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Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun felt a wave of relief wash over them when they saw that Tang San hadn't been knocked unconscious by the electricity.
They were now incredibly thankful that Tang San had retracted his Blue Silver Grass; otherwise, there was no telling how much longer the two of them would have been electrocuted!
The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon's electrical attribute was simply too vicious.
After the lesson from this exchange, the four Shrek members no longer dared to connect themselves to Tang San.
It was a perfect example of interconnected misfortune!
As long as one of them was struck by the blue lightning, the other four would suffer right along with them!
The most miserable of the five was Tang San, who served as the central hub connecting them all.
With just a little guidance from Yu Tian-Heng, Tang San had become a lightning rod for all the attacks.
On the other side, Zhu Zhuqing's tense nerves eased slightly upon seeing that Tang San hadn't been directly eliminated.
Zhu Zhuqing began to direct the team, "Dai Mubai, you go deal with Yu Tian-Heng. I'll handle the 'Ghost Leopard'!"
Dai Mubai thought Zhu Zhuqing's point was very reasonable and was just about to move and switch opponents with her.
Just then, a voice crackled through the air.
"It's... bzzzt... no use. Everyone, consume your flying sausages. Initiate... bzzzt... the second plan!" Tang San commanded angrily.
Hearing the words "second plan," Oscar cast a complicated glance at Ning Rongrong.
"The second plan?" Zhu Zhuqing's expression was filled with confusion. There was a second plan? How did I not know about it?
She was aware of the first plan, which had been proposed by Yu Xiaogang.
The frontline members were to continuously harass Yu Tian-Heng, while Tang San would help them evade Yu Tian-Heng's attacks.
This was intended to make Yu Tian-Heng focus his attention on Tang San, luring him into breaking formation to attack.
Once Yu Tian-Heng was isolated, the group would swarm and eliminate him.
However, the Royal Team's tactical arrangement completely defied the Shrek Team's expectations. The Royal Team's main attacker turned out to be the 'Ghost Leopard,' Oslew.
Yu Tian-Heng, meanwhile, had been observing the situation from behind the 'Black Tortoise' spirit masters.
Although Yu Tian-Heng's target was indeed Tang San, he didn't rush into the Shrek Team's encirclement to attack him.
Instead, he sent his lightning, effectively turning himself into a long-range lightning mage.
Therefore, Yu Xiaogang's first plan was declared bankrupt before it even had a chance to begin.
As for the second plan, Zhu Zhuqing was completely unaware of its existence.
Ning Rongrong's eyes widened. What second plan?
Everyone eats a flying sausage? She hadn't even been given one!
With a sense of helplessness, Zhu Zhuqing swallowed the unpleasant-tasting flying sausage, and in an instant, the entire Shrek Team took to the sky!
Only Ning Rongrong was left standing alone on the stage.
Yu Feng instantly sensed that something was wrong. Why had six members of the Shrek Team taken flight?
He immediately flew sideways, increasing the distance between himself and the six airborne Shrek members.
Zhu Zhuqing looked at Tang San, her face filled with questions.
Tang San didn't answer her unspoken question, instead shouting loudly, "Bzzzt... Fire together!!"
On the ground, Oslew saw the six Shrek members all ascend. From his perspective, after the Shrek Five Devils all took to the air, Ning Rongrong, who remained on the ground, was instantly exposed in his line of sight.
A perfect opportunity!
Oslew didn't care if it was a trap, a Shrek tactic, or simply bait that they had put out.
Leaving a support-type Spirit Master completely exposed to an agility-type Spirit Master?
Oslew instantly accelerated, rushing toward Ning Rongrong. He decided to eliminate the 'Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda' first!
The very moment Oslew made his move, Tang San had just finished giving the command to 'fire together.'
At that moment, Zhu Zhuqing instantly understood Tang San's intention.
He was going to sacrifice Ning Rongrong in exchange for an opportunity for the Shrek Five Devils to shoot at Ye Lengling!
After the Shrek Five Devils were equipped with hidden weapons, Ning Rongrong's supportive enhancement role was significantly diminished.
Mechanical-type hidden weapons would not receive any amplification from Ning Rongrong's spirit abilities!
Tang San was confident that his hidden weapons could completely annihilate the Royal Team's back row!
From a tactical standpoint, if Tang San could eliminate Ye Lengling, then this strategy was undeniably correct.
With their hidden weapons, the Shrek Five Devils were not overly reliant on Ning Rongrong's buffs.
On the other side, if the 'Nine Heart Flowering Apple' wasn't taken down, the rest of the Royal Team would be virtually impossible to defeat!
But, Ning Rongrong was one of Zhu Zhuqing's dearest friends, and she would never abandon Ning Rongrong!
