Enjoying the story? Support the translation and get early access to future chapters here: www.patr eon.com/c/FanficTranslator
Thanks for reading!
I have 100+ advanced chapter now on Patreon. I will post 5 advanced chapter on Patreon everyday except Sunday
**
Ling Xiao's eyes narrowed as Yan's brow furrowed. It was as if Yan felt belittled; he couldn't help but roar in anger, "Ling Xiao, you actually dare to look down on me!"
In Yan's eyes, Ling Xiao was, after all, a Tool Martial Soul master.
Even if Mu Chen had helped him undergo a complete transformation, changing his physical aptitude and granting him innate divine strength, that strength should only be comparable to Yan's own power before activating his Martial Soul.
Ling Xiao should need to coordinate with the Profound Sky Axe to compete with the strength Yan possessed after Martial Soul Possession.
Even that was already astonishing.
After all, with a top-tier strength-type Martial Soul like his, even without possession, the physical body would naturally undergo massive improvements in strength as cultivation increased due to the Martial Soul's influence.
In this regard, he was far superior to Soul Masters of other types.
Now, Ling Xiao was actually setting aside the Profound Sky Axe, intending to clash with him in strength using only his own physical power and soul power cultivation.
This was peak arrogance and a total dismissal of his capabilities.
Coldly snorting, Yan showed no mercy.
He threw a punch of his own, his soul power surging like the waters of a great river as it poured into his Martial Soul's right arm. He pushed his strength to the absolute limit, harmonizing it with the fiery power of his Martial Soul.
This lava-covered fist, burning with flames, met Ling Xiao's Eight Extreme Collapse head-on.
Boom!
The two fists collided instantly.
From the clash of these two powerful attacks, a massive wave of energy erupted and expanded.
A terrifying explosion followed, sounding like a sudden bolt of thunder cracking in the open air.
The nine layers of hidden force contained within Ling Xiao's Eight Extreme Collapse were perfectly matched with Yan's staggering punch. They were at a complete stalemate, and ultimately, both were sent flying backward by the recoil.
A large amount of fire at the center of the impact was blown apart by dark red energy, scattering in all directions.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The sound of heavy footsteps echoed continuously.
After being blasted back, both men retreated several steps in succession. The bluestone surface of the arena shattered repeatedly under their feet, sending a haze of stone fragments flying through the air.
Yan jerked his head up to look at Ling Xiao, his eyes filled with shock and a hint of disbelief. He didn't understand why Ling Xiao could erupt with such power without using his Martial Soul. For that punch just now, Yan had fully driven his Martial Soul.
Logically, if Ling Xiao didn't use the Profound Sky Axe, it should have been impossible to take the hit barehanded. After all, a Soul Master's soul power only sees a massive leap in lethality after being amplified by a Martial Soul.
On the other side, Ling Xiao's expression looked quite calm, but a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth indicated that his heart was not as tranquil as he appeared.
Ling Xiao secretly hissed in a breath of cold air. His left arm couldn't stop trembling slightly, and he covertly circulated his soul power toward his arm to nourish and soothe it.
Although Eight Extreme Collapse was an exceptional close-quarters explosive fist technique, it ultimately couldn't utilize the power of a Martial Soul.
The soul power itself received no amplification.
Attacking with only basic soul power and physical strength made it nearly impossible to clash with the Martial Soul of an equal-ranked Soul Master.
The reason he was able to fight Yan to a draw just now was primarily because he had mobilized his soul ring power, concentrating the entire physical strength boost of his second soul skill, Dragon-Elephant Colossal Strength, into his left arm.
He had pushed the strength of his left arm to the absolute limit and combined it with the eight hidden layers of soul power energy. With all nine forces merging into one, this single strike of Eight Extreme Collapse was able to block Yan's full-power punch.
However, precisely because the amplification from Dragon-Elephant Colossal Strength was too powerful, focusing the total bodily enhancement into just the left arm inevitably placed a massive burden on the bones.
If the bones weren't strong enough, damage was unavoidable.
