However, that was the Mysterious Turtle of the past. Just moments ago, Xu Sanshi used a special secret technique that allowed his Martial Soul to evolve and upgrade in a short period.
Black Tortoise was the name of his Martial Soul after the evolution, and the snake-shaped pattern that appeared on the tortoise shell was also a result of this.
After the Mysterious Turtle evolved into the Black Tortoise, the Soul Skill associated with the Martial Soul also changed. Mysterious Displacement changed from a simple position swap to a powerful skill that could both swap and teleport.
The evolved skill, Black Tortoise Displacement: Teleport, could teleport any living being within a hundred meters to in front of himself. The being being teleported would experience a moment of stiffness. This time was very brief, but it was enough to do many things.
The stiffness effect was determined by the user's intention. For example, when teleporting teammates, Xu Sanshi could control it to avoid the stiffness effect.
Yang Xu had done his research on Shrek Academy, but he wouldn't have expected that Xu Sanshi's Soul Skill was different from before.
Whoosh! A flash of black light appeared in front of Yang Xu, and he materialized out of thin air.
At this moment, Yang Xu was undoubtedly utterly bewildered. Where am I? Who am I? What am I supposed to do?
Xu Sanshi wouldn't give him time to think. What awaited Yang Xu was Xu Sanshi's heavy Black Tortoise Shield.
The pitch-black shield slammed towards Yang Xu. Yang Xu hadn't recovered from his shock and instinctively channeled his soul power, raising his arms to block.
The instant the Black Tortoise Shield made contact with Yang Xu's arms, his expression changed drastically. Crack, the sound of bones breaking echoed out.
And it didn't end there. This seemingly simple strike was, in fact, a display of Xu Sanshi's first Soul Skill. The evolved version was far superior to what it had been before.
Crack, crack, crack, a series of bone-splitting sounds rang out, followed by Yang Xu being sent flying backward.
Bang, bang, bang! Yang Xu, still affected by momentum, tumbled several times upon landing.
"Cough, cough, cough, ugh!" Yang Xu coughed up a mouthful of blood after hitting the ground.
"Not good." Huo Yuhao had already felt uneasy when Yang Xu was teleported in front of Xu Sanshi. Now that Yang Xu was so severely injured, and Huo Yuhao noticed Xu Sanshi quickly approaching the fallen Yang Xu, it was clear he wasn't planning to stop.
The referee was also stunned in the arena at this moment. Without time to think, Yang Xu was already unable to fight. If Xu Sanshi were to deliver another blow, his life would be in danger. Rescue was necessary.
With a single step, he traversed space. Huo Yuhao appeared on the stage, right next to Yang Xu. Any protective soul tools were completely useless. Or rather, the protection was primarily for those on the stage.
Seeing Xu Sanshi was already close, Huo Yuhao activated his fourth soul skill—Evil God's Protection. A black, semi-transparent shield enveloped Huo Yuhao and Yang Xu.
Bang! The Black Tortoise Shield struck the shield, causing only ripples to spread across its surface.
As for breaking through, forget about it. Huo Yuhao's fourth soul skill came from the super soul beast, the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, with a lifespan of over forty thousand years. A fifty-thousand-year-old Dark Demon Evil God Tiger could even go toe-to-toe with an ordinary Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.
This referred to ordinary Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts. The Azure Sky Bull Python and the Titan Giant Ape in the original novel had impressive bloodlines. Those two were also very strong among the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts. But even then, they needed to team up to suppress a sixty-thousand-year-old Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, showing how powerful this soul beast was.
How could Xu Sanshi possibly break through such a powerful soul skill? With his tough skull?
Whoosh! The crowd below erupted in an uproar. The turnaround was too sudden. Yang Xu, a Soul King at rank fifty-five, was nearly defeated by Shrek Academy in a single move. It was hard to believe.
"Brother, what... what's going on? Why did that shield soul master suddenly become so strong?" Meng Hongchen asked her brother, clearly shocked by Shrek's sudden burst of power.
Receiving no response, Meng Hongchen turned to her brother, only to find him staring blankly at the stage, his eyes filled with disbelief, his right hand, which had been holding a wine glass, frozen.
"Body Sect Academy team member, are you...?" The referee asked tentatively. It was only at this moment that he reacted. Although he had guessed, he still asked out of protocol.
Huo Yuhao was examining Yang Xu's injuries, his head lowered. He spoke briefly, "We from Body Sect Academy concede this match."
The referee nodded and announced loudly, "Shrek Academy wins the second match of the individual elimination round."
"Senior Xu, isn't this a little..." Xiao Xiao started hesitantly from the Shrek Academy seats, but couldn't finish her sentence.
The others didn't know what to say either. They all felt that Xu Sanshi had gone too far. Even Wang Yan kept silent. Body Sect Academy hadn't done anything after subduing Jiang Nannan, but Xu Sanshi had seemingly aimed to kill.
Wang Yan even regretted not listening to Bei Bei earlier. Body Sect was known for protecting its own, so they could imagine the backlash Shrek would face.
After examining Yang Xu's injuries, Huo Yuhao's heart sank. Both of Yang Xu's arms were shattered, his sternum was cracked, and his internal organs were bruised, not to mention the possibility of internal bleeding.
Huo Yuhao suddenly looked up at Xu Sanshi, only to see the latter staring back with cold eyes, a sinister smirk playing on his lips.
"Open the protective barrier. I need to send my teammate down for treatment." Huo Yuhao said this to the referee. He didn't bother to argue with Xu Sanshi; he would settle the score later.
The referee nodded slightly, then turned to the one hundred and eight Soul Kings in charge of the protective soul tool and instructed, "Open the protective barrier."
After speaking, the referee was stunned. Right, the arena's protective barrier had always been open, so how did Huo Yuhao get in?
Besides the referee, everyone else was shocked by Xu Sanshi's strength. No one noticed how Huo Yuhao managed to pass through the protective barrier. Although the referee was curious, he couldn't bring himself to ask. Moreover, Yang Xu was too severely injured; there was no time to waste.
Huo Yuhao carefully picked up Yang Xu's bloodied and mangled body and came to the Body Sect Academy's waiting area below the stage. He gently laid Yang Xu's body on the ground and pulled over Ye Lingling, who was pale with fright. "Lingling, I'll trouble you."
Although Ye Lingling was quite frightened by Yang Xu's appearance, she would certainly not refuse Huo Yuhao's request.
Standing up, and no longer concerned with Yang Xu, Huo Yuhao had more important things to do—revenge.
"Young Master, let me go on stage," Lin Kong said to Huo Yuhao, volunteering to fight. At that moment, the team captain's eyes were bloodshot; he never expected Shrek Academy to be so ruthless.
The others also gathered around Huo Yuhao, their eyes red. Unlike Huo Yuhao, they had joined the Body Sect for a long time and had deep friendships with each other. How could they bear to see their companion nearly killed?
Huo Yuhao's gaze swept over Lin Kong and the others. Regret filled his heart at that moment. He had originally planned to crush Shrek Academy. Why had he suddenly decided to let Yang Xu fight? If it weren't for his own mischievous intentions, Yang Xu wouldn't have been injured so badly.
(End of Chapter)