These mechanical beasts were powered by these inscriptions and vast amounts of spirit stones.
No brains, no intelligence!
For such entities, Ling Xiao would remain cautious but never afraid.
He had already entered the Soul State, and the weak points of the mechanical beasts were crystal clear to him.
Meteor Strike!
His fists swung out, and terrifying true essence roared, exploding among the mechanical beast horde. Lower-grade mechanical beasts collapsed one after another, motionless, reduced to scrap.
However, the higher-grade Seventh and Eighth Layer mechanical beasts remained unscathed.
Their defence is truly impressive! Ling Xiao muttered, shaking his fists before finally drawing his Drifting Snow Sword and Ice Glass Sword.
With both swords in hand, he felt confident and powerful.
Young man, need any help? a nearby Eighth Layer martial artist shouted.
No need! Ling Xiao shook his head, assuming a sprinting stance. His two swords formed a peculiar cross shape.
Then, with a light step, he shot forward like a bullet.
Shadow Transformation Thirteen Swords: Nine Sword Clone Slash!
Nine clones simultaneously struck nine mechanical beasts.
Crack, crack, crack…
In an instant, eight Seventh Layer mechanical beasts collapsed, smoking and completely disabled.
What shocked the other experts was that these mechanical beasts weren’t entirely destroyed. Each had been struck by a single sword.
Most remarkably, each strike had precisely hit the mechanical beasts’ central cores.
That was the key to their operation—destroy it, and the mechanical beast became useless.
Simple? Not at all!
Mechanical beasts varied in form, and their central cores were all different. Accurately locating the central cores of eight mechanical beasts was practically impossible.
At least, none of the Eighth Layer Martial Masters present could do it.
But Ling Xiao did.
Not only did he find these locations, but he also destroyed the central cores.
Boom!
Ling Xiao’s ninth sword struck the Eighth Layer mechanical beast.
It was a leopard-shaped mechanical beast.
At the critical moment, the leopard used its claw to block Ling Xiao’s sword, protecting its central core.
Ling Xiao swiftly retreated, then stood steady, feeling a slight disturbance in his true essence.
But the leopard-shaped mechanical beast fared worse—its claw was sliced open, and it hurriedly retreated into the beast horde.
Hooray—!
The martial artists cheered.
A single Eighth Layer mechanical beast charging into a crowd could cause devastating destruction, likely killing or injuring hundreds of martial artists.
By repelling it, Ling Xiao had saved hundreds of lives.
Well done! Truly a Hidden Dragon Camp genius. His attack power is probably on par with an early Eighth Layer martial artist. We worried for nothing.
Indeed, he’s been a huge help this time.
Ignoring the praise, Ling Xiao calmed the restless true essence in his body and eyed the mechanical beast hiding among the horde.
An Eighth Layer low-grade mechanical beast had stronger defence than an Eighth Layer low-grade demonic beast, but it was inferior in other aspects.
Compared to an early Eighth Layer Martial Master, its only advantage was defence.
He believed he could kill it.
If he could slay this Eighth Layer mechanical beast, it wouldn’t just affect the local battle—it could influence the entire war.
After all, even if the Blue-Eyed Clan had brought many experts, they wouldn’t have more than a hundred Eighth Layer mechanical beasts.
One less was one less.
With that thought, Ling Xiao’s figure vanished abruptly.
Mechanical beasts were indeed strong.
But due to their size, most were quite cumbersome.
At least, the leopard-shaped mechanical beast he faced couldn’t match his speed.
Giant Spirit Kill!
When his figure reappeared, the remnant soul of a giant sword materialized behind him. Holding only the Drifting Snow Sword, he transformed it into a massive sword shadow that enveloped the leopard-shaped mechanical beast.
This was the Giant Spirit Kill at the peak of the Ninth Layer, seven times stronger than before.
The leopard-shaped mechanical beast had no chance to dodge, raising its claws to block the giant sword shadow.
But the next moment, its eyes dimmed, and it abruptly stopped functioning.
The Giant Spirit Kill had been a feint, a distraction.
And it wasn’t even performed by Ling Xiao’s real body but by his martial soul clone.
Currently, his martial soul clone had seventy percent of his strength, roughly equivalent to an early Fifth Layer martial artist.
Such strength made the Giant Spirit Kill a mere illusion.
The leopard-shaped mechanical beast shattered it with a single claw, dispersing the martial soul clone as well.
But that didn’t matter. Ling Xiao’s real body seized the fleeting opportunity to thrust the Ice Glass Sword into the leopard-shaped mechanical beast’s central core.
Well played, kid!
Played? That’s an understatement. None of us Eighth Layer Martial Masters could pull that off.
Exactly. That speed, and pinpointing the mechanical beast’s weakness so accurately—this kid is practically their nemesis.
Having successfully destroyed the leopard-shaped mechanical beast, Ling Xiao returned to the battle line, earning the admiration of many martial artists.
As he had predicted, the destruction of the Eighth Layer leopard-shaped mechanical beast greatly boosted the nearby martial artists’ morale, tilting the battle in the defenders’ favour once more.
Roar~~
Chirp~~
Howl~~
Perhaps because Ling Xiao had slain the Eighth Layer mechanical beast, the Blue-Eyed Clan’s experts were stirred into action.
A Ninth Layer peak Martial Master, six late Ninth Layer Martial Masters, a Ninth Layer peak mechanical beast, three Ninth Layer high-grade mechanical beasts, a Ninth Layer peak demonic beast, and three Ninth Layer high-grade demonic beasts all charged toward Ling Xiao.
This was the ultimate force the Blue-Eyed Clan had deployed for this war.
Ling Xiao, fall back!
Faced with this terrifying force, the Border Defense General’s Mansion had no choice but to act.
Nine Yang Universe Fist!
A figure shot out from the crowd, looking remarkably young.
He met the Blue-Eyed Clan’s Ninth Layer peak Martial Master head-on.
Boom—
The clash was evenly matched.
Only then did Ling Xiao notice that this was none other than the Hidden Dragon Camp’s overseer—General September!
From what he knew, General September was definitely under thirty years old. To think he could go toe-to-toe with a Blue-Eyed Clan Ninth Layer peak Martial Master meant his strength was also at the Ninth Layer Martial Master level, likely late-stage or even peak.
The shock General September brought didn’t end there.
Ten more figures leapt into the air, each facing their own opponent.
These ten were all Ninth Layer Martial Masters.
Judging by their attire, they were undoubtedly the legendary Twelve Tiger Guards.
It seemed that among the Twelve Tiger Guards, Dai Yuling had the lowest cultivation, at only Eighth Layer Martial Vein.
The other eleven were all Ninth Layer powerhouses.
In particular, General September and General January were both Ninth Layer peak Martial Masters, their strength second only to Lin Ze.
Thus, General September took on the Blue-Eyed Clan’s Ninth Layer peak Martial Master.
General January faced the Ninth Layer peak demonic beast.
Besides the Twelve Tiger Guards, several other Ninth Layer Martial Masters clad in general’s armour charged into the fray, confronting the Ninth Layer demonic beasts, Ninth Layer mechanical beasts, and Blue-Eyed Clan Ninth Layer Martial Masters—excluding the Giant Elephant Puppet.
The Giant Elephant Puppet was clearly the strongest among these enemies. No one but Lin Ze could match it.
