Chapter 143: Strongest of the Contemporary Era vs. Strongest in History
Inside the Soul Fighting Arena, two figures stood on opposite sides of the Soul Fighting Platform, facing each other from a distance.
Xiao Hongchen's eyes seemed to burn with a raging fire, his uncontrollable fighting Martial Soul almost manifesting into substance.
He stared fixedly at the figure opposite him, his chest heaving, his breathing heavy, his fists clenched tight, and his knuckles turning white.
In contrast, Lin Xuan looked completely indifferent. He had his hands in his pockets and a faint smile on his lips, his posture incredibly relaxed.
In the stands, Jing Hongchen smiled meaningfully and turned to ask Yan Shaozhe beside him, "Dean Yan, which of these two young men do you think will win?"
Yan Shaozhe smiled and gave a flawless answer, "Xiao Hongchen is your precious grandson. Hall Master Hongchen should be the one most familiar with his strength."
Jing Hongchen chuckled and shook his head, "I am indeed very clear about Xiao's strength. But as for what level Lin Xuan has reached now, I suspect that not only me, but even you, Dean Yan, don't have a definite answer in your heart, right?"
The smile on Yan Shaozhe's face stiffened slightly.
Jing Hongchen was right. Over the past two years, although Lin Xuan had frequently sparred with Inner Court disciples—ranging from Soul Ancestors who had just entered the Inner Court to Soul Emperors and Soul Saints like Ma Xiaotao and Wu Ming—no matter who the opponent was, Lin Xuan always appeared extremely calm and composed. No one had ever been able to force him to use his full strength.
After all, the coexistence of Ultimate Light and Ultimate Darkness in one person was unprecedented throughout history. No one knew exactly how strong these two ultimate attributes would be once fully unleashed.
Yan Shaozhe stopped responding. He cleared his throat, his gaze sweeping over the two in the arena, and his steady voice echoed throughout the venue.
"Both of you are the young talents of this era, so you naturally know your limits. Therefore, I won't say any words of warning. Now..."
He paused, then his right hand swept down abruptly.
"Let the match begin!"
After his voice fell, Xiao Hongchen did not move immediately. He stood in the center of the Soul Fighting Platform, took a deep breath, and his chest heaved violently.
He stared at Lin Xuan, his eyes burning hot enough to pierce through the other person, yet his voice was surprisingly steady, each word sounding as if it were being ground out from his chest.
"Don't think I'm still the same loser from two years ago. Two years is enough to change many things."
"Now, I ask you to go all out, so I can see for myself whether the gap between us is widening or closing."
Lin Xuan looked at him and smiled slightly, "Words are useless; let our skills do the talking. If you want me to use my full strength, fine."
"But that depends on whether you have the qualification."
Xiao Hongchen grinned, the light in his eyes flaring up, "Then keep your eyes wide open and watch closely!"
In an instant, six Soul Rings suddenly rose from beneath his feet! Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black... The six Soul Rings rhythmically pulsed together, and at the same time, the first and third Soul Rings lit up!
He violently threw his hands out around him, and over a hundred metal spheres flew out like scattering flower petals!
Those metal spheres suspended in mid-air, rotating rapidly with him as the center. Then, thick metal cannon barrels began to grow frantically from those metal spheres!
The Three-legged Golden Toad, a descendant of divine beasts, is known as the Metal Controller.
Xiao Hongchen utilized this talent to perfection. The cannon barrels were dense and layered, enveloping his entire person within them.
The muzzles pointed in all directions, their polished metal surfaces glinting with a cold light under the sun. There were a total of three hundred Martial Soul cannons, all of which were Class 6 spirit tools!
With three hundred Class 6 Martial Soul cannons appearing at once, the oppressive pressure of technology and firepower blanketed the entire arena!
Bei Bei's brows furrowed as he said in a heavy voice, "Xiao Hongchen's strength is more than just a level higher than the last time we met. The quantity and quality of these Martial Soul cannons far exceed what they were two years ago."
Fan Yu saw even deeper. His eyes, filled with restrained brilliance, stared fixedly at the cannon barrels as he said in a low voice.
"Not only that, these Martial Soul cannons have become more refined. Just by visual observation, one can see that the energy transmission efficiency has increased by at least twenty percent compared to before. Otherwise, even Xiao Hongchen wouldn't dare to consume so much Soul Power at once in a battle."
Twenty percent was no small amount. It could be said that the Sun Moon Empire's spirit tool technology was still in a period of rapid development. There was no telling when they might pull off something major.
Fan Yu turned his head to look at He Caitou and the other students from the Soul Tool Department, instructing them in a low voice, "After you go to the Sun Moon Empire, you must study hard and not slack off. The heavy responsibility of Shrek's future spirit tool development rests on your shoulders."
