"Everyone, from you, I see hope. More than victory or defeat, I hope to see your talent and strength..."
In the end, everyone from Shrek Academy knelt. Although Wu Ling had used a small method, Bibi Dong did not intend to pursue the matter any further. She withdrew her gaze and began presiding over the ceremony.
After Bibi Dong's speech ended, the finals officially began.
Two days passed quickly. On the third day, the Shrek team finally faced Spirit Hall's team.
On the stage, Tang San, who had been standing at the front the whole time, finally could not hold on any longer. Borrowing the force of Cassian Glaive's slash, he quickly moved and landed beside his teammates.
"Everyone, come to my side. Gather all our power and use our final move to gamble everything."
As Tang San spoke, he released his first Spirit Skill, Binding. Dozens of Blue Silver Grass vines wrapped the seven of them firmly together.
Then, ignoring the resistance of the four hired members, Tang San used the Blue Silver Grass to force them into position. Blue light flickered across the vines. As their Spirit Power gathered from back to front, Alban sent the last of it into Tang San at the very front.
"Is this... a seven-in-one fusion skill?"
Tang San's group's actions were being broadcast live through Spirit Hall's projection Soulcraft devices. The violent Spirit Power fluctuations immediately startled many people.
A method that could gather the Spirit Power of seven people into one was not something ordinary people could accomplish. No one expected to see it from a small academy like Shrek. Many people were genuinely astonished.
In Tang San's left hand, the gray little hammer swelled against the wind. It rapidly grew to nearly ten meters. Under the sunlight, complex patterns spread across the hammer body, and a terrifying aura bloomed with dense black light.
The Clear Sky Hammer. The Clear Sky True Body. After many years, it had reappeared.
"Clear Sky True Body."
When that wheel of black light shot into the sky from Tang San's palm, almost every older powerhouse rose to their feet.
In Tang San's left hand, a giant hammer pierced toward the heavens. The hammer head was even larger than his whole body, yet in that single left hand, it was strangely steady.
This was the Tool Soul True Body, a powerful Spirit Skill that only Spirit Masters above level seventy could use. No matter what Martial Soul one had, and no matter what Spirit Ring was absorbed, the main skill of every Spirit Master's seventh Spirit Ring would inevitably be this, even if it came from a hundred-thousand-year Spirit Ring.
After the seven-in-one fusion skill, the power of seven people had gathered into Tang San. His Spirit Power amplification rose beyond level seventy. With that boost, he could use this powerful method. This was also the trump card that gave him confidence in victory.
"Ridiculous. Do you think a Tool Soul True Body produced through a seven-in-one fusion skill can reverse the situation?"
Shrek Academy had revealed its final trump card, and the power of this move truly could not be underestimated. But Spirit Hall's team was not afraid, because they had felt power even stronger than that from Wu Ling.
Cecilia Jewel's Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda rose before her. Her expression grew grave as she pushed both hands forward. Her four Spirit Rings lit at the same time.
The ring-fusion secret technique created by the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda was naturally most orthodox in the hands of a Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect disciple. Extremely condensed seven-colored divine light shot from her Martial Soul and directly entered Serena Ivory's body at the front.
Then came Avis Graves's stimulant poison, Oscar's sausages, and Blair's Spirit Power. Finally, Serena and the other two performed their Martial Soul fusion. A mighty power that was not inferior to the Clear Sky True Body appeared again on the stage.
This was also a seven-in-one Spirit Power fusion skill. But compared with Shrek's simple and crude usage, Spirit Hall's team was clearly faster in array operation and far more efficient in its application.
The final result of all those factors was that after the two attacks collided, the seven members of Spirit Hall's team were all unharmed aside from losing some Spirit Power. On Tang San's side, only Tang San, Alban, and Ash remained conscious. The other four had all fainted.
Tang San lay on the ground and calmed the internal injuries caused by the collision. He looked at the completely unharmed Spirit Hall team ahead, then turned his head to look at his own teammates. Some lay flat, others were unconscious. The contrast was like heaven and earth.
"A Spirit Leader leading three Spirit Meisters and three Spirit Elites to reach this point. I have to admit, Tang San, you truly are a praiseworthy genius. If we had not received His Highness's training these past years, we might really have lost this time."
"Unfortunately, with His Highness's help, all of our strengths have advanced by leaps and bounds. So I apologize, Tang San. Under His Highness's command, this day next year will be the anniversary of your death."
Hearing Serena Ivory's words, Tang San suddenly understood something. He burst into unrestrained laughter.
"Hahaha... hahahaha... So that is how it is. From the very beginning, there was never any chance."
After laughing, Tang San staggered to his feet. His face was pale and covered in moisture. Whether it was tears or sweat, no one could tell. The closeness of death in that moment made him understand something.
With his current self, forget saving Lyra. He did not even know whether he could survive after the tournament.
His only purpose in coming to this tournament had been to amuse Wu Ling like a clown, then obediently offer up his life at the end.
"Hmph."
Suddenly, a low, muffled snort rang out, spreading through the entire arena.
That heavy sound seemed to explode in midair. It was not loud, but it appeared so abruptly, and the dominance within it made every person's body tremble unconsciously.
A figure had appeared in the arena at some unknown moment. Countless spectators who had been paying attention to the match broke into an uproar. No one had noticed how he had arrived.
This arena was inside Spirit City. Spirit Hall's powerhouses controlled both the inside and outside. According to Spirit Hall's rules, even if a match result had already been decided, no one outside the two teams was allowed to enter the field, let alone make such a high-profile appearance.
So when this person appeared, the Spirit Hall powerhouses inside and outside the venue all moved. Aside from Wu Ling, every powerhouse in the spectator area vanished at once. Everyone appeared outside the stage as quickly as possible.
This figure that had infiltrated the arena was, unsurprisingly, Clear Sky Sage Tang Hao. His eyes fixed tightly on Wu Ling as he slowly said, "Losing once is not frightening. What is frightening is accepting it just like that. Tang San, tell me. Have you accepted it?"