Chapter 28: The Might of the Zhuge Crossbow?

"Right, this is the conviction a Soul Master should have."

Seeing this, Yu Xiaogang also nodded in agreement, saying, "Losing once isn't scary. You can always win it back. As his companions, you must have faith in Xiao San!"

Yu Xiaogang spoke this way because he had great confidence in his teaching methods.

He had also heard about Tang San's previous battle. After analyzing it, he concluded that although Tang San was weaker than his opponent, the main reason for his loss was his carelessness and underestimation of his adversary, which led to such a crushing defeat.

This time, Tang San had learned his lesson. Even if he couldn't win, he certainly wouldn't lose so badly...

...

"The next match: Golden Dragon Soul Master Ye Feng versus Blue Silver Grass Soul Master Tang San!"

Soon, the announcer's voice rang out.

Because the name "Starry Sky Ancestral Dragon" was too ostentatious, and Ye Feng's Martial Soul was still too weak to fully manifest the form of the Starry Sky Ancestral Dragon, he simply went by the name "Golden Dragon."

Even so, the announcement immediately drew the attention of countless people.

"A Golden Dragon Martial Soul? It's actually a dragon-type Martial Soul! How rare!"

"Haha, I can't believe even a trash Martial Soul like Blue Silver Grass can compete here. How peculiar."

"You must be new here. That Blue Silver Grass Soul Master Tang San has never lost a single match at the Great Soul Master level. That kid's methods are strange, and most Soul Masters are no match for him."

"Tch, no matter how strong he is, can he really compare to a dragon-type Beast Soul?"

"Well, that's true..."

...

Originally, this kind of 1v1 duel would hardly attract any attention, but the appearance of Ye Feng's dragon-type Martial Soul immediately drew a crowd of Soul Masters to watch.

On the Soul Duel Stage, Ye Feng and Tang San had already taken their positions.

Tang San was surrounded by swirling Blue Silver Grass, his entire being radiating a fierce fighting spirit.

Ye Feng also released his Martial Soul and Soul Rings.

The moment two purple and one black Soul Rings appeared, the nearly hundred Soul Masters in the viewing area fell completely silent. The entire venue seemed to freeze in time, becoming utterly still for a brief moment.

In the next instant, the crowd erupted!

"Holy crap, what am I seeing? A thousand-year... no, a ten-thousand-year Soul Skill!"

"What kind of monster is this kid? He's only a Soul Grandmaster! How can he possibly have a ten-thousand-year Soul Skill?"

"My first Soul Ring is only a ten-year Soul Skill. How does he already have a thousand-year one, and even a second one? This is just unfair!"

"It's an illusion! It must be an illusion! Maybe his Soul Skill's ability is to change the color of his Soul Rings, tricking us!"

"Yeah, that's got to be it!"

The surrounding Soul Masters, witnessing this scene, were on the verge of having their mental fortitude shattered. They simply couldn't believe their eyes.

After all, although Soto City was a major city, most Soul Masters here were wild Soul Masters with no background. Only one in ten had a hundred-year Soul Ring as their first, while the majority had ten-year Soul Rings for their first and hundred-year ones for their second. Those with thousand-year Soul Skills were exceedingly rare.

And now, they were seeing a young man whose first Soul Ring was a thousand-year Soul Skill, and whose third Soul Ring was the terrifying ten-thousand-year Soul Skill!

The gap was too vast. Anyone who saw this would feel a deep sense of psychological discomfort.

"Dammit... how did he get even stronger?!"

Tang San, feeling the overwhelming pressure emanating from Ye Feng's aura, also had a drastic change in expression.

He had fought with Ye Feng before, and compared to the last time, he could clearly see that Ye Feng had grown stronger—and not just by a little! It was only because he had obtained an External Soul Bone, a thousand-year Soul Ring, and undergone the "devilish training" of Yu Xiaogang, the world's top theoretical master, that he had been able to grow so rapidly. Yet, Ye Feng was still a Soul Grandmaster. How could his strength have progressed even faster than his own? However, although he was shocked, Tang San, having lived two lives, quickly calmed down.

This time, he learned from his past mistakes and directly took out his strongest hidden weapon—the Zhuge Crossbow—from his Twenty-Four Bridges on a Moonlit Night. Last time, he had been careless and hadn't had the chance to use the Zhuge Crossbow, which was why he had been beaten to the ground by his opponent.

This time, he was smarter. He didn't hold back and went all out from the start, unleashing his ultimate move.

"What's that in his hand? Isn't his Martial Soul Blue Silver Grass?"

"Is that a crossbow? Using a crossbow against a Soul Master? Is he an idiot?"

"That crossbow looks a bit strange. It's not like any I've seen before…"

The audience below, seeing this, all wore expressions of confusion.

After all, Soul Masters always relied on their Martial Souls in combat. Ordinary weapons had limited effectiveness against Soul Masters.

Even with arrows, given a Soul Master's reflexes, they would never be hit.

For a Soul Master to use external tools instead of their Martial Soul was, in the eyes of other Soul Masters, completely putting the cart before the horse.

"Hmph! A bunch of narrow-minded fools. How could the Tang Sect's hidden weapons be compared to ordinary weapons?" Tang San sneered inwardly upon hearing their comments.

The latest novel is first published on 69shu!

In the next moment, without hesitation, he aimed at Ye Feng and pulled the trigger.

The Zhuge Crossbow was specifically designed to break through Soul Power defenses, and he had coated it with the strongest poison.

However, since killing was not allowed in the duel area, Tang San didn't aim for Ye Feng's head but instead targeted his abdomen—a spot that was also the hardest to dodge.

As long as he could graze Ye Feng's skin, he was confident he could take him down.

"Whoosh—"

The moment Tang San pulled the trigger, the crossbow bolt shot out at an incredible speed, covering over thirty meters in the blink of an eye and appearing right in front of Ye Feng.

This happened so fast that even the Soul Masters below didn't have time to react.

This speed was simply impossible for an ordinary Soul Master to dodge!

However, just as everyone thought Ye Feng would be hit, something completely unexpected happened…

The incredibly fast bolt, as it neared Ye Feng, seemed to be deflected by some force, veering slightly off course and narrowly missing him, instead piercing through the energy shield of the Soul Duel Stage behind him.

The sheer power of the attack actually pierced straight through the energy shield! "Holy crap!"

Instantly, the entire arena erupted in chaos.

The Soul Masters watching the fight all gasped in shock.

Generally, the strength of a Soul Duel Stage's shield was one level higher than the Soul Masters fighting on it. For a Soul Grandmaster-level battle, the shield's strength was at the Soul Ancestor level.

Yet, the seemingly ordinary crossbow in his opponent's hand had unleashed power equivalent to a Soul Ancestor's attack. That was absolutely terrifying.

Moreover, the speed of the crossbow bolts was dozens of times faster than that of ordinary ones. Even a Soul Ancestor wouldn't be able to react in time!

If it had hit the head…

Hiss! Terrifying indeed! Of course, what surprised them even more was that such a terrifying bolt had actually missed its target…

Not only were the Soul Masters in the audience stunned, but even Tang San was momentarily bewildered.

He never expected that the opponent had somehow managed to alter the trajectory of the Zhuge Crossbow. This was simply unbelievable!

(End of Chapter)