Soul Emperor Awakening

Xiao Qian’s challenge didn’t surprise Lin Xuan much. It was only a matter of time before he had to face these people anyway. Besides, seeing how arrogant Xiao Qian was, Lin Xuan also felt a bit annoyed. ’Doubting my strength, are you? Then let’s have a match!’

Xiao Qian’s proposal perfectly matched his own thoughts: a good, hard fight to see who was stronger and who was weaker. Or rather, a chance to test the toughness of his own body.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Qing Piaoyun nodded. "Fine. I approve of this spar. You may choose the dueling ground."

"No need to choose a venue. Right here is fine," Lin Xuan said, looking at Xiao Qian with a smile. "I wonder, have you heard about my challenge to the Third Elder? I took three of the Third Elder’s moves. But to avoid wasting time, I’ll take just one of your moves, and then you’ll take one of mine. How does that sound?"

Xiao Qian was stunned. Of course, he was well aware of Lin Xuan’s challenge to the Third Elder. He had just returned from outside—in fact, he had heard about it while he was still away. The incident was so huge, and no one had tried to keep it a secret, so it had long been the talk of the outside world.

The general assessment of Lin Xuan was that he was powerful and incredibly bold! The most crucial part was that he had succeeded in the challenge. If he had failed, it wouldn’t have been nearly as astonishing.

Looking at Lin Xuan’s contemptuous smile, it was as if he were saying, ’I even took three of the Third Elder’s moves. What’s a single move from you?’

This made Xiao Qian even more furious. He drew an incredibly sharp greatsword, pointed it at him, and said, "Fine, then! You take three of my moves, and then I’ll take three of yours!"

He believed Lin Xuan had taken the three moves, but he’d heard it was a brutal affair. The key was that the Third Elder had gone easy on him. When sparring with a junior, an Elder certainly wouldn’t use their full power, nor would they use a Weapon. If a Weapon had been used, Lin Xuan would have been sliced in half long ago. The two concepts were completely different.

A pure Elemental Power attack was a world of difference from one enhanced by a Weapon. Therefore, too many factors were involved in a duel. However, being able to fight above one’s level was absolute proof of having a strong foundation—for instance, possessing astonishing Weapons and Martial Arts. Otherwise, fighting above one’s level was just suicide.

"Come on." Lin Xuan stood in a relatively open area and gestured for Xiao Qian to attack him.

"You’re not drawing a Weapon?" Xiao Qian asked.

"I don’t need any Weapon to deal with you. Besides, isn’t the Bone Forging Pool for tempering one’s body? I’ll withstand your attack with nothing but my body!" Lin Xuan said nonchalantly.

His words caused an uproar among the crowd. Withstanding an attack from a Top-Level Spiritual Artifact with his bare body? Wasn’t that a bit too arrogant?

"This Lin Yunlong is getting more and more arrogant. Even if he tempered his body quite a bit, there’s no way he can take that attack with his bare hands, right?"

"Well, if he’s looking to die, he can’t blame anyone else."

"Xiao Qian’s attacks, with his dual Golden Elemental Power, are unstoppable. Even a real dragon would be cut in two!"

...

The crowd was displeased with Lin Xuan’s confidence. Or rather, they thought he was just posturing and wouldn’t even know what hit him when he died.

"Good, good! Then let me see just how tough your body is!" Xiao Qian swung the golden greatsword in his hands. Golden Elemental Power surged madly into the blade, which began to gleam with a wild light. The entire massive blade glowed with a golden radiance, appearing exceptionally brilliant. He glared at Lin Xuan in fury and roared, "First move!"

Xiao Qian shifted his feet, and with a WHOOSH, his entire body dissolved into a wisp of golden smoke and vanished.

Cyan Cloud Step!

Lin Xuan narrowed his eyes. It wasn’t surprising that Xiao Qian knew the Cyan Cloud Step. With his astonishing talent, he would certainly have been able to cultivate it. Moreover, he had even cultivated it to the Initial Micro Level. His talent was truly shocking, giving him a massive advantage. No matter how desperately others cultivated, it was difficult to keep up with him.

But in this spar, he had no need to dodge.

The next moment, Xiao Qian appeared in front of Lin Xuan and brought his greatsword down in a heavy slash. The blade’s golden light erupted into a brilliant column that seemed to surge skyward before crashing down to engulf Lin Xuan.

"Celestial Level Martial Arts, Golden Radiance Shining World!"

The Power of Heaven and Earth rapidly merged into the greatsword. The incomparably sharp blade, with its sky-soaring momentum, seemed capable of cleaving through anything. He had even reached the Realm of Human and Martial Unity, his massive blade and sturdy body merging into one, indistinguishable from each other.

In an instant, a golden light flared so brightly that no one could look directly at the scene. He poured everything he had into this single strike, believing that with his strongest attack, even if he couldn’t slice Lin Xuan in two, he could at least injure him severely.

Even the Fifth Elder standing nearby wouldn’t be able to intervene in time to protect him. All he wanted was one of Lin Xuan’s arms!

The killing intent in his eyes twisted his face into a savage expression. He wanted Lin Xuan’s life. Everyone from the Inner Hall Sect was trash, so it was necessary to eliminate them.

Lin Xuan, still standing in the same spot, hadn’t moved an inch. In that instant, the Golden Dragon King’s soul possessed him. The moment the Golden Dragon King’s Soul Possession occurred, the bones within his body seemed to resonate with the soul, and his entire frame began to radiate a golden light. Through the skin visible outside his clothes, one could clearly see the bones within him glittering with a golden gleam!

’Resist with just my body? What a joke. I’m not that arrogant. I would only dare to take this move by coordinating with the Golden Dragon King’s soul.’

BOOM!

The sword came crashing down, kicking up waves of golden light that obscured the scene within. When the light dissipated, the sight that greeted the crowd left them utterly dumbfounded.

Lin Xuan stood rooted to the spot. The ground beneath him had cracked, with fissures spreading out from him as the center—clearly, he had been pressed down by the force. Yet he hadn’t fallen to his knees; his body stood perfectly straight.

He had raised his right hand and caught the blade, barehanded. He was gripping the sharpest part of the edge tightly. His arm was covered in the golden light of Dragon Scales, and as it shone, the glittering bones within were clearly visible. The tyrannical aura of Long Wei radiated outward in all directions.

The sharp blade had only cut in a little. Blood flowed from Lin Xuan’s palm, down his wrist, and dripped onto the ground, slowly pooling.

Aside from his arm, which shimmered with the golden light of Dragon Scales, his entire body was covered in the same radiance. It was as if he had transformed into a Golden Dragon himself; the Golden Scales covering his body looked incomparably tough, his defense seemingly impenetrable.

"Get lost!" Lin Xuan, still gripping the blade, flung it forward. Xiao Qian stumbled back with his greatsword, his eyes already filled with utter shock.

"A... a perfect Golden Dragon Body!"

The crowd was dumbfounded, stunned by the scene before them. A perfect Golden Dragon Body meant being able to manifest Golden Dragon Scales over one’s entire body. If only a small part of the body had been tempered, then only that part could manifest Golden Dragon Scales, and only that part would be harder than the rest.

Now, Lin Xuan’s entire body was covered, proving that he had truly absorbed the benefits for twelve days and achieved the most perfect Golden Dragon Body!