Douro Continent

Chapter 178 A Formidable Opponent, the Berserker Team (Part 1)

The skinny cat girl clearly didn't expect to defeat her opponent with her first attack. Just as Tang San dispelled her silver claw shadow, she had already closed in on Tang San, and her third spirit ring lit up at the same time.

On the other side, Xiao Wu pounced from mid-air, heading straight for the fat rat on the ground. The fat rat looked up at her, but didn't panic at her attack. Its spherical body suddenly sprang up, its first two spirit rings flashing simultaneously, and its sharp claws suddenly extended, meeting Xiao Wu's attack with a speed completely disproportionate to its size. It was even faster than the skinny cat from before.

The fat rat's physique would be deceptive to any opponent. In fact, Tang San's initial assessment wasn't wrong; he, like the skinny cat girl, was an agility-type Soul Master. However, the skinny cat's first Soul Ring skill was Speed ​​Increase, a ten-year Soul Ring. Tang San's Speed ​​Increase, on the other hand, was only his second Soul Ring skill.

The amplification of a hundred-year spirit ring skill is naturally incomparable to that of a ten-year spirit ring. Therefore, Fat Rat is actually faster than Skinny Cat; it's just that his attack power is slightly weaker when the first two spirit rings are displayed. Both he and Skinny Cat are level 37 Spirit Masters. Among Spirit Master-level duos, they are considered quite formidable.

The two sides clashed simultaneously, and the fiery intensity of their fighting spirit was fully unleashed at this moment.

As the skinny cat approached Tang San, her third spirit ring had already fully unleashed its skill. Her goal was to defeat Tang San with overwhelming force and then go to help the fat rat.

Seeing that Tang San and Xiao Wu's spirit rings were superior to theirs, the experienced Skinny Cat had already decided to launch an attack in this almost extreme way. In typical spirit battles, both sides would probe each other to understand each other's spirit skills before launching a full-scale attack. However, she was forced to do this by the powerful spirit rings of Tang San and Xiao Wu. If successful, the two-on-two victory would still belong to them. Four consecutive wins were hard-won, and they were unwilling to give up the opportunity for a fifth. At that time, both points and prize money would increase tenfold.

"Meow—" A sharp meow suddenly rang out, and the thin cat girl's body changed in mid-air. Her claws suddenly grew ten times longer, turning into ten sharp swords that stabbed towards Tang San. The soul power brought by the claws made a "popping" sound in the air, and the air distorted wherever it passed.

This was clearly no longer her own power, but rather an ability attached to her third soul skill. She was already in front of Tang San, and her suddenly lengthened claws stabbed directly at various parts of his body. Her attack power was also doubled under the effect of her thousand-year soul ring. It was something no soul master of the same level could withstand.

If she were facing another Soul Master, they might actually be intimidated by her unstoppable momentum and succumb. With his frontal attack blocked, all he could do was retreat to have any chance of dodging the skinny cat's attack. Tang San had already retreated a bit when he dodged her claws, and was not far from the edge of the Soul Arena. If he took another step back now, the skinny cat was confident she could force him off the Soul Arena before his Martial Soul could unleash its full power.

Unfortunately, the skinny cat's wishful thinking still failed. Tang San, whom she was facing, had walked between life and death before. How could he be so easily defeated?

Just as the blade was about to pierce his body, suddenly, Tang San's upper body vanished into thin air without any warning.

The skinny cat girl was stunned for a moment. Her movements were so fast that she didn't even have time to see how Tang San did it.

Tang San's movement was actually quite simple; he simply assumed a standard iron bridge pose, leaning his upper body completely backward. While he wasn't as supple as Xiao Wu, performing such a move was still within his capabilities. However, since he was currently right in front of the skinny cat girl, this iron bridge pose essentially exposed his chest and abdomen to her. Although the skinny cat girl was momentarily stunned, she immediately noticed Tang San's seemingly flawed response. At this moment, all she needed to do was flick her wrist downward, letting her cat claw blade pierce directly at Tang San, and she would have already won the battle.

Victory was within reach, and the skinny cat-like girl was overjoyed. The wrist-flipping motion was far too easy for her. She thought to herself, "This masked guy's spirit rings are impressive, but his combat experience is terrible. He actually used this method of exposing his vitals to neutralize my previous attack." But she forgot one thing: she had overlooked her opponent's martial spirit.

The smugness in the skinny cat girl's heart lasted only a moment. The next moment, she found that she could not move her body, and she could not even do the simplest movement such as flipping her wrist down.

