As Nan Feng finished speaking in his flamboyant manner, the atmosphere across the battlefield turned bizarre. Not only had the Clear Sky Sect's people never expected it, but even the Spirit Hall side hadn't imagined that a "top-tier expert" would appear among them.
He hadn't even activated his Martial Soul, yet he'd easily blocked a strike from a Clear Sky Sect elder who had activated his Martial Soul Avatar!
For a moment, morale on the Spirit Hall side surged for no apparent reason, while a faint sense of despair arose among the Clear Sky Sect's people.
If an expert like this went on a killing spree, how many of them would survive?
The Sixth Elder of the Clear Sky Sect, who had made the attack, was even more shaken.
He knew better than anyone what had happened when he brought down his hammer. This man absolutely hadn't used a Spirit Skill, and it definitely wasn't a Spirit Bone Skill!
In other words, this man really had blocked a strike from his Clear Sky Avatar with just one finger!
Yue Guan and Gui Mei, who knew what was going on, were completely dumbfounded too.
They clearly remembered that Nan Feng only had Soul Power Level 40!
Exactly 40. Not a point more!
How had he blocked the Clear Sky Avatar?
No joke, even they wouldn't dare pull a stunt like that against the strike just now—not to mention a Soul Ancestor!
They'd either have to dodge or activate their own Martial Soul Avatars to block it!
"Can't you understand what I'm saying?" Nan Feng waved his hand, took a large armchair out of his Soul Tool, and sprawled lazily across it.
"I'll say it again: you're not qualified to fight me. Bring Tang Xiao out!"
What the hell—he was completely unharmed?
No, no. The only explanation for him being unharmed was that the hammer just now could have killed him outright!
The kind of strike that emptied his entire health bar in one hit!
To put it more vividly, he'd triggered his Name Blade at full health!
Thrilling!
That hammer had taken a tenth of his Soul Power!
The Clear Sky Hammer was terrifying indeed!
If he took just nine more of those deadly attacks, he'd be done for on the spot!
"May I ask which High Priest you are, senior?" The Sixth Elder's manner grew much more respectful.
The only possible explanation for blocking his attack that way was that the other man was a Titled Douluo!
And a Peak Douluo above Level 95!
A legendary figure hidden away in the depths of the Elder Hall, the highest defensive force of Spirit Hall!
High Priest?
Nan Feng leaned against the chair and cast a cold glance at the enormous hammer opposite him. "Do I need to say it a third time?"
The Sixth Elder felt a surge of anger but didn't dare show it. He cupped his hands in salute, then retreated in a flash.
If the other man could easily withstand his Clear Sky Avatar, killing him would be just as easy!
With that kind of strength, he wouldn't even get the chance to fight back with his life on the line!
The battlefield fell silent. Nan Feng lay strangely in the middle of it, eyes closed as he rested, yet not a single person dared try anything while his guard was down.
"Second Brother, this kid... can you figure out what's going on?"
In the shadows, Second Worship Golden Crocodile Douluo had come at Qian Daoliu's command to oversee the battle. He'd also planned to take out a couple of Clear Sky Sect elders while he was there. Fifth Worship Guang Ling Douluo had tagged along to watch the excitement, and both of them had witnessed that strange scene.
Guang Ling really couldn't make sense of it.
The man hadn't activated his Martial Soul or used a Spirit Bone Skill, yet he'd blocked a Soul Douluo's Clear Sky Avatar without a scratch?
To be honest, Guang Ling wouldn't dare try that himself.
In all of Spirit Hall, the only person who might dare pull something like that was probably the man beside him.
Golden Crocodile Douluo had a Golden Crocodile King Martial Soul, and his defensive power was practically absurd. Even the Grand Priest would have to get serious to have any chance of breaking through Golden Crocodile's defense.
Anyone else—even if all the other High Priests attacked together—would only have a chance of breaking through after Golden Crocodile ran out of Soul Power. As long as his Soul Power was plentiful, they could forget about it.
"The instant he was struck, the Soul Power around him fluctuated slightly, but..." Golden Crocodile's expression was puzzled.
"Even I couldn't withstand the Clear Sky Avatar without activating my Martial Soul."
A Soul Master's physical strength depended on their level and Martial Soul. Beast Martial Soul users were generally stronger than Soul Masters with other types of Martial Souls, but that mostly came down to their physical attributes. There was no way they could withstand someone else's Martial Soul Avatar without activating their own.
