Chapter 1609: Tang Yinmeng's Turn

At the very least, Tang Wulin felt himself to be inferior in that regard until he invented his Dragon Emperor Restriction Techniques.

He turned to Qiangu Dongfeng, and said in a calm manner, "We win the first battle, Chairman Qiangu."

"Let's continue," Qiangu Dongfeng wasted no time with words and immediately commenced the countdown.

"Three, two, one, begin!"

Another combatant from each side rose up into the air.

The Spirit Pagoda had sent out a tall old man whom Tang Wulin had also never seen before, but his expression immediately changed slightly as soon as the elderly man emerged as he could sense extremely powerful spiritual fluctuations emanating from the old man's body.

Tang Wulin's spiritual power was quite advanced, even in the Spirit Domain realm, so this elderly man would at least have to be at the mental manifestation level to elicit such a reaction from Tang Wulin.

Could it be that this was a hidden Limit Douluo of the Spirit Pagoda?

The one who had been sent out by Shrek Academy was none other than the senior disciple sister of the inner court, Tang Yinmeng.

Just like Lan Muzi, Tang Yinmeng also kept a very low profile, and both of them were very easygoing and unambitious. Back when they had first entered the inner court, both of them had decided to remain in Shrek Academy forever as they truly loved the academy and were willing to dedicate the rest of their lives to it.

Back when the sequence was being decided, Lan Muzi had told Tang Wulin that he wanted to take part in the first battle, and Tang Wulin had agreed.

Lan Muzi had crushed his opponent in the first match, but Tang Yinmeng's opponent seemed to be very formidable.

Having already lost one match, the Spirit Pagoda would be determined to win this second battle, so Tang Yinmeng was definitely going to have a difficult match on her hands.

The two combatants quickly rose up into the sky, and the tall old man suddenly closed his eyes. The light around him began to warp, and all of a sudden, a nine-headed giant snake appeared out of thin air to carry his body.

The giant snake was transparent and didn't possess an aura befitting of a soul spirit; it was like a completely illusionary being.

The giant snake's nine heads were split into three different colors, with three purplish-black central heads, three green heads on the left, and three blue heads on the right. All of them wore identical cold expressions as they appraised Tang Yinmeng from afar.

At this moment, the elderly man had also summoned his soul rings, and just like Yun Tianheng and Lan Muzi, he also possessed nine black soul rings.

Ever since the Spirit Ascension Plane came into existence, this had become an extremely common soul ring configuration among all high-grade Soul Masters.

Tang Yinmeng also released her martial soul, and it was a rather peculiar fist-sized object that was shaped like a nut and was riddled with holes.

This was her martial soul, and it was an extremely obscure type of musical instrument known as a xun.  [1]

This was a musical instrument capable of producing a very melodious sound, and Tang Yinmeng began to play it as she also released a total of nine black soul rings.

A melancholic melody began to play, and everyone felt as if they had returned to an ancient battlefield, where the entire world had been cast into ruin.

Right at this moment, the nine-headed snake beneath the elderly man suddenly sprang into action. It raised its three central heads, then opened its mouths to send three streaks of light hurtling rapidly toward Tang Yinmeng.

The sound of the xun created rippling soundwaves that made the air up ahead layered and warped, and to everyone's surprise, the three streaks of light were reflected back toward the three-headed snake.

What kind of ability was this? How was she able to use sound to affect space and achieve reflection?

There were many high-grade Soul Masters on the Spirit Pagoda's side that had vast wealths of knowledge and experience, but none of them had ever seen Lan Muzi and Tang Yinmeng's martial souls.

The three streaks of reflected purple light instantly passed through the body of the nine-headed snake, but that was it. The streaks of light continued into the distance, while the nine-headed snake remained completely unaffected.

Tang Yinmeng's brows furrowed slightly upon seeing this. It was clear that this opponent of hers also possessed some peculiar abilities.

The nine-headed snake pounced, carrying the elderly man quickly toward Tang Yinmeng while blasting a streak of light out of each of its nine cavernous mouths.

The sound of the xun rang out, and the space around Tang Yinmeng began to warp once again. However, none of her soul rings displayed any changes, making it impossible for others to determine which soul ring she was using.

Upon striking the area of warped space, the streaks of light were refracted once again. Perhaps it was due to the increased number of attacks, but on this occasion, only one streak of light was directed back toward the elderly man on the nine-headed snake.

In response, one of the snake heads unleashed another streak of light to dispel the light hurtling toward the old man.

As expected, his body was still vulnerable to attacks!

In contrast with the full-frontal clashes that had taken place the previous match, this battle was progressing in a rather peculiar fashion.

The nine-headed snake beneath the elderly man was releasing one streak of light after another, while Tang Yinmeng was constantly playing her xun to refract the streaks of oncoming light.

Thus, an impasse ensued, and it seemed neither of them was in a hurry to change strategies.

Was this going to be a battle of attrition?

Tang Wulin turned to Yali, and asked, "Mother, do you know who that is?"

Yali shook her head with brows slightly furrowed. "I'm afraid not. I wonder what his martial soul is; it's definitely not that snake."

Tang Wulin replied, "Indeed. His spiritual fluctuations are very powerful, and it feels like that snake is a mental manifestation. Could it be that his martial soul is something with a summoning ability?"

"I don't think so. Soul beasts summoned from other planes have actual bodies, but this snake doesn't, so it's not quite the same. As expected, the Spirit Pagoda is full of interesting characters."

At this point, Yun Tianheng had already returned to the Spirit Pagoda's side. Having withdrawn his suit of battle armor, many charred black patches were revealed all over his body, and his aura had diminished significantly, clearly indicating that he had suffered severe injuries.

He was staring intently at Lan Muzi from afar with a cold expression.

The impasse up above had already lasted for over three minutes, and it was quite spectacular to watch with countless streaks of light flying in all directions. However, there was not much point, nor any progress being made by either side.

Right at this moment, Tang Wulin suddenly heard a voice, and a hint of enlightenment appeared in his eyes.

He made his way over to Lan Muzi before whispering something to him, in response to which Lan Muzi gave a slight nod before suddenly silently communicating something to Tang Yinmeng from afar.

All of a sudden, the sound being produced by Tang Yinmeng's xun became a lot more aggressive, like a horn signaling the commencement of a battle.

The warped air began to surge toward the elderly man in fierce waves, and she was now on the attack rather than continuing to passively defend.

The nine-headed snake beneath the elderly man unleashed nine more streaks of light, but those streak of light instantly crumbled away upon making contact with the warped air.

At this moment, a change was finally displayed among the elderly man's soul rings. However, instead of one or several of them lighting up, all nine soul rings began to move in a rhythmic manner.

The nine-headed snake below him suddenly became substantial, and its body instantly elongated to over 100 meters in length.

At the same time, it began to release a formidable aura that struck one with an indescribable sense of pressure.

The nine mouths of the snake were opened again, but on this occasion, continuous torrents of light erupted forth to clash with the warped air rather than the streaks of light from before.

The soundwaves of Tang Yinmeng's xun began to escalate, while the nine-headed snake continued to maintain its output of light, and it seemed that another impasse had ensued.

Throughout this entire process, the elderly man's eyes had remained closed, presenting a very peculiar sight to behold.

[1] [Google search "xun musical instrument" if you're interested in seeing what it looks like.]