"Whoosh—~!"
The sound of retching broke the momentary silence.
Shi Mo, the sturdy defender of the Royal Fight Team, couldn't hold it in any longer. He bent over and instantly threw up on the side of the stage. He retched violently, almost emptying everything he had eaten the previous day.
It was simply too disgusting.
In all his life as a Spirit Master, despite facing soul beasts and dangerous criminals, he had never encountered such a vile opponent.
"Who the hell would have thought?" Shi Mo wiped his mouth, his face pale with rage.
In total, Shi Mo had only fought two team battles involving Tang San. The first was that memorable night at the Soto Fighting Arena. This one, right here at the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, was the second.
In both instances, Tang San had appeared as his opponent.
Normally, fighting the same person twice was nothing special. But what made Shi Mo feel cursed was this absurd, recurring nightmare. He was forced to experience this biological horror show twice. Once wasn't enough to disgust him? Fate had decided he had to go through it a second time?
Shi Mo's anger instantly flared up, burning hotter than his nausea.
"If I don't teach this Tang San a lesson today," he swore internally, his eyes narrowing dangerously, "then I don't deserve to be called Shi Mo!"
"Damn it, what bad luck!"
Shi Mo now felt uncomfortable all over just by looking at the figure standing in the filth. His skin crawled. He knew that only by kicking this disgusting thing off the stage would his mood perhaps improve.
The next second, under everyone's horrified gaze, Shi Mo violently threw the heavy tortoise shield in his hand.
"Go!"
The shield spun through the air with terrifying momentum. Its target was directly Tang San!
Tang San was clearly a bit flustered. He tried to summon his martial soul to defend himself, but his Blue Silver Grass had no power to resist the sheer weight and force of the spinning tortoise shield. It could be said that his defenses shattered upon impact.
"Bang!"
Tang San was knocked back, stumbling. He felt that his spirit power was already dangerously low. Moreover, the impact of being sent flying earlier and landing heavily on the hard stage had taken a severe toll.
A sharp, searing pain shot up from his lower body. This impact had caused the sensitive wound on Tang San's backside—an injury from his "punishment" days ago which was almost healed—to crack open violently.
The intense pain made him break out in a fresh layer of cold sweat.
Adding to that misery, the recent "explosion" from his stomach had created its own havoc. Not only did it give Tang San new physical discomforts, but the reopening of old wounds and the creation of new abrasions were now simultaneously merging with those filthy substances coating his pants.
Tang San knew that in his current situation, he was in grave danger. He needed to clean his wounds immediately. If he continued to maintain this state, the wounds were very likely to become infected by the filth.
Such a situation was unimaginable for Tang San, a master of poisons and medicine. He knew exactly how bad this was.
"Buzz—~!"
However, Tang San's mind stirred with stubborn resolve. All the remaining spirit power in his body was mobilized by him.
Even though the situation was urgent and humiliating, he didn't want to admit defeat just yet.
Tang San could imagine how disappointed his teacher, Yu Xiaogang, and the others below the stage would be if he just quit now. Therefore, he had already made up his mind.
"Even if I lose," he thought through gritted teeth, "I have to be knocked off the dueling stage! I will not walk off!"
"Swish—~!"
With a wave of his hand, several strands of Blue Silver Grass emerged from the ground under Tang San's control.
The Blue Silver Grass spiraled upwards, moving to intercept his attacker. Instantly, the vines entangled Shi Mo's feet, binding him in place.
Shi Mo immediately felt a wave of nausea hit him again.
Because Tang San was currently standing at the epicenter of the filthy substances, even the Blue Silver Grass he released from that area was in an "enchanted" state. The vines were coated in slime.
Now, Shi Mo's boots were already unbearable to look at. He could even smell an unbearable stench wafting up from his feet where the vines touched him.
Shi Mo hurriedly circulated his spirit power to seal his sense of smell, reducing the impact on himself. Then, with a gentle wave of his right hand, the tortoise shield that had flown out returned to him like a boomerang.
With a sharp rotation of the tortoise shield's edge, the Blue Silver Grass was easily cut off.
Afterward, Shi Mo, holding the tortoise shield, instantly flashed out. In the blink of an eye, he had already closed the distance, arriving five zhang (approx. 15 meters) away from Tang San.
At the same time, the rest of the dueling stage also continued the previous battles. Huo Feng and the others were still fighting, but both sides tacitly ignored the isolated duel between Tang San and Shi Mo. It was as if there was an invisible "quarantine zone" around them that no one else wanted to enter.
