Fighting Tang Hao, the World's Limits

Ye Xuan had not expected that Tang Hao would still be here.

He had known that Tang Hao would be coming to Soto City recently, but he should have left immediately after teaching Zhao Wuji a lesson.

He never imagined that not only had he stayed, but he had also tracked him down.

Ye Xuan did not refuse Tang Hao's request; on the contrary, he felt a surge of excitement.

During the five years he had been trapped, he had practiced his swordsmanship day and night, dying over and over again.

The five years he spent cultivating were equivalent to decades of effort for anyone else.

Although he now possessed immense strength, he had not encountered a single opponent since emerging who could force him to go all out.

And Tang Hao, who had appeared just now, was the perfect match.

Although Tang Hao was currently only at level 95, he was undoubtedly a presence second only to those top-tier old monsters.

"Very well!"

Ye Xuan's prompt agreement caught Tang Hao slightly off guard.

He had expected the young man to refuse.

"Follow me." With that, Tang Hao walked straight toward the outskirts of the city.

Given his strength, the city was clearly not a suitable place to unleash his full power.

Tang Hao moved rapidly ahead, while Ye Xuan followed at a steady, unhurried pace, showing no signs of falling behind.

Before long, the two arrived at a deserted forest.

Once there, Tang Hao spoke, "I am Tang Hao. May I ask how to address you?"

Tang Hao introduced himself because he recognized Ye Xuan as a formidable opponent.

Had he merely been teaching a junior a lesson, he certainly would not have been so formal.

"Ye Xuan!" Ye Xuan replied with a cupped-fist salute.

"When you fought Zhao Wuji, you didn't use your martial soul. Where does your power come from?" Tang Hao asked curiously.

"I have my own methods of cultivation." Ye Xuan's implication was clear: he had no intention of sharing them.

"Please!"

As soon as Tang Hao finished speaking, he released his soul power and summoned his Clear Sky Hammer.

His nine soul rings appeared one by one.

Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, and a black ring tinged with red.

The reason his ninth soul ring was not entirely red was likely due to the sacrifice of Ah Yin.

Facing this overwhelming pressure, Ye Xuan began to channel the power within his body.

Ten percent, twenty percent, thirty percent...

When he pushed his power to eighty percent, he suddenly felt as if he were being watched by something.

When his power reached ninety percent, it felt as if a sword were suspended in the sky, ready to strike down from above at any moment.

Furthermore, he was shocked to discover that he could not channel any more of the power within him.

I cannot fully mobilize my strength; am I being restricted by the rules of this world?

Ye Xuan was inwardly alarmed.

At that moment, Tang Hao swung his Clear Sky Hammer, launching an attack using the Chaotic Cloak Hammer Technique.

The immense power seemed to form a vortex, with Ye Xuan at its center.

Ye Xuan's expression turned grave. He channeled his internal energy, instantly shattering a small tree nearby.

He quickly carved a wooden sword from the trunk with his energy, which flew into his hand.

Gripping the wooden sword, Ye Xuan channeled his sword qi to parry Tang Hao's assault.

Each hammer blow crashed down with ever-increasing force.

Sword qi surged around Ye Xuan, and countless flying swords condensed from that qi rose from around his wooden blade.

These sword qi strikes collided with the Clear Sky Hammer, continuously neutralizing its force.

A moment later, Tang Hao's eighty-one strikes concluded.

"Indeed, seeking you out was the right choice. You are very strong, but this surely isn't your limit," Tang Hao said, beginning to unleash the Clear Sky Nine Absolutes.

Every strike contained the fury of a thousand jun and the force of ten thousand.

Ye Xuan swung his sword, channeling the ninety percent of his power he could currently access, and unleashed the Demon Flow Sword, known for its wild ferocity.

Violent sword qi radiated from his body, and his sharp sword techniques were lethal with every move.

The two traded dozens of blows in the air. With every collision of hammer and sword, Tang Hao's body was sliced by the violent sword qi, leaving dozens of wounds. Ye Xuan, meanwhile, felt his hand go numb from the impact, and as he pushed the Demon Flow Sword to its limit, the world's restrictions became even more pronounced, causing him to spit out a mouthful of blood.

The battle ended, and the two retreated to opposite sides.

Tang Hao put away his Clear Sky Hammer, paying no mind to the wounds on his body.

Since they were only superficial wounds, they would recover quickly.

At this moment, he was more concerned about Ye Xuan's situation.

After exchanging blows, he could sense that Ye Xuan had not used his full strength.

It wasn't that Ye Xuan looked down on him or held him in contempt, but rather that he was unable to use it.

It was as if he were restricted by some kind of power; he didn't know what it was, but Ye Xuan himself was certainly aware of it.

Tang Hao believed it must have something to do with the cultivation method Ye Xuan practiced.

"