Soul Emperor Awakening

After a flash of bright light, Lin Xuan was teleported to the Sixth Layer of the Martial God Tower. The Island Master of Divine Martial Island and Tuo Zhanhong were both stuck on this layer, unable to climb any higher.

He wanted to see for himself just what kind of challenge could trap two great experts here.

Once the light faded, a terrifying pressure bore down viciously from the sky. Even though he was prepared, Lin Xuan’s legs still couldn’t take it, and he fell to one knee. His body flickered with a golden glow as he pushed the power of the Golden Dragon Bone within him to its limit to withstand the horrifying pressure!

"Cloud Return Technique!"

Lin Xuan immediately circulated the Cloud Return Technique. His Bloodline Power erupted, and his skin instantly turned crimson as his strength surged, finally allowing him to endure the terrifying pressure.

’Five hundred thousand jin of pressure? That’s really not a small number for me...’ Lin Xuan took a deep breath and struggled back to his feet, his body groaning under the strain of forcing himself upright.

A pressure of five hundred thousand jin... only he could possibly endure it. Anyone else at the same Cultivation Level would have been flattened long ago, let alone be able to stand up. It was a good thing he practiced Body Refining, or he would have been pinned to the ground as well. Even the experts from the Soaring Dragon Empire, including those at the Spirit Pill Stage, would have found this extremely challenging.

The power they could unleash was world-shattering, but with their Elemental Power sealed, they could only rely on their Mortal Bodies to endure. For them, a weight of five hundred thousand jin was an extremely difficult burden.

Being able to unleash terrifying power didn’t mean one could withstand that same amount of force. After all, that explosive power came from Elemental Power, enhanced by Weapons and stacked layer upon layer. Taking it with one’s physical body, however, was another matter entirely.

"Well now, it’s been a while since a newcomer made it up here. And you look pretty decent, quite young too!"

A somewhat cheerful voice reached his ears, making Lin Xuan look up. He saw a youth sitting on a railing, holding a massive Yanyue Saber. The youth swung the weapon around with ease, as if it weren’t the least bit heavy, looking like he was just playing with a wooden stick.

The youth had a heroic air, a hint of majesty in his features. His exposed arms looked extremely sturdy, faintly exuding an ultimate power.

Lin Xuan sensed that the Yanyue Saber alone had to weigh at least tens of thousands of jin, maybe even more, yet in the youth’s hands, it was like a wooden stick. Most critically, he couldn’t sense any aura from this youth—not a hint of life—yet he could feel that the youth was incredibly formidable. As for how formidable, he couldn’t tell.

’An Illusion? No, it doesn’t feel like an Illusion. Could it be a soul?’ Lin Xuan frowned, dismissing his own guess. ’It doesn’t feel like a soul, either. A soul can’t lift this massive Yanyue Saber.’

"Who are you?" Lin Xuan stopped overthinking and asked directly.

"Who am I? What do you think this tower is called?" The youth hopped down from the railing, seemingly unaffected by the intense gravity. In contrast, Lin Xuan, even with the Cloud Return Technique activated, could hardly move with such ease.

"The Martial God! You’re the Martial God!" Lin Xuan was inwardly shaken. The youth before him was actually the Martial God! On closer inspection, he truly did exude the aura of a supreme expert. The youth hadn’t even overtly released his Martial Intent, yet Lin Xuan felt its presence permeating the entire space.

"That’s right. I am the Martial God—the Young Martial God!" the Young Martial God said with a smile. "Of course, I am only a wisp of Divine Thought. You could say I am the Martial God, but you could also say I’m not."

Lin Xuan was stunned. No wonder it didn’t feel like a soul. A Divine Thought wasn’t a soul. It contained a part of the Martial God’s soul, but he couldn’t absorb it. Or rather, he might succeed if he tried to absorb it by force, but doing so would likely enrage the real Martial God, who would surely notice.

Besides, with his current abilities, how could he possibly absorb it by force?

’No wonder the Island Master and the others can’t pass the Sixth Layer. They’re facing the Martial God! Even if it’s the Young Martial God, he’s still the Martial God!’ Lin Xuan shook his head with a wry smile. ’The difficulty hasn’t just increased a little. The further you go, the harder it gets, to say nothing of the higher layers.’

"What is the trial for this layer? Do I have to defeat you?" Lin Xuan asked. No matter what, he had to find out how to pass.

"Defeat me? Do you think that’s possible?" The Young Martial God was taken aback for a moment, then burst out laughing.

"How will we know without trying?" Lin Xuan offered a faint smile. ’Young Martial God? We’ll see about that after a fight.’

"Interesting. I like your attitude. Since you feel that way, let’s exchange a couple of moves. No one’s made it up here for so long, I’ve been bored to death. You go first. Show me what you’ve got!" The Young Martial God gently swung his Yanyue Saber, and with a SWOOSH, it sliced through the air, causing the entire space to vibrate violently, almost tearing it apart.

Lin Xuan’s eyes narrowed. ’This is going to be more troublesome than I thought.’ Still, he decided to give it a try.

"Staff Martial Intent!"

A light flashed in Lin Xuan’s eyes as the massive phantom of his Staff Martial Intent materialized around him. He swung the giant staff in his hands, bringing it crashing down toward the Martial God. As the staff descended, a vortex of air swirled around its head, and its sheer speed whipped up a fierce gale.

"A decent Martial Intent, but it’s useless against me. This is just my old hand-me-downs!"

The Young Martial God smiled and swung his Yanyue Saber. In an instant, the phantom of a figure wielding a giant saber emerged from his body and met the Staff Martial Intent head-on. From his small frame, a phantom emerged that was several times larger than Lin Xuan’s, completely overwhelming his Martial Intent!

WHOOSH!

The giant saber swept forward viciously, easily cleaving the descending giant staff in two. A blade of light shot out, slicing Lin Xuan’s Staff Martial Intent in half!

BANG!

The Staff Martial Intent shattered. It was a complete rout. He didn’t even need to try his Soul Martial Intent; anything he threw out would be instantly defeated. The Martial Intent summoned by the Young Martial God was simply too powerful. Several of his Soul Martial Intents combined wouldn’t be enough to match this one. That was the biggest difference between them.

"Still want to fight?" The Young Martial God smiled faintly and withdrew his Martial Intent, allowing the heavy pressure in the surrounding space to ease.

"Yeah, I definitely can’t beat you in a fight." Lin Xuan spread his hands helplessly. He had known all along that he couldn’t beat the Young Martial God; he was just testing the waters. Now he knew for sure—the difference was on the level of an instant kill.

"So, tell me now, what’s the condition for passing this layer? Don’t tell me I really have to defeat you. You just said that probably isn’t it, right?" Lin Xuan asked.

"Of course, defeating me would be best, but that’s not the main point of the Martial God Tower. The condition you need to meet to pass this layer is simple: defeat me!" said the Young Martial God.

Lin Xuan’s eyes widened. He stared blankly and said, "Are you messing with me?"

’He just said I didn’t have to defeat him, but now he’s saying I do. What is he playing at?’