Chapter 545 - Crushed

The Li twins entered Shrek Academy at the young age of twelve. Now, at the age of eighteen, both possessed five pieces of battle armor each. They were quite far from completing a full set of armor, but they still had two years left to qualify for the inner court. Furthermore, they had a soul fusion skill, which meant they would probably be given extra time to meet the requirements if necessary.

As their figures transformed, actual flames soared from their armor to fill the air. Bestial cries rumbled from the twins and shook the arena. Both possessed fire-attribute martial souls, but there were key differences between them. Li Mengyang roared, their voice booming broad and deep like a lion’s. Li Mengtian, on the other hand, growled with the curt tenor of a tiger. A wave of might exploded from them as they summoned their soul rings, two yellow and two purple each.

Tang Wulin hadn’t been idle. As soon as the match began, even as his opponents summoned their battle armor, he was already low to the ground and charging forward. Two golden rings appeared around him, bathing him in a regal glow. Although he could restrain his opponents’ fire attribute with Bluesilver Golden Array, he didn’t feel the need to. The desire to fight burned within him, and it would not be sated until he beat them into submission with his bare hands.

Gu Yue walked forward in Tang Wulin’s wake, elemental auroras manifesting around her in a shimmering display. Her eyes were glued to his back, never straying for even an instant.

The Li twins took one step forward at the same time, as if they were of one mind. Their soul rings lit up, the resulting surge of energy whipping their hair into a fiery blaze. Then they took another step, and Tang Wulin was upon them.

Tang Wulin’s first golden ring shone with majestic light as golden scales rippled into existence across his body. It began at his right arm, continued up and across his torso, and only stopped right before it reached his left arm. His right hand twisted and transformed into a powerful dragon claw. All of this happened as he continued to rush forward, every single move of his filled with resolve. There was no hesitation in his decision to confront two people in direct combat at the same time.

He stared at Li Mengtian, his eyes seemingly glued to the girl. Just as he reached the pair, however, he immediately stomped a foot into the ground, forcefully changing course to dart directly at Li Mengyang. He ducked low and wound up his clawed fist, and unleashed a powerful punch!

Li Mengyang snorted, gaze dripping with disdain. He reared back, then leaned forward to belch a torrent of flames right at Tang Wulin. At such close range, it was impossible for Tang Wulin to evade. But he didn’t bother to. Instead, he put more strength into his fist!

Right at that moment, a wall of ice sprouted out from the ground between Tang Wulin and Li Mengyang. The wall blocked Li Mengyang’s flames, but an instant later, it melted into a puddle and evaporated. That was when Tang Wulin’s fist followed through, rushing into the space the flames had just occupied.

The elders up on their viewing platform nodded in approval. Gu Yue’s ice wall had been timed perfectly to defend Tang Wulin from the flames. On top of that, it melted quickly enough to allow his attack to continue through. In fact, two walls had been made. The first wall had been thin, just enough to block Li Mengyang’s flames. The second one had appeared to the side of the two combatants, positioned just so to prevent Li Mengtian from interfering.

Li Mengyang never expected such a perfect combo from Tang Wulin and Gu Yue. However, this didn’t shake him at all. Caught off guard as he was, he still had the advantage as an assault-type soul master of a superior soul power rank. He had nothing to fear.

Li Mengyang threw out a fist of his own to match Tang Wulin’s. The instant they clashed, he felt as if he had been rammed by a train. A jolt of searing pain ran up his arm, and the force of the hit sent him spinning through the air like a ragdoll.

Tang Wulin’s entire body had been overflowing with strength ever since he broke the fourth seal of the Golden Dragon King. Such power was unimaginable for someone of his age and number of soul rings. The third grade had investigated him, but the results of their efforts only yielded shallow and vague impressions of him. They knew he was extremely strong, but they never expected him to reach such heights.

Li Mengyang had to force himself to go completely limp the moment he was sent flying. If he hadn’t been so quick to do that, his arm likely would’ve been fractured by now. Taking the hit like that also allowed him to react immediately. Still hurtling through the air, his second soul ring lit up. His hair burst into flames as he opened his mouth. Lion’s Roar!

A terrifying roar shook the arena once more, filling the air around Li Mengyang. The roar struck Tang Wulin, slowing his movements for an instant. At the same time, the ice wall broke apart. Li Mengtian charged through the crumbling ice, swinging at him with her tiger-pawed hands.

Li Mengyang’s martial soul was a Fire Demon Lion, and Li Mengtian’s was a Fire Demon Tiger. Both souls shared a deep connection with one another. The moment one acted, the other would be swift to follow up.

It was then that Tang Wulin reversed the flow of his blood essence. He planted his right foot into the ground, right as a draconic roar erupted from within him. This sudden show of draconic might interrupted Li Mengyang’s roar, and in that moment, eight phantom dragons shot out of Tang Wulin and toward the twins.

