Soul Emperor Awakening

"H-His score is rising too quickly! He’s already reached the Spirit Refining Stage Level, and he’s still not slowing down?" Outside the Godslaying Array, Zi Yi watched Lin Xuan’s score continuously climb, so shocked she was at a loss for words.

The guards beside her were equally dumbfounded. The speed of his ascent hadn’t diminished in the slightest; its sheer dominance left them speechless. In contrast, Zhao Fei and the others had only just defeated a few hundred Body Refining Stage Level soldiers, while Lin Xuan had already charged into the Spirit Refining Stage phase and was rapidly approaching another hundred kills!

Was the Cultivation of these humanoids formed from Killing Intent low? Yes and no. It started at the Body Refining Stage Level and gradually increased, their Cultivation rising with each new wave. The final batch would all be at the Peak of Body Refining Stage. Someone at their level could easily one-shot such enemies, but the sheer numbers would eventually become overwhelming. It was one thing to breeze through the Body Refining Stage, but to do so in the Spirit Refining Stage as well was a different story, since the difficulty ramped up in the exact same way.

Normally, the enemies’ level would increase by one layer for every hundred kills. In other words, by the 900th kill, the remaining hundred enemies would all be at the Peak of Spirit Refining Stage—a truly terrifying prospect. Of course, they wouldn’t all appear at once. Starting from the Spirit Refining Stage, a maximum of ten would appear at a time, but even ten was more than enough to handle.

Ten enemies at the Ninth Layer of Spirit Refining Stage, or even the Peak level, appearing simultaneously—one could only imagine the difficulty.

This was precisely why Zi Yi had believed Lin Xuan would lose. His Cultivation was lower than theirs to begin with, making victory seem impossible—unless his Cultivation broke through to the Peak of Spirit Refining Stage. After all, with ten enemies at the Peak of Spirit Refining Stage appearing at once, who could possibly withstand that?

Even someone like Zhao Fei had been unable to withstand this final stage; he had failed to pass the Spirit Refining Stage Level of the Godslaying Array. The main issue was the constant fighting, which consumed too much Elemental Power, making it impossible to last until the end.

Under normal circumstances, the enemies would materialize more slowly toward the end, providing brief moments to rest. But because Zhao Fei and Liang Renlong had tampered with the array, Lin Xuan had almost no time to recover, which was why Zi Yi had been so furious.

However, there was still no sign of him slowing down now, which left them all in shock.

"Is he just forcing his way through? If he keeps this up, he won’t last much longer," a nearby guard said with a frown. "It might look impressive, but this is a test of endurance."

Of course, Zi Yi understood what they meant. She knew Lin Xuan’s personality; he would force himself to endure, but she didn’t know for how long. Besides, it wasn’t that Lin Xuan didn’t want to slow down—he simply couldn’t.

"ROAR!"

Suddenly, a dragon’s roar echoed from within the Godslaying Array. A terrifying pressure, as if descending from the heavens, bore down on them. By the time it reached the outside, however, it had weakened so much that it had little effect.

The crowd saw the condensed red mist momentarily scatter from the shockwave, only to reform a moment later. ’To disperse the red Killing Intent with one’s own power... just how much strength does that take?’

’This aura... it feels like the Golden Dragon King?’ Zi Yi’s eyes widened. The aura felt incredibly familiar, but she couldn’t be certain.

「Inside the Godslaying Array.」

Lin Xuan had already activated the Golden Dragon King’s Soul Possession. His entire body now emanated a domineering Long Wei. The red mist that had enveloped him receded slightly, and the influence of the Killing Intent became almost negligible.

A golden light blazed in his eyes as his entire body’s Attribute shifted to the Gold Attribute—indestructible! The White Pupil Rod he gripped was coated in a layer of golden light, a light that could not only exorcise evil but could also shatter any substance!

"Die!"

Lin Xuan unleashed the Extreme Point Inch Light. A golden flash flared, and the bodies of several soldiers at the Third Layer of Spirit Refining Stage were pierced through with large holes. He immediately followed with a backhand swing of the Eight Extremes Staff Technique. Golden light exploded outward, violently flinging back the surrounding soldiers. Under the terrifying penetrating power of the golden light, they were all completely obliterated!

He knew it would only get harder from here, so he had chosen to use the Golden Dragon King’s Soul Possession to drastically increase his power. At the same time, his absorption speed of the Dragon Blood Pill and the Blood Jade Fruit had increased dramatically. His Cultivation surged, reaching the Seventh Layer of Spirit Refining Stage.

In just a single Hour, his Cultivation had taken a massive leap forward—something that would have been unimaginable before.

However, under the combined effects of the Dragon Blood Pill and the Blood Jade Fruit, coupled with the pressure of this Godslaying Array, such a rapid breakthrough was to be expected. If there hadn’t been any results, he would have lost interest long ago.

After his breakthrough, his attacks became even more ferocious. The White Pupil Rod in his hands shone with golden light, kicking up clouds of red mist wherever he went. He could feel the Token in his robes absorbing more and more of the mist. The amount of red mist inside his own body was also significant, but it only served to stimulate him, having no effect on his mind.

Especially with the suppressive power of the Golden Dragon King’s soul, this Killing Intent was a trivial matter in the face of the Long Wei.

Trivial it may have been, but his Elemental Power was draining at an alarming rate. Continuing like this was definitely not a sustainable solution. Lin Xuan didn’t know how many kills Zhao Fei and the others had achieved, but to guarantee victory, he had no choice but to endure.

"Four hundred!" Lin Xuan lunged forward with a heavy thrust. The four hundredth soldier—at the Fourth Layer of Spirit Refining Stage—dissolved into red mist and surged into his body.

The moment he defeated it, ten soldiers with the Cultivation of the Fifth Layer of Spirit Refining Stage appeared. They were clad in red armor, their faces were expressionless, and their eyes brimmed with intense killing intent. The spears in their hands were stained with blood. It was a scene straight out of Hell on earth.

Just as he was about to strike, his brow suddenly twitched. He looked up and saw a small wisp of a soul condensing directly above him. The soul was tiny, no bigger than a fingernail, and almost impossible to see if you weren’t looking for it.

Most importantly, he noticed that after the previous soldiers were defeated, a portion of the red mist had been absorbed by this tiny soul.

’What kind of soul is this? It can absorb Killing Intent!’ Lin Xuan was inwardly shaken. He didn’t know what kind of soul it was, but for him, the fact that it was a soul was all that mattered.

He immediately stomped his foot, executed the Cyan Cloud Step, and shot toward the wisp of soul. As he reached the tiny soul, he stretched out his hand to absorb it.

But as soon as he began to absorb it, the tiny soul erupted with terrifying Killing Intent. The red mist instantly condensed into a long spear that shot toward Lin Xuan, aiming to run him through.

A sense of mortal danger welled up inside him. He retracted his hand and stomped hard in mid-air—DONG!—shifting to the side. The spear of condensed red mist grazed past him and plunged into the ground, dissipating the moment it made contact without causing any physical damage.

Nevertheless, Lin Xuan had felt a genuine sense of threat from it. He had a feeling that if he had been pierced, the consequences would have been catastrophic.

"Who dares disturb this God of Slaughter’s rest!" The tiny soul trembled, and a deep voice, filled with endless killing intent, boomed out. Merely hearing the voice, Lin Xuan felt a wave of Killing Intent wash over him, so potent it made his face sting.

But none of that was important. The words uttered by the soul echoed in his mind: God of Slaughter!