“Get lost!”
Li Xinghui roared, condensing all his amethyst true essence into a single point, finally slowing Ling Xiao’s sword strike, narrowly avoiding a pierced heart. Seizing the moment, he counterattacked, his left hand controlling the amethyst essence while his right formed a tiger claw. With a terrifying tiger’s roar, he struck at Ling Xiao’s crown.
The fierce wind howled, slicing Ling Xiao’s face like blades, his hair whipping wildly. But if his opponent used bare-handed attacks, so could he.
“Meteor Strike!”
*Boom!* Ling Xiao channeled the energy that would have exploded outward, using a mysterious technique to focus it into a pinpoint assault, like a black hole swallowing a meteor. The wide-ranging attack became a precise, one-on-one blow.
Terrifying true essence gathered in Ling Xiao’s left fist, carrying the ferocious momentum of five strikes as it clashed with Li Xinghui’s claw.
Above them, a white tiger phantom collided with the Blood Blade Ancestor’s phantom, not exploding but seemingly devouring each other, as relentless power surged from both fighters.
Here, Ling Xiao’s true essence and martial soul proved superior. His quasi-Mortal Snow Lotus true essence froze Li Xinghui’s essence during their clash, reducing what his opponent could muster. Moreover, the Mountain River Martial Soul’s ability to devour and convert Li Xinghui’s spent essence into Ling Xiao’s own tipped the scales.
What began as an even clash erupted moments later.
*Boom!* A thunderous explosion detonated between them, purple-blue and snowy-white lights scattering in all directions, both grand and shocking.
“Danger!” Spectators scrambled to defend against the stray energy. Stronger ones conjured thick true essence shields, which rattled like rain on a roof under the barrage, trembling constantly. Weaker ones, unable to block, fled to avoid the terrifying aura, but many were still injured.
On the Life-and-Death Cliff, life or death spared no one—not just the fighters but the onlookers too. Death here was one’s own misfortune.
The combatants parted, or rather, Li Xinghui was forced back, having suffered greatly in the exchange. Ling Xiao merely steadied his roiling true essence before striking again.
“Heavy Shadow Sword Technique: One Sword, Three Shadows!”
With his enhanced strength and evolved true essence, even old techniques now carried greater power. As he thrust, four figures shot forward, the sword qi so potent it seemed to freeze the air, carrying an aura of finality toward Li Xinghui.
Close to the target, the four figures merged, the already fearsome sword qi surging three to four times stronger, making breathing difficult for many spectators.
“Damn it!” Li Xinghui had barely stabilized when Ling Xiao’s attack came again. Helpless and furious at being constantly suppressed, he had no outlet for his rage. With no other choice, he channeled all his true essence into his legs, launching a flying kick at the sword qi.
*Crackle!* The true essence on his feet shattered, residual sword qi injuring his meridians. Worse, the Ice Glass Sword left a bone-deep gash on his right leg.
As they passed each other, Ling Xiao’s ghostly figure reappeared. After relentless attacks failing to kill Li Xinghui, he needed a moment to adjust.
“No way, am I seeing this right? In just three moves, Li Xinghui’s been gravely wounded—does Ling Xiao really have the strength to kill him in six?”
“Too terrifying, quasi-Mortal true essence is even more dominant than imagined. Essence against essence, it’s like crushing. How fearsome would full Mortal essence be?”
“It’s not just the essence. Didn’t you notice? Ling Xiao’s timing and exploitation of weaknesses outclass Li Xinghui by a mile. He’s chillingly calm in battle, unnervingly so.”
“Three moves left. Li Xinghui won’t go down easily—he’s ferocious!”
“If he can’t hold on, it’s not just humiliation, it’s his life. After mocking the Hidden Dragon Camp so much, dying in six moves would make him a laughingstock even in death.”
“Right, if he fails, he dies in infamy. If he holds out, Ling Xiao dies, and he gains renown. It all hinges on these three moves.”
Seeing Li Xinghui’s bleeding leg and bloodied mouth, the crowd was stunned. Even Lin Ze and Wan Ben were astonished.
In the True Spirit Hall, Master Baiyun frowned, seemingly surprised by Ling Xiao’s refined combat style. Despite no advantage in techniques or strength, he suppressed his opponent, as if seeing through every move.
“Did I make a mistake?” Master Baiyun, who hadn’t heeded Lin Ze’s advice to make Ling Xiao a true disciple, now felt uncertain. Mortal Realm martial artists, though lofty, were still novices in the broader cultivation world. A misjudgment was understandable.
“Ling Xiao!” Li Xinghui’s gaping wound began to heal rapidly, a testament to the animal martial soul’s resilience and recovery. But as a fragmented soul, its healing was limited to stopping the bleeding, unlike the *Nine-Turn Golden Body Art*’s limb-regeneration at its ninth turn.
Li Xinghui, blood staunched, roared at Ling Xiao, “You think you can kill me in six moves? Dream on! I’ll make you take your own life!”
His eyes blazed red, as if aflame, shattering the residual sword qi in his body. His aura grew stronger, the white tiger phantom behind him solidifying further, its beastly presence overwhelming, suppressing Ling Xiao’s seventy percent fragmented soul.
Driven by survival, Li Xinghui tapped into his potential, forcibly advancing his fragmented martial soul to eighty percent—nearly a complete soul. Its terrifying aura dominated.
“Die!” Staring at Ling Xiao, Li Xinghui lunged.
