“I understand, Master, but I must go!”
Ying Wuya’s eyes gleamed with intense fighting spirit.
He knew well how dangerous the Chaos Beast Path was, but to catch up with Ling Xiao’s pace, he had to risk everything!
“Heh, it seems a blessing in disguise. Though you lost to Ling Xiao, your will to cultivate has grown even stronger! Very well, upon our return, I will personally guide you.”
“Thank you, Sect Master!”
On the other side, the inner sect elder of the Sword King Sect had a grim expression.
He had thought Ba Tianhu would easily defeat Ling Xiao, given the vast gap in their cultivation levels. Without using soul techniques, Ling Xiao surely couldn’t withstand more than a few moves.
Yet now, it seemed Ba Tianhu might not be able to defeat Ling Xiao after all. This made things tricky.
It wasn’t the twenty thousand mid-grade spirit stones that concerned him; as an inner sect elder, he could afford that.
What he cared about was face!
Moreover, Ling Xiao’s rise meant the rise of the Moonlight Sect, which was hardly good news for the Sword King Sect.
“Sect Master, the Moonlight Sect is truly rising. Shouldn’t we do something about it?”
The inner sect elder transmitted his voice to Chen Nanxing.
Chen Nanxing snorted coldly and replied via transmission, “Rest assured, I’ve already arranged a perfect ambush plan. None of those who came to the Sword King Sect will leave alive! The Moonlight Sect will remain forever under our Sword King Sect’s heel, never to rise again!”
“The Sect Master is truly brilliant, but Chang Yueli won’t be easy to deal with. She’s a Cave Heaven Realm old monster. Will you take action yourself?”
They were unaware that Wu Xiang was also a Cave Heaven Realm martial artist, a misstep in their calculations.
“No need. That old monster Chang Yueli would love nothing more than to see those people dead. Just avoid entangling with her.”
Chen Nanxing’s confidence in his ambush plan stemmed from his deep understanding of the Moonlight Sect’s situation.
Of course, ultimately, his lack of firsthand information about the recently risen Wu Xiang, Ling Xiao, and others, combined with his disdain for collaborating with Chang Yueli, led to a misjudgement, which was only natural.
During the battle, Ling Xiao vaguely sensed Chen Nanxing’s killing intent toward him.
But he wasn’t afraid.
He couldn’t hide in the Moonlight Sect to cultivate forever. Stepping into the spotlight would inevitably draw the attention of those with narrow minds and ruthless methods.
Fear was useless.
If it was an obstacle, he would simply step over it!
Whether Chen Nanxing would die or he would was still uncertain. As long as he held unwavering confidence in victory, he would find a way to resolve it.
After all, he possessed the Mountain River Martial Soul!
He had to make full use of this most powerful martial soul.
The reason he could think so much was that Ba Tianhu, after one attack, suddenly became cautious and refrained from launching consecutive strikes.
Others might not know why, but Ling Xiao was clear.
Under the analytical power of his Mountain River Martial Soul, Ba Tianhu’s attacks were almost transparent.
That earlier strike had used a full ninety percent of Ba Tianhu’s power!
For Ling Xiao to block a ninety-percent-power strike would naturally make Ba Tianhu wary, cautious, and no longer dare to underestimate him.
“You’re impressive! Truly strong! Not just all talk!”
Seeing Ling Xiao look at him, Ba Tianhu spoke while gathering true essence, buying time to delay.
Ling Xiao smiled faintly. “You’ve made your move. Now it’s my turn!”
“Nine-Vein Qi Sword: Hell Dragon Sword!”
He wasted no words with Ba Tianhu, having seen through his intentions.
Stepping forward with his right foot, his body surged with black-golden light once more, radiant and dazzling.
His palms pressed together, gripping a massive black-golden longsword, thrusting toward Ba Tianhu with the force to pierce the void.
Sssshhh…
The air in front was pierced layer by layer. Black-golden flames blazed on the massive longsword.
For a moment, the surrounding air seemed to solidify, then collapsed and distorted, making the figures and scenery before them fragment and twist.
“What kind of sword technique is that? To execute it without a weapon and with such power?”
Chen Meng was mesmerised. She had felt humiliated by her loss to Ling Xiao, but now, even if she disliked him, she had to admit that Ling Xiao’s strength absolutely qualified him to fight her!
“Block it!”
Chen Meng wasn’t the only one stunned; Ba Tianhu in the arena was even more shocked.
Facing this terrifying sword strike, he had to exert all his strength. His true essence formed massive tiger claws, fiercely grasping the black-golden giant sword.
Crack, crack, crack!
The giant sword paused momentarily, but only for a moment.
The black-golden flames on the sword grew even brighter, then continued to thrust slowly toward Ba Tianhu.
Ba Tianhu’s expression was grave, releasing his true essence recklessly, not daring to slacken.
Blinding white light made him shine like the sun.
He unleashed astonishing combat power!
At that moment, under immense pressure, Ba Tianhu performed beyond his usual level, likely a benefit of sparring with a master.
“Ba Tian Nine Forms: Black Tiger Flame Grasp!”
At the same time, flames ignited on Ba Tianhu’s hands, crimson flames enveloping them. The terrifying power finally halted the Hell Dragon Sword’s advance completely.
Boom!
The Hell Dragon Sword shattered.
Yet Ba Tianhu’s hands were severely damaged, his arms trembling uncontrollably.
He had not only used all his strength but had also surpassed his usual level to barely block Ling Xiao’s attack.
“Roar!”
Ba Tianhu suddenly let out a piercing roar. His body began to change, transforming from human form into a human-tiger hybrid.
Ling Xiao had always believed that human martial artists could fuse with their martial souls to enter different forms.
But this required talent.
Out of ten people, perhaps three could enter a state of fusion with their martial soul.
But of those three, only one might achieve full martial soul transformation.
Ling Xiao’s human-dragon form was unique, and his Primordial Golden Dragon form even more so.
Encountering a martial artist who could enter a human-tiger form today thrilled him. Facing such an opponent early was beneficial, as it allowed him to find countermeasures sooner.
From the start of fusion, there were ten forms.
The first form was the weakest, closest to human.
The tenth form was the strongest, nearly complete martial soul transformation.
Ba Tianhu’s human-tiger form was merely the first, yet it still amplified his strength by ten percent.
This ten percent included strength, speed, true essence, and more, comprehensively!
It even enhanced his senses and reactions simultaneously!
It was practically a brand-new transformation.
