Wood Barrier Formation

The dagger is revealed!

On the arena, Li Han's attitude toward Xu Ding stung him deeply.

He was nothing but an unripened genius, yet he dared to speak to him in such a manner; it was truly lawless.

"Should've said that earlier instead of spouting empty pleasantries."

Hearing the mockery in Li Han's words, Xu Ding's face darkened.

"Brat! You truly don't know what's good for you! Do you really think the Dragon-Snake Family can protect you? A family whose strongest member is only a Soul Douluo can be wiped out by my Martial Soul Hall with a flick of a finger! You severely injured a core disciple of my Martial Soul Hall; that is a capital offense in itself! Even if this matter were to come to light, no one would stand up for you. Furthermore, here, no one will ever know that I killed you!"

"Got it, shall we skip to the process? Are you going to make the first move, or am I?"

Li Han picked at his ear, looking thoroughly impatient.

Seeing him so brazen and unafraid, Xu Ding grew suspicious.

He looked around, searching for any figures that might appear.

But the surroundings were empty; there wasn't a soul in sight.

"Rest assured, there really isn't a single person within a three-kilometer radius."

Li Han saw through Xu Ding's confusion and cleared it up for him directly.

"What kind of twisted game are you playing?"

Xu Ding was baffled, continuing to press for answers.

"It's simple. Today, either you stay here, or I stay here. Isn't that what you said?"

"With your cultivation as a Soul Grand Master, you want to contend with me, a level sixty-one Battle Soul Emperor? Hahaha! Brat, don't tell me you think you're invincible just because you defeated Yan by jumping ranks?"

Xu Ding didn't hide his mockery in the slightest, thinking Li Han was nothing but a fool.

"How would I know without trying? As it happens, I was looking for someone to spar with, and you're quite suitable. You'll make a rather excellent whetstone."

Li Han looked Xu Ding up and down, as if eyeing prey.

This gaze made Xu Ding fly into a rage instantly.

"Good, good, good! What a moron! Since that's the case, I'll let you see the true terror of a Soul Emperor! Martial Soul, manifest!"

Xu Ding let out a loud shout, and a Rock Turtle emerged behind him, its eyes glowing crimson and its body a deep, earthy yellow. Two yellow, two purple, and two black soul rings appeared, bringing with them a powerful sense of oppression.

"So this is a Soul Emperor? This pressure is truly astonishing."

Li Han's gaze swept quickly over Xu Ding. The terrifying aura exerted significant pressure on him, but it was still within his limits.

"If we go head-to-head, I'm truly no match for him right now. But since you gave me time to prepare, you're the one who's out of luck."

Thinking this, a playful smile appeared on the corner of Li Han's mouth.

"Brat, you've lost your chance now! Die! Third Soul Skill! Earth Split Impact!"

Xu Ding slammed a fist into the ground, and in an instant, the earth cracked open with countless fissures, racing toward Li Han.

Li Han tapped his foot, instantly activating his Smoke-Drifting Steps, and landed on a nearby tree.

"Don't think you can dodge my soul skill that easily!"

Xu Ding roared, and the cracks in the earth spread to the base of the tree.

Then, with a loud boom, the tree exploded!

At the critical moment, Li Han activated his Smoke-Drifting Steps to evade the shockwave, landing on the ground like a spider using both hands and feet.

"The power of a Soul Emperor's third soul skill is truly incomparable to that of a Soul Elder's."

"This guy is much stronger than Yan."

Li Han looked at the devastated ground all around and sighed.

"Kid, do you know fear now? Tremble! Let me savor the thrill of hunting down a genius! Hahaha!"

Xu Ding laughed wildly, and Li Han curled his lip.

"A total psychopath."

Li Han scanned his surroundings; the Array Flags he had just set up were all in position.

"Time's about right. Let's have some fun with this Soul Emperor."

Li Han immediately pulled an Array Disk from his robes and slammed it hard onto the ground.

"Wood Barrier Formation!"

The Wood Barrier Formation was a wood-type offensive array capable of manipulating plants within its range to launch attacks. This was an array Li Han had only recently comprehended and successfully crafted, and its power was nothing to scoff at.

The next moment, violent fluctuations of Soul Power erupted, and the air grew thick with a wood-attribute aura.

"What's going on?"

Xu Ding sensed something was wrong immediately and looked around. He saw the trees acting as if they had gained sentience, their branches dancing wildly. When he looked back for Li Han, he found the boy had vanished from his spot.

"Kid! Get out here!"

Xu Ding roared, but Li Han ignored him.

Swish!

A branch lashed out, whipping toward Xu Ding. Xu Ding reacted quickly, dodging instantly. But this was only the beginning. Following that first strike, countless branches began to lash out, all raining down upon Xu Ding.

Facing the endless barrage of branches, Xu Ding knew that dodging alone wouldn't be enough to avoid them all.

"Second Soul Skill! Rock Turtle Possession!"

A yellowish-brown turtle shell instantly manifested over Xu Ding's body. The branches struck it and snapped, failing to inflict any effective damage.

"Kid! I don't know what kind of trick this is, but this alone won't hurt me."

Xu Ding sneered repeatedly.

Hidden in the shadows, Li Han watched the scene quietly.

"That turtle shell is truly tough. It seems the basic attacks of the Wood Barrier Formation can't hurt him. Very well, time for the next phase! Wood Kill!"

Li Han cast a spell toward the Array Disk, which began to spin rapidly, triggering a response from the surrounding Array Flags.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

The leaves from all the trees within the array fell, transforming into a flurry of willow-leaf blades that streaked toward Xu Ding. Not only that, but the trees themselves morphed into arrows, firing off one after another. The sheer scale of the overwhelming assault made Xu Ding's expression change.

"What kind of technique is this? To be able to launch an attack of this magnitude?"

Countless strikes landed on that yellowish-brown shell. Even with its astonishing defensive power, it reached its limit in an instant. Alarmed, Xu Ding immediately activated his fourth soul skill.

"Fourth Soul Skill! Rock Turtle Shield!"

Four yellowish-brown shields emerged, forming a protective barrier that completely encased Xu Ding. The countless willow-leaf blades and wooden arrows were all blocked, clattering against the barrier with crisp, metallic sounds.

"I didn't expect him to be a defense-type. Out of three soul skills used, two are defensive. He's going to be hard to kill. Still, I never intended to hunt down a Soul Emperor with just this Wood Barrier Formation. Every bit of his energy I can drain is a win."

Like a predator in the night, Li Han waited silently for his prey to succumb to exhaustion.

Xu Ding quickly realized the problem.

Facing this overwhelming onslaught, his Soul Power was plummeting rapidly.

If this stalemate continued, he would truly be in danger.

Such bizarre methods could never be a Soul Skill.

Even a ten-thousand-year Soul Skill shouldn't be this astonishing.

How on earth is he doing this?

Could it be a Soul Bone skill?

Xu Ding felt as if his entire worldview had been overturned.

But clearly, this was no time to ponder such things.

He had to find Li Han as soon as possible to break the current deadlock.

"Fifth Soul Skill! Ten Thousand Rock Blast!"