Zhu Zhuqing's first spirit ability instantly flared to life, her body transforming into a purple afterimage as she pursued the other black afterimage!
Ning Rongrong watched as everyone else rose into the air, leaving her abandoned and alone on the stage.
A wave of sorrow and grievance struck her heart and brought a sting to her nose.
She had been abandoned by the Shrek members once again!
The last time, if she hadn't met Ye Lan.
She truly would have started to doubt herself, eventually losing her sense of self!
She never imagined that after spending so much time with the Shrek team, they wouldn't even inform her about a tactic that involved sacrificing her.
If they had told her, Ning Rongrong would have been able to accept the team's tactical arrangement, but she had been kept completely in the dark.
At that moment, Ning Rongrong instantly understood why Tang San hadn't given her a flying sausage earlier.
It turned out she was the one being sacrificed; in Tang San's eyes, Oscar was more useful than she was.
Just as Ning Rongrong was about to give up the struggle, two rays of light suddenly appeared in her colorless world!
One ray of light was a sun-like brilliance coming from the substitutes' bench!
That light seemed to be shouting something loudly, and although Ning Rongrong couldn't hear the distant cheers, she knew they were cheering for her!
The other ray of light was a purple glow chasing after the black afterimage!
Zhu Zhuqing shouted at the top of her lungs, "Rongrong!! Get moving!!"
Ning Rongrong's eyes, which had been red with grievance, instantly curved into crescent moons. She broke into a smile through her tears.
At this moment, she understood one thing clearly:
Even if the entire world chose to give up on Ning Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing and Ye Lan would never forsake her!
A yellow light flashed around Ning Rongrong's body as the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda's buff was applied to herself and Zhu Zhuqing.
Spirit Power increase, one hundred percent!
Ning Rongrong instantly broke into a run—she was very familiar with running!
Seeing Ning Rongrong start to move, Zhu Zhuqing breathed a sigh of relief.
If Rongrong hadn't moved, then before she could catch up to the 'Ghost Leopard.'
The 'Ghost Leopard,' Oslew, would have definitely reached Rongrong a step ahead of her.
After Ning Rongrong's second spirit ring lit up, Zhu Zhuqing's speed instantly jumped to another level.
Zhu Zhuqing was now under the effect of three different speed enhancements.
They were 'Civet - Speed Form': a sixty percent speed increase.
'Hellish Rush': a one hundred percent speed increase.
'Seven Treasure Glazed Tile - Speed': a thirty percent speed increase. In a flash, the purple afterimage appeared directly behind Oslew.
A set of purple claw marks slashed towards Oslew!
Oslew suddenly felt a chill on the back of his neck. He turned his head and caught a glimpse of the 'Hell Civet' Zhu Zhuqing already behind him. It was completely too late for Oslew to dodge!
Oslew's pupils contracted instantly. A purple spirit light enveloped his entire body as his third spirit ring flared to life!
"Leopard Shadow Clone!"
A leopard-shaped light projection shot out from behind Oslew.
The light-projection's leopard claw collided with the purple claw marks in an instant. The shadow and the person were evenly matched; neither could gain an advantage over the other!
After using his Leopard Shadow Clone to delay Zhu Zhuqing, Oslew gained a brief window of time to turn around.
Oslew spun around, his body sliding backward due to inertia!
However, under the extreme speed of his 'Shadow Steps,' Oslew's legs became a blur of afterimages.
In less than two seconds, Oslew halted his backward slide and charged fiercely toward Zhu Zhuqing!
The Leopard Shadow Clone and Oslew pounced on Zhu Zhuqing from the front and back!
Zhu Zhuqing drew 'Nightfall,' twisting her body to narrowly dodge the Leopard Shadow Clone's pounce.
The Nightfall in her hand instantly slashed diagonally at the clone. At this moment, Ning Rongrong, who had been fleeing, noticed that the 'Ghost Leopard' was no longer chasing her and immediately chanted, "The Seven Treasures are known, the first is called: Strength!"
The moment Zhu Zhuqing twisted to strike the Leopard Shadow Clone, her strength was instantly amplified by Ning Rongrong.
A purple line was drawn through the air, and the Leopard Shadow Clone was instantly split in two.
After his Leopard Shadow Clone was destroyed, Oslew instead grinned wickedly:
"As expected of Captain Ye's student. Truly terrifying!"
Oslew transformed into a black crescent moon, lunging at Zhu Zhuqing.
Zhu Zhuqing struggled to turn back, holding her sword horizontally in a reverse grip to block the impending black crescent moon!
Seeing Zhu Zhuqing turn, Oslew instantly retracted his leopard claws.
Oslew had no desire to test the sharpness of the sword in Zhu Zhuqing's hand with his own claws!
