Soul Emperor Awakening

After that terrifying exchange, Tong Yulong had the upper hand. Lin Xuan was completely at a disadvantage and had nearly been pierced through the heart. The attack showed no mercy. The power of that spear thrust was immense; luckily, it wasn’t condensed with too much Elemental Power, or half his body would have been blown to bits.

The tables had turned so quickly, from Tong Yulong’s initial defeat to his current counterattack, that many in the audience were still trying to process what had happened. While it wasn’t a complete steamroll, it looked like Tong Yulong’s victory was only a matter of time—and it seemed he hadn’t even gone all out yet.

"How does it feel? Your Martial Intent is useless against me. I know this little trick, too!" A layer of Martial Intent coated Tong Yulong’s Golden Python Scale Snake Spear. In fact, his entire body was enveloped in it, and its concentration was in no way inferior to Lin Xuan’s Fifth Layer Soul Fusion.

Lin Xuan’s heart sank. ’No wonder Tong Yulong said Martial Intent was nothing to him. His is no weaker than mine. With that power layered on top of his own, the increase in might is explosive. Of course he could easily shatter my layer of Martial Intent.’

’This soul is truly something else,’ Lin Xuan’s expression darkened. ’It’s even cultivated Martial Intent. It must be an expert from a much older generation. The soul possessing Tong Yulong is definitely an ancient monster.’

He had never believed his Martial Intent was unique. The world was vast; it was hardly surprising that others knew of it. Many in the Tu Family could use Martial Intent, they just rarely released it in front of others.

Releasing it openly here was pointless; it would only be shattered with ease. Before the Soul Possession, Tong Yulong had already pierced through Lin Xuan’s Martial Intent with almost no effort. Perhaps he wouldn’t have been able to break the version condensed from the Fifth Layer Soul, though.

But now, things were different. The soul possessing Tong Yulong knew Martial Intent. While it was unclear if it could project that intent externally, all that mattered was that it was incredibly strong.

However, Lin Xuan was not surprised. Of course it was strong. The opposing soul, on its own, possessed power at the Core Formation Stage Level or higher. A single soul that far surpassed the fusion of all his own—this was an absolute gap in quality.

But his eyes held not a trace of despair, nor any hint of surrender. This was not his final trump card!

In the next moment, Lin Xuan dispersed the souls within his body. He recalled all of them to the Soul Pearl, leaving only the Golden Dragon King’s soul within the Chi Dragon Heavens Rod. His aura plummeted instantly, making many spectators feel he had weakened considerably, as if he were giving up.

"What, giving up? But this kid’s wish isn’t for you to simply surrender—he wants me to cripple you!" Tong Yulong sneered, a red glint flashing repeatedly in his eyes. He stomped his foot, leaving a bloody footprint on the ground. Then, a sea of blood surged up behind him and rushed toward Lin Xuan.

A gust of wind blew past, carrying the thick stench of blood into his nostrils. This spectacle made it clear that his opponent had no intention of letting him surrender. Once a surrender was declared, the fight would be over. Tong Yulong didn’t want Lin Xuan to yield; he wanted to cripple him!

"Surrender? That word has never been in my vocabulary!" Lin Xuan took a deep breath, lightly brandishing the Chi Dragon Heavens Rod. A fierce battle lust ignited in his eyes as he coldly commanded, "Martial God Spirit, fuse!"

In an instant, the Soul Pearl within him began to hum. A terrifying soul fused into his body, accompanied by an aura that shot to the heavens. It was an intense battle intent—the ultimate battle intent! At the same moment, a terrifying Martial Intent surged from within him and materialized at his back, far stronger than what had been condensed by the Fifth Layer Soul.

As it appeared, this manifestation of supreme Martial Intent wasn’t holding a giant rod, but a colossal Yanyue Saber!

"Martial God Slash!"

With a furious roar, Lin Xuan swung forward. The phantom image behind him followed suit, swinging with all its might. The colossal Yanyue Saber slashed horizontally, kicking up a hurricane as an immense blade of light shot out, seemingly bisecting the entire fighting stage.

The blade of light was so wide that its edges scraped against the protective barrier. It was only because Qing Deyun was pouring Elemental Power into the barrier that the entire shield wasn’t sliced in two.

But that did nothing to stop the immense blade of light from slashing toward the charging Tong Yulong. This tyrannical and peerless Martial Intent was truly unstoppable!

Tong Yulong’s eyes widened in shock. He clearly hadn’t expected Lin Xuan to have such a move. He scrambled to pull back his attack and defend, but the slash was already upon him, cutting across with immense weight.

WHOOSH!

Tong Yulong had already thrust out his spear, likewise imbued with a tyrannical and peerless Martial Intent. With a frenzied jab, he forcibly pierced the oncoming wave of light, but he only managed to shatter a small section, leaving the rest of the attack unaffected.

Meanwhile, the sea of blood Tong Yulong had summoned was cleanly bisected by the tyrannical Martial God Slash. Split in two, it dissipated into a red mist and vanished.

"M-Martial God!" Tong Yulong could no longer manage a smile, his voice dry and filled with astonishment.

The phantom image behind Lin Xuan was the genuine spirit of the Martial God. Martial Intent itself was first created by the Martial God. One could say its existence was inevitable, but the Martial God was the first to create it, and he wielded it to a level of absolute perfection.

In the face of the Martial God’s Martial Intent, all other forms of it were incomparable; one could only avoid a direct confrontation.

It was not a slash to cleave the world, but to shatter it!

That’s right. The reward Lin Xuan had received from the Sixth Layer of the Martial God Tower was the Martial God’s Spirit. The Martial God had not passed on any memories—or, to be more precise, no memories other than those related to Martial Arts. He had given the pure Soul Energy to Lin Xuan entirely.

Normally, once the power within the soul was absorbed, the spirit itself would dissipate, signifying the inheritance of the Martial God’s legacy. But because Lin Xuan possessed the Soul Pearl, he could store it within the pearl and use it for a perfect possession.

Unfortunately, this was only a small fragment of the Martial God’s Spirit, not the complete soul. To collect the entire Martial God’s Spirit, one would have to reach the very top of the Martial God Tower.

Even though it was only a small fragment of the Martial God’s Spirit, its Cultivation had already reached the Peak of the Core Formation Stage! This was the reward from the Sixth Layer. Its power completely eclipsed the fusion of all his other souls, reaching a far more terrifying level.

He hadn’t used it at the beginning, mainly because he felt he didn’t need such a tyrannical soul to deal with Tong Yulong. The stronger the soul, the more Elemental Power it consumed. It wasn’t that he wanted to hold back, but that using it recklessly was too draining and, until now, completely unnecessary.

Now that Tong Yulong was possessed by an expert, Lin Xuan had no choice but to call upon the Martial God’s Spirit. He was very satisfied with the results, but the cost was as terrifying as he had anticipated. The single attack had drained nearly half of his Elemental Power and a significant amount of his Spiritual Power.

This was his final trump card: the Martial God’s Spirit!