Just as the bone claw was about to strike him, his body swayed slightly like a phantom, narrowly slipping past the claw's sharp edge by a hair's breadth.
At the same time, he brought together the index and middle fingers of his right hand and struck out like lightning. His target was not Wang Jinxi's vital point, but an extremely concealed spot on the inner side of the elbow joint of his outstretched arm.
Secret Point: Paralysis!
This strike seemed light and casual, containing no particularly violent Soul Power, yet its precision was horrifying, as though he had already calculated every trajectory of Wang Jinxi's movements.
"Ugh!"
Wang Jinxi felt his entire right arm go numb in an instant. The flow of his Soul Power suddenly stagnated, and the claw strike that had seemed certain to land drooped limply, losing most of its strength!
He was horrified. What kind of bizarre attack was this?
Pressure point striking?
But in battles between Soul Masters, pressure point striking usually had negligible effects, especially under Martial Soul Possession!
He hurriedly retreated, sweeping his left claw horizontally in an attempt to force Situ Xuan back.
Situ Xuan shifted his footing, his body drifting like willow catkins. Once again, he closed in from an unbelievable angle, this time pointing his fingers at the gap between Wang Jinxi's shoulder blades.
Secret Point: Soreness and Weakness!
Wang Jinxi's left shoulder sank, as if he were carrying a thousand-pound burden. His movement warped once again.
He roared, trying to draw out the Bone Dragon King Martial Soul's greater power. His second soul ring lit up, bone spikes bristled over his body, and his aura surged.
Yet Situ Xuan moved like a parasite clinging to bone, always circling within ten feet of him.
His movements were not fast, yet he always evaded attacks at the last possible instant. Every time he struck, his joined fingers precisely hit key nodes in Wang Jinxi's Soul Power circulation or certain strange "Secret Acupoints."
Secret Point: Stagnation!
Secret Point: Qi Reversal!
Secret Point...
Wang Jinxi felt like a puppet on strings, his power trapped and stifled inside his body with nowhere to go.
His movements became slower and slower, and the circulation of his Soul Power became increasingly sluggish. Waves of soreness, numbness, stabbing pain, and coldness kept spreading through his body.
Though he possessed immense strength and defense, he could not even touch the corner of Situ Xuan's clothes. Instead, Situ Xuan's elusive pressure point striking left him in a miserable state, his blood and qi churning.
Situ Xuan's gaze remained calm, carrying even a trace of contemplative verification.
He was using his battle with Wang Jinxi to test what he had considered the previous night—using the Dragon-Turning Breathing Method to keep his mind clear and grant himself extraordinary perception, seeing through his opponent's Soul Power flow and flaws in movement, then using his own powerful will to precisely guide a restrained, tamed thread of Malevolent Qi through his fingertips and into specific "Secret Acupoints," thereby disrupting, weakening, or even controlling his opponent.
This was not the brutal crushing force of the Black Heart Evil Palm, but another form of "dominion"—a finer, stranger, and more despair-inducing form of control!
Finally, when Situ Xuan struck a Secret Acupoint somewhere behind Wang Jinxi's knee, Wang Jinxi let out a muffled groan. One knee buckled, and he nearly fell to the ground. He desperately tried to steady himself, only to find that half his body had lost its strength and his Soul Power felt as though it had sunk into a swamp.
Situ Xuan did not attack again. He merely took a step back and looked at him indifferently.
Wang Jinxi panted heavily, his face flushed red. After several attempts, he still could not immediately dispel the bone-deep soreness, weakness, and sluggishness.
He raised his head and looked at Situ Xuan, whose breathing was steady, as if he had merely taken a stroll. Wang Jinxi's eyes were filled with frustration and a trace of fear.
This kind of defeat was even more powerless than being directly crushed by brute force.
"...I concede."
Wang Jinxi spoke bitterly, his voice hoarse as though scraped by sandpaper. He could not even make his opponent get serious.
The training ground fell deathly silent.
