Just as Tang San was deep in thought, the situation in the Soul Arena suddenly changed drastically.
Originally holding an overwhelming advantage over his opponent, Dai Mubai's expression suddenly twisted. Veins bulged on his arms as he threw his punches, his skin flushing red, and thick strands of blood vessels spread like spiderwebs around his meridians.
Boom!
In the next second, the meridians in Dai Mubai's hands suddenly burst open, and a mist of blood exploded outward.
His aura plummeted instantly. He let out a miserable scream, and his body abruptly halted in mid-motion.
Seeing this, his opponent—though unsure what had happened—wasn't about to pass up such a golden opportunity. He immediately surged forward and launched a storm of furious attacks at Dai Mubai.
The terrifying onslaught came down like a torrential rain, merciless and relentless.
His opponent's spirit was also a beast-type martial soul. Although far inferior to the White Tiger, he held the upper hand in soul power level.
Bang bang bang bang bang bang!
In an instant, the tables turned!
Dai Mubai screamed continuously, his hands limp and powerless. He couldn't muster even the slightest resistance to the assault.
Each punch landed with the sound of bones cracking.
"Not good!"
"What's happening to Mubai?!"
In the audience, the previously relaxed Shrek students' faces changed drastically. Flender even stood up in alarm, his eyes fixed anxiously on Dai Mubai in the arena.
But when he saw Dai Mubai's limp, blood-soaked arms, cold sweat instantly poured down his forehead.
"Mubai's meridians… they've exploded!"
At Flender's shout, everyone from Shrek was stunned. Yu Xiaogang's face turned especially pale.
There was only one reason meridians could rupture—
It had to be caused by a soul power training method.
Aside from Yu Xiaogang, Oscar, Ma Hongjun, and Yu Tianheng also turned pale.
Like Dai Mubai, they too had trained using Yu Xiaogang's soul power cultivation technique and had used it frequently in battle.
They had believed that with Shao Xin's recovery beans, even if there were minor risks, it wouldn't become serious.
But Dai Mubai's current condition terrified them and made them seriously question Yu Xiaogang's training method.
Tang San also frowned deeply.
He wasn't worried about himself—he had stopped following his teacher's training method long ago.
Though he had used it for a while, with his medical and poison knowledge, he had adjusted his condition before it ever became dangerous.
What he regretted was that Dai Mubai had been his best research subject, and now he was in such a condition—how could he continue his studies?
"This is bad. Mubai was already seriously injured. If he doesn't concede now, the damage to his body may become irreversible."
Flender's voice was filled with urgency, and a faint soul power fluctuation rippled from his body.
As a Soul Saint, if he were to intervene by force, he'd definitely offend the Soul Arena's backers.
But if it truly came to a life-threatening moment, he wouldn't hesitate to act.
Thankfully, in the final moment, Dai Mubai's opponent showed restraint. Instead of finishing him off, he gave him a brutal beating and then kicked him out of the Soul Arena.
"Old Shao, quick! Come with me to check on Mubai!"
Seeing that the opponent hadn't gone too far, Flender sighed in relief and called out to Shao Xin in the crowd.
"Got it!"
Shao Xin understood the gravity of the situation and immediately responded.
Without delay, Flender activated his martial soul. A pair of owl wings sprouted from his back, and he grabbed Shao Xin in both hands as they flew toward where Dai Mubai had fallen.
When they reached him, Dai Mubai was already unconscious. His sleeves were torn, revealing his blood-soaked arms.
Hiss—
Flender and Shao Xin both gasped sharply at the sight.
"All the meridians in Mubai's arms have burst," Shao Xin said gravely.
"Can he be saved?" Flender asked in a low voice.
Shao Xin shook his head and replied, "His life is no danger. But his meridians have completely ruptured. With my ability, I'm afraid I can't repair them."
"Boss Flender, you know this—my recovery bean is only my third soul skill. Its healing is very limited."
Hearing this, Flender let out a long sigh, full of self-blame.
"Sigh… this is all my fault. I never should've let them train with that soul power method."
Shao Xin fell silent for a moment, then said, "Maybe the method itself isn't the problem. At least, Teacher Qi Lin's version of the soul power training seems to be fine. Otherwise, Xiao Wu's meridians would've been ruined long ago."
"The issue may lie with the version taught by the Grandmaster."
Flender gave a bitter laugh.
He had naively thought that if Qi Lin could develop such a method, then Yu Xiaogang surely could as well.
But who was Qi Lin?
He was a once-in-a-century genius. What he claimed was 'casual research' could be something an ordinary person might never grasp in their lifetime.
And in comparison, Yu Xiaogang—despite his title—was still just a regular person.
Thinking about how Ma Hongjun, Oscar, and the others had also trained using Yu Xiaogang's method made Flender feel dizzy.
"Old Shao, give Mubai two recovery beans. Let's stabilize his condition first."
"Got it," Shao Xin answered firmly. He quickly produced two recovery beans and fed them to Dai Mubai.
When Flender and Shao Xin returned with the unconscious Dai Mubai, the Shrek team was shocked by his miserable state.
Ma Hongjun and Oscar, in particular, turned pale as ghosts, as if seeing their own tragic fate in his.
"Grandmaster, what's going on?! Didn't you say there wouldn't be any problems?"
"How did Boss Dai end up like this?"
"You fraud of a teacher!"
Ma Hongjun's eyes were red as he roared at Yu Xiaogang.
When nothing had gone wrong, he had been the one who praised Yu Xiaogang the most—he'd even quietly belittled Qi Lin to elevate him.
But now that things had gone south, he was the first to lash out in anger.
The others from Shrek, especially Oscar and Yu Tianheng, only watched coldly. No one came to Yu Xiaogang's defense.
Yu Tianheng, in particular, deeply regretted ever learning that damn soul control method. If he suffered physical damage, how could he ever inherit the position of clan head?
Ma Hongjun's harsh rebuke left Yu Xiaogang frozen, his face deathly pale, and his body trembling slightly.
"No… how could this happen…"
"Based on my calculations, even if there was some minor damage, with Teacher Shao Xin around, there shouldn't have been any lasting harm!"
"We've all been training like this for months and nothing happened before…"