“Gulp!”
Ling Xiao forcibly swallowed, overwhelmed by the sheer power. He was still three or four miles from the battlefield, yet it felt like an ordinary person trudging against a terrifying typhoon, breathing heavily, barely able to move.
“This is a true powerhouse, a true martial artist!”
His heart surged with excitement.
All along, he’d yearned to grow stronger but lacked a benchmark.
At first, he thought a seventh-level Martial Pulse Realm martial artist like the Ling family patriarch was strong, but he wasn’t.
Then he believed a ninth-level peak Martial Pulse Realm martial artist like Lin Ze was strong, but still not.
Later, he met Master Baiyun in the Mortal Realm and thought that was the pinnacle of the world, the most fearsome martial artist, only to be spectacularly wrong.
When he encountered Hei Suo, he began to understand that the Mortal Realm was merely the start of a martial artist’s path.
Someone like Demon Flame Heavenly Sovereign was a true powerhouse, capable of covering the sky with one hand, effortlessly claiming lives.
Now, he found his past self laughable.
The martial artist’s path had no upper limit.
The stronger you became, the more powerful people you’d meet, and the world would grow ever more vibrant.
Watching these two titans clash, he wondered if even greater martial artists existed above them.
The frog at the bottom of the well had finally leapt out, only to land in a bigger well, but at least it now knew the sky it saw wasn’t the whole picture.
The Mysterious Realm was vast. Northern Han was but a tiny vassal state of the Human Sacred Dynasty, itself just one nation on Heavenly Dragon Continent.
And Heavenly Dragon Continent was the weakest of the thirteen landmasses in the Mysterious Realm.
Beyond those, countless islands and secret realms dotted the Mysterious Realm.
The Mysterious Realm was truly immense, teeming with experts. A Yin-Yang Realm powerhouse might be unremarkable outside Heavenly Dragon Continent.
Ling Xiao took a deep breath. The aura of the Primordial Golden Dragon began flowing into his martial pulses, his body gradually shifting into human-dragon form.
In this state, the pressure remained immense but was far more bearable than before.
He spread his wings, speeding toward the battle.
At about one mile from the combat zone, he stopped.
A battle of this calibre could affect everything within a mile. He wasn’t keen on dying.
Besides, at this distance, with the abilities granted by his Mountain River Martial Soul, he could clearly see every subtle movement of the combatants.
He could hear every faint sound they made.
Finding a spot convenient for escape, Ling Xiao hid quietly.
He was here to observe, not fight, so his aura carried no trace of killing intent.
Moreover, he used his Mountain River Martial Soul’s template to make his aura resemble the trees of Thousand Ghost Forest, ensuring even powerhouses of their level wouldn’t notice him.
Watching up close was exhilarating!
The visceral sensation set his blood ablaze.
Their combat had transcended the limits of known martial arts. Many attacks and defences were beyond Ling Xiao’s comprehension.
Even his Mountain River Martial Soul couldn’t analyse them.
This showed his Mountain River Martial Soul’s level was still too low.
Since learning about martial soul hierarchies, he’d vaguely sensed his Mountain River Martial Soul was currently in the Complete Soul Transparent Body state.
It was the lowest tier of complete martial souls.
Before fusing with his soul, it was merely a remnant soul.
Interestingly, the Mountain River Martial Soul could contain even the strongest martial souls, up to the Out-of-Body Stage One, revealing its terrifying potential.
Its progression differed fundamentally from other martial souls.
Each minor level was divided into ten grades.
It was currently at Complete Soul Transparent Body Grade Nine.
In the past, its level rose with his cultivation, but that no longer seemed the case.
Ling Xiao had studied it. Now, his Mountain River Martial Soul was a true martial soul, advancing like most others.
It could only improve through battle experience or medicinal aids.
For Ling Xiao, there was another method: “devour and fuse”.
This likely tied to the Mountain River Martial Soul’s inherent nature.
Other martial souls entering it could create new elements in the Mountain River World, simultaneously providing energy to raise its level.
The importance of martial souls grew over time. It was said that jade-grade martial arts above top-tier gold-grade were all created based on martial souls, making them critical in combat.
Though Ling Xiao couldn’t verify this yet, he believed it wasn’t far off, so elevating his martial soul’s level was crucial.
Back to the matter at hand.
Though he couldn’t analyse their martial arts, that wasn’t his goal in observing.
He simply wanted to experience these supreme powerhouses’ combat up close.
At this distance, the three-headed tiger’s massive form was starkly clear.
Its body, dozens of metres long, loomed across the sky, standing on black clouds, exuding immense might.
Each breath made the sky tremble, clouds roiling.
Ling Xiao wasn’t sure if this was the Ferocious Beast Demon King’s true form, but its sheer size and terrifying power quashed his earlier notion of taming it.
A powerhouse of this level was untouchable for him now.
If he didn’t want to die, he’d better focus on steady cultivation and revisit such ideas when his strength neared theirs.
On the other side, the woman’s figure, though not towering, was graceful, her curves perfect.
At this moment, Ling Xiao wasn’t fixated on her beauty. His attention was on the full moon behind her.
He’d never seen such a martial soul, nor heard of one.
A moon as a martial soul?
Was she even human?
Clad in a striking water-blue gown, her perfect figure was accentuated.
She wielded a long sword glimmering with blue light, clearly no ordinary weapon.
Her hair, also water-blue, cascaded over her shoulders like fine strands of blue gemstone.
Her face wasn’t clear, shrouded in water-blue true essence, but the dreamy, hazy allure only heightened anticipation.
She stood mid-air, a thousand metres up, on auspicious clouds, like a celestial being.
It was said that upon reaching the Cave Heaven Realm, humans could attempt to fly with true essence, but her effortless grace was remarkable.
