Chapter 267 - The Snow Leopard of Ten

Tang Wulin’s movements slowed down as the temperature lowered even further and a layer of ice formed on the ground. His Bluesilver Grass continued to whip at the pursuing leopard, but his soul power was quickly depleting.

Despite his situation, Tang Wulin kept running and exhaling white fog with each breath.

“Hmph! Let’s finish this already.” A streak of blue flashed through the girl’s eyes as her third soul ring lit up. She leaned forward and dashed toward Tang Wulin, reaching out towards him with her right hand. A white light enveloped her, sending an overflowing sensation of strength through her body.

Behind her appeared the image of a giant Snow Leopard swiping its claw at Tang Wulin.

Her third soul skill, Snow Leopard Claw, was a thousand-year level soul skill with both spiritual and physical attributes. Anyone it struck would become dizzy for five seconds and endure extreme cold to the point of freezing. It even possessed the ability to send opponents flying.

That was when the girl noticed a golden flash in Tang Wulin’s eyes. The grass around him sprung into the air and then dove into the frosty ground, striking at the leopard behind him, and at the Snow Leopard Claw.

The leopard received the attack in its entirety and disintegrated into snowflakes, while the Snow Leopard Claw met the Bluesilver Impaling Array in an explosive clash.

In the end, the gap in soul power proved too deep. The Bluesilver Impaling Array was routed into the icy ground which left the Snow Leopard Claw a clear path to Tang Wulin.

He sent out a punch with his right fist to meet the attack, but he was promptly sent flying backward with a loud bang.

Let’s see if you can still endure this. Is having two thousand-year soul rings even that amazing? The girl wore the smile of a victor. She was confident that, at the very least, the Snow Leopard Claw’s extreme cold would sap Tang Wulin of all his fighting strength, not to mention the dizzying effect. The leopard previously destroyed by the Bluesilver Impaling Array had also scattered into snowflakes, dropping the arena’s temperature even lower. She couldn’t see any way for Tang Wulin to continue fighting back.

However, though he had been sent flying, Tang Wulin didn’t crash into the floor and a sudden descent of snow obscured his figure from her eyes.

It was cold, but not nearly frigid enough to stifle him. He willed his bloodline into power, speeding up his blood circulation to expel the chill from his body. With his bloodline in effect, the cold now had little effect on him.

Tang Wulin stooped down towards the ground before dashing out to the side, using the cover of the snow to create some distance from the girl.

As for the Snow Leopard Claw’s dizzying effect…

The skill hit Tang Wulin’s right arm, but his golden scales made first contact, so the dizzying effect couldn’t spread to the rest of his body. At the same time, his Purple Demon Eyes dispelled the spiritual effect of the attack.

On the surface, it looked as if Tang Wulin was being greatly pressured. But in reality, a battle of wits and courage was being fought, a battle which Tang Wulin ended up winning. His biggest gain was finding out what his opponent’s three soul skills were.

As the snowflakes landed on the ground, the aftermath became clear. Just as the girl was about to report to Shen Yi, she was left dumbstruck at the sight of Tang Wulin standing in the arena, at the furthest point from her.

How can this be? Isn’t he cold? The girl gawked at Tang Wulin.

A resplendent smile formed on Tang Wulin’s lips. He simply waited there, not making a single move.

The girl snorted and pointed a finger at him, commanding snowflakes to shoot toward him. Just like before, snow besieged him from all sides. This time, however, the girl also rushed alongside it.

Naturally, as a Shrek student, she wouldn’t be discouraged this easily. Moreover, she had yet to use her full strength.

Bluesilver Grass spread outward from Tang Wulin’s position and began spinning. Not even by using his Purple Demon Eyes could he completely penetrate the snowy mist.

However, the whirling grass around him warded off attacks from all directions.

The strands of grass twinkled limpidly, simply refusing to yield to the oncoming blizzard as they spun into a giant protective net.

Tang Wulin waved both his arms and began pouring soul power into the grass to strengthen it. As he did so, the Bluesilver Grass’s inner veins displayed a faint golden glow.

His martial soul might have been Bluesilver Grass, but it was Bluesilver Grass that had already evolved twice. With the aid of his two thousand-year soul rings, it was more than enough to hold his opponent at bay for the moment.

The leopard, now reformed of snow, rammed into the net with a big thump, pushing it inward toward Tang Wulin. It looked like it might reach him any second.

However, the Bluesilver Impaling Array appeared and surrounded the leopard in a spiky embrace. The now filled with holes leopard was left stunned in mid-air. Tang Wulin took advantage of this by using his Bluesilver Grass to cover his retreat, opening up some distance between him and the leopard. As this exchange took place, his Bluesilver Grass spun around him without pause. It continued to protectively whip around him from start to finish.

At that moment, a figure burst out of the leopard, charging toward Tang Wulin with lightning speed. It was student number ten!

She was too quick for him to react. Like a bolt of white lightning, she instantly appeared before him.

But in that same instant, golden light exploded from Tang Wulin’s body. He shot into the air like a spring while his Bluesilver Grass moved in to bind the girl.

The girl was startled. She had created the snow leopard precisely for the sake of this sneak attack. By relying on its speed, she suppressed his Bluesilver Grass.

But a strand of golden Bluesilver Grass had launched Tang Wulin into the air before she could execute her attack! She wanted to pursue, however, the swarm of grass trying to bind her forced her to take evasive action. The grass would simply entangle her if she chose to follow him into the air.

From the very beginning of the battle, they assumed the roles of fleeing rabbit and chasing fox. There wasn’t a single upset as the girl took the role of attacker and Tang Wulin the defender. He had undeniably just been passively enduring an onslaught of attacks.

The girl’s cultivation base was undoubtedly higher than Tang Wulin’s, the gap between three rings and two rings nearly unbridgeable. As the assailant, however, she consumed slightly more soul power than him, and with her constant use of area control skills, she would soon be left without the soul power necessary to erupt with one final decisive attack.

After seeing several of her attack plans fail, her head cooled. If I continue this way, I might lose! What an annoying guy.

Tang Wulin had circulated his soul power according to the Mysterious Heaven Method throughout the battle. Having practiced it for all these years now, his soul power was purer and denser than normal, giving him the advantage among his peers.

In truth, he found battles of attrition uncomfortable. He was far more accustomed to ending them explosively. But his only choice was to battle like this so that he could buy enough time for Xu Xiaoyan. His purpose in this fight was to stall for time. Naturally, his soul power consumption was just as severe as his opponent’s.

Tang Wulin’s plan was meticulous. By going first, he would have plenty of time to rest and recuperate while his teammates fought. With the Mysterious Heaven Method and his low soul power capacity, it wouldn’t be long before he was back to full.

Snowflakes blotted the sky and the girl disappeared into the flurry once more. Then, as if the snow had gained eyes of its own, it shot toward Tang Wulin in one giant stream.

The girl had swiftly adjusted her tactics. Didn’t you want a battle of attrition? Then let’s see who gets exhausted first. How could you possibly compete against me with only two rings?

The Bluesilver Grass spun into a protective screen in front of Tang Wulin, diverting the incoming attack. Icy mist invaded his body and the grass, sapping away his strength. In this manner, the two continued to wear each other out.

Both of them were currently using their first soul skills, as they were the most efficient in terms of soul power consumption. While previously they would use their souls skills freely, they were now more conservative.