Soul Emperor Awakening

Silence. Utter silence. The duels in the other arenas hadn’t ended yet, but Lin Xuan’s had already concluded. In a flurry of moves, he had completely crushed Lou Yuzhi.

Lin Xuan had rarely fought in the Core Hall. He’d had two battles at most, and he hadn’t used his full strength in either. Consequently, no one knew the true extent of his power.

People had assumed Lou Yuzhi would defeat Lin Xuan. In his previous matches, Lou Yuzhi had used his imitation ability to mimic his opponent’s Martial Arts and use it against them, ultimately securing victory. For any of his opponents, this was the greatest humiliation.

To have your most prized Martial Arts mimicked and executed even more powerfully than you could yourself—what could be a greater humiliation? It was enough to completely shatter an opponent’s spirit.

Imitation was one of Lou Yuzhi’s proudest abilities, along with others like seeing through Illusion Techniques. Lin Xuan, however, didn’t have any abilities like that. His Godslaying Domain could be considered a type of Illusion Technique, but it wasn’t one in the traditional sense. The soldiers it manifested were condensed from pure Killing Intent—they were tangible, not Illusions.

While everyone else favored Lou Yuzhi, he unfortunately had to face Lin Xuan. The Cloud Return Technique paired with the Lin’s Staff Technique was a perfect combination. As such, Lou Yuzhi couldn’t hope to imitate it. It was simply beyond comparison. Unless his Cultivation was far more profound, he stood no chance of withstanding it.

"Trash!" Lin Xuan snorted. He rarely insulted people so bluntly, but this time he had to. He couldn’t stand the sight of Lou Yuzhi. Disdaining the Lin’s Staff Technique was a grave insult to him.

Seated in the audience, Lin Xue and Lin Feng stared at each other, seeing the utter shock mirrored in their eyes. They had recognized the Cloud Return Technique. As members of a branch family, of course they knew what it was. Even without having learned it themselves, they knew of its power—only by executing the Cloud Return Technique could its full, devastating might be unleashed!

They knew that such power was far beyond anything they could currently wield.

’Interesting. Truly interesting. Has he finally reached this stage? It seems my efforts to protect him haven’t been in vain...’ Seated in the center of the audience, Great Emperor Xu Qianlong’s previously dull eyes suddenly lit up, revealing a hint of greed.

Aside from him, a cold smirk touched the lips of the master of Cyan Cloud Peak upon seeing Lin Xuan’s assault, as if they had sensed something.

The others were equally shocked. Zi Yi and her companions were dumbfounded. They hadn’t seen him in half a year, and now he was this overwhelmingly powerful. A Core Disciple, defeated in an instant! One moment he was being suppressed, and the next, he was beaten. They could also tell that Lin Xuan had held back. If he hadn’t, there would be another corpse on the martial stage.

Everyone saw that Lin Xuan had deliberately avoided striking a vital point, aiming for the waist instead. Of course, the resulting injury was still severe. The man would likely be bedridden for at least half a year, and that was only if he received excellent Healing Elixirs. It was a ruthless move; one could only say that provoking Lin Xuan didn’t end well.

"You’re amazing!" Liu Yue’Er waved her hands excitedly, her face flushed red. Lin Xuan’s assault had ignited the warrior’s blood in her own veins.

Lin Xuan gave Liu Yue’Er a small smile and waved the Chi Dragon Heavens Rod in his hand, acknowledging her praise.

Qing Piaoyun was full of admiration, and even the perpetually stern Qing Piaoxue cracked a smile. Lin Xuan had truly grown stronger. With his own power, he had proven that he could have defeated Lin Xue as well.

Had Lin Xue faced Lou Yuzhi, she would have lost without a doubt. By annihilating Lou Yuzhi, Lin Xuan had proven he possessed the strength to defeat Lin Xue. ’Since she’s one of us, why waste so much energy? Besides, she’s my woman. Why would I fight her so desperately?’

If Tong Yulong encountered one of his own, he would also immediately concede. Who would actually fight in that situation? Only a fool would.

This battle shut their mouths and silenced them, but the members of the Inner Hall Sect erupted in cheers. It was an absolutely thrilling victory, and they roared that Lin Xuan was incredible!

"Slightly interesting, I suppose, but it’s nothing more than brute force!" Tong Yulong snorted, his eyes still filled with disdain.

For the rest of the time, Lin Xuan sat down at the side to meditate and recover, tossing an Elixir Pill into his mouth. The fight hadn’t drained him much, but he didn’t want to get complacent. As long as he had time to recover, he would use it to return to his Peak condition.

Soon, the other matches concluded. Six people remained, including Qing Yiyi and another disciple from the Inner Hall Sect who had managed to fight their way through. Clearly, the Inner Hall Sect had its own experts as well.

With only six people left, there were no more bamboo slips granting a bye. The remaining contestants would be paired off, leaving three victors. The three who lost would then compete for the fourth and fifth-place spots. As before, the matchups would be decided by drawing lots.

"This competition has been spectacular! Truly, each generation brings forth greater talents. At such a young age, you all possess a brilliance that we old-timers can’t hope to match. Your future accomplishments will surely surpass our own!" Qing Deyun was overjoyed. He had seen so many disciples with great potential, which of course made him happy. "And now, for the duels that will decide our top three—once again, to be determined by the draw!"

With that, he once again tossed six bamboo slips into the air. As they fell, Lin Xuan leaped up and caught one. He glanced at it and saw that the number was no longer five, but two.

’Finally, not number five...’ Lin Xuan shook his head. As he looked up, he found Qing Yiyi staring at him. He then glanced at the bamboo slip in her hand. Conspicuously carved on it was the character for "Two"!

’I can’t believe I’m facing Qing Yiyi in this match,’ he thought. ’Another one of our own, and on top of that, she’s Qing Liuyun’s daughter.’

"I didn’t expect we’d be matched against each other..." Lin Xuan said, feeling a bit awkward and unsure of what to say.

’Although they hadn’t interacted much, he had a good impression of Qing Yiyi. It wasn’t a matter of romantic attraction; rather, he felt she was very strong-willed, a personality trait very similar to his own.’

’He just never thought they would end up having to fight. But it was impossible for him to forfeit. And it was just as impossible for Qing Yiyi to forfeit; she had said before that she had to fight Tong Yulong, win or lose.’

"Before the matches started, I kept wondering if I would end up facing you. It seems I wasn’t just being paranoid; it was bound to happen." Qing Yiyi smiled calmly, showing no signs of pressure. "But it’s impossible for me to just concede. I will fight you with my full strength. If you aren’t strong enough, then I’ll be the one to take on Tong Yulong! If you can defeat me, I will accept my loss without complaint."

Lin Xuan sighed. It seemed this battle was unavoidable. Just as he was about to say something, Qing Yiyi added, "We won’t fight. We’ll compete in Body Technique alone!"

’Not a fight, just a competition of Body Technique?’

Lin Xuan was taken aback. ’Is that even allowed?’