Dai Mubai's face was filled with shock as he swung his tiger claws left and right, trying to use the eight-inch-long claw blades to sever the plants extending toward him.
Clunk—
A dull sound echoed.
The sharp claw blades struck the thick vines, leaving only a deep mark. Moreover, the mark was healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Dai Mubai's pupils contracted. He struck again to sever the vine, then swiftly backhanded the vines attacking from the side, sending them flying. "These are even tougher than Tang San's Blue Silver Grass! And they heal faster."
The vines and roots summoned by Li Xun bore some resemblance to Tang San's Blue Silver Grass skills.
Dai Mubai had fought Tang San at the Rose Hotel and knew well that the latter's Blue Silver Grass also possessed toughness and healing properties.
However, when compared to the plants summoned by Li Xun, it was clear that Li Xun's were superior.
"Dai Laosi, this isn't working. Stop conserving your Soul Power and clear a path for me," Ma Hongjun said urgently, his body surrounded by purple flames as he slapped away the plants reaching toward him.
The two had initially planned to attack Li Xun directly. However, they hadn't expected to be trapped by the surrounding plants before they could even take a few steps forward.
"First Soul Skill: White Tiger Protective Barrier!" Dai Mubai's body suddenly erupted with a ring of white light.
The light carried a tremendous force, forming a white barrier around Dai Mubai the moment it appeared, pushing all the plants surging from all directions away from him.
"Fatty, stay close to me," Dai Mubai said, taking a step forward while the skill was still active. "White Tiger Light Wave!"
A milky-white energy sphere shot out from his mouth, destroying the plants within a few meters in front of him. Dai Mubai seized the opportunity to advance a short distance.
With the boost from my Third Soul Skill, the power of my Second Soul Skill is now comparable to that of a level 40 Soul Honour. It seems that to quickly destroy this kid's plants, the attack power needs to surpass this threshold.
After using his Second Soul Skill twice in a row to destroy the plants, Dai Mubai gained a sudden insight.
"Haha, Mubai, you're amazing!" Ma Hongjun laughed heartily, seeing Dai Mubai's display of prowess, and quickly followed behind.
Along the way, he occasionally kept an eye on the weaker defensive spots around Dai Mubai.
Li Xun stood atop the tree canopy, glancing down at the two struggling to advance toward him, then looked at the crowd gathered at both ends of the street.
"It's time to turn up the intensity for them," he thought. Since his Martial Soul had gained the extension properties of the Azure Vine, he had many more tricks up his sleeve. In narrow spaces, he no longer needed to wait for trees to mature; he could directly extend saplings as a means of attack.
However, this crude method of using skills was somewhat more fragile compared to fully grown trees.
"Wood Release: Wood Boundary Wall."
Li Xun's Spiritual Energy flowed through his body as he clapped his hands together. The plants on both sides of the street rapidly converged, forming a wall woven from vines.
Immediately after, Li Xun made a grasping motion with one hand, and the wall sprouted dense thorns. Behind this thorny wooden wall, a row of cheval de frise also formed.
Unlike traditional cheval de frise, these lacked crossbeams or fixed structures—they were simply rows of slanted wooden spears growing from the ground.
After completing this, Li Xun flicked his finger, using the trees to bring Ning Rongrong to his side. Then, with a sweep of his gaze, he used vines to block Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun's retreat.
Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun had already reached the thorny wooden wall.
Although both were somewhat startled, their combat instincts quickly kicked in, and they began unleashing their Soul Skills without regard for Soul Power consumption to destroy the obstacle before them.
Meanwhile, Tang San, after a brief pause, seemed to have figured something out. He activated Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track and swiftly climbed onto the roof of a nearby house, attempting to bypass the obstacles Li Xun had set up on the street and directly attack him.
On the other side, Zhu Zhuqing was locked in combat with Xiao Wu.
Xiao Wu had already reached the level of a thirty-level Soul Grandmaster and had acquired her Third Soul Skill, Teleportation. Although she was no match for Zhu Zhuqing, her Soul Skills allowed her to dodge and occasionally use her Second Soul Skill, Bewitchment, to control Zhu Zhuqing, temporarily holding her own.
"Brother, what about Zhu Zhuqing?" Ning Rongrong glanced at the suspended branch beneath her feet and looked at Li Xun with unease.
Seeing Ning Rongrong's predicament, Li Xun laughed heartily and pulled her into his embrace. "I'll deal with these two annoying fellows first."
"There's another one on the roof," Ning Rongrong pointed to Tang San, who was swiftly moving across the rooftops.
The distance between them wasn't far, and it wouldn't be long before Tang San could flank them.
"Time is on our side," Li Xun smirked.
Dai Mubai's thirty-seven levels of Soul Power might seem formidable at this stage, but in reality, it wasn't. Without the ability to close the distance, the only Soul Skill he could use to influence the situation was the White Tiger Light Wave.
As for Ma Hongjun, he was even weaker.
His current Soul Power was only at twenty-nine levels, and he hadn't even obtained his third Spirit Ring. The flames that could counter plants had lost their effectiveness, leaving him with a full arsenal of Soul Power and skills but no way to use them.
"White Tiger Light Wave," Dai Mubai spat out a milky-white energy sphere, then panted as he looked at the damaged wooden wall.
He had used his skills too many times in a short period, and his Soul Power was nearly depleted. Fortunately, it was all worth it.
The wooden wall had been blasted open with a hole large enough for a person to pass through.
Although the hole was healing at an alarming rate, as long as they could get through, he and Li Xun could face each other directly. Thinking this, Dai Mubai sneered and gave Ma Hongjun a meaningful look.
Ma Hongjun understood and quickly moved past Dai Mubai, squeezing through the hole before it could close.
Dai Mubai followed closely behind.
"What the hell!" Ma Hongjun exclaimed as he emerged from the hole, his eyes widening at the sight before him.
In front of him were over a dozen Cheval de frise, their sharp points all aimed directly at him.
"Mubai, retreat!" Ma Hongjun's bulky body quickly backed up, bending down to retreat into the hole.
Just then, Dai Mubai was about to squeeze through the hole.
Seeing a fat butt about to press against his face, Dai Mubai frowned, feeling a surge of disgust. He quickly raised his hand to block Ma Hongjun's rear.
Dai Mubai had already heard Ma Hongjun's shout and naturally wouldn't push the Fatty out. But letting his face come into contact with the Fatty's butt was absolutely out of the question.
He had no choice but to retreat first and make room for Ma Hongjun.
"Damn it, Dai Mubai!" Feeling the resistance behind him, Ma Hongjun screamed hysterically as the Cheval de frise rapidly extended toward him.
He quickly activated his second Soul Skill, Phoenix of Bathing Fire, and purple flames enveloped his body. His obese figure swiftly curled into a ball, turning to face the attack with his toughest back.
Ssshhh—
The sound of flesh being pierced repeatedly echoed. Over a dozen spears were thrust into Ma Hongjun's back and buttocks.
"Ah!" Ma Hongjun curled up and knelt in the cave, his buttocks raised high as he let out a piercing scream.
"Haha, bro, I was just about to say, this Fatty's Martial Soul really resembles a barnyard chicken."
(End of Chapter)