirty-Six Consecutive Slashes of the Gale Demon Wolf were clearly launched from these wings.
Eighteenth Slash!
Tang San's Mysterious Jade Hand had reached its limit. Even the incredibly resilient Blue Silver Grass was easily severed like rags by this edge-sharpened-as-iron attack, providing Tang San no help whatsoever.
Was he going to lose?
Tang San recalled Master's instructions before the match to conceal the Eight Spider Lances soul bone, his trump card. He gazed at the nineteenth consecutive slash spinning towards him, a hint of unwillingness in his eyes.
In the audience, Tang Sui's hands, resting on the railing, tightened slightly. The railing, crafted from a special metal, bore faint finger impressions under her unconscious grip, which had channeled some soul power.
'Brother, you can't defeat Feng Xiaotian's full-power attack right now.'
Tang Sui's voice suddenly echoed in Tang San's mind.
Tang San, who was desperately resisting the terrifying storm-like attack, showed no change in his expression. He simply gritted his teeth, a familiar stubbornness and resolve surfacing in his dark pupils.
He did not question how Tang Sui could transmit her voice directly at this moment, nor did he concede defeat. Instead, he stated with unwavering conviction:
'I can't defeat him now. But if I had more power... I might still have a chance to fight!'
Tang San clenched his left fist. A faint ripple of soul power spread across his smooth knuckles, but under Feng Xiaotian's fierce onslaught, it appeared remarkably insignificant.
Tang Sui, who had been observing Tang San, naturally saw it.
Her lips pressed together tightly, and indecision and distress flickered in her eyes.
'But, if you do this...' the Spirit Hall would also learn of their identities and, as in their original fate, begin their pursuit...
'Sui Sui'
Wisps of dark energy began to seep from Tang San's body. His dark pupils gradually became filled with a dead, icy coldness, but those three words struck Tang Sui's heart with resounding force—
'I want to win!'