Tang San clenched his fists. He had already been holding his breath for a while now.
He relied on the Mysterious Heaven Skill's internal circulation to sustain himself without inhaling the foul air. Although he might be able to tolerate the situation a bit more than others due to his mental fortitude, his current position could be said to be right in the middle of hell. He had to endure the shame and the threat of attacks from all directions.
If he didn't hold his breath, the stench alone would break his concentration.
Tang San was gambling now; he was betting that his opponent, Shi Mo, wouldn't dare to enter his "Domain" of filth to fight him in melee range. His guess was logically correct; most sane people truly wouldn't dare to step into that mess.
But Tang San couldn't imagine that he was about to face a crazy, ruthless person pushed to the brink of rage.
Finally, after walking to a distance of four zhang from Tang San, Shi Mo stopped.
His brows were tightly furrowed. Looking at the large area of slick filth in front of him, his stomach churned again. Under any other circumstances, he would never have charged in.
But he looked down at his feet. They were already soiled by the vines.
"I'm already dirty," Shi Mo realized with a dark expression. "I really don't care that much anymore."
If he didn't knock Tang San down personally, Shi Mo felt he wouldn't be able to quell the hatred in his heart!
"Swish—~!"
Under the horrified gazes of the audience below, Shi Mo actually charged alone into the "minefield" of filth.
"W-what?!"
Tang San was greatly alarmed; his eyes widened in shock. He never expected that this Shi Mo would be so crazy! How dare he!
On the other side of the dueling stage, Huo Feng, who was fighting against Dai Mubai and Yu Tianheng alone with ease, was able to spare a glance or two towards Tang San's side.
When he saw Shi Mo actually charging towards Tang San, completely disregarding those filthy substances splashing under his boots, he was completely stunned.
"Tsk tsk tsk," Huo Feng clicked his tongue. "He's truly a ruthless person."
As for Flender and Zhao Wuji watching from below the stage, they couldn't bear to watch anymore. They covered their eyes or looked away.
Such an absurd battle was truly an eyesore, and it was also sickening. Just thinking that Tang San was nominally a member of the Shrek Team made Flender furious.
Not far away, Yu Xiaogang's face was ashen. It was as ugly as if he had eaten excrement himself.
He knew that Tang San's action was a disaster. After making a complete fool of himself, Tang San would probably still lose the fight. This outcome was clearly unacceptable to him.
Moreover, it would be very easy to put himself and Tang San in a disadvantageous position afterward. Especially since Flender had been visibly displeased with him recently.
Yu Xiaogang was afraid that Flender would use this as an excuse to make things difficult for him and his disciple—perhaps even to withhold Tang San's cultivation resources at the Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
Yu Xiaogang never would have thought that what he was thinking was already the "mild" outcome. What Flender was actually thinking now was not about resources, but about how to kick Tang San and Yu Xiaogang out entirely. He wanted to expel these two, master and disciple, from Shrek forever!
At this moment, Shi Mo's advantage in the arena was already quite obvious.
After getting close, Tang San's Blue Silver Grass could no longer exert any advantage. He tried to use his Tang Sect unique skills, relying on the Mysterious Heaven Skill for close combat.
But the tortoise shield in Shi Mo's hand was a formidable weapon. Whether in terms of attack power or defense power, it was far superior to Tang San's bare hands and legs. Tang San was completely unable to parry the heavy blows.
"Whoosh—~!"
Tang San, who had been holding his breath, was forced to exhale due to the intense physical exertion. He suddenly began to pant heavily.
It would have been fine if he hadn't gasped, but as soon as he inhaled deeply, the concentrated stench filled his lungs. He almost fainted directly from the smell of his own making.
Shi Mo's lips curved into a crazy arc. His pupils seemed to turn blood-red with adrenaline and disgust. He stared intently at Tang San like a hungry wolf spotting its prey.
Tang San's hair stood on end, and he shivered.
"Bam!"
Tang San failed to dodge a sweep of the shield and fell directly to the ground.
Originally, he still looked somewhat human, but now, after rolling around in the mess on the floor a couple of times, he looked exceptionally eerie. He was covered in filth from head to toe.
The dual torment of physical pain from his split wounds and the mental anguish of the situation was too much. Victory was already hopeless.
Tang San staggered as he climbed up from the ground, his legs shaking. He could be said to have reached a new level of dishevelment.
Under the gaze of the audience in the arena, Tang San stumbled backward a couple of steps, trying to gain distance.
Then, losing his footing on the slick surface, he actually slipped and fell directly off the edge of the dueling stage.
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