Soul Emperor Awakening

Lin Xuan was quite satisfied as he looked at the cowering Tiger Fish.

He had wanted to use the Golden Dragon King’s Soul Possession as soon as the ship charged at them, but its Long Wei had a limited range and couldn’t spread out indefinitely. He had originally planned to use his Godslaying Domain, but unfortunately, the domain was useless in the Demon Cloud Sea. The moment it was deployed, its energy would be devoured by the sea.

He didn’t even need to test it; he knew this from Qing Liuyun’s memories. The Demon Cloud Sea could absorb any form of Elemental Power. Against its immense gravity alone, one could hold on for a while by raising an Elemental Power Shield, but that was ultimately useless.

The Demon Sea would absorb Elemental Power, so an Elemental Power Shield would be drained away with ease, rendering it useless. Eventually, one would either be crushed flat or drowned. This wasn’t an absolute rule, however. Some people could adapt to this environment, like the Pirates of the Demon Cloud Sea before him.

Clearly, the Golden Dragon King’s soul was the most suitable option. Long Wei was a type of aura, an intangible pressure that wouldn’t be absorbed by the Demon Sea. Now, as long as he killed these Tiger Fish, they could get away.

"There’s something strange about that kid! He can even release Long Wei—the Tiger Fish don’t dare to get close!" one of the Pirates shouted, seeing the Tiger Fish trembling beneath the Demon Sea. He knew what the problem was. "Quick, go kill that kid first! Otherwise, we’ll never catch them!"

As this was happening, the guards let out a furious roar. With a mighty blow, they knocked back the pirates who had lunged at them, then quickly leaped onto Zi Yi’s boat and started helping her row away!

They acted without a shred of hesitation. They knew that as long as the Tiger Fish were kept at bay, these Pirates were nothing to be afraid of! With their combined strength, they could hold out for a little while.

Once they escaped this stretch of sea, they would be safe. The Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion had an outpost near the Demon Cloud Sea, guarded by powerful experts. Once they sent a signal, those experts would rush over immediately. Anyone who dared to stand in their way would be courting death.

In fact, help was already on the way. The moment they spotted the Pirates, they had crushed a Communication Stone. The expert coming to their rescue was at the Elixir Stage Level. Zi Yi’s group wasn’t the only one from the Pavilion heading to the Demon Cloud Sea, so it would have been a waste of resources to assign a Spirit Pill Stage expert to accompany her alone.

The question was, could they hold out until the Spirit Pill Stage expert arrived? After all, their opponents had eight people.

With Lin Xuan now the center of attention, two of the pirates immediately shot toward him. If they didn’t take care of Lin Xuan, they would never catch up to Zi Yi’s group.

"Die, kid!" Two Pirates, both at the third or fourth layer of the Essence Pill Stage, lunged at him. They didn’t even use their full strength, attacking with only about half their power. In their eyes, Lin Xuan was an ant they could crush with ease.

To them, a Cultivator at the Ninth Layer of the Spirit Refining Stage was nothing but a tiny ant.

"Young Master Lin!" Zi Yi cried, covering her mouth. She wanted to rescue him, but she was powerless to help.

It wasn’t just her; the guards were powerless as well. Their Body Techniques were nowhere near Heaven-Defying enough to intervene. Besides, compared to protecting Lin Xuan, their absolute priority was Zi Yi! If she were to be captured, all of them would pay with their lives.

Besides, Lin Xuan himself had told them to go on ahead, so they were only following his wishes by fleeing with Zi Yi.

Lin Xuan stood on his wooden plank as the two men surrounded him. Poised above the vast Demon Sea, he looked like a lone leaf that could be swept away at any moment.

The instant they lunged, a cold sneer tugged at the corner of Lin Xuan’s lips, causing the two pirates to hesitate for a moment. ’He’s at death’s door and he can still laugh?’

"Extreme Point Inch Light!"

Lin Xuan thrust powerfully toward the two pirates. Under the influence of the Golden Dragon King’s Soul Possession, his entire body blazed with golden light. An ultimate power erupted from within him, pouring into the White Pupil Rod in his hands. With a swing of the rod, a golden glint flashed, transforming into a piercing ray of light that shot forward.

THUD! THUD!

With blinding speed, he struck the two lunging men. They froze in midair the instant they were hit. A sharp CRACK echoed—the sound of their sternums shattering. Their backs immediately bulged outward, and then, with a final BANG, the terrifying force caused their bodies to explode!

After being run through, the two men were sent flying into the distance like discarded ragdolls, already lifeless.

In the blink of an eye, two pirates at the third and fourth layers of the Essence Pill Stage were annihilated. How could they possibly withstand an ultimate force of 250,000 jin? With his own base strength of over 150,000 jin, amplified by the execution of his Martial Arts and the boost from the White Pupil Rod, the power he unleashed was immense.

This was the multifaceted nature of combat. Great personal strength was not very effective if one’s Martial Arts were weak. But when that strength was combined with a powerful Weapon, the resulting power was truly Heaven-Defying.

This was why a Spirit Pill Stage expert might not be able to withstand a million jin of force—at least, not with their physical body alone. If they used their formidable Elemental Power for support, they could endure it. Of course, no one would be foolish enough to just stand there and take a hit; they would obviously fight back.

"Impossible!" The lead pirate’s eyes widened in disbelief. ’A Cultivator at the Ninth Layer of the Spirit Refining Stage is unleashing power comparable to an all-out strike from someone at the third or fourth layer of the Essence Pill Stage? That’s just Heaven-Defying!’ Even a cultivator at that level could probably only unleash such astonishing power with their strongest attack.

Lin Xuan’s attack had succeeded, largely because the two fools had underestimated their opponent. If they hadn’t been so careless, they wouldn’t have met such a grim fate. ’Even if they had taken me seriously, I could have still dealt with them,’ he thought. ’With the Golden Dragon Bone, my strength has reached an unprecedented Realm. How could these Essence Pill Stage cultivators possibly withstand such domineering power?’

"So strong!"

The guards gasped. Even Zi Yi was dumbfounded. She had only heard that Lin Xuan was strong, but seeing it in reality was simply too Heaven-Defying. ’I thought it was already incredible for someone at the Ninth Layer of the Spirit Refining Stage to match the power of the First Layer of the Essence Pill Stage,’ she thought in awe. ’But the strength he’s displaying is at the level of the third or fourth layer!’

They had seen people fight above their cultivation level before, but never had they seen someone jump so many levels!

"Damn it! Leave him to me! The rest of you, stop them!" the leader, an expert at the Peak of the Essence Pill Stage, roared, his heart burning with fury. Two of his brothers had just been killed—of course he was enraged.

With an expert at the Peak of the Essence Pill Stage making a move personally, Lin Xuan was in for a tough fight, but he had long anticipated this.

SPLASH!

The sound of splashing echoed as the few pirates who had been on the boat suddenly chose to dive into the Demon Sea, swimming rapidly toward Zi Yi. They had completely abandoned their vessel, propelling themselves through the water with their own power. One would expect them to be slow, but they moved with surprising speed.

They couldn’t match the speed of a Tiger Fish, of course, but they weren’t much slower and could easily catch up to Zi Yi’s boat. Indeed, those who lived in the Demon Cloud Sea possessed unique abilities; an ordinary Cultivator could never accomplish such a feat.