While the two were locked in an intense exchange of fists and kicks, Tang San's body suddenly shifted. Countless strands of Blue Silver Grass rose from the ground, wrapping around Yang Xiong from all directions, Tang San's first soul skill: Entangle.
It was clear that after fighting for so long, Tang San realized he couldn't win through technique alone and had decided to use his soul skills.
The onlookers were puzzled: why hadn't Tang San used any soul skills in his prolonged battle with Yang Xiong? Was he holding back? Or did he have another plan?
Even though Yang Xiong reacted quickly, his feet were suddenly wrapped in Blue Silver Grass. The grass acted like venomous snakes, now more resilient than before, with an extremely strong binding force.
Additionally, the Blue Silver Grass seemed to have grown tendril-like extensions that tried to pierce Yang Xiong's skin. Unfortunately, they were blocked by his silver-hued skin, as if striking metal, unable to penetrate.
With a roar, Yang Xiong's silver aura burst forth, and his body exploded with immense power, shattering the Blue Silver Grass that bound him.
Unexpectedly, after the vines were destroyed, they seemed to release some kind of toxin, causing a brief moment of dizziness.
Tang San was overjoyed and immediately launched another swift attack. Clearly, he believed Yang Xiong had been poisoned.
But Tang San was too quick to celebrate. The toxin from the Blue Silver Grass had no effect on Yang Xiong. After all, he had undergone a harsh body-refining process involving the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
Just as Tang San approached, Yang Xiong caught him off guard with a powerful punch to the chest, sending him flying more than ten meters and smashing a meter-wide crater into the ground.
After several seconds, Tang San climbed to his feet, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.
Tang San asked in confusion, "Yang Xiong, my Blue Silver Grass is poisonous. How did it not affect you? That's impossible."
Yang Xiong smiled. "Sorry, Tang San. I've trained my body since childhood and have been exposed to all kinds of poisons. That little bit of toxin from the Blue Silver Grass is nothing to me."
Tang San chuckled. "Yang Xiong, your combat strength is greater than I expected, especially your physical attributes. I admit I'm not your equal in that regard. But it seems you've made a mistake too."
Yang Xiong looked puzzled, but in the next moment, he felt a surge of soul power around him. Countless Blue Silver Grass strands rapidly grew around him, completely wrapping him up.
This was Tang San's second soul skill: Parasite. His first skill had not been intended to defeat Yang Xiong, but to secretly release parasitic spores. After patiently preparing, he now aimed to end the battle in one move.
Countless vines enveloped Yang Xiong, forming a massive sphere of Blue Silver Grass, all growing sharp thorns attempting to pierce his skin. Tang San poured in more soul power, and the Blue Silver Grass grew denser and more aggressive.
Tang San said, "Yang Xiong, you're already trapped. You might as well admit defeat."
But at that very moment, Yang Xiong vanished from within the Blue Silver Grass and reappeared in front of Tang San, landing another full-powered punch.
Even though Tang San reacted quickly and used his Mysterious Jade Hand to block, the strength of Yang Xiong's blow was overwhelming and sent him flying once more.
Yang Xiong shook his head. "Tang San, you avoided using soul skills earlier because you knew I could teleport, didn't you? If you had kept fighting me physically and strategically, I wouldn't have been able to injure you so easily. But you used two soul skills in a row, draining your soul power and stamina. Your body can't keep up with my speed anymore."
Tang San wiped the blood from his mouth. "True. I knew you could teleport, so I didn't use soul skills at first. I didn't expect that even after surrounding your entire body with parasitic vines, you could still teleport out. That was my miscalculation."
"I also underestimated your skin and defense. I thought I could pierce through with the Blue Silver Grass and let the toxins drain your soul power."
Yang Xiong smiled. "I believe I mentioned before, I can be a power-type, speed-type, or even a defense-type soul master. For a defense-type, that level of toxin is ineffective."
"You've used two soul skills now, which means you likely don't have much soul power left."
Tang San showed a determined look. "Even though I've used up a lot of soul power, don't forget, I still have a third soul skill."
Tang San's third soul ring lit up. Within a radius of several dozen meters, nearly the entire arena, countless Blue Silver Grass strands appeared, even surrounding Tang San himself.
This was his third soul skill: Blue Silver Storm Array.
Tang San's intent was clear: he wanted to end the battle in one final strike, pouring in all remaining soul power. If Yang Xiong teleported out of the attack range, it would count as him leaving the ring and conceding defeat.
