Chapter 96: Steel Reinforced Iron Bones

Seeing the team seemed a bit stalled, even the attack formation was partially disrupted, and from behind a person together with Yu Tianxin surrounded Yang Xiong; in their eyes, the several Soul Elders were weak points.

From the scene, the Shrek team was clearly taking a heavy loss, even though Oscar and Ning Rongrong behind them were providing strong support, but with Tang San suppressed, the gap between the Soul Grandmasters was still too great.

Opposite them were six offensive Soul Grandmasters, while Shrek had only four members; Tang San could not abandon control of the team to switch to a single‑arrow attack, otherwise the formation would collapse even more, especially since he still had to keep an eye on the two Support Spirit Masters.

Thus both Yang Xiong and Dai Mubai had to face two opponents each, and neither of those opponents was weak; Xiao Wu and Tai Long were merely holding on, and given the situation, unless a major accident occurs, defeat seems inevitable.

However the Thunder Academy also has a weakness: although their attack power and burst potential are extreme, without support their endurance drops sharply, especially since at the start of the competition Oscar gave each person a Super Recovery Big Sausage, and the First Soul Skill consumes relatively little soul power.

Thunder Academy captain Yu Tianxin seemed a bit stirred; clearly, as captain they were eager to break through Yang Xiong's block and try to disrupt the formation of the seven Shrek members.

Yu Tianxin's body suddenly flashed with lightning, and the right arm became immensely strong, even thickening by a whole circle; the entire arm seemed covered with scales, and the five fingers resembled claws.

Yang Xiong was startled; he had seen this move before—it is the Dragon Transformation of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, a truly secret technique of that clan and the source of its great power.

Yu Tianxin's First Soul Ring flashed, and a terrifying force emanated from the right claw—it was his First Soul Skill, Thunder Dragon Claw.

Yang Xiong let out a cold snort, clenched his right hand into twin fists, the fists turning silver; ignoring everyone else's interference, he delivered a powerful punch—this was the Crushing Bone Fist.

With just that single move, Yang Xiong remained perfectly still, while Yu Tianxin stepped back several paces.

Yang Xiong's Crushing Bone Fist may look simple, but it condenses his soul power and relies on his body weight for impact; it embodies the essence of years of his fist research and is not something easily countered.

Yu Tianxin's face was full of surprise; they hadn't expected their soul skill to be blocked so easily, and in terms of strength it was far stronger than theirs—could this still be an ordinary Soul Elder?

At this moment Yu Tianxin felt humiliated—being the world's number one Beast Soul yet unable to defeat a mere Body martial soul, and the opponent was only a Soul Elder, let alone the fact that two were besieging Yang Xiong.

Yu Tianxin no longer cared about the rest of the Arena; now they only wanted to give their all to defeat the opponent before them.

Yu Tianxin's Third Soul Ring flashed, and countless bolts of lightning surged through them; the power of the Blue Electric Tyrannosaurus Soul Weapon doubled, as did their own soul power, the deep blue aura turning blue‑purple, and the whole body becoming noticeably bulkier. Clearly this was a top‑grade Lightning Attribute amplification soul skill, likely not weaker than Dai Mubai's White Tiger Vajra.

But Yang Xiong was unfazed; it was just a simple amplification soul skill. He would let Yu Tianxin see the gap between them, knowing that even with Dai Mubai's amplification, they were no match for him.

Even though Yu Tianxin used an amplification soul skill, Yang Xiong merely sprouted a layer of silver light over his body, his hands turning silver and moving at extreme speed, swiftly blocking the two attacks and occasionally counter‑striking them; clearly he was handling the fight with composure.

If Yang Xiong handling a one‑against‑two was relatively normal, the others on the Arena were in a tougher spot, especially Dai Mubai; even with the amplification of his Third Soul Skill, fighting two was still disadvantageous, particularly since Lei Tian's strength was clearly not inferior to his.

As for Xiao Wu and Tai Long, they were merely holding on; by now they had already consumed the Super Recovery Big Sausages Oscar prepared, yet the gap in strength between the sides remained significant.

Fortunately Ning Rongrong quickly amplified the others; otherwise they would have been crushed. As for Yang Xiong, he never received any amplification soul skill from start to finish. In this ordinary Arena match, Yang Xiong wanted to showcase his own strength, just as when he and Ning Rongrong entered the Soul Fighting Competition together—he fought alone the whole time, needing no one's help.

Moreover, Yang Xiong knew his soul power was far deeper than that of others of the same level; if Ning Rongrong amplified him, the drain on her would be far too great.

At that moment, Yu Tianxin clenched their teeth, the Second Soul Ring flashed, and countless bolts of lightning erupted from their body, as if to envelop Yang Xiong; it was their Second Soul Skill, Thunder Ten Thousand Pounds.

Moreover, the lightning took on a purple hue, like arrows, and under the amplification of his Third Soul Skill its power increased considerably.

The other Soul Elder besieging Yang Xiong also activated a Third Soul Skill, a large‑area lightning‑based soul skill.

When the two massive bolts of thunder converged, they seemed to stack, unleashing a terrifying explosive force; not only Yang Xiong but everyone nearby felt a tingling numbness.

Yang Xiong let out a cold snort, and his entire body instantly turned silver, especially his muscles, which seemed cloaked in a silver energy shield, making his flesh as hard as refined steel.

Facing the oncoming thunder, Yang Xiong crossed his arms in front of his head like a cross, his whole body appearing as one cohesive unit.

After countless bolts of thunder struck Yang Xiong's body, it was as if they hit refined steel—there was no apparent reaction.