Even as Xiao Wu rose from his shoulder, Tang San had already released his Blue Silver Grass, though he released it close to the ground. The moment the skinny cat girl launched her attack, her body naturally paused, and the Blue Silver Grass, which she had already mastered, rose up and wrapped itself around her body.

If it weren't for the Blue Silver Grass binding him, even though his opponent was very fast, how could Tang San have exposed his vital points to his opponent?

Following the momentum of the Iron Bridge, Tang San flipped his body backward and kicked out with both feet, striking his opponent's wrist.

The skinny cat-like girl suddenly found herself bound and unable to move by the Blue Silver Grass. She struggled desperately, but Tang San's kicks offered no resistance. The force from his hands propelled her backward, and the sharp spikes attached to the Blue Silver Grass protruded, instantly numbing her entire body. This forced her to gather all her soul power to fight back.

In actual combat, Tang San's strength in obtaining the Man-Faced Demon Spider spirit ring, despite enduring immense pain, became evident. Not only was the Blue Silver Grass itself exceptionally resilient, but its toxicity was also significantly enhanced. While Entanglement might seem like just Tang San's first spirit ring skill, the Blue Silver Grass is indeed the core of his spirit; with each spirit ring he acquires, the Blue Silver Grass itself is strengthened. This is the advantage of Weapon Spirit Masters compared to Beast Spirit Masters. Although Weapon Spirit Masters cannot be strengthened by their spirits, the enhancement of their spirit body, combined with the resulting spirit skills, makes them even stronger.

Despite the skinny cat girl's desperate struggle, her soul power was inferior to Dai Mubai's, and her martial soul was not as powerful as Dai Mubai's. Tang San's extremely resilient Blue Silver Grass was not something she could break free from. Under the effects of the paralyzing poison, she was completely controlled by Tang San.

Tang San used Ghost Shadow Steps to reach the skinny cat girl's side in one step. With a light flick of his toes, he sent her body off the Soul Battle Platform. According to the rules of Soul Battle, falling off the platform meant defeat in the battle.

As the skinny cat girl fell off the stage, the fat rat also flew up and was thrown off the other side of the fighting arena.

It turned out that Xiao Wu, who was pouncing on the fat rat in mid-air, saw the other party rushing over at an astonishing speed. Without hesitation, she activated her third soul ring skill, Teleportation. In a flash, she moved behind the fat rat, swung out her scorpion braid, wrapped it around the other party's neck, and kicked off with her right foot, throwing him away.

In a life-or-death struggle, the fat rat that was thrown out would obviously still have the strength to fight again. Although Xiao Wu activated her waist bow skill, it was not enough to seriously injure her opponent. After all, the bodies of beast soul masters are extremely strong, and the opponent was prepared. Unlike the lewd uncle Bu Le who was ambushed a few days ago, he was thrown around in a daze without even releasing his soul power.

But this was a spirit battle, and Fat Rat's spirit wasn't a flying spirit. How could he control his body in the air? He was thrown off the stage almost simultaneously with Skinny Cat.

The battle started quickly and ended even faster, in the blink of an eye, the outcome was decided in just a few moments.

In the stands, the audience who had been cheering for the cat and mouse duo fell silent in an instant. Tang San and Xiao Wu landed steadily on the Soul Fighting Stage and smiled at each other.

They hadn't expected today's spirit battle to be so easy. They all believed it was precisely because of the inherent weaknesses of spirit types. Whether it was Tang San's control-type skills or Xiao Wu's close-range attacks, both were highly effective against agility-type spirit masters. Originally, Xiao Wu should have been vulnerable to agility-type spirit masters, but now that she possessed the teleportation skill, she significantly compensated for her weakness. Caught off guard, the fat rat didn't even have time to unleash his thousand-year spirit ring skill before being sent flying.

Grandmaster Yu Xiaowu, seated in the audience, nodded slightly, quite satisfied with their performance. As an observer, he had a clearer view of the situation. In the brief moments of the fight, the adaptability and the perfect integration of their martial souls demonstrated by Tang San and Xiaowu were impeccable. Easily defeating a combination with superior soul power wasn't simply a matter of martial soul incompatibility; the practical combat training they had undergone under his guidance over the past few months had quietly begun to pay off.

As announced by the host, the Sanwu team achieved a two-on-two victory in their battle, with both players' scores rising to three.

Only then did the audience on stage cheer again. Although the battle seemed exceptionally short, both Tang San's Blue Silver Grass and Xiao Wu's teleportation had broadened the horizons of these ordinary people. The audience was fair and didn't hold back their applause. The Sanwu duo quietly left the stage amidst cheers. What awaited them were their respective one-on-one battles.

(End of this chapter)