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**
Could it be because of his status as the Sect Master of one of the Lower Four Sects that Elder Chrysanthemum showed him such courtesy? It was just like facing the emperors of the two great empires.
Even if the other party was not a Titled Douluo level expert, they would still interact as peers.
However, Ling Xiao thought about it and felt something was slightly amiss. After all, due to their supreme status and imperial dignity in the secular world, it was normal to show courtesy to the emperors.
But for those purely within the soul master world, it was not that easy; more emphasis should be placed on strength.
"Presumably, these two young men are the most outstanding younger generation of Spirit Hall."
Huyan Zhen shifted his gaze, looking toward Ling Xiao and Yan, speaking with a hint of affirmation in his words.
"Precisely. They are indeed members of the Golden Generation, the most outstanding among the young soul masters of our Spirit Hall." Chrysanthemum Douluo said with a smile on his face, filled with absolute confidence.
Ling Xiao and Yan had already dismounted when Huyan Zhen and the sect elders came out.
At this moment, under Huyan Zhen's gaze, while simultaneously having the gazes of several Elephant Armored Sect elders land on them, they instantly felt an invisible pressure, as if being stared down by several giant beasts at the same time.
Ling Xiao knew that this was a natural oppression exerted by high-level soul master experts against low-and-mid-level soul masters. Because high-level soul masters possessed formidable strength, the soul power contained within their bodies could be described as massive.
Even if they did not actively release their soul power to create an energetic pressure, merely being near them would cause one to be deterred by the power inside their bodies. This was a sense of oppression naturally generated by powerful soul power energy.
This remained true unless they actively and deliberately restrained it, just like how they faced Chrysanthemum Douluo and other high-level soul masters back in Spirit Hall.
Alternatively, if a soul master's cultivation was extremely high—far beyond that of ordinary high-level soul masters—and their control over their entire strength had reached the absolute peak, returning to a state of pristine simplicity.
Then even standing right next to them would not cause any sense of oppression. Furthermore, one would be completely unable to perceive any aura from them at all, just like when Ling Xiao faced his teacher, Mu Chen.
Hearing Huyan Zhen's words at this moment, both of them took a few steps forward and said in unison, "Greetings, Sect Master Huyan. Greetings, seniors."
"Mm, not bad."
Huyan Zhen nodded, "To already possess such cultivation at such a young age, you truly live up to being the most outstanding young soul masters of Spirit Hall. Compared to the two of you, the most outstanding disciples of my Elephant Armored Sect pale in comparison."
Receiving such praise from Huyan Zhen, the two did not feel overly overjoyed, and their expressions remained unchanged.
Ling Xiao smiled gently and said, "Sect Master Huyan praises us too highly. The Elephant Armored Sect ranks among the Seven Great Sects and has been passed down for over a thousand years."
"The sect's foundation is extraordinary, and the inherited Diamond Mammoth Martial Soul is incredibly powerful, enjoying great renown in the soul master world. Ling Xiao has heard of its fame for a long time and looks forward to seeking guidance during this visit."
"Ling Xiao?"
A flash of light crossed Huyan Zhen's expression as he secretly nodded, unconsciously committing this young man to memory.
"Everyone, welcome to the Elephant Armored Sect. Please, come in."
As he spoke, Huyan Zhen, along with the six elders of the Elephant Armored Sect, welcomed Chrysanthemum Douluo and the rest of the Spirit Hall party inside.
However, the Spirit Hall group was numerous on this trip.
Aside from a large number of ordinary guard knights, there was also a large number of soul masters. Among them, in addition to many Soul Emperor and Soul Saint level experts, Soul Kings and Soul Ancestors were even more numerous.
It was impossible for all of them to enter and take a seat inside the Elephant Armored Sect's discussion hall.
Therefore, under the arrangement of the Elephant Armored Sect Master Huyan Zhen, most of the Spirit Hall personnel with cultivations below the high-level Soul Emperor followed an Elephant Armored Sect deacon of the Soul Emperor level to another location to be arranged for rest.
The remaining people accompanied Huyan Zhen to the sect's grand hall.
Inside the spacious discussion hall of the Elephant Armored Sect, Sect Master Huyan Zhen and Chrysanthemum Douluo sat at the primary seats of honor at the top, while the remaining sect elders and high-level soul masters of Spirit Hall sat divided on both sides.
Ling Xiao and Yan stood beside Chrysanthemum Douluo.
Soon, following a few exchanges between Chrysanthemum Douluo and Huyan Zhen, a burst of rather orderly and heavy footsteps echoed.
