Chapter 604 - Fierce Clash

Fist and blade beam collided in a tumult of rushing wind. Tang Wulin managed to destroy the beam, but the force of the clash halted his charge. Pain seared his fist, but since the soul power of the Mysterious Heaven Method cloaked his body, he was fortunately spared any real injury.

This outcome surprised Tang Wulin, but it startled his opponent, Ling Wuxie, even more. Ling Wuxie couldn’t believe that Tang Wulin was able to resist his blade beam using his body alone. Even if that was just his first soul skill, he was still a Soul King! His first soul skill would still be extremely powerful. Yet Tang Wulin had punched it apart.

Ling Wuxie furrowed his brow in contemplation. Is this kid trying to die?

Tang Wulin’s eyes flashed golden, his body straightening as he stood taller than before. Two golden soul rings appeared around him. The first shone brightly and strength filled his body as his right arm swelled, transforming into a golden dragon claw. Instead of his martial soul he chose the strength of his bloodline!

Ling Wuxie stared in shock. Are those… two soul rings? He only has two? But wait, why are they golden? Even if the legends speak of golden soul rings, a two-ringed soul master shouldn’t have them!

The two elders who had come to watch Ling Wuxie’s match and were about to leave the viewing platform immediately sat back down. Their brows furrowed, all their attention focused on Tang Wulin.

Tang Wulin stomped on the ground and exploded forth like violent lightning. Empowered by Golden Dragon Body, his speed reached its maximum. He arrived in front of Ling Wuxie in the blink of an eye, thrusting his claw at Ling Wuxie’s chest. The attack shone resplendently under the spotlights. Ling Wuxie hastily sidestepped the attack and brandished his Nine-ringed Silver Blade, rings jingling from the movement. Silver light bloomed forth and the blade struck the claw.

A metallic screeching filled the air, and Ling Wuxie was sent flying backward by Tang Wulin’s claw. He slammed into the barrier that surrounded the two. His blade hummed loudly, a sound that resembled a wail of pain. While the soul barriers blocked out external noise, it still let noise from within leak outside. The audience heard the wails of the blade clearly.

This intense clash between these two competitors had every spectator in complete shock. Everyone took note of the five soul rings revolving around Ling Wuxie, clearly indicating his status as a Soul King. He was definitely one of the most notable competitors in the preliminaries, but even though he was a Soul King, he had been sent crashing into the barrier.

Did a gale blow him away? The audience couldn’t fathom what they were witnessing. Then they shifted their attention to Tang Wulin and his pair of glittering golden rings.

Ling Wuxie was still reeling. His entire blade arm was numb and trembled from the forced of the clash. It was only now that he understood how close his blade had come to breaking. Holy shit that kid’s strong!

As an agility-type, Ling Wuxie possessed a respectable amount of physical strength. His cultivation was top tier, which resulted in a strong body. However, the power of Tang Wulin’s golden dragon claw was absolutely tyrannical. It was magnitudes more than Ling Wuxie could endure. If he hadn’t let Tang Wulin’s strike send him flying, he wouldn’t have come out of the clash intact. This realization struck him like a bolt of lightning.

The instant Ling Wuxie came to understand this, Tang Wulin exploded forth like a cannonball. He rushed forward to finish off his opponent, claws gleaming golden as he rapidly closed the gap.

At that moment, the third ring of the Nine-ringed Silver Blade began to shine. All nine rings began to hum, seemingly resonating as one.

A crisp note rang through the air. It washed across Tang Wulin, and suddenly he felt his mind go numb. His forward momentum began to slow. Then Ling Wuxie swept his blade out in front of him. The beam shot out, homing in on Tang Wulin.

Ling Wuxie’s third soul skill was Cry of the Silver Rings. It was thanks to this soul skill that he had prevailed over countless powerful opponents. No one ever expected a blade-type martial soul to have a sonic attack soul skill. It wasn’t an attack that could be guarded against, and it attacked the target’s spirit directly to stun them. It made for a powerful combination with his swift first soul skill.

