Chapter 269: Xie Xie's Terrifying Opponent

Not only had Tang Wulin won... it had been a stomp.

“Was he waiting for this the entire time?”

Even though Xie Xie muttered this under his breath, Shen Yi heard him clearly.

He’s just a thirteen-year-old kid! How could he be so patient? This is just…

Unknown to Shen Yi, Tang Wulin’s second profession was that of a lonesome blacksmith. Since the day he met Mang Tian, his temperament had been taken to the grindstone and continuously sharpened to this very day. He had been forging since he was six years old. Seven years was more than enough to forever alter the life of a person without talent, let alone the peerless blacksmithing prodigy that was Tang Wulin.

Student number ten soon woke up, her eyes instantly moving to stare at Tang Wulin in disbelief. She reflected on the match and how she lost, but no matter how she looked at it, she couldn’t understand how he had snatched victory with his soul power depleted.

What is up with his body? And just what was that purple light in his eyes?

She had fainted in the final moments of the battle, and the snow had obscured everyone else’s line of sight, so no one had clearly seen what happened.

“Next,” Shen Yi said.

Xie Xie and student number two, the slender one, entered the arena at the same time.

Tang Wulin returned to his companions. Not a single word was exchanged as he immediately sat down cross-legged and began meditating using the Mysterious Heaven Method. His opponent had been powerful and had pressured him immensely, draining all of his soul power.

There were two mysterious trials remaining, and although he already had the sixty points required to pass the exam, he still needed enough strength to help his teammates pass them. His number one priority was to have the entire team enter Shrek Academy.

For his sake, his teammates had nearly lost their chance to enter this sacred academy. Although he didn’t say anything about it, such deep loyalty had been engraved upon his heart.

“Begin!”

The two combatants burst into action.

Xie Xie charged straight at his opponent. As an agility-type soul master through and through, close-quarters-combat was his only option.

Student number two rushed at Xie Xie as well, his eyes possessing an eerie calm beyond his years.

The gap between the two rapidly closed. In terms of speed, Xie Xie was definitely the victor.

Neither had released their martial soul yet. They were both waiting for an opening.

Their soul rings only appeared when the distance between them had shrunk to a mere ten meters.

Their soul ring configurations were identical: two yellow and one purple. However, the way in which they manifested was completely different.

While Xie Xie now wielded the Light Dragon Dagger, his opponent underwent a monstrous transformation.

The instant their soul rings had appeared, student number two’s slender body swelled with strength, his purple soul ring flashing with light.

He’s already using his thousand-year soul skill?”

The Shrek Academy student’s body inflated like a balloon, his clothes bursting into shreds and leaving only undergarments made of some insanely elastic material.

Brown hair now covered his body. Although he still retained somewhat of a humanoid shape, he definitely didn’t look human anymore. At four meters tall, he towered over Xie Xie with two burly arms attached to his broad shoulders. His body seemed to rumble with raw power.

Upon seeing this, Xie Xie wanted to run back to Tang Wulin and give him a big thumbs up for his suggestion.

We really can’t judge Shrek Academy students by appearances alone! This guy’s martial soul has to be a giant gorilla! Maybe it’s even the…

As Xie Xie pondered this, his opponent finished transforming and launched an attack.

Two massive arms recklessly smashed the ground.

Xie Xie leaped into the air in response, brandishing his Light Dragon Dagger to unleash a golden blade of light.

Lines cut into the walls and floor of the arena, rippling with golden light and working to counter the quaking ground.

The shock wave below Xie Xie left him astonished. If he had been just a second slower, he would have immediately lost.

Student number two didn’t even bother to dodge the Light Dragon Blade. He simply lowered his head and met it head-on, then shot toward Xie Xie, clearly unaffected by the attack.

Even though Xie Xie was an agility-type soul master, his opponent’s leap far surpassed his own. Student number two looked like a monster as he soared toward Xie Xie, his two arms swinging toward Xie Xie with the might of a mountain.

He’s so strong!

Unable to exert any force in the air, Xie Xie split into three clones, each kicking off of the other two and speeding in three different directions. It was an ingenious play to keep out of range of the monstrous student number two.

This...

Shock filled the faces of the Shrek Academy students. Unknown to Xie Xie, all of them were observing his match with keen interest since he had actually picked student number two, the strongest of the ten arranged opponents!

Xie Xie splitting into three clones didn’t phase student number two. His first soul ring lit up, and he threw three lighting-fast punches.

The pressure of his punches made the air hiss. Xie Xie was stunned to find each of the three blasts of air heading for each of his clones.

Heavens! What sort of monster is this guy? How can his attacks be this terrifying…

However, even in such a helpless situation, the three shimmering clones dashed through the air once more, seemingly kicking off of thin air to escape the attack by a hair’s breadth.

A trace of surprise finally flashed through his opponent’s eyes. He had just witnessed Xie Xie’s third soul ring light up a second time.

Both sides returned to the ground at the same time.

Considering what happened up to this point, it was clear that student number two held the upper hand, but it wasn’t an overwhelming advantage. Even though he used his third soul skill to immediately, try to smash the nimble boy, Xie Xie managed to escape his barrage of air blasts.

In a battle, the attacker always became exhausted faster than the defender. Since their ranks were about equal, Xie Xie managed to seize a tiny advantage this way.

However, that was all in theory. The reality of battle had yet to be tested.

Xie Xie was painfully aware of his own shortcomings. Although his opponent had gone all-out with their third soul skill, he had done the same! The overwhelming pressure his opponent exuded forced him to use Light Dragon Clones to get some breathing room, but the three punches that followed had forced him to bring out Shadow Dragon Clones too!

Xie Xie’s response had been clever, but it took a lot out of him—maybe leaving him a bit more tired than his opponent. Xie Xie could only rejoice in the fact that he possessed the Mysterious Heaven Method. With its recovery power, he was confident that he would be able to barely outlast his opponent.

Without making a move, student number two patiently observed Xie Xie’s three clones running around in different directions. Although he had mighty ranged attacks at his disposal, it was still impossible for him to attack in three directions at once. The range of his attack couldn’t cover the entire arena.

As a Shrek Academy student, he naturally had an abundance of combat experience, so he had a hunch that his opponent would strike soon. Using a thousand-year soul skill that produced three clones had to be a huge drain on Xie Xie’s soul power, that left him no other option.

And student number two’s hunch was correct.