Years ago, when Ling Xiao first proposed this application, Mu Chen had helped him understand and master the control of his second soul ring to learn this technique.
However, Mu Chen had repeatedly warned him that while this special usage of a strength-boosting skill was powerful, it carried immense risks.
If the amplified strength was too great and the skeletal structure couldn't endure it, not only would it fail to defeat the enemy, but it would also damage his own bones—the loss would outweigh the gain.
He was told to practice and use it progressively and was strictly forbidden from concentrating the total power of the second soul skill into a single point.
According to Mu Chen, he had to at least reach the Soul Elder realm and train the Tiger Demon Bone-Refining Fist to the Small Success stage before he could focus all of the Dragon-Elephant Colossal Strength into one arm.
Just now, he had only attempted it because his third soul ring came from the Shala Iron Tree—a top-tier plant soul beast known for being "Vajra Strength Body." Its enhancement to physical toughness far exceeded that of ordinary soul beasts.
The results were obvious; the effect was excellent.
However, he had indeed slightly underestimated the physical burden of the Dragon-Elephant Colossal Strength. Although his estimation wasn't wrong and this attempt didn't cause any major damage, it still left his left arm with a throbbing ache.
It seemed that to perform this technique without stress, his current physical toughness was still slightly lacking. He truly needed to reach the Small Success stage of the Tiger Demon Bone-Refining Fist as his teacher had said.
"Ling Xiao, I didn't expect that you could unleash such a powerful punch without relying on your Martial Soul. It truly surprised me," Yan said with a solemn expression.
Although his second soul skill, Rock Body, focused on boosting the Martial Soul's defense and didn't provide a large strength increase, in essence, that punch just now relied almost entirely on the strength of his Martial Soul Possession.
He hadn't borrowed much power from his second soul ring. Even so, the fact that Ling Xiao could match him in a clash after giving up the Profound Sky Axe was truly startling.
"But next, let us use our real skills and fight with everything we've got!"
"Third Soul Skill: Hellfire!"
With a loud roar, a purple thousand-year soul ring radiating intense energy fluctuations rose from beneath Yan's feet.
He had activated his third soul skill.
Dark red soul power light suddenly flared brilliantly, and flames saturated his entire body. An even more intense and scorching fire erupted from Yan. The fire was incredibly strong, soaring into the sky and forming a massive pillar of fire nearly ten meters high.
Yan's Martial Soul body was completely enveloped in dark red flames, and even the surrounding area for several meters was shrouded in the blaze.
Under the powerful amplification of his third soul skill on his Martial Soul's flame attribute, he had actually formed a space entirely ruled by fire.
The entire competition area was illuminated by the intense firelight as if it were broad daylight.
The scorching heat expanded, causing the ambient temperature to rise drastically. The very air seemed ready to ignite, and the ground was being severely scorched. The fire spread in all directions, and the arena began to reek of the scent found only in volcanic lava lands.
In the distance, Ling Xiao felt waves of heat crashing against his face, forcing him to circulate his soul power to resist the burning sensation.
The current temperature could only be described as cruel—a literal dead end for an ordinary person. Even if Yan didn't attack and simply stood there, he would be capable of killing the vast majority of two-ring Soul Grandmasters.
A piece of trash like Yu Xiaogang wouldn't even be able to get close to him; the cruel temperature and scorching heatwaves alone would be enough to kill him.
Against the backdrop of these domineering flames, Yan lived up to his Martial Soul's name, truly possessing the aura of a Flame Lord.
His eyes were filled with firelight and battle intent.
He clenched his fists, and his lava-like arms opened and closed, crossing before his chest. Instantly, the blazing fires on Yan's body seemed provoked, the intensity of the flames rising even further.
Like flowing magma, the fire surged and condensed toward Yan's hands.
**
Enjoying the story? Support the translation and get early access to future chapters here: www.patr eon.com/c/FanficTranslator
Thanks for reading!
I have 100+ advanced chapter now on Patreon. I will post 5 advanced chapter on Patreon everyday except Sunday