Tang Wulin’s response to this was simple. He bit the tip of his tongue. The pain it caused cleared the fog that Ling Wuxie’s soul skill had cast over his mind. Just as he regained himself, however, the blade beam was already too close to avoid. On instinct he thrust his claw toward it, tracing the beam’s trajectory. His claws shone brilliantly the beam struck, scattering most of the beam’s energy. Yet a fraction of the beam made it through his counteroffensive and struck his shoulder with a meaty thwack. The force of the blow flung Tang Wulin spinning backward and hit the ground. He had lost all of his momentum.

Ling Wuxie’s face lit up. He knew this was a cheap combo attack, but he hadn’t expected it to be so effective. Cry of the Silver Rings was most effective the first time he used it on a target. After that, the target would be wary of it. When the target expected the attack, their mind steeled against it, its efficacy plummeted.

Tang Wulin got to his feet, and the two stared at each other. Tension filled the air between them. They were done probing each other and now knew how powerful their opponent was.

Tang Wulin raised his left arm and rotated it, shrugging the pain from his shoulder. The blade beam had hurt, but still he was uninjured. The defensive power of Golden Dragon Body completely mitigated any lasting damage, especially since his body had been strengthened even further by the Body Sect’s training. It would be no exaggeration to call his body a weapon in and of itself now.

Without warning, Ling Wuxie advanced with confident steps. He swung his blade to and fro, unleashing a storm of blade beams. The beams spread out around Tang Wulin until they formed a giant net, then converged on him with frightening speed. It was impossible to evade.

Compared to the previous attack, these blade beams were far larger and sharper. They were clearly imbued with much more soul power. After their initial clash, Ling Wuxie dared not underestimate Tang Wulin any longer.

Tang Wulin stepped forward, a draconic roar booming from within him as his blood essence flowed in reverse. The roar reverberated throughout the arena, announcing Tang Wulin’s tyrannical strength. He thrust both palms toward the sky and unleashed a gigantic phantom golden dragon head at the net of beams. The net collided with the phantom dragon head and rapidly disintegrated. The dragon head, however, showed no signs of weakening. In fact, it seemed to grow even more radiant as it devoured the blade beams. An instant later, the net of blade beams was no more! Golden Dragon Shocks the Heavens tore through it all!

A cold shiver ran down Ling Wuxie’s spine, an ill premonition rising within him. His opponent may have only had two soul rings, but their strength was far beyond that! Without hesitation, Ling Wuxie used Cry of the Silver Rings once more, yet another metallic screech piercing the air. This soul skill could both disrupt and surprise opponents. Ling Wuxie watched Tang Wulin closely and nearly smiled when Tang Wulin’s face went blank for a moment. Unfortunately for him, Golden Dragon Shocks the Heavens did not weaken at all! It just continued to grow stronger!

Golden Dragon Shocks the Heavens was no soul skill. It was a blood essence skill! The potent power of his reversed blood essence flow and divine bloodline erupted to form that phantom dragon head! Only Tang Wulin could stop it now. As long as he didn’t consciously do that, it would continue to rampage, with or without his guidance!

As the phantom golden dragon head reached him, Ling Wuxie’s face took on a grave expression. He touched the tip of his blade with his left hand, pushed out its hilt with his other hand, holding the entirety of the weapon as a makeshift shield. Then his fourth soul ring lit up.

On the viewing platform, the elder nodded in satisfaction when he saw his disciple using his fourth soul skill, Guard Point Stance. The elder was satisfied with his disciples choice. However, it was too early for him to be satisfied.

Boom! The dragon struck. The Nine-ringed Silver Blade hummed violently as it shuddered before the phantom dragon head’s might. Guard Point Stance held up against the phantom dragon head, but its second function, a counterattack did not activate. The dragon head continued forth, ramming into Ling Wuxie and sending him flying once more in a spray of blood.

At that moment, everyone watching held the same thoughts within their heads.

Just who the hell is that kid with two golden soul rings? What is his martial soul?