He Caitou nodded heavily, and the other Soul Tool Department students also responded one after another, their eyes filled with determination.
Unlike them, Lin Xuan looked at Xiao Hongchen's dense cannon array and shook his head slightly.
His view remained unchanged. The future of spirit tools was indeed bright, but for now, Martial Souls were still the mainstream—still the highest mountain and the longest river.
"Fire!"
The clanging sound of metal suddenly exploded. The three hundred cannon barrels automatically calibrated, their muzzles pointing in unison at the figure in the distance, and then they roared as they fired!
Countless balls of light poured out like a rainstorm, weaving into a firepower net that covered the sky and the earth! The light was blinding, the sound was deafening, and the entire Soul Fighting Platform was trembling!
In the next moment, Lin Xuan moved. Beneath his feet, five great Soul Rings—purple, purple, black, black, black—rose one by one.
In the stands, Jing Hongchen's pupils shrank suddenly. Although he had heard rumors, seeing this heaven-defying Soul Ring configuration with his own eyes still caused a storm to surge in his heart.
This was simply not a configuration a human should have!
But what surprised him even more was yet to come.
The shadow beneath Lin Xuan's feet suddenly churned like a living thing! The shadow spread in all directions like a tide, silent and soundless, yet carrying a heart-palpitating sense of pressure.
Jing Hongchen's expression changed instantly. He jerked upright in his seat, his shrewd eyes full of disbelief, and his voice was almost squeezed out from between his teeth.
"Ultimate Darkness!"
Yan Shaozhe couldn't help but smile seeing his loss of composure. His eyes were proud, yet his tone was intentionally humble.
"Lin Xuan has indeed made some minor progress over the past two years, though not much. He just had a Secondary Awakening of his Body Martial Soul, that's all."
Jing Hongchen rolled his eyes in his mind. Minor progress? Secondary Awakening of a Body Martial Soul? He made it sound so simple!
He knew very well that Lin Xuan hadn't joined the Body Sect at all. In other words, this youth had completed the Secondary Awakening of his Body Martial Soul on his own, without the help of the Body Sect.
And looking at this aura, the level was not low.
If that was the case... he was certain that once Du Busi found out about this and Shrek still chose not to let him go, the two sides would definitely form a blood feud—the kind that only ends in death.
Since that was the case... could he perhaps make something out of this?
Jing Hongchen's eyes narrowed slightly, making it impossible to see his gaze.
On the Soul Fighting Platform, Lin Xuan stomped his foot hard. The tide-like spreading shadow suddenly contracted, and then he controlled it as easily as kneading dough, turning it into streams of ink-like flow that swirled and flew around him!
Wherever the ink streams passed, they formed an airtight barrier within a few meters around him, completely swallowing up the sky-covering cannon fire!
Those shells, powerful enough to shatter rocks, hit it as if falling into the ocean, disappearing silently without even stirring a single ripple!
Self-created Soul skills—Chaotic Image: Flowing Water Rotation!
Xiao Hongchen looked stunned. He couldn't understand what was going on at all!
But at the same time, the fighting Martial Soul in his chest burned more and more intensely, almost setting himself on fire.
"Good!" he shouted, his voice full of excitement. "Ultimate Darkness! And these means I don't understand! Very good!"
He stared fixedly at the figure emerging from the ink streams, the light in his eyes flaring up.
"Lin Xuan, I really didn't misjudge you! You are the only opponent I will ever have in my life!"
The ink streams dispersed, and Lin Xuan stepped out. He only smiled at Xiao Hongchen's words and did not respond.
He reached his right hand into the shadow at his feet and slowly drew out a three-foot-long silver sword.
The blade was slender and silver-white throughout. A pale green gemstone was embedded at the crossguard, with wind elements faintly swirling around it.
Class 6 spirit tool sword, Windchaser.
Xiao Hongchen was stunned for a moment, "You also use spirit tools?"
Lin Xuan smiled, his finger gently stroking the blade, "One must keep up with the times."
After saying that, he held the sword in one hand and formed a sword finger with the other, lightly wiping it across the blade.
Where his fingertips passed, a layer of thick ink-like shadow appeared on the blade. The shadow acted like a living thing, spreading along the patterns of the blade and dyeing the entire sword pitch black.
In the next moment, Lin Xuan moved again! His figure was like a bolt of lightning, charging straight at Xiao Hongchen! His speed was astonishingly fast, leaving an afterimage behind him!
Xiao Hongchen immediately counterattacked. Cannon fire rushed towards him, balls of light pouring down like a rainstorm!
