"Shui Wuhen, taste the power of my Clear Sky Hammer!"
In front of Shui Wuhen, the enormous Clear Sky Hammer radiated waves of energy, shattering the incoming ice spikes as it charged straight toward him.
Yet, as he watched Tang San's hammer strike approach, Shui Wuhen showed no intention of dodging, as if he planned to take the attack head-on.
Seeing this, below the stage, Grandmaster couldn't help but sneer. "I didn't expect Shui Wuhen to be so arrogant. Does he really think the Clear Sky Hammer is so easy to receive?"
Although he was dissatisfied with Tang San forcibly attaching spirit rings to his Clear Sky Hammer, Grandmaster had to admit that after doing so, Tang San's combat ability had improved by more than just one level.
Even without spirit rings, the sheer weight of the Clear Sky Hammer made it extremely threatening to opponents of the same level when using the Disorderly Wind Hammer Method, let alone now that it had spirit rings.
In Grandmaster's view, with Shui Wuhen being this overconfident, even if Tang San's strike couldn't severely injure him, it would at least leave him in a very embarrassing state.
But in the next moment, the smile on Grandmaster's face froze, his eyes widening as he stared at the arena.
The one shocked wasn't just Grandmaster—Tang San himself was equally stunned.
"What?!"
Tang San's pupils trembled. In his vision, the Clear Sky Hammer was firmly grasped in Shui Wuhen's hand. No matter how hard he struggled, it wouldn't budge.
Seeing this, Tang San immediately withdrew the Clear Sky Hammer and retreated over a dozen meters, staring at Shui Wuhen with vigilance.
Shui Wuhen withdrew his hand, a trace of disappointment flashing in his eyes.
So this was the so-called number one tool spirit in the world, the Clear Sky Hammer? Its strength was indeed considerable, but aside from that, he couldn't see any other advantages.
Then, Shui Wuhen stepped forward, slowly walking toward Tang San.
Watching him approach, Tang San grew flustered and immediately switched to his Blue Silver Grass spirit.
"Fourth Spirit Skill, Blue Silver Cage!"
Almost instantly, Tang San used his strongest control-type spirit skill, and also his only ten-thousand-year spirit skill—Blue Silver Cage.
In an instant, sixteen pitch-black Blue Silver Grass vines burst out from the arena beneath Shui Wuhen's feet, forming a cage that trapped him inside.
"It worked!"
Seeing his Blue Silver Cage successfully trap Shui Wuhen, Tang San was overjoyed and quickly switched back to his Clear Sky Hammer.
He had already realized that conventional methods couldn't defeat Shui Wuhen. If he wanted to win, he had to use that move.
Immediately after, Tang San's body began spinning like a top as he wielded the Clear Sky Hammer, swinging it continuously.
"It's the Disorderly Wind Hammer Method!"
The moment Tang San began moving, Bishop Salas below the stage instantly recognized the technique, his gaze flickering slightly.
Although the Disorderly Wind Hammer Method originated from blacksmithing, it had long been absorbed by the Clear Sky Sect. As a rival of the sect, Spirit Hall was naturally very familiar with it.
Salas thought to himself, "Blue Silver Grass, Clear Sky Hammer, and now the Disorderly Wind Hammer Method… It seems this Tang San must be that person's child."
However, Salas was also puzzled. Why would Tang Hao allow Tang San to participate in the Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournament and expose himself so easily?
Could it be that Tang Hao was provoking Spirit Hall?
Salas frowned, unable to figure out what Tang Hao was planning.
"Forget it. I'll report this to His Holiness the Pope later and let the higher-ups decide. When the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up."
Unable to make sense of it, Salas gave up guessing and decided to pass the information back for the Pope and elders to decide.
"Disorderly Wind Hammer Method?"
In the Godwind Academy area, Feng Xiaotian shook his head. "A technique that needs time to stack power is useless against Shui Wuhen."
Tang San's approach reminded him of his former self. His self-created Gale Demon Wolf Six Slashes also relied on stacking attacks, similar to the Disorderly Wind Hammer Method.
However, against Shui Wuhen, his Gale Demon Wolf Six Slashes was inferior even to his own innate spirit skills, being broken almost instantly.
Meanwhile, on the arena, Shui Wuhen looked at the Blue Silver Cage blocking his path and casually grabbed one of the vines with one hand.
In the next instant, boundless cold spread rapidly from where his hand touched, and in the blink of an eye, the entire Blue Silver Cage turned into a frozen prison.
Crack—
Then, with a light squeeze from Shui Wuhen, the Blue Silver Cage shattered into countless fragments.
Seeing this, Tang San, who was in the process of stacking the Disorderly Wind Hammer Method, froze, shouting in disbelief:
"Impossible! My Blue Silver Grass clearly has ice immunity—how could it be destroyed so easily by you?!"
When he had fought Shui Bing'er earlier, her attacks had been completely ineffective against his Blue Silver Grass. But now, against Shui Wuhen, everything had changed.
Hearing Tang San's shout, Shui Wuhen wasn't surprised. He simply said calmly:
"In this world, there is no such thing as true ice immunity. If there is, it only means the ice isn't strong enough."
"Wuu—"
As Shui Wuhen spoke, Articuno cried out in agreement.
With a slight flap of its wings, boundless cold spread outward, sweeping across the entire arena.
For a moment, everyone in the grand arena—whether royal knights, academy students, or even Salas and Emperor Xue Ye—felt a bone-piercing chill.
"This is…"
Salas, Emperor Xue Ye, Ning Fengzhi, and the various academy leaders all stood up, staring in shock at Shui Wuhen and Articuno.
They could clearly sense that the cold released by Articuno had surpassed the concept of ordinary spirits, reaching a level they had never encountered before.
It was an entirely new experience. No matter how powerful a spirit had been before—whether the Clear Sky Hammer, Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, or even Shui Bing'er's Ice Phoenix—none had ever given them this feeling.
This wasn't simply because Shui Wuhen's level was high, but due to a fundamental difference in the nature of his spirit.
In the Tianshui Academy area, Shui Yue'er rubbed her forehead and said with a bitter smile, "Just how much has this kid been hiding from me?"
If she had known back then that Shui Wuhen's spirit quality was this high, she wouldn't have let him go no matter what—even if he were a man.
But now, it was too late. Shui Wuhen's wings had already fully grown. The small pond that was Tianshui Academy could no longer restrain an eagle ready to soar.
And not just Shui Wuhen—after this tournament, Shui Bing'er and the others would also graduate from the academy.
On the arena, after hearing Shui Wuhen's words, Tang San's heart trembled.
The ice immunity granted by the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass had given him full confidence when facing Shui Wuhen. Now that reality proved his immunity useless, the confidence built upon it naturally collapsed.