When the thunder was fully released, Yang Xiong's hands gradually relaxed; although his skin had been struck by lightning, at that moment it seemed as if nothing had happened.

For many years Yang Xiong has diligently trained his body, especially researching defense; each time he fought masters like Zhao Wuji, his body was further honed countless times.

After many years of studying his primary martial soul, he also developed a defensive soul skill: Steel Reinforced Iron Bones. When using this skill, he pours all his soul power into his skin and bones; in an instant the pores of his skin contract, the body hardens as if the soul power were distributed across skin, muscle, and bone, and the blood boils, pushing the body's soul power activation to its limit.

In fact, this wasn't Yang Xiong's first time using the move; during his battle with Huo Wu, the ultimate fire technique Fire Dance Radiant Sun employed Steel Reinforced Iron Bones, otherwise he wouldn't have emerged unscathed.

However, according to Yang Xiong's estimate, even within the Soul Ancestors it would be hard to breach his defense, and even a Soul King might only stand a chance in a single battle.

Moreover, this Self-Created Spirit Skill is not merely defensive; it may later be developed into an offensive amplification soul skill.

Yang Xiong twisted the muscles on his body, a hint of contempt in his eyes: "Yu Tianxin, is this all your strength? Looks like I overestimated you."

Yu Tianxin erupted in fury, and together with the Soul Elder continued to launch rapid attacks on Yang Xiong, but Yang Xiong also reverted to his normal state to contend with the two.

If Yang Xiong's one‑against‑two without disadvantage was impressive, the rest of Shrek were in trouble.

Although Xiao Wu moves agilely and even possesses Teleportation, she is at a disadvantage against Lightning Attribute Soul Ancestors, who are generally extremely fast and bursty; the Soul Ancestor she faces wields the martial soul Thunder Blade: Lei Mie.

At that moment, the scene suddenly shifted: the two opponents of Dai Mubai merged their bodies, instantly becoming a single Soul Elder who unleashed a Third Soul Skill to confront Dai Mubai, while Lei Tian flickered and transformed into a massive thunder eagle soaring toward the two Shrek supports, Oscar and Ning Rongrong.

Tang San, who had been fighting Lei Dong, was even more shocked; a few strands of Blue Silver Grass wrapped around Oscar and Ning Rongrong, trying to pull them out of Lei Tian's attack range.

But Lei Dong's reaction speed was equally swift; he immediately used the Fourth Soul Skill, Heavenly Net of Thunder. Instantly, a Thunder Spider spat out a massive web, its strands shimmering with terrifying thunder aura. When Tang San, Oscar, and Ning Rongrong were all enveloped by the web, it acted as a group‑control skill, though animal martial soul control abilities are not instant and can be indiscriminate.

Yang Xiong was also startled; his hands simultaneously turned into silver fists and struck at Yu Tianxin and the other Soul Elder. The two felt a massive force and stepped back several paces, and in that instant Yang Xiong used the momentum of his retreat to Teleport beside Ning Rongrong and Oscar.

Tang San seemed to sense something; the Blue Silver Grass that had been binding Oscar and Ning Rongrong immediately released, and Yang Xiong, having Teleported the two, escaped the web's control range.

But Tang San wasn't that quick; clearly Lei Dong's primary target was not the two supports but Tang San himself, who was now fully inside the massive web, and even using Ghost Shadow Mirage Step wouldn't be fast enough.

Tang San gritted his teeth and directly activated the Third Soul Skill, Blue Silver Hurricane Formation; countless Blue Silver Grass instantly became razor‑sharp, forming a massive array to counter the Heavenly Net of Thunder.

However, Lei Dong's Heavenly Net of Thunder was saturated with lightning and extremely resilient; even the sharpness of the Blue Silver Hurricane Formation couldn't cut it, and the Blue Silver Grass turned blackened upon contact with the web.

At the same time, Yu Tianxin and the other Soul Elder who had been besieging Yang Xiong suddenly turned to attack Tang San, and even Lei Tian also struck at Tang San, with several of them unleashing multiple bolts of electricity.

After Yang Xiong moved Oscar and Ning Rongrong away from the Heavenly Net of Thunder, he instantly Teleported again to stand before Yu Tianxin, his hands like claws reaching for their chests, forcing them to retreat.

Compared to that, Tang San fared worse; after the interference, he missed the optimal escape moment and was directly caught by the Heavenly Net of Thunder, especially by the terrifying lightning, which left Tang San appearing to be convulsed by the shock.

Yang Xiong and Dai Mubai exchanged a glance, and Dai Mubai immediately activated the Fourth Soul Skill, White Tiger Meteor Shower. Instantly, a massive meteor shower enveloped half the Arena, putting everyone from the Thunder Academy within its range; even Lei Dong and Yu Tianxin were already struggling to cope.

Yang Xiong swiftly moved to Tang San's side, his hands like a pair of silver claws, tearing open the junction where the Heavenly Net of Thunder had fused.

But at this moment Tang San looked rather miserable; the lightning power of the Heavenly Net of Thunder was clearly overwhelming, especially since he had struggled fiercely inside it and even used the Mysterious Jade Hand, which only made him more severely shocked. Such spider‑web attacks tighten the more one struggles, leaving Tang San's body darkened, his hair standing on end, and his clothes partially torn.

Although Tang San appeared in poor condition, Yang Xiong's help freed him from the Heavenly Net of Thunder, and he quickly shouted, "Thanks, Yang Xiong."

Yang Xiong merely nodded, "How's it? Can you continue?"

Tang San's face showed a hint of ferocity: "Of course, I won't concede so easily."

However, Tang San's complexion was darkened, and his whole body bore grid‑like marks; saying that made him look somewhat comical.

(End of Chapter)