Lin Xuan's body twisted sharply. After a few agile dodges to avoid the incoming cannon fire, he suddenly swung his sword!
The long sword danced at high speed, leaving one ink-colored sword shadow after another in the void! Chapter Update Reminder: Chapter 143: Strongest of the Contemporary Era vs. Strongest in History, Reading Address.
The sword shadows were pitch-black like ink, yet so sharp they seemed capable of rending space itself; everywhere they passed, all artillery fire was completely swallowed by the darkness!
Not only that, but several sword shadows swept past Xiao Hongchen's side. Unable to dodge in time, the dozen or so Martial Soul cannons around him were sliced in half by the ink-colored sword qi, snapping into two and clattering onto the ground!
Self-created sword technique—Ink-Shrouded Mountain.
Xiao Hongchen was slightly startled upon seeing this.
He hadn't expected that Lin Xuan would actually combine spirit tools with his own Martial Soul abilities.
However, if Lin Xuan were to be honest, this kind of attack was no different from manual control, and he even had to go through the trouble of manipulating the shadows so they wouldn't swallow the sword blade, but he couldn't resist how cool it looked.
Xiao Hongchen laughed heartily, his voice full of exhilaration. "A very cool move! But mine isn't bad either!"
Before his voice had even faded, he reached out with his right hand and made a crushing motion toward the incoming Lin Xuan!
In the next instant, crimson spirit tool lasers shot out from several surrounding Martial Soul cannons, weaving into a dense, airtight net in mid-air that descended upon Lin Xuan!
Unhurried, Lin Xuan swung his sword once more.
The sword's edge traced an arc in front of him, and the ink-colored sword qi spread out, weaving a dense barrier around his body.
When those crimson lasers struck, they were like moths to a flame, all swallowed by the darkness without a single ray of light managing to penetrate through.
At the same time, a dark figure suddenly lunged out from the surrounding shadows!
Shikigami: Nue!
It had been controlled to the size of a single person; with its wings spread, it swept past the Martial Soul cannons still spitting lasers like an eagle catching chicks.
As its sharp claws swiped, Martial Soul cannons were torn to shreds one by one. Golden lightning snakes exploded from its body, spreading along the barrels and burrowing into the intricate internal components.
The might of these lightning snakes wasn't overwhelming—far from their potential power—but wherever they passed, Martial Soul cannon after Martial Soul cannon began to emit black smoke. Their muzzles dimmed, components crackled, and they crashed straight onto the Soul Fighting Platform.
Xiao Hongchen was stunned. Lin Xuan stepped out from the shadows, sword in hand, and looked at him with a smile.
"Don't forget, I've also studied spirit tools. Their precision is the foundation of their power, but it's also their greatest weakness."
"Haven't you heard the saying? The simpler something is, the more durable it is."
As soon as these words were spoken, before Xiao Hongchen could react, Jing Hongchen's expression in the stands changed slightly.
Lin Xuan was right; the vast majority of spirit tools were extremely complex and precise. If even a single component inside had an issue, the entire spirit tool would be rendered useless or even explode.
Yan Shaozhe, catching a glimpse of this from the side, couldn't help but let the corners of his mouth curl up again, unable to suppress his smile.
On the stage, Xiao Hongchen snapped out of it, exhaled a breath of turbid air, and nodded.
"Indeed, precision is both a merit and a flaw."
He paused, and a meaningful curve suddenly tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"But... it's not like I only just realized that."
Before his voice had finished echoing, he suddenly looked up and reached out, clenching his hand toward Lin Xuan!
Almost at the same moment, all the Martial Soul cannons scattered across the Soul Fighting Platform that were emitting black smoke trembled violently.
Then, they all moved! Hundreds of damaged Martial Soul cannons flew from all directions, blotting out the sky as they surged toward Lin Xuan!
"Boom—!"
Accompanied by a dull roar, Lin Xuan's figure was completely obscured by these Martial Soul cannons.
Martial Soul cannon after Martial Soul cannon crashed together heavily, as if a pair of invisible hands were kneading them like clay, tightly squeezing the metal wreckage and producing a tooth-gritting sound of metal grinding.
In the stands, everyone's expressions were varied.
"Purely controlling metal to kill enemies..." Bei Bei murmured in a low voice, a look of solemnity appearing in his eyes.
Due to preconceived notions, almost everyone believed that as a person of the Sun Moon Empire with the Three-legged Golden Toad Martial Soul, Xiao Hongchen would use spirit tools to fight.
But thinking carefully, what if they were the ones who possessed this Martial Soul?
