Heavenly Dragon Golden Body!
Ling Xiao’s entire body was suddenly enveloped in black-golden dragon scales, covering even his neck with thick scales that radiated a black-golden glow.
Though not as visually striking as golden-yellow, its defensive power was even more astonishing.
Crunch!
Ba Tianhu’s teeth actually broke from biting the dragon scales, and two front teeth flew out.
Clutching his mouth, he retreated to the side, cursing loudly, “You little brat, are you made of gold? That broke my teeth!”
“Heh, my apologies. It’s not quite gold, but harder than gold!”
Back when Ling Xiao cultivated the Nine-Turn Golden Body Technique, he consumed a vast amount of gold. The Heavenly Dragon Golden Body was the result of inheriting that technique, naturally making it even tougher.
Combined with his Five Spirits Body, Ling Xiao’s current defence was such that even a First Heaven Realm martial artist would find it difficult to break through.
Being afraid of death, his defence and movement techniques had always been his top priorities, his greatest advantages!
“It’s time to end this, Brother Ba!”
Ling Xiao raised his hand, and the Rain-Covering Sword appeared in his grip.
His aura surged noticeably.
Under pressure, he achieved a small breakthrough, advancing from the peak of the Ninth Mortal Realm to the invincible Ninth Mortal Realm.
Though only a small step, for him, even a minor breakthrough brought a significant boost in strength.
“Shadow Transformation Sword Technique: Sword Demon Descends!”
In that instant, the phantom behind Ling Xiao shifted to Ye Gushan’s silent, massive sword shadow.
Then, thirteen humanoid sword qi shot forth through the air.
Ba Tianhu scrambled to respond, blocking four or five of the humanoid sword qi, but the sixth struck him, sending him flying out of the arena with a heavy crash.
“I concede!”
Ling Xiao clasped his fists toward Ba Tianhu, then turned to the Sword King Sect’s inner sect elder.
“Senior, I’ve won this round!”
“Hmph, I said I wouldn’t go back on my word. Here are twenty thousand mid-grade spirit stones. Catch them!”
The Sword King Sect’s inner sect elder had no good intentions.
Twenty thousand mid-grade spirit stones!
Thrown like that, it was as if a mountain was crashing toward Ling Xiao, clearly meant to embarrass him.
“Hahaha, Ling Xiao, I’ll hold onto these twenty thousand mid-grade spirit stones for you. You’ll get them when we return to the sect.”
At that moment, Wu Xiang let out a hearty laugh, flicked his sleeve, and all the spirit stones vanished into his storage ring.
His technique was impeccable. Had his cultivation not far surpassed the Sword King Sect’s inner sect elder, he couldn’t have managed it.
“Thank you, Sect Master!”
Ling Xiao genuinely appreciated Wu Xiang’s help. Otherwise, he would’ve had to use his Mountain River Martial Soul, greatly increasing the risk of exposure, which would not have been good for him.
This young man is truly formidable!
Losing twenty thousand mid-grade spirit stones was nothing to the Sword King Sect, but Ling Xiao’s sudden rise made the higher-ups of both the Sword King Sect and the Beast King Palace restless.
No one had expected that in this three-sect martial assembly, the most eye-catching figure would be neither Chen Meng, Ba Tianhu, nor Ying Wuya, but Ling Xiao, whose cultivation hadn’t even reached Half-Step Heavenly Sovereign!
Ling Xiao had consecutively defeated the Beast King Palace’s second-ranked core disciple Ying Wuya, the Sword King Sect’s second-ranked core disciple Chen Meng, and the Beast King Palace’s top core disciple Ba Tianhu.
All three had higher cultivation and greater renown than him.
This was simply unacceptable.
The Beast King Palace had hoped Ba Tianhu would salvage some pride, and the Sword King Sect had wanted Chen Meng to thoroughly crush the other disciples in the assembly.
Yet, in the end, they both capsized in the gutter, taken down by Ling Xiao.
This was nothing short of a scandal for the Sword King Sect and the Beast King Palace!
“Anyone else want to spar with me?”
Though Ling Xiao was slightly out of breath, his actual energy consumption was minimal.
His Mountain River Martial Soul naturally had a true essence absorption effect, and combined with the Hell Furnace’s refining ability, his true essence depletion was negligible.
Even if he had to face Jian Wuji now, he wouldn’t be afraid.
Of course, winning was another matter.
This was just a spar. If he lost, so be it. Ling Xiao wouldn’t use his Primordial Golden Dragon form or the Book of Seals, as those were reserved for life-or-death situations.
Hearing Ling Xiao’s voice, the Beast King Palace disciples lowered their heads.
With Ba Tianhu and Ying Wuya defeated, anyone else stepping up would only embarrass themselves.
On the Sword King Sect’s side, Cao Yun and Chen Meng had also lost. Jian Feng was merely a filler, so Ling Xiao’s words were essentially a direct challenge to Jian Wuji!
Regardless of whether Jian Wuji fought, the Moonlight Sect had already shone brightly this time.
They had thoroughly trounced the Beast King Palace and held their own against the Sword King Sect!
“Very well. I didn’t intend to fight today, but since you insist on testing my skills, I’ll indulge you!”
Jian Wuji slowly stood, his gaze looking down at Ling Xiao as he said calmly, “But before that, I’ll give you a chance to witness my abilities, so you won’t claim unfairness if you lose later.”
“What do you mean?”
Ling Xiao asked.
“Simple. Ba Tianhu from the Beast King Palace and Lan Yuer from your Moonlight Sect can both come at me together. I’ll take on two at once. That’ll make the spar interesting. If, after that, you still think you’re qualified to challenge me, we can fight then.”
Jian Wuji didn’t want to face Ling Xiao directly, as his soul techniques made him wary. A draw would be humiliating for him.
So, he planned to intimidate Ling Xiao by defeating the others, hoping to make him abandon the challenge.
“Damn it, Jian Wuji, you may be strong, but taking on two at once is too much! Besides, how am I supposed to coordinate with that Moonlight Sect woman? Two might be worse than one.”
Though Ba Tianhu had lost to Ling Xiao, he wasn’t the type to wallow in defeat.
It was just a spar, and given Ling Xiao’s strength, his loss wasn’t unjust.
So now, he had the spirit to challenge Jian Wuji.
“I’m not keen on teaming up either. How about this? Brother Ba just fought my junior brother Ling and is injured. Why don’t you rest for a bit, and I’ll spar with Brother Jian first?”
Lan Yuer stood up slowly and said.
She didn’t want to team up, not because she thought she could beat Jian Wuji, but simply to test her own limits.
“Fine!”
Ba Tianhu wasn’t foolish. Freshly injured and with low morale, fighting Jian Wuji now would be idiotic.
Resting was the better option.
Lan Yuer smiled and walked into the arena.
“Sister Lan, want me to tell you Jian Wuji’s weaknesses?”
As he returned to his seat, Ling Xiao asked.
“No need. This isn’t a life-or-death battle, just a spar. I have to take responsibility for myself.”
Lan Yuer smiled. “But thanks, junior brother.”
“Then be careful, Sister Lan. That Jian Wuji is tricky.”
Ling Xiao admired Lan Yuer’s choice.
Not everyone had such integrity. Some, even in a spar, would resort to cheating to avoid losing face.