Wang Jinxi maintained his kneeling posture for several seconds before he used his left arm, which still retained a little strength, to barely brace himself against the ground and try to stand. Yet the bone-deep soreness, weakness, and numbness in the right half of his body remained stubborn, making his attempt to rise exceptionally difficult and embarrassing.
Every time he exerted force, the struck Secret Acupoints sent waves of needle-like pain through him, reminding him of that brief yet despairing battle.
Fine beads of cold sweat covered his forehead, not from physical exhaustion, but from the helplessness welling up from the depths of his heart.
His cheeks were flushed from his churning blood and qi and extreme humiliation. He did not even dare raise his head to meet the gazes of his companions around him.
The powerful sensation brought by the Bone Dragon King Martial Soul Possession had not completely faded, yet it stood in sharp mockery against the uncontrollable weakness of his body now.
He could feel Zhang Yangzi's shocked gaze, hear Xie Xie suck in a cold breath, and even imagine Tang Wulin's respectful yet complicated look. Those gazes seemed tangible, scorching his pride.
The gap... was it really this vast?
The thought spun wildly through his mind. He had thought that even if he lost, he could at least force Situ Xuan to reveal some of his real abilities, such as that terrifying Malevolent Qi or a more intense confrontation.
Yet the reality was that Situ Xuan had not even summoned his Martial Soul. With only phantom-like footwork and horrifyingly precise pressure point strikes, he had toyed with Wang Jinxi in the palm of his hand, leaving him with immense power yet as helpless as an insect caught in a spiderweb. Every struggle seemed futile and laughable.
This kind of defeat was even harder to accept than being crushed head-on by absolute power. It was a complete overturning of his self-perception and confidence, as though the strength and defense he had painstakingly cultivated for years were nothing more than a toy full of holes in his opponent's eyes.
At last, he staggered upright, though his right arm still hung limply and his left leg trembled faintly.
He lowered his head and pressed his lips tightly together, not daring to meet anyone's eyes—especially not Situ Xuan's, who had already turned and walked toward the edge of the field as though he had merely brushed away a speck of dust.
The bitterness of failure spread through his throat like bile, mixed with a trace of fear toward that bizarre power—a fear he was unwilling to admit even to himself.
A trace of faint surprise flashed through Wu Zhangkong's ice-blue eyes before they returned to their ancient stillness. He gave Situ Xuan a deep look and announced, "Situ Xuan wins."
That declaration was like a final verdict, making Wang Jinxi's shoulders sag almost imperceptibly.
Situ Xuan nodded slightly without speaking, then turned and walked toward the edge of the field, as though he had done something utterly insignificant.
Only he knew that the seemingly effortless battle had demanded far more from his mind and from the fine control of Malevolent Qi than a head-on fight.
Yet the interest in his eyes deepened.
The path of "dominion" seemed far broader than he had imagined.
"Next group: Tang Wulin and Xie Xie, prepare."
Wu Zhangkong's voice broke the silence and drew everyone's attention back.
Tang Wulin and Xie Xie immediately composed themselves and walked toward their designated area.
Although Situ Xuan and Wang Jinxi's battle had greatly shocked them, they now needed to focus on their own opponents.
Soon, the other two battles began in succession as well. Tang Wulin's forging hammer still swung with fierce force. With the Blue Silver Grass's unique applications and extraordinary toughness, his attacks were heavy yet flexible; Gu Yue's elemental attacks and control over combat rhythm had risen to another level, as natural as water flowing into a channel. She easily suppressed Zhang Yangzi, leaving him extremely frustrated.
After all the battles ended, the six of them lined up again.
Wang Jinxi's face was still somewhat pale, and his body occasionally gave an uncontrollable little tremor. That was the lingering effect of having his Secret Acupoints struck.
Zhang Yangzi also looked thoroughly dejected. Faced with Gu Yue's endless, seamlessly connected Elemental Control, he had speed but found it difficult to get close. The feeling of having strength but nowhere to use it was just as miserable.
Wu Zhangkong's gaze slowly swept across everyone. His ice-blue eyes seemed almost tangible, making each of them unconsciously straighten their backs.
Before you continue