At this moment, Oslew took the opportunity to drop his body completely low to the ground, using both palms to push off for a powerful upward kick.
Zhu Zhuqing's one-hundred-percent speed bonus from 'Hellish Rush' had already worn off. She was unable to accelerate backward to dodge the 'Ghost Leopard's' kick.
Zhu Zhuqing held her sword in a reverse grip, her other hand bracing the blade.
She used the flat of 'Nightfall's' blade to barely block Oslew's rising kick.
Bang!
Zhu Zhuqing was instantly kicked back more than ten meters.
Noticing that Zhu Zhuqing's speed had dropped significantly, Oslew showed no mercy.
Before Zhu Zhuqing even hit the ground, Oslew had already dashed to her position.
As for Zhu Zhuqing, she had already sheathed 'Nightfall' while being sent flying.
Zhu Zhuqing now assumed a swordsman's stance, the sheathed 'Nightfall' poised and ready to strike.
A yellow light emanated from the black afterimage as his first spirit ring lit up!
Oslew stacked the one-hundred-percent speed bonus from his second spirit ring, which provided a massive boost to his first spirit ability.
Three giant, pitch-black crescent moons instantly shot towards Zhu Zhuqing!
Clang!!
"Sword Drawing Slash!"
A thin, dark line appeared in the space where Oslew stood.
A bloody mark appeared on Oslew's neck, and he could now feel a chilling sensation spreading from it.
At the same time, Oslew's ferocious black claws also appeared at Zhu Zhuqing's neck.
The two of them were frozen in this very instant!
Oslew smiled and said, "Truly worthy of being Captain Ye's student. If you hadn't held back, I'm afraid I would have been decapitated!"
Zhu Zhuqing was panting heavily; the various enhancements had taken a toll on her body.
Gasping for breath, Zhu Zhuqing said, "You are also very strong! Thank you for stopping in time, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to see my teacher again."
Oslew said helplessly, "My spirit power level is much higher than yours!"
Zhu Zhuqing shook her head. "Without Ning Rongrong's buffs, I couldn't keep up with your speed at all."
Oslew then proposed, "How about this, we'll call it a draw between us. How about we leave the stage to the others?"
"Alright!" Zhu Zhuqing didn't want to stay on the stage for another moment. She felt a sense of betrayal from the Shrek Five Devils.
The Shrek Team's second plan had actually been kept secret from both her and Ning Rongrong. Zhu Zhuqing turned and leaped off the stage.
Seeing Zhu Zhuqing and Oslew withdraw from the match, Ning Rongrong hurriedly called out, "Zhuqing! Wait for me!"
Having been abandoned, Ning Rongrong had no desire to use any more of her spirit abilities for the Shrek Five Devils.
Shortly after stepping off the stage, Ning Rongrong immediately grabbed Zhu Zhuqing's arm and said, "Zhuqing, look behind you, it's so beautiful!!"
Returning to one minute earlier, the ascended Shrek Five Devils all aimed their hands down at everyone on the Royal Team!
Swish!
Swish!
Swish!
Countless hidden projectiles shot out from the sleeves of the Shrek Five Devils!
If the Royal Team's formation had been the same as usual, with Shi Mo and Shi Mo at the very front, then Dugu Yan and Ye Lengling in the back row would have been completely exposed to the attack range of the Shrek Five Devils' hidden weapons.
After all, this was an attack fired almost vertically downwards from a high altitude, covering an area that couldn't be compared to a flat trajectory.
When Yu Feng saw the countless projectiles coming towards him, he instantly flew to Shi Mo's side, standing together with Dugu Yan and Ye Lengling.
A yellow spirit light shone from the second spirit rings of Shi Mo and Shi Mo.
"Black Tortoise Shield!"
"Black Tortoise Shield!!"
The two shouted in unison, and the turtle shells on their backs instantly detached from their muscular frames.
The turtle shells split into two massive Black Tortoise shields, one in front and one behind.
Facing the airborne Shrek Five Devils, the Royal Team now had a total of four shields in front and behind them.
Ting! Ting!
Countless sleeve arrows struck the Black Tortoise Shields but failed to break through their defense, all falling harmlessly to the ground.
The members of the Royal Team were all safe and sound under the cover of the 'Black Tortoise Shields.'
In the air, Tang San frowned. He hadn't expected his support-swapping tactic, which he had developed while keeping it secret from Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing, to fail so completely.
He knew that the combination of 'flying sausages' and 'sleeve arrows' was a tactic that even a team full of Spirit Ancestors couldn't handle.
He never thought the Royal Team's 'Black Tortoise' spirit masters would be so troublesome!
What gave Tang San the biggest headache was why one of the 'Black Tortoise' spirit masters was always staying near the 'Nine Heart Flowering Apple.'
