Soul Emperor Awakening

"The aura of this flame... it’s Phoenix Fire!" Xiong Ba couldn’t help but exclaim after sensing it.

Phoenix Fire being released from a Demon Fox was an astonishing sight. Normally, members of the Demon Race couldn’t absorb Essence Blood from one another, as it would easily lead to conflict. However, there was one exception: the half-demon, half-human!

The onlooking demons finally understood why the aura Lin Xuan released was so mixed. They had all assumed that he had absorbed too much Essence Blood, causing his aura to become muddled during battle.

Unfortunately, they were all mistaken. Lin Xuan was a pure-blooded human; his disguise was just so good that no one had seen through it. If he had only absorbed Essence Blood, it would be impossible to perfectly replicate the aura of the Demon Fox Race. Besides, who would bother absorbing the Essence Blood of the Demon Fox Race? For the Demon Race, their Essence Blood held little value.

Divine Beast Essence Blood was the most valuable. Regrettably, members of the Demon Race couldn’t absorb it from each other. Recklessly doing so would corrupt their own bloodline, causing it to become extremely chaotic.

"Such powerful Phoenix Fire! It’s hardly inferior to that of a real Phoenix!"

"But the Phoenix Race isn’t here right now. I wonder how they’d feel if they were? A member of the Demon Fox Race absorbing a Phoenix’s Essence Blood... Heh heh, the Phoenix Race would never let him get away with it!"

"Yeah, but will Phoenix Fire even work against Xiong Ba? He’s just asking for death!"

...

The demons began to discuss amongst themselves. On the Demon Race Continent, half-demons were considered relatively neutral. At the same time, recklessly absorbing Essence Blood would truly stir up animosity. It was the same principle as a Divine Artifact containing a certain Divine Beast’s Essence Blood. Under normal circumstances, no member of the Demon Race would willingly give up their Essence Blood, as it would severely harm their body.

Moreover, the relationship between the Phoenix Race and the Demon Fox Race wasn’t particularly good, though not terrible either—but certainly not to the point of gifting Essence Blood. The most likely scenario was that a Phoenix had been gravely injured and had its Essence Blood forcibly extracted, which was essentially a death sentence.

Killing one of their own to obtain Essence Blood would definitely infuriate the entire race. But the Phoenix Race wasn’t present. They were currently dealing with many internal problems and had likely been recalled to their clan. If any members of the Phoenix Race were here, Lin Xuan would undoubtedly be interrogated.

The Phoenix Fire was eye-catching, but that didn’t mean he could win this fight. Many of the demons began to sneer. Phoenix Fire versus Yulan Sacred Fire—who would win? Obviously, Xiong Ba’s Yulan Sacred Fire! The reason was simple: the two flames countered each other!

"You idiot. To think you’d use Phoenix Fire. I was wondering what ability you’d pull out, but do you really think you stand a chance against my Yulan Sacred Fire?" Xiong Ba sneered at him. His Yulan Sacred Fire was a complete counter to Phoenix Fire.

"We’ll know once we try, won’t we?"

Lin Xuan then activated the Phoenix’s Soul Possession once more. The Phoenix Fire on his body surged, and the air temperature shot up again.

"Since you’re so ignorant, I’ll show you exactly why you’re going to die!" Xiong Ba sneered. Stomping the ground, he charged at Lin Xuan again. The Yulan Sacred Fire on his arm flared, as if he intended to end Lin Xuan with this single move. "You’re out of weapons. Let’s see you try to take my attack head-on now!"

This time, Lin Xuan didn’t use his Illusionary Charm Domain, as it had proven completely ineffective against Xiong Ba.

Instead, he fearlessly charged forward. The Phoenix Flame on his body erupted as, under the watchful eyes of all the demons, he met the attack bare-handed, showing no fear of being swatted to death by Xiong Ba’s paw!

WHAM!

Xiong Ba brought his paw down viciously, and Lin Xuan raised a hand to block. But he wasn’t sent flying as everyone expected. Instead, he skillfully deflected part of the force. With a technique akin to redirecting a thousand pounds with a mere four ounces, he gave a sudden push that shoved Xiong Ba’s descending paw aside.

Immediately after, a red light flashed in Lin Xuan’s eyes as he swung his hand and slammed a palm into Xiong Ba’s chest. THUD! The blow didn’t push Xiong Ba back even half a step. His massive body possessed terrifying Defense Power; the attack was of little use against him.

Although the bear’s arm had been pushed aside, the Yulan Sacred Fire coiled toward Lin Xuan like a great python, madly devouring the Phoenix Fire on his body with a SIZZLING sound. Unexpectedly, the Phoenix Fire didn’t seem to be at a major disadvantage!

"Bastard!" Xiong Ba hadn’t expected his attack to be deflected. He immediately swung his other paw down.

Once again, Lin Xuan met it with a gentle push. Following the momentum of the paw, he dodged to the side, skillfully neutralizing the force. At the same time, he landed another palm strike on Xiong Ba. The hit connected, but at most, it only left a fiery red Palm Seal, with no visible damage.

This scene, however, shocked all the demons. Xiong Ba’s attack had been effortlessly deflected—or rather, dodged. He simply sidestepped Xiong Ba’s strike, and the worst that happened was the Yulan Sacred Fire latching onto him.

The raging Yulan Sacred Fire could freeze anything, yet it didn’t freeze Lin Xuan. His entire body glowed red, and the continuously burning Phoenix Fire showed no signs of going out.

"That... that move is the previous Fox King’s Ultimate Skill! I think it’s called the Cloud Transformation Technique!"

"That’s right! Now that you mention it, I remember! That’s the previous Fox King’s Ultimate Skill!"

"Knowing his strength is no match for the Bear Race, he’s using it to cleverly neutralize their power. But his own attacks aren’t doing any damage!"

...

The demons were in an uproar. Some of them had seen the previous Fox King’s Ultimate Skill before—or rather, they had seen it used by other members of the Demon Fox Race, not the Fox King himself. But it had been so long since a Demon Fox had appeared that they had almost forgotten about it.

What Lin Xuan was using now was the Cloud Transformation Technique, which allowed him to effortlessly deflect his opponent’s power. Of course, this only worked when the power difference wasn’t too great. For example, it would be meaningless for a child to use it against an adult.

The Fox King of old had created this Ultimate Skill to compensate for the Demon Fox Race’s shortcomings. Now, Lin Xuan was demonstrating it perfectly! What good was immense power without the technique to apply it?

However, Lin Xuan’s attacks were like a mere tickle to Xiong Ba; they seemed completely pointless. He could dodge, but how could he win if he couldn’t deal any damage?

"Your attacks feel like you’re just scratching an itch! Let’s see how long your Phoenix Fire can last!" Xiong Ba was growing frustrated and embarrassed. He couldn’t land a single hit on Lin Xuan; every attack was deflected as if striking a soft cloud.

His only option was to keep trying to force the Yulan Sacred Fire into Lin Xuan’s body, but no matter what he did, the Phoenix Fire continued to burn just as fiercely.

"Is that so? But I’m already done. It’s time to end this..."

Lin Xuan suddenly struck Xiong Ba with one last, sharp palm strike. After it connected, he leaped backward. Just as all the demons thought he was giving up the attack, he gave a cold smile and clenched his fist. "Burning World Red Lotus!"

BOOM!

Suddenly, flames erupted from within Xiong Ba’s body, spreading outward from him like a blooming red lotus!