Tang Wulin had unleashed Golden Dragon Shakes the Earth, an art that harnessed the power of the Golden Dragon King and his powerful blood essence. It was so mighty that not even Yuanen Yehui could stand against it. In terms of individual strength, Li Mengyang and Li Mengtian were no match for Yuanen Yehui, and only just barely made up for this difference with their advantage in battle armor. But still, a gap existed between them. Furthermore, neither of the siblings had armor for their legs yet, so their mobility was just average.

Li Mengtian tried to redirect her paw strikes into the ground to rebound off the floor and evade. Up in the air, Li Mengyang could do nothing. The phantom dragons crashed into them with a boom that filled the arena. Both were sent flying in radiant arcs, their battle armor shining in an effort to mitigate the impact.

Tang Wulin pressed the attack, letting out another draconic roar, and in a blur of movement he leaped at Li Mengyang. A predatory sheen flashed through his eyes as he slashed out with his claw and unleashed five beams of dark gold. It was his Golden Dragon Dreadclaw!

Li Mengyang was struggling to orient himself in the air when he sensed a tempest of power rapidly approaching him. His instincts screamed at him, urging him to dodge, and without hesitation he used his fourth soul skill. The corresponding soul ring lit up, and a cloak of scarlet light enveloped him. His body swelled with strength. Power surged through his enlarged arms, and he threw them over his head, using his gauntlets as a shield.

Tang Wulin’s dark gold beams scraped against Li Mengyang’s armor with a metallic screech. Then the full brunt of the Golden Dragon Dreadclaw came down upon Li Mengyang, smacking him downward and creating a huge crater in the ground. Li Mengyang wasn’t stunned by the blow for long, and as he struggled to get his bearings, he looked up to see fragments of metal falling through the air around him. He looked down at his gauntlets and realized that they had fissures running through them. Then he coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Li Mengtian fared a bit better than her brother, and the moment she landed, she rushed to his side. The both of them had to admit it. These first grade students were absolute monsters. Now their path to victory could only be made with their soul fusion skill.

Just as she was about to say something to her brother, Gu Yue appeared in front of them both in a flash of silver.

“Screw off!” Li Mengtian snarled, thrusting out with her tiger paws and summoning two larger phantom tigers in front of her.

Gu Yue thrust out with a palm of her own, shooting an azure fireball in response.

The phantom paws and fireballs collided with a bang! The fireball overpowered the paws and slammed into Li Mengtian in a brilliant explosion. The blast sent her careening backward, and even as she did, a wheel of ice chased after her.

Li Mengtian twisted to gain control of her trajectory and threw her arms down at the wheel of ice, relying on her gauntlets to smash it into pieces! Then she hit the ground rolling before springing to her feet. A grating growl rumbled in her throat. She was even further from her brother now.

Li Mengyang had barely managed to stand when Tang Wulin walked over and stomped the ground, unleashing Golden Dragon Shakes the Earth again. Li Mengyang immediately lost his balance, the quaking earth leaving him vulnerable to a fresh barrage of summoned phantom dragons. The dragons struck him into the air yet again, but Tang Wulin did not stop there. He immediately followed up with Golden Dragon Shocks the Heavens and summoned an enormous dragon head that opened its maw and bore down upon Li Mengyang. Unable to recover mid-flight this time, Li Mengyang was defenseless as the dragon head shot toward him. It was going to swallow him whole!

But right as it threatened to chomp down on him, a silver light bloomed between them. In a flicker of movement, Elder Cai appeared above Li Mengyang. She had saved him.

Elder Cai grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, then turned to Tang Wulin and nodded in satisfaction.

A mountain of pressure crashed down upon Li Mengtian’s shoulders as she realized that her brother had just been eliminated. Her fourth soul ring lit up, and yet another roar shook the arena. A tiger manifested before her, her martial soul having been empowered by fusing with her spirit soul. It immediately moved to pounce upon Gu Yue and use its fiery wrath to tear her apart.

Yet Gu Yue stood her ground, the barest hint of a smirk forming on her mouth. A flash of silver, and Tang Wulin appeared before her, a shining knight clad in golden scales. They flashed with iridescent light, turning into a multitude of mirrors. The flaming tiger slammed into him, but the attack had no effect. His scales simply shone brighter than ever. An instant later, a draconic roar burst from him, and he thrust out his palms, summoning the dragon head once more and sending it toward Li Mengtian.

A shimmer of silver, another barrier, appeared in front of Li Mengtian to block the phantom dragon head. Unlike the last time, however, the dragon head struck the silver in a cacophony of booming sound. The collision caused numerous ripples to form in the silver barrier.

Silence reigned over the audience! They couldn’t believe their eyes. Tang Wulin and Gu Yue stood at the center of the stage as the victors. Even now, Tang Wulin’s shining scales and tyrannical aura demanded their attention. All he did was stand there, and still they felt a pressure emanating from him as though he were an immovable mountain.

Off-stage, Xie Xie stared at Tang Wulin and muttered, “Holy shit! Boss really doesn’t know how to hold back! Damn! He’s absolutely brutal! I love it! That’s how a man fights!”

Elder Cai put Li Mengyang down beside his sister then flew into the air. “The victors of this match are Tang Wulin and Gu Yue of the first grade.”

That made it official. Against all expectations, the first grade had won yet again.