Blue Silver Grass surged toward Yang Xiong at a faster speed than before. Each vine was razor-sharp, like a scythe, and especially thick around Tang San himself, all in attack stance.
Yang Xiong smiled faintly, his entire body turning silver. His skin and muscles transformed into a silver hue as he punched his way through the incoming vines.
Countless vines were destroyed, but more came pouring in. This attack was more powerful than Yang Xiong expected, so much so that his silver fists started to show traces of blood. The vines, powered by the Blue Silver Storm Array, were truly sharp.
This soul skill was indeed powerful. Even Dai Mubai, using both _White Tiger Protective Barrier_ and White Tiger Vajra Transformation, had failed to block it.
Just then, Yang Xiong vanished again, reappearing right in front of Tang San.
Tang San seemed prepared. All the Blue Silver Grass around him attacked at once, tearing through the air.
But Yang Xiong wasn't fazed. This time, instead of using brute force, he concentrated his soul power into his hand, forming a large, blue spinning sphere, Rasengan.
This Rasengan was larger than before, around the size of a basketball.
It collided with the Blue Silver Storm Array. Countless vines were shattered. Even Tang San, using his Mysterious Jade Hand, couldn't stop it. His hand technique was broken, and he was blasted to the ground, vomiting blood.
The surrounding Blue Silver Grass lost control and faded away. After all, Tang San, the skill's caster, was nearly unconscious.
Yu Xiaogang and Xiao Wu rushed to his side. Yu Xiaogang's expression was particularly angry.
"Yang Xiong, why did you hit so hard? It was just a spar between classmates!"
Yang Xiong looked at Yu Xiaogang. "Master, I already held back. Otherwise, Tang San wouldn't be just lightly injured."
Yu Xiaogang said, unwilling to accept it, "You seem to have forgotten, Tang San hasn't even used his external spirit bone. If he had, you wouldn't have defeated him so easily."
Yang Xiong replied, "Master, I advise you not to say things like that. Tang San's external spirit bone hasn't fully fused yet. If he uses it recklessly, it could attract unwanted attention. You should know the value of external spirit bones."
Before Yu Xiaogang could respond, Tang San stood up with a clenched jaw.
"Teacher, there's no need to say more. I lost this time. Yang Xiong, although I lost today, I won't lose as easily next time."
Yang Xiong said, "I look forward to fighting you again. Honestly, if you hadn't exhausted your soul power, you might have blocked my final move."
Tang San seemed to realize something. "So you were trying to wear me down from the start? You never used your self-created soul skill until I used my third soul skill. You waited until I was drained before finishing it."
Yang Xiong nodded. "Your combat technique is superior to mine, especially with your self-created skills. If you hadn't used soul skills so hastily, we would've been locked in a prolonged battle with no clear outcome. But once you did, despite being a rank higher than me, your soul power was used up faster."
Tang San gave a bitter smile. "I get it now. You calculated my soul power from the beginning and chose to fight physically to trap me."
Yang Xiong shook his head. "Not exactly. My attack options are more limited than yours. Physical combat is simply my strength. Your deeper understanding of Blue Silver Grass and your creative soul skills are more advanced."
"Still, the gap in our soul power and soul skills is hard to overcome. No matter what method you used, you would've eventually fallen into my rhythm, especially since your Blue Silver Grass can't break my defenses."
Tang San didn't argue, though he was clearly reluctant to accept the outcome.
After Yang Xiong returned to the group, Yu Xiaogang quickly asked Tang San, "Xiao San, how are your injuries? Do you need healing?"
Tang San shook his head. "I'm fine, Teacher. Yang Xiong held back in the final blow, otherwise I wouldn't have injuries only to my hands. It looks bad, but it's not serious."
After a brief rest, Tang San rejoined the team.
Everyone looked at Yang Xiong with complex expressions.
Despite such an intense battle where he was even knocked down a few times, Yang Xiong appeared completely unharmed and didn't seem to have expended much soul power, almost as if the fight meant nothing to him.
Even more shocking was his astonishing combat strength. After all, Tang San had defeated Dai Mubai and was considered one of the strongest among Soul Elders.
Dai Mubai's expression turned serious. He knew better than anyone how powerful Tang San was. But Yang Xiong had defeated Tang San so easily, which meant his strength far exceeded Dai Mubai's, even though Dai Mubai was level 37, ten levels higher than Yang Xiong.
Most surprising of all, Yang Xiong hadn't used a single soul skill throughout the entire battle. One could only wonder, how powerful would he be if he did?