Soul Masters cultivated their Martial Souls; their Martial Souls were their foundation. Without one, Soul Power could still help with offense, but as for defense, even he wouldn't dare try something like that.
With Martial Soul Possession, he was confident that the hammer strike wouldn't have hurt him. But without activating his Martial Soul, relying on his physical body alone? That was a joke.
"Could that kid be some kind of Humanoid Spirit Beast?" Guang Ling wondered.
"Probably not. Back in Spirit City, when Bibi Dong appointed him as Staff Officer and sent him to the front lines with Yue Guan and Gui Mei, I saw his Martial Soul," Golden Crocodile said.
"That thing was a little strange. I couldn't tell whether it was a Beast Martial Soul or some kind of Support-type Martial Soul."
Guang Ling looked puzzled. "What did it look like?"
"Like a statue of a coiled dragon," Golden Crocodile replied.
"A statue?" Guang Ling was taken aback.
"Could he use Martial Soul Possession?"
"I don't know. I didn't ask at the time. I just had him release his Martial Soul for a look," Golden Crocodile said.
"I thought he was just a pawn Bibi Dong was using to bluff the enemy. I didn't expect him to have a skill like this."
"A pawn?" Guang Ling looked bemused.
"What do you mean?"
"He's only Level 40," Golden Crocodile said.
"..."
"Huh?" Guang Ling stared at him, completely baffled.
A Level 40 Soul Ancestor had blocked the Clear Sky Avatar without a scratch?
Was this a joke?
Suspicious, Guang Ling didn't care whether he'd expose himself. He immediately extended his Spiritual Power toward Nan Feng.
"Hm? Why can't I sense him?" Guang Ling asked, puzzled.
High-level Soul Masters could use their Spiritual Power to scan lower-level Soul Masters and roughly determine their Soul Power Level. Of course, this method wasn't precise, since Spiritual Power could be disrupted. To accurately determine someone's Soul Power Level, they still needed direct contact.
But now, the moment his Spiritual Power reached that kid, it vanished into thin air. He couldn't see anything at all.
"It's probably because of that strange Martial Soul of his," Golden Crocodile said.
"It was the same when I was in Spirit City. I couldn't tell through Spiritual Power; I could only sense his actual Soul Power fluctuations through direct contact."
"His trick just now probably relies on his unusual Martial Soul too. Maybe his Martial Soul has some special ability along those lines."
The Martial Souls of Douluo Continent came in all shapes and forms. Besides the common blades, spears, swords, and halberds, as well as various Beast Martial Souls, strange Martial Souls appeared from time to time. Some might possess special abilities.
"I see..." Guang Ling nodded.
A strange Martial Soul ability could explain it. After all, he'd seen plenty of bizarre Martial Souls before. Take Gu Rong of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, for example: because of the unusual nature of his Martial Soul, he was known as the most mysterious and troublesome among the Titled Douluo.
Who knew how long had passed? Just as Nan Feng was about to fall asleep in his chair, the Clear Sky Sect finally made a move.
The Sixth Elder, who had left earlier, returned with an old man and a middle-aged man who looked to be in his forties or fifties.
Of course, a Soul Master's age couldn't be judged by appearance. Once they reached a certain level, Soul Masters could preserve their looks and stop aging through the long-term expenditure of Soul Power. They could even grow younger to a certain degree.
Generally, only Titled Douluo could make themselves look younger again. But those who reached that realm didn't care much about looking young. On the contrary, many preferred to keep the appearance of a middle-aged man or even an old man.
It was the clearest sign of experience and seniority.
That said, some old eccentrics might prefer to keep the appearance they'd had when they were young.
"I'm Tang Xiao, Sect Master of the Clear Sky Sect. Greetings, senior." Tang Xiao walked ahead of the two elders and stopped about thirty meters away from Nan Feng.
Nan Feng opened his eyes. "You're Tang Xiao?"
"That's right." Tang Xiao remained neither servile nor overbearing.
"Do you know why I'm here?" Nan Feng asked, propping his chin on one hand.
"Please enlighten me, senior," Tang Xiao said in a low voice.
How Tang Hao was as a person—how could he, as his older brother, not know? It was obvious that Spirit Hall coveted the 100,000-Year Transformed Spirit Beast. They'd failed to get it years ago, and now they'd gone too far, sending three Titled Douluo to hunt her down. They'd lost because they weren't strong enough—that was Qian Xunji's own fault. Yet this bunch had turned around and blamed them. They truly had no shame!
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