Without a doubt, they would all choose to exert full control over metal; after all, in the current Douluo Continent, metal was everywhere.
In other words, as long as one was strong enough, every city in the entire Douluo Continent would be the home field of the Three-legged Golden Toad.
Looking at Lin Xuan, who had vanished within the heap of metal, Xiao Hongchen smiled in relief.
"After my battle with you, I realized that while spirit tools do have a significant advantage among those of the same level, against certain special opponents—like you—those Martial Soul cannons just don't cut it."
"Failing to hit the target and slow movement are both weaknesses, so I changed my approach. No, to be precise, I returned to the very beginning."
He paused and said word by word, "Focusing solely on controlling metal."
With that, Xiao Hongchen tapped his spirit tool, and countless streaks of light flew out from it!
They were metal longswords, each forged from the highest quality rare metals, focusing only on the two points of durability and sharpness.
No fancy spirit tool formations, no complex energy circuits—they were pure, cold, and primitive weapons.
As Xiao Hongchen waved his hands, the metal longswords shuttled rapidly through the void before hovering in all directions, turning to point in unison at the massive iron lump trapping Lin Xuan.
He murmured in a low voice, his tone carrying a longing that had been suppressed for a full two years.
"Come, our battle has only just begun."
At the very moment his voice fell, a drop of ink-like shadow quietly dripped from the bottom of the metal mass that had been squeezed into a ball.
It hit the ground, instantly sending up a puff of white smoke, and a pungent, foul stench filled the air.
Xiao Hongchen's brow furrowed slightly. "Poison?"
Xiao Hongchen was puzzled; he didn't recall Lin Xuan having a poison attribute. But just as he was pondering, a sudden feeling of dread seized his heart without warning!
Without hesitation, he immediately retreated!
"Boom—!"
In the next instant, the metal wreckage that had been squeezed into a ball suddenly exploded!
Exploding along with it were countless viscous black shadows! Those shadows splashed in all directions like living things, causing the air to hiss wherever they passed.
A few drops of shadow splashed onto the surrounding metal longswords, instantly raising white smoke. Shocking pits were immediately corroded into the blades; those longswords made of top-tier rare metal were actually being eroded and disintegrated at a speed visible to the naked eye!
Xiao Hongchen's pupils constricted. He quickly activated a spirit tool protective barrier, and a layer of pale gold light enveloped his entire body.
A few drops of shadow splashed onto the light barrier, producing a piercing sizzling sound. Violent ripples surged across the barrier's surface, which actually showed signs of being corroded through!
His expression changed drastically, and he exerted all his Soul Power to maintain the protective barrier, barely managing to block it.
"Not bad, you've finally seen the light."
A familiar voice suddenly came from within the dust and smoke.
Xiao Hongchen looked toward the source of the sound, and in the next instant, his pupils suddenly constricted to the limit!
In the center of the Soul Fighting Platform, Lin Xuan stood there quietly.
Beneath his feet, endless shadows spread out in all directions like spilled mercury! Pervasive and relentless, they rapidly corroded the hard ground of the Soul Fighting Platform, producing a tooth-gritting hissing sound.
In just a single breath, almost the entire Soul Fighting Platform was covered by those pitch-black shadows! Only the small patch of ground beneath Xiao Hongchen's feet had yet to be swallowed.
But what truly shocked Xiao Hongchen wasn't this.
It was Lin Xuan himself. At this moment, his entire body emitted a faint black mist; it wasn't thick, yet it gave off the illusion of falling into an abyss.
He seemed like a being who had stepped out of the darkness, his aura completely different from before.
He no longer had that calm and ethereal feeling; instead, he exuded a sense of fallen, gloomy danger.
Those eyes remained calm, but they were no longer clear pools of water; they were a bottomless black sea.
In the stands, Ling Luochen suddenly frowned and turned to look at Meng Hongchen beside her.
She saw the young girl from the Sun Moon Empire holding her hands to her heart, her cheeks flushed with an abnormal redness. Her eyes were incredibly bright as she stared intently at the figure surrounded by black mist, her breathing becoming hurried.
Ling Luochen spoke in an unfriendly tone, "What kind of expression is that?"
Without turning her head, Meng Hongchen's gaze remained glued to the arena. Her voice was doting, as if she were talking in her sleep.
"Don't you have that feeling? The previous Lin Xuan was also handsome, but it was an ethereal kind of beauty, someone you wouldn't dare dream of approaching, where just watching him from afar was enough. How should I put it... the old Lin Xuan made one only want to admire him."
"But now... he seems to make one want to... despoil him..."
Ling Luochen: "..."
How is this just being a fangirl? This is clearly being a total obsessive, isn't it?!
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