A few extremely tall young men walked in.
Although their faces still looked somewhat immature—around the same age as Yan—every single one of them had thick eyebrows and big eyes. With shoulders as broad as mountains, they far surpassed ordinary men, and their gazes and expressions were exceptionally resolute.
Their attire was unmistakably in the style of the Elephant Armored Sect. All of them had short black hair, wore dark-gold metallic breastplates paired with loose brown leather pants, and exposed the powerful muscles of their upper bodies.
Their statures were around two meters tall, making them slightly taller than even Yan, and their physiques were incredibly robust, far exceeding normal people.
A quick count revealed seven individuals in total, and they actually bore a striking resemblance to one another, naturally prompting one to guess whether they were brothers of the same clan.
"Elder Chrysanthemum, these seven brothers are the crème de la crème among the third-generation disciples of my Elephant Armored Sect. They can be considered the most outstanding within the younger generation of soul masters in our sect."
"Come, quickly pay your respects to His Holiness Yue Guan."
As these seven individuals arrived at the center of the hall and lined up side by side, Huyan Zhen introduced them to Chrysanthemum Douluo.
Hearing this, the seven immediately saluted one after another.
"Huyan Li, Huyan Ba, Huyan Shan, Huyan Xi, Huyan Qi, Huyan Gai, Huyan Shi. Greetings to His Holiness Yue Guan, greetings to all the seniors."
"Pulling mountains with matchless might?" [1]
Hearing their names, Chrysanthemum Douluo could not help but daze slightly before smiling gently.
"The names certainly carry a fine meaning, though I wonder if they will truly possess such strength in the future."
Ling Xiao and Yan carefully sized up the seven, nodding secretly.
Judging from the aura of their soul power, the cultivation levels of these seven were roughly around the mid-to-high-ranks of the Soul Elder realm. The one right in the center of the seven was the strongest, having fundamentally reached the high-rank Soul Elder level.
Although their cultivations were inferior to the two of them, considering that the Elephant Armored Sect was one of the Lower Four Sects and the Huyan Clan's heritage was quite ancient, as the most outstanding younger generation of the Elephant Armored Sect.
They could not be viewed as ordinary soul masters.
They were definitely worthy of a fight, and could at least allow the two of them to experience the might of the Diamond Mammoth Martial Soul.
While Ling Xiao and Yan were sizing up the seven of them, Huyan Li and the others could not help but look toward Ling Xiao's duo as well. After all, apart from themselves, there were no other young soul masters in the hall.
Although their Huyan Clan inherited the Diamond Mammoth Martial Soul and possessed incredibly robust bodies influenced by it, they were by no means fools who only relied on brute force.
They could naturally guess that Ling Xiao and his companion must belong to the younger generation of Spirit Hall, and were the opponents they had to face this time.
Feeling the soul power auras on Ling Xiao and Yan that were noticeably stronger than theirs, the hearts of Huyan Li and the others sank slightly.
Although they had long guessed that with the sheer power of Spirit Hall, the younger generation of soul masters they nurtured would bound to be incredibly strong with remarkable cultivations.
Those entrusted with heavy responsibilities by Spirit Hall to be sent out to challenge the descendants of various major factions in the soul master world must be the best among them—with cultivations bound to have reached the Soul Ancestor realm.
However, they had still held onto a glimmer of hope after all. Now that their wishful thinking was shattered and they were forced to accept reality, it was inevitable that the pressure in their hearts increased tremendously.
At the head of the hall, Huyan Zhen looked toward Chrysanthemum Douluo and said, "Ah Li is the strongest among the younger generation of my Elephant Armored Sect, and he is also my eldest grandson. Let him spar separately with the two young men brought by Elder Chrysanthemum."
"However, in my opinion, this battle is fundamentally unnecessary. Ah Li is only at the Soul Elder cultivation level, whereas these two young men are already Soul Ancestors. How can he possibly match them? Why don't we..."
From his words, it seemed Huyan Zhen wanted to use the gap in cultivation levels as a pretext to cancel this challenge.
However, before he could finish speaking, Chrysanthemum Douluo cut him off.
"How could this seat not know what Sect Master Huyan is worried about? Please rest assured. During the sparring match, both Ling Xiao and Yan will suppress their cultivation levels to the Soul Elder realm."
"Although they will still hold an advantage on the level of their Martial Souls, this is already an extra suppression of strength. As one of the Seven Great Sects, the descendants of the Elephant Armored Sect wouldn't go so far as to not even dare accept a challenge like this, right?".
**
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