Why didn't you come to the front and act as a vanguard?
Ye Lan's cautious tactical arrangement had completely overturned Tang San's trump card, causing his efforts to fall short!
In the Royal Team's back row, Dugu Yan, who was sheltering under Shi Mo's shield, now felt a wave of lingering fear.
She couldn't believe that Ye Lan had been right; Tang San had really used hidden weapons.
What was most ruthless was not just that Tang San used hidden weapons, but that all five of the Shrek Five Devils had used them!
If Ye Lan hadn't arranged for Shi Mo to stay by her and Ye Lengling's side.
She couldn't imagine how many arrows she and Lengling would have endured without Shi Mo's protection!
After all, just as Ye Lan had said, the poison mist could only block people.
The poison mist could not block these hidden projectiles!
Click! Click! Click!
At this point, the Shrek Five Devils had fired all their sleeve arrows, and the firing mechanisms were making empty clicking sounds.
Under the shield, Dugu Yan heard that no more hidden weapons were hitting the 'Black Tortoise Shield' and the sound of the empty firing mechanisms.
The suppressed anger in Dugu Yan's heart could no longer be contained.
"Jade Phosphor Purple Poison!!!"
Shi Mo instantly retracted the 'Black Tortoise Shield.'
An enormous cloud of thick, purple mist erupted from the ground, surging towards the five members of the Shrek Team.
At this moment, the Shrek Five Devils had no way to dodge Dugu Yan's 'Jade Phosphor Purple Poison.'
The flight granted by the 'flying sausage' was not nearly as agile as the flight granted by a 'flying-type' martial soul like Yu Feng's.
Furthermore, to increase the power of their sleeve arrows, the Shrek team had positioned themselves extremely close to the Royal Team!
Facing this massive cloud of purple mist, Tang San's expression remained unchanged; on the contrary, he was full of confidence.
The reason he could assure his teacher that he could handle the Jade Phosphor Serpent's poison was that he had bought several jugs of yellow wine.
By using the yellow wine in combination with Ma Hongjun's Phoenix Fire-Wire, this purple mist was nothing to worry about.
Tang San instantly retrieved several jugs of yellow wine from his 'Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges,' and using his hidden weapon techniques, he sprinkled all the wine into the Jade Phosphor Purple Poison!
As Tang San threw the wine, the flames in Ma Hongjun's mouth also began to gather.
After sprinkling the wine, Tang San said confidently, "Xiao Wu, brother will show you a fireworks display."
Xiao Wu flew beside Tang San, tightly holding his right hand.
They were waiting for a fireworks show.
Dugu Yan, seeing Ma Hongjun gathering flames, immediately shouted to Yu Feng beside her, "Yu Feng!! Now's your chance!!"
"Winds of Fury!!"
A violent hurricane blew fiercely upwards from below, and countless wind blades slashed into the poison mist.
The 'Jade Phosphor Purple Poison' mist, along with the countless droplets of wine Tang San had thrown, was instantly blown towards Tang San and his group by the innumerable wind blades of 'Winds of Fury.'
Tang San's vision was now completely purple, and his nose was filled with the stench of poison and the smell of alcohol.
Tang San suddenly had a bad feeling, and his scalp tingled.
He wanted to immediately stop Ma Hongjun from releasing the Phoenix Fire-Wire, but Ma Hongjun's Phoenix Fire-Wire was not something that could be stopped on command.
Even Ma Hongjun himself could only watch as the condensed Phoenix Fire-Wire in his mouth shot out instantly into the purple air.
BOOM!
The flames instantly ignited the 'Jade Phosphor Purple Poison' mist and the evaporated alcohol in the air.
The massive cloud of purple mist was instantly detonated into a ball of violet fireworks!
Ye Lengling looked up at the purple fireworks in the sky and murmured, "How beautiful."
Reacting in the same way as Ye Lengling were all the members of the Royal Team present, as well as every spectator in the audience.
The audience was now in a complete uproar; it was the first time they had ever seen such beautiful fireworks.
In the Shrek team's rest area, Yu Xiaogang saw Tang San being engulfed by the purple flames and exclaimed in shock, "Little San!!"
Flander, being a Spirit Saint close to the Spirit Douluo level, had a different perspective from Yu Xiaogang.
He patted Yu Xiaogang's shoulder and said, "Xiaogang, don't worry! Although the purple flames look very powerful, Little San and the others aren't seriously injured!"
He suppressed the strange feeling in his heart and said, "Xiao Wu, it's okay. Even if you've become ugly, I won't dislike you."
After hearing Tang San's attempt at comfort, Xiao Wu cried even harder.
"You're calling me ugly!!! I'm never speaking to you again!!"
"I..."
"That's not what I meant..." Tang San was at a loss for words.
(End of Chapter)