"Ling Xiao, how do you feel?" Chrysanthemum Douluo asked as he saw Ling Xiao open his eyes.
"Excellent, Elder Chrysanthemum."
Ling Xiao stood up with a smile, his words radiating a newfound, intense confidence.
While he hadn't been insecure before, it was only at this moment that he truly began to possess the unique power of a soul master on the Douluo Continent. With the power of his martial soul now manifest, he naturally exuded a sharp, cutting edge.
Tensing his right arm, he naturally lifted the Profound Sky Axe—a weapon he had previously struggled to swing with one hand. Feeling the strength surging through his body, Ling Xiao couldn't help but grin.
The power of the Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear soul ring was indeed miraculous; not only did it grant him a soul skill with seemingly incredible attack power, but it also provided a massive boost to his physical attributes.
His previous physical constitution had been rather average. Now, after the enhancement from his first soul ring, he finally possessed enough strength to wield the Profound Sky Axe with one hand, truly earning the right to use it in battle.
Gripping the Profound Sky Axe, Ling Xiao walked over to Meng Yiran. His eyes were bright and spirited as he swung the heavy bronze axe. "Miss Meng, didn't you want to spar? Please, make your move. I happen to want to test the power of my soul skill as well."
"Fine."
Seeing that Ling Xiao was perfectly fine and ready to jump straight into a match, Meng Yiran felt relieved and didn't hold back. Circulating the soul power within her, a dark light flashed from her tool martial soul, the Serpent Staff. Meng Yiran charged forward.
Although her martial soul was named a staff, it differed from her grandmother's; it functioned more like a long spear. The spearhead pointed straight at Ling Xiao as she let out a sharp cry and delivered a forceful thrust.
"Bring it on!" Watching Meng Yiran's spear thrust toward him, Ling Xiao neither dodged nor retreated.
Gripping the handle of the Profound Sky Axe with both hands, he swung it with all his might.
Clang!
The Profound Sky Axe was heavy and powerful.
The Serpent Staff spear thrust was instantly knocked off course by the sheer weight of the blow. Meng Yiran felt a violent shock travel through her arms, nearly causing her martial soul to fly out of her hands.
A look of surprise flashed in her eyes—this strength is so high!
Before Meng Yiran could retract her spear for another strike, Ling Xiao pressed the advantage, closing in with the Profound Sky Axe. His offensive was rapid and urgent, the axe hacking down in quick succession.
Clang! Clang! Clang!...
The sounds of the Profound Sky Axe colliding with the Serpent Staff echoed continuously.
Soul power light swirled around the two as they poured their energy into their respective martial souls. Currently, Ling Xiao and Meng Yiran were roughly equal in cultivation, but the battle was turning out quite unfavorably for her.
Ling Xiao didn't know much about actual combat techniques; he simply focused his soul power into the Profound Sky Axe and kept hacking at Meng Yiran. His footwork was messy and erratic—completely devoid of any formal style.
Fortunately, the Meng Yiran opposite him was also a novice.
Since this was the first real battle for both of them, the sparring session looked like two amateurs flailing at each other. Watching from the sidelines, Chrysanthemum Douluo and the Dragon Duke found the scene quite amusing.
However, while their battle might have looked like child's play to true experts, Ling Xiao was ecstatic. This unrefined combat allowed him to truly feel the joy of battle; he felt as if his blood were boiling, and the soul power within him flowed more smoothly than ever.
But while Ling Xiao was enjoying himself, Meng Yiran felt incredibly stifled. Aside from her initial attack, she had been suppressed by Ling Xiao the entire time, losing any chance to take the initiative.
Each of Ling Xiao's strikes was heavier than the last.
Her martial soul was mostly being used to block Ling Xiao's hacking strikes, and the immense power of the Profound Sky Axe forced her to retreat repeatedly.
"Hah! Take another axe!"
After landing another heavy blow, Ling Xiao pressed his advantage.
Roaring a chuunibyou-style line, he poured a massive amount of soul power into the Profound Sky Axe, charged forward, leapt into the air, and performed a "Mountain Splitting Strike," swinging the axe down from high above.
"Heh!"
Meng Yiran held her spear horizontally to block the attack.
Boom!
In an instant, she was knocked back by the overwhelming force. The Serpent Staff nearly slipped from her grip, and her footing became unstable as she stumbled several steps back.
"Ouch!"
Failing to catch her balance on the final step, Meng Yiran fell onto her bottom. Her face instantly turned red with embarrassment; she hadn't expected to look so pathetic in front of her grandparents.
"Curse you!"
"First Soul Skill: Serpent Blade!"
Meng Yiran scrambled to her feet, her face flushed with shame and anger as a yellow soul ring rose from beneath her feet. Meng Yiran held her Serpent Staff horizontally as purple soul power light erupted.
In an instant, five phantom images of long spears—identical to her martial soul—manifested before her. The phantoms solidified, the purple glow at the spearheads particularly prominent. The soul power aura they radiated was an exact match to Meng Yiran's martial soul.
Chrysanthemum Douluo could tell at a glance that these light spears, like her martial soul, carried a lethal poison.
"Go!"
She flipped the Serpent Staff, thrusting it forward toward Ling Xiao.
The five purple light spears instantly shot toward him as if to transfix him.
Oh, perfect timing!
Seeing Meng Yiran unleash her soul skill, Ling Xiao let out a cheer.
Now, it was his turn.
"First Soul Skill: Metal Revolution!"
Naturally activating his martial soul and calling upon the soul ring, a yellow ring radiating intense energy fluctuations rose from beneath his feet and began to rotate slightly.
Ling Xiao gripped the handle with both hands and raised the Profound Sky Axe high.
Suddenly, a vast amount of golden light erupted from the axe, tracing golden curves as it coalesced on the blade. It eventually formed a massive golden blade-edge glow—Metal Revolution—that settled on the axe's edge.
It was dazzlingly bright, the light edge incredibly concentrated and radiating a fierce, sharp aura.
But the soul skill wasn't fully formed yet.
A unique black-red halo suddenly erupted from the Profound Sky Axe, drenching the entire golden blade-glow.
Streaks of black-red light circulated through the golden edge, transforming the whole thing into a dark-gold hue. Though it wasn't as blindingly bright as before, it added a sense of violent tyranny to the skill, making it even more terrifying.
Seeing this, Chrysanthemum Douluo's pupils contracted slightly, and he was secretly shocked. He hadn't expected that the soul ring formed by the Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear, when combined with the Profound Sky Axe, would still manifest the martial soul's inherent power characteristics.
The soul ring power of the bear had not completely overwhelmed the power of the Profound Sky Axe. The activation of this first soul skill was slightly slow. By now, the purple spear phantoms released by Meng Yiran were right before his eyes.
Ling Xiao had no time to savor the skill; with a loud shout, he slashed the Profound Sky Axe forward.
The massive dark-gold axe blade glow seemed to swallow everything as it swept forward. Its sharpness seemed to tear through the void, kicking up a violent gale that sent grass and leaves flying—the momentum was staggering.
Ling Xiao thought his release had been a step too slow and that he'd inevitably take some soul power backlash, but he was surprised. The massive dark-gold axe glow, over two meters long, collided with Meng Yiran's purple spear phantoms.
The five spears were shattered almost instantly; they couldn't even hinder Metal Revolution for a second. The poison on the purple spears was completely ground away by the sharpness of the axe glow.
The dark-gold light on the axe edge consumed a small portion of its energy before continuing its flight toward Meng Yiran.
"Oh no, watch out!"
Ling Xiao cried out in alarm.
He truly hadn't expected the power of this skill to be so great that it would instantly crush Meng Yiran's Serpent Blade and keep going.
Meng Yiran's face turned pale with fear, and she couldn't help but scream.
"Serpent Devour!"
Fortunately, the Serpent Woman, Chao Tianxiang, who was watching from the side, acted in time.
She thrust her Serpent Staff forward, and the snake head at the tip seemed to come alive, its eyes suddenly lighting up with purple fire. Then, the snake head erupted with purple light as a massive phantom of a long snake, at least ten meters long, extended from the radiance.
It stretched out in front of Meng Yiran, opening its mouth to a staggering 180-degree angle, and swallowed the axe glow formed by Metal Revolution whole.