The one who collided with Tang San was a member of the Elephant Armored Sect, representing the Elephant Armored Academy.
Although the Elephant Armored Academy didn't share particularly close ties with the other four academies and often hovered on the edge of inclusion, it was still one of the Five Elemental Academies of the Heaven Dou Empire. With its dual attributes of earth and metal, the academy specialized in producing powerful assault and defense-type soul masters and was an institution with a long-standing reputation.
In the past, the teams sent out by the Elephant Armored Academy were typically composed entirely of clan members of the Elephant Armored Sect. Leveraging the Diamond Mammoth's expertise in group combat, they dominated the arena. However, due to the large number of experts participating in this competition, the academy made a rare adjustment by pulling two Diamond Mammoth soul masters from the clan and adding a control-type and support-type soul master to their lineup.
The entire team, aside from their leader Hu Yanli, a soul Ancestor, consisted of Soul Elders. On the surface, their strength seemed evenly matched with the Blue Tyrant Academy. But as soon as they entered the arena, the imposing aura of the Elephant Armored team was notably stronger than that of the Blue Tyrant Academy.
Apart from the control and support soul masters, all the members of the Elephant Armored Sect's team were giants over two meters tall, with body widths exceeding one and a half meters. Their entire bodies were covered in fat, making them look like mountains of flesh. They resembled sumo wrestlers with their hair tied in skyward topknots.
Even including Tang San's hair, his height barely matched the shortest of the Elephant Armored Sect members without their topknots. Two of the opponents together probably weighed as much as the entire Blue Tyrant team.
When the match began, the team members from both sides summoned their martial souls. The soul masters of the Hu Yan family, whose martial souls were Diamond Mammoths, underwent dramatic transformations.
Under Tang San's watchful gaze, the fat on their bodies instantly tightened into solid muscle. Their heights surged by about three fists' worth, transforming them in an instant into a group of muscular devils.
In the very first clash between the two sides, Jing Ling and Huang Yuan from Tang San's side were immediately grabbed by the Elephant Armored Sect's soul masters. They were bear-hugged so tightly that they lost consciousness and were tossed aside like ragdolls.
Hu Yanli faced Tang San one-on-one, while the other two Soul Ancestors went up against Dai Mubai and Yu Tianheng. Meanwhile, the control-type soul master targeted Xiao Wu.
Even though two top-tier assault-type Soul Ancestors were facing two defense-type Soul Elders, Dai Mubai and Yu Tianheng failed to achieve any significant results in the opening moments.
The Diamond Mammoth martial soul was renowned as the ultimate defense-type martial soul. Its physical capabilities were top-tier, and it was said that soul masters of the same level could hardly breach its defenses.
While in the original timeline, the Diamond Mammoth martial soul couldn't withstand the fusion skill of Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing, the Netherworld White Tiger, it presented little pressure when facing Dai Mubai and Yu Tianheng alone.
Speed was not its strong suit, and it wasn't particularly effective against elemental attacks, but physical combat was where the Diamond Mammoth excelled.
At least in the short term, even the powerful attacks from the White Tiger Martial Soul and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul couldn't harm the Diamond Mammoth soul masters of the same level. Instead, the two were temporarily stalled in an exchange of injuries and couldn't break free from the meaningless melee.
Although the Evil Blue Silver Grass caused some trouble for the Elephant Armored Sect, Tang San's signature poison was ineffective against their impenetrable defenses and failed to inflict any damage.
Xiao Wu faced a soul master with a mutated earth-element martial soul, one that could manipulate gravity. This ability specifically countered Xiao Wu's short burst attacks, dragging her into a war of attrition.
Faced with an increasingly unfavorable situation, Tang San reluctantly withdrew his Blue Silver Grass, silently cursing it as a useless martial soul. Without hesitation, he summoned the Clear Sky Hammer and swung it toward Hu Yanli.
The Clear Sky Hammer was known for its overwhelming destructive power. Over time, Tang San received the teachings of Tang Hao and Tang Chen, and his hammer techniques improved significantly under their intense training. His body had also grown stronger thanks to the Nine Dragons Grass and the consumption of soul beast flesh.
But it was still not enough.
The Hu Yan clan of the Elephant Armored Sect were naturally gifted in physical strength. Every member was a rare physical powerhouse, and Hu Yanli had undergone specialized training, making his resistance to physical attacks exceptionally high.
Even with just one soul ring, the Clear Sky Hammer was ineffective. Even if Tang San had four soul rings on it and used four spirit abilities, Hu Yanli would have been able to endure for a while and still counterattack.
When Tang San abandoned the Blue Silver Grass and switched to the Clear Sky Hammer, the pressure on Hu Yanli lessened.
In the original storyline, Tang San had to use a creative sky attrition strategy combined with the Netherworld White Tiger to defeat the Elephant Armored Sect. But now, Tang San's thinking was dulled, and without the Netherworld White Tiger as his trump card, the battle quickly turned into a one-sided defeat.
While Tang San and Hu Yanli were locked in combat, Xiao Wu, who had been trying to eliminate the support soul master, was finally caught in a pincer attack by the Elephant Armored Sect's control-type soul master and another Diamond Mammoth soul master.
"Third Spirit Ability: Crushing Kill!"
The third soul ring on an unnamed Elephant Armored Sect soul master lit up. Xiao Wu's legs instantly became immobilized, and the control-type soul master's gravity ability pressed down on her.
Under Xiao Wu and Tang San's horrified gazes, the Elephant Armored Sect soul master leaped high into the air. With his massive body augmented by gravity, he slammed down with devastating force.
Xiao Wu didn't even have time to scream before she was smashed into the arena floor. Completely powerless, she was embedded in the ground. For a moment, the entire arena seemed to shake slightly.
Tang San was stunned. Tang San was silent. Tang San erupted in rage!
Without hesitation, he summoned the poisonous spikes from his external soul bone. Without a second thought, he ripped out a blood-soaked spike and stabbed it toward Hu Yanli. Simultaneously, he smashed down with the Clear Sky Hammer. Unable to dodge in time, Hu Yanli was impaled in the chest, and the poison quickly invaded his body, causing him to vomit purple blood.
But that wasn't the end. Tang San withdrew his martial soul and frantically pulled out spike after bloody spike from his back, using them as hidden weapons to indiscriminately attack the Elephant Armored Sect's soul masters.
Tang San struck with ruthless precision, aiming for eyes, ears, groins, and even anuses. Despite the Elephant Armored Sect's rigorous training, they never expected such underhanded attacks, nor could they react to Tang San's sudden burst of rage.
Two soul masters were unable to dodge in time and were pierced through their brains by the spikes, dying instantly. The support and control-type soul masters tried to flee but were struck in the abdomen by the spikes, collapsing on the ground in agony from the poison.
The soul master who had smashed Xiao Wu into the ground received special treatment. Tang San used nearly half of the spikes on this opponent, turning him into a human pincushion. His entire body bled black and purple from the poison, and he died a gruesome death.