At Salas's side, the Spirit Hall's Platinum Bishop wore a grave expression. He had to get the news back to Spirit City: Tang San wasn't just a twin-spirit master—he was Tang Hao's son.
Tang Hao was already Spirit Hall's sworn enemy. Adding a twin-spirit prodigy whose future achievements could shake the very foundations of Spirit Hall? That was something Salas would never allow.
"Messenger, deliver word at once. All news about Tang San must be sent directly to Her Holiness the Pope."
"Yes, my lord."
The armored Spirit Hall guard standing by Salas saluted and sprinted toward the edge of the arena.
Meanwhile, the stadium outside the spirit battle stage was in an uproar. The crowd roared with disbelief and awe at the sight of Tang San's Clear Sky Hammer.
"The Clear Sky Hammer—the number one weapon spirit in the world! I actually got to see it with my own eyes!"
"And that's not all. Tang San has two martial spirits—he's a twin-spirit genius! This kind of talent only appears once in a century. His future achievements will be unmatched!"
…
While Shui Bing'er and her team were shocked, their vigilance only grew sharper.
"Sisters, Shrek Academy has only one fighter left standing. All together now—let's bring him down."
Shui Yue'er charged forward with her teammates.
Tang San no longer held back.
"Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track!"
His movements blurred into afterimages, darting among the Skywater girls as if they were standing still. With the Clear Sky Hammer raised, he struck without mercy—one hammer blow for each opponent. In less than a minute, five of them had been smashed off the stage, leaving only Shui Bing'er in the air and Xue Wu at the back untouched.
"Shui Bing'er—you dared bully Xiao Wu. Today, I'll make you pay for that."
Tang San pushed off the ground, hammer raised high, swinging straight at Shui Bing'er in midair. But no matter how fast Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track was, it couldn't reach an airborne opponent. And the hammer itself weighed over 500 jin, slowing him down even further.
Shui Bing'er beat her icy phoenix wings and easily dodged his strike. Seeing Tang San land again, she called back to her teammate, voice sharp:
"Xue Wu, get down from the stage!"
Catching the seriousness in Shui Bing'er's expression, Xue Wu instantly understood. She jumped off the stage without hesitation.
"Fifth Spirit Skill—Ice Phoenix Meteor Strike!"
A colossal Frost Ice Phoenix, forged from her overwhelming spirit power, spread its wings. Its body alone covered half the battle platform. With a piercing cry, it dove straight toward Tang San.
Tang San had only built up the force of nine hammer strikes. With nowhere to run, he could only roar defiantly and swing upward to meet her descending blow.
"Ahhh—!"
The collision erupted in a dazzling explosion of light and energy.
The protective barrier around the stage cracked instantly. Fractures spread wider and deeper until—
*Boom!*
The shield shattered. A tidal wave of raw spirit power burst outward toward the audience.
In a heartbeat, several Spirit Emperors and stronger experts struck together, dispersing the shockwave and saving the crowd from disaster.
As the energy storm subsided, Shui Bing'er descended gracefully to the ground. Not far in front of her lay Tang San, battered and blood-soaked, unconscious amidst the rubble.
The announcer's voice trembled with both awe and excitement.
"C-Congratulations to Skywater Academy on another victory! In the match between Skywater Academy and Shrek Academy—Skywater triumphs!"
Shui Bing'er spared not a glance for Tang San's fallen form. Instead, she turned calmly to check on her teammates' condition before stepping down from the stage.
Up in the stands, Ignaz had expected this outcome all along. In his estimation, Shrek shouldn't have lasted more than a minute. That they managed to endure nearly two minutes was proof that he had underestimated Tang San's leadership.
…
Later, in the rest area, Shrek's battered fighters were carried back by staff. After receiving some quick treatment from healing spirit masters, they slowly regained consciousness.
Ma Hongjun slammed his fist into the wooden table, face burning with shame as he glanced at Xiao Wu, Ning Rongrong, and Jiang Zhu.
"Damn it—my evil fire again! This time everyone saw me naked. Boss Dai, what should I do?"
Dai Mubai chuckled dryly. "What can you do? You're the one whose evil fire exploded out of nowhere. Just accept it."
"Boss Dai, you—!"
Before Ma Hongjun could retort, Yu Xiaogang stepped forward with a grave expression.
"You all fought well. Once the preliminaries are over, we'll make a trip to the Shui family in Skywater City. Fatty, we'll petition for Shui Bing'er's hand on your behalf. If the two of you can marry, that will be ideal. If not, even a close bond might help suppress the evil fire in your body."
"The Ice Phoenix spirit isn't ordinary. I suspect Shui Bing'er suffers from a similar affliction—where you burn with uncontrollable fire, she freezes with uncontrollable cold."
Ma Hongjun's eyes lit up. "So you're saying we could complement each other? Then she's heaven's gift for me—my destined wife!"
The thought of marrying Shui Bing'er, whose beauty rivaled Xiao Wu and Rongrong, sent him into a frenzy of excitement.
Oscar clapped him on the shoulder with a grin. "Fatty, if Shui Bing'er really agrees to date you, you'll be the luckiest bastard alive. That's a blessing you don't deserve."
The students laughed, but Yu Xiaogang quickly sobered them again.
"Don't celebrate too soon. Our next match, four days from now, is against the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy's first team."
In truth, he would've preferred for Shrek to concede. But with twelve wins and four losses, if they forfeited now—even if they won the last round—they might still fail to advance, depending on the other teams' standings.
Since surrender wasn't an option, Tang San and the others would have no choice but to fight.