The Ice Ring Armor's defense had been clearly demonstrated earlier.
So—
When Zhu Zhuqing appeared before Shui Yue'er and lashed out with her Shadow Claws—
Out of trust in her elder sister, Shui Yue'er didn't defend at all.
Instead, she counterattacked with an open palm—
"Second Soul Skill: Azure Ripple!"
A spiraling water wave shot toward Zhu Zhuqing's chest.
But—
The Ice Ring Armor was as useless as air.
Zhu Zhuqing's Shadow Claws passed through effortlessly, slicing off one of Shui Yue'er's earrings.
Then—
She vanished into the shadows again.
Leaving behind a stunned Shui Yue'er—
And a wide-eyed Shui Bing'er!
"Ignore defenses?!" Shui Bing'er reacted quickly."The Ice Ring Armor doesn't shatter—it's outright bypassed! Everyone—"
Before she could finish—
"SWISH—"
From the sides of Oscar and Meng Yiran, Zhu Zhuqing emerged with another claw strike!
This time—
Oscar was ready.
He executed an impossible right-angle dodge, letting the Shadow Claw graze past the tip of his nose.
Lingbo Weibu!
But—
Did Zhu Zhuqing not account for that?
Her shadow on the ground suddenly twisted into the shape of a cat, spinning like a drill bit.
Hundreds of attacks landed in an instant—
Shattering the Ice Ring Armor completely!
Oscar's clothes were shredded into ribbons.
"Second Soul Skill: Shadow Hundred Claws!"
One strike landed.
Zhu Zhuqing vanished into the shadows once again.
"SWISH—"
"BOOM—"
"CRACK—"
Dai Mubai's White Tiger Fierce Light Wave,
Jing Ling's Bone Blade,
Meng Yiran's Snakehead Staff—
All missed completely.
Shui Bing'er was just about to call everyone together—
"SWISH SWISH SWISH—"
Blue Silver Grass vines shot out, wrapping around everyone's waists, pulling them toward Tang San.
"Stop fighting separately!" Tang San ordered firmly. "Form up around me and Shui Bing'er in a defensive formation!"
Shui Bing'er was slightly surprised.
So the clown actually had some brains.
(Though, without his Martial Soul awakening, his looks were just average at best.)
Six people formed a defensive formation.
If Zhu Zhuqing attacked now, she would have to face at least three opponents simultaneously.
So—
She gave up on stealth attacks.
Instead—
She reappeared behind Tang Lan, leaning against his shoulder, her chest heaving rapidly.
She was absorbing the internal energy Tang Lan was transmitting to her.
She had already eliminated four people—two of them being powerful support types.
It looked effortless.
But—
They must not forget…
Shadow Step was her Third Soul Skill!
Each use drained 30% of her energy!
If Tang Lan hadn't been constantly replenishing her energy using his Life Martial Soul,
She would have collapsed long ago.
—
"Don't let her recover her soul power!" Tang San barked. "Maintain formation—finish this quickly!"
Dai Mubai led the charge, activating his Third Soul Skill—White Tiger Vajra Transformation!
Meng Yiran used her Third Soul Skill—her Snakehead Staff split into three separate snakeheads, striking alongside Dai Mubai.
Tang Lan raised an eyebrow.
Did they forget I exist?
He was about to raise his hand—
But—
Shui Bing'er's Third Soul Ring lit up!
"Third Soul Skill: Repelling Ice Ring!"
A pulse of icy energy exploded outward, passing harmlessly over everyone—
Except for Tang Lan.
It struck his chest directly, attempting to push him away.
But—
A golden light shimmered over his body.
Indestructible Vajra Body—activated.
He stood unmoving against the force of the Ice Ring, as steady as a mountain.
Shui Bing'er's eyes widened in disbelief.
Her Third Soul Skill… couldn't even push him back?!
Absurd!
But Dai Mubai had anticipated this outcome—he roared and unleashed—
"White Tiger Fierce Light Wave!"
At the same time—
Tang San threw out a black sphere—
"Third Soul Skill: Spider Web Bind!"
Meng Yiran's three snakeheads struck toward Tang Lan's lower body.
They were fully respecting Tang Lan's strength.
But—
"Rise!"
Tang Lan's Life Martial Soul—Blue Silver Emperor—erupted from the ground.
It formed a towering wall, simultaneously—
Shattering the Ice Ring,
Deflecting the Spider Web,
Restraining the three snakeheads,
Blocking the White Tiger Fierce Light Wave.
And—
This was only a variant application of his Third Soul Skill.
The sheer power was overwhelming!
During this moment—
Zhu Zhuqing, now recovered, once again vanished into the shadows.
Despite Tang San's Purple Demon Eyes being fully activated, he couldn't see Zhu Zhuqing's movements at all.
Then—
A sharp slicing sound rang out.
Shui Bing'er's ice crystal earring was cut clean off, shattering upon hitting the ground.
When?!
Tang San started questioning reality.
How was she invisible even to him?!
His Purple Demon Eyes were at maximum output!
Finally—
Through a small gap, Tang San spotted something.
A dark silhouette—darker than the surrounding shadow—lurking within Jing Ling's shadow!
Then—
"SLASH—"
Jing Ling's shoulder was torn open, his clothes shredded, and blood sprayed out.
Eliminated.
"She's in the shadows!" Tang San shouted in disbelief. "She's attacking shadows—her damage is reflecting onto the real body?!"
"White Tiger Fierce Light Wave!!"
Dai Mubai immediately fired a light cannon, aiming at Jing Ling's shadow.
But—
Too slow.
Zhu Zhuqing had already left.
She reappeared behind Tang Lan, a black skeletal tail swaying behind her.
She limply collapsed against Tang Lan, greedily absorbing his internal energy.
—
That last move had been her soul bone ability—Shadow Requiem!
By attacking a person's shadow, she could transfer the damage directly to their real body.
The effect was terrifying.
Under a whole team's watchful eyes, she had eliminated two more opponents.
But—
The energy cost was insane.
She was completely drained and couldn't fight anymore.
—
Tang Lan dissipated his Blue Silver Emperor barrier, smirking at the remaining four opponents.
"Still want to continue?" he teased. "Zhuqing is out of energy. If we keep going, you'll only be facing me."
Dai Mubai and Tang San both twitched.
If they had all ten members at full power, plus their Martial Soul Fusion Skill,
Maybe they could have fought.
But now—
Dai Mubai forced a bitter smile."Fighting the Sect Master is hopeless. I surrender."
Tang San's face darkened.
He couldn't accept this!
How could it be over already?!
He still had hidden weapons and firearms—he could definitely keep fighting!
But—
Tang Lan was still in peak condition.
If they continued, things wouldn't end well.
—
At that moment—
Ning Rongrong rushed over and helped Zhu Zhuqing down from Tang Lan's back.
"Zhuqing, what was that just now?!" Ning Rongrong asked in shock. "Invisibility, teleportation, ignoring defense, and even attacking shadows—was that all from your third soul skill?!"
Everyone else stared in disbelief.
This was a third soul skill?!
Forget 5,000 years—
Even a 10,000-year soul ringshouldn't be this ridiculous!
Zhu Zhuqing didn't answer.
Instead, she brought her external soul bone, the Shadow Cat Tail, to the front and lightly swayed it.
—
"An external soul bone?!" Shui Bing'er gasped. "That Shadow Demon Cat actually produced an external soul bone?!"
Unbelievable!
What kind of godly luck was this?!
"No wonder!" Oscar suddenly realized. "A soul ring and a soul bone from the same beast will drastically enhance soul skill effects! Adding a soul bone skill on top of that—it makes sense now. But still… this is too broken!"
Out of ten people, Zhu Zhuqing 'killed' six!
Even if it was a 5,000-year soul bone…
Even if it was an external soul bone…
This level of power was absurd!
—
"Alright, stop overthinking it," Tang Lan chuckled. "It looked like Zhuqing soloed you all, but in reality, I was constantly supplying her with internal energy.
"Without me, she would've collapsed after using her third soul skill three times."
—
Ah.
That made sense.
It was the overpowered combination of a broken soul skill and infinite energy recovery that had resulted in such an unstoppable performance.
The real cheat code was still Tang Lan.
📌 (End of Chapter)