As Lei Tian rose into the air, his third and fourth Spirit Rings shone brightly in succession. Two violet rings pulsed with power around his body, and thunder elements began to gather around him at an alarming rate.
Following the strategy advised by his instructor—to end the fight quickly—Lei Tian immediately unleashed both his third and fourth Spirit Abilities.
With the activation of his Spirit Rings, lightning surged around him, and arcs of bluish-purple electricity danced across his body. Behind him, the manifestation of his Martial Soul, the Thunder Hawk, appeared—wreathed in thick arcs of lightning.
In the air, centered around Lei Tian, a massive orb of thunder energy materialized within a five-meter radius, crackling with terrifying intensity. The sky itself seemed to be dyed in shades of violet-blue.
The massive orb of lightning was like a storm ready to detonate at any moment. Lei Tian, cloaked in bluish-violet light, locked his glowing eyes onto Tang San below. The terrifying pressure from the thunder aura made the entire stadium hold its breath.
Standing calmly on the ground, Tang San stared up at the giant sphere of lightning in the air, his expression composed but serious. His clothes rustled without wind, stirred by the oppressive energy.
He had originally intended to interrupt Lei Tian's energy buildup, but quickly realized it was impossible.
As a control-type Spirit Master who used Blue Silver Grass, Tang San was reliant on ground-based attacks. His Martial Soul simply couldn't reach enemies airborne.
His jumping ability was strong, and he had thought to leap up and disrupt Lei Tian's concentration. But it was clear Lei Tian had studied him. The Thunder Hawk flew at a height just outside of Tang San's maximum leap. Worse, if he did jump, he'd be exposed in midair with nowhere to dodge.
Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track boosted Tang San's movement speed, but couldn't let him fly. Controlling Crane, Capturing Dragon was a special technique that only worked within a certain range—and Lei Tian was well outside of it. He'd even considered using hidden weapons, but this was an official match. There were rules and spectators. If he got caught, Shrek Academy would be disqualified.
Only now did Tang San fully realize—flying Spirit Masters were simply broken.
At this point, Lei Tian's attack was fully locked onto him. Escape was no longer possible. All he could do was brace for impact.
But defense had many forms—pure defense, counter-defense, preemptive attack.
Tang San chose both: defend and counterattack.
The thunder energy in the air condensed further, transforming into a colossal Thunder Hawk formed from pure lightning. Before the match, Thunderclap Academy's instructors had already thoroughly analyzed Tang San's capabilities. That was why Lei Tian had confidently taken his time to gather power—he knew Tang San lacked the means to disrupt him.
Then Lei Tian's body merged into the massive lightning hawk, and its glowing violet eyes opened—his own eyes now staring out through the energy avatar.
Tang San's aura was completely locked. With an ear-piercing shriek, the thunderhawk dove like a bolt of judgment, crashing down at blinding speed toward Tang San.
Tang San knew even if he used Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to dodge, the hawk would track him. Its aim was guided by Lei Tian's locked-on Spirit Power.
Still, Tang San moved. His form flickered and reappeared five meters to the side, barely escaping direct impact.
The thunderhawk slightly adjusted its trajectory, still hurtling toward Tang San.
Just as it entered the range of Blue Silver Grass, Tang San unleashed a flurry of abilities. His first three Spirit Rings lit up: Bind, Parasite, and Spider Web Restraint, followed immediately by Controlling Crane, Capturing Dragon and Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track.
The Spider Web Restraint was aimed at the descending thunderhawk, meant to support his redirection with Controlling Crane, Capturing Dragon. Bind and Parasite were applied to himself to form a layer of defense, while Ghost Shadow was used for evasive maneuvering.
BOOM—!
The lightning hawk exploded into the battlefield with catastrophic force, tearing a massive crater into the arena.
Although Tang San had deflected the attack slightly with his techniques and dodged using Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, the destructive lightning still clipped him.
Despite wrapping himself in layers of Blue Silver Grass, much of it was shattered by the shockwave. Tang San staggered, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. His clothes were scorched and torn.
If not for the training at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well or the immortal herbs he had taken, Tang San's body would have been far less resilient. Even now, it was already impressive he had survived the double impact of two thousand-year thunder-type Spirit Abilities from a 42nd-rank Spirit Ancestor.
Despite his injuries, Tang San quickly reactivated his Blue Silver Grass, sending it out in a burst to entangle Lei Tian.
Lei Tian had gone all in on his last attack. Following his teacher's advice, he had used both his third and fourth abilities at full power, aiming to end the fight in one move. He assumed Tang San had been completely incapacitated.
He relaxed for just a moment—too soon.
Tang San had cleverly redirected the attack and only suffered secondary damage. While it hurt, he wasn't incapacitated. And now, with his Spirit Power depleted and his guard lowered, Lei Tian couldn't react in time.
The Blue Silver Grass shot forward, coiled around him tightly, and flung him out of bounds.
The match was over.
Tang San stood trembling slightly, wiping the blood from his lips. His breath came in ragged gasps. Having defeated two thunder-type Spirit Ancestors back-to-back with only 38 ranks of Spirit Power—and no hidden weapons or poison—Tang San was running on fumes.
From the viewing platform, Yu Xiaogang and the others erupted with joy. Though relieved by the victory, Yu Xiaogang also noticed how badly Tang San had been shaken by the thunder attacks. Even though the injury wasn't critical, his concern was clear. He glanced meaningfully at Lin Jie, recalling what Lin Jie had said earlier. His expression shifted strangely.
Lin Jie, too, was impressed. Without poison or hidden weapons, Tang San still managed to defeat two Spirit Ancestors using only his core abilities. This is why he's Tang San…
Thunderclap Academy's team looked grim. Shrek had fielded only four members, yet they had lost five—including two of their strongest Spirit Ancestors. Worse, Shrek hadn't even brought out any of their own Spirit Ancestors yet.
It was clear now—victory was slipping from their grasp.
From the VIP viewing platform, Emperor Xue Ye watched with gleaming eyes. "I didn't expect Shrek Academy to gain the upper hand against Thunderclap Academy so decisively. Excellent, truly excellent. It seems Lin Jie won't even need to fight today."
Ning Fengzhi smiled faintly. "Your Majesty, can you see why Shrek was able to win with only four Spirit Elders—defeating five members of Thunderclap, including two Spirit Ancestors?"
The emperor replied, "It's clearly their strength. These children have grown far stronger since the qualifiers. Not only are they formidable in team battles, their individual combat prowess is exceptional—especially that girl, Zhu Zhuqing. I didn't expect her one-on-seven performance. And the little fatty isn't bad either. Even if his victory had an advantage due to elemental counter, his strength is undeniable. No wonder Sect Master Ning holds them in such high regard."