After Iron Fir spoke, countless roots suddenly sprouted within a dozen metres, forming a massive cage-like structure, enclosing both Ling Xiao and Iron Fir.
“Your martial soul ability is quite intriguing, can all plant-based ones do this?”
Ling Xiao, who once possessed a cherry tree martial soul, hadn’t delved deeply into it, but now, seeing Iron Fir’s martial soul, he found it rather fascinating.
This thing could be seized for a few days of fun, plant-based martial souls are just too suited for combat in the jungle.
Moreover, such a majestic iron fir tree, if transplanted into the Mountain River World, would be quite a splendid addition.
“Junior Brother Ling is indeed Junior Brother Ling, still in the mood to ask questions at a time like this.”
Honestly, Iron Fir couldn’t fathom the Ling Xiao before him, is this guy’s brain faulty? At such a moment, he’s still interested in such matters?
But he didn’t dare relax, his true essence had already formed a defensive wall, completely shielding him.
His offensive stance was also ready.
A full-on battle!
Even against a weaker Ling Xiao, he absolutely couldn’t hold back!
Otherwise, he might end up like the corpse on the ground, head severed from body!
Looking at Iron Fir, Ling Xiao felt a surge of excitement.
He never planned to kill Iron Fir with a sneak attack.
That would be far too dull, at the very least, it wouldn’t serve his purpose of testing.
Head-on combat would not only clarify the strength of a seventh-level Mortal Realm martial artist but also verify how much progress he’d made.
The martial artists he killed before weren’t worth his full effort, those were mere slaughter games.
True essence flowed, five air swords condensed into a radiant, shimmering treasure sword.
Ling Xiao gripped this air sword tightly in his right hand, brimming with battle intent!
“It seems you’re ready to die!”
A cold smile appeared on Iron Fir’s face, killing was commonplace for martial artists, and eliminating a dangerous figure brought excitement.
In that instant, he lightly stepped forward, his body charging out like a ferocious beast from the depths of the Fulong Mountains.
His target, naturally, was Ling Xiao.
The long staff in his hand transformed into the sharpest spear, as if to pierce Ling Xiao’s body in an instant.
The smile on Ling Xiao’s face vanished, replaced by utter coldness.
Facing the charging Iron Fir, Ling Xiao slowly raised his right hand, the air sword in his grip suddenly erupting with a terrifying aura.
“Get back!”
The air sword abruptly lengthened, its fierce and violent sword aura extending, thrusting heavily towards Iron Fir’s body.
The earlier probe had proven one thing, Ling Xiao’s air sword could harm Iron Fir.
That’s why Ling Xiao chose to fight with the air sword.
“Boom!”
A loud explosion rang out, at the critical moment, Iron Fir blocked the air sword’s tip with his staff, but a trace of astonishment appeared on his face.
He felt his body as if it had crashed into a mountain, sent flying backwards.
His feet left two clear trails on the ground, even splitting a massive rock.
Over nine metres, the air sword reached its limit, and Iron Fir’s body finally stopped.
By now, he had retreated from the giant rock to the ground.
“This kid is indeed tough to deal with!”
Standing there, Iron Fir’s eyes flickered.
He hadn’t underestimated Ling Xiao, that strike just now used a full eighty percent of his power.
The remaining twenty percent was naturally reserved for escape, this was the Fulong Mountains, if a ferocious beast appeared, he needed enough true essence to flee.
His arms trembled slightly.
Though uninjured, Ling Xiao’s terrifying strength made him feel quite troubled.
This kid’s power must be around nine thousand jin, far stronger than most martial artists.
No hard fighting!
When Iron Fir advanced to the Mortal Realm, he relied on true essence potential for the breakthrough, so physical strength wasn’t his forte.
Fighting Ling Xiao head-on like this was definitely not wise.
But if strength was lacking, his martial soul could compensate.
“Ling Xiao, I advise you to release your martial soul soon, otherwise, next time, it won’t be so easy.”
With a cold laugh, Iron Fir’s body began to undergo rapid changes.
It sounds slow, but it happened in an instant.
Ling Xiao clearly saw this guy’s skin covered in thick bark, his once-pale skin now turning a black-iron colour, clearly formidable.
Ling Xiao didn’t speak, just stood there watching Iron Fir.
He knew this change in Iron Fir’s body was likely tough to handle, but it didn’t scare him, rather, it intrigued him.
Iron Fir stepped on the ground again, his figure flashing, faster than before!
He became almost a blur, rapidly closing in on Ling Xiao.
The gusts from his charge even scattered the campfire’s flames.
Ling Xiao still didn’t dodge.
Still, he struck with that same calm sword.
Using his nine-thousand-jin terrifying strength, he wanted to test what kind of change had occurred in this guy’s body.
“Boom!”
A sound more terrifying than before erupted.
Ling Xiao felt as if his body had struck a towering tree, his figure retreating.
But his retreat was far more graceful than Iron Fir’s, even when pushed back, his body spun on the giant rock, stopping after about two metres.
“Hm? Interesting, after this change, your strength increased by nearly two thousand jin, approaching ten thousand jin, no wonder you could push me back!”
Ling Xiao smiled faintly, “But what’s the point of just increasing strength?”
His body suddenly vanished.
When he reappeared, the air sword had already struck Iron Fir’s body.
“Clang!”
This time, the air sword left no mark on Iron Fir’s body, as if he were wrapped in something, his defence greatly enhanced.
But Ling Xiao’s attacks didn’t stop there, his speed far surpassed his opponent’s, and his movement skills were far superior.
For a moment, the giant rock echoed with constant “ding ding dang dang” sounds.
In just twenty breaths, Ling Xiao had attacked every vital point on Iron Fir’s body.
Yet, the attacks were fruitless.
“Kid, you’re truly ignorant, my martial soul techniques are far superior to yours! Who said a martial soul only has one enhancement? With your attack power, breaking my defence is laughable!”
Iron Fir stood there, letting Ling Xiao attack relentlessly, a disdainful smile on his face, “You’ve attacked for quite a while, had enough fun? Now, go die!”
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a sharp spike shot up from the ground.
Ling Xiao, quick-eyed and swift-footed, barely dodged, though his clothes were torn.
Just as he landed, another spike appeared behind him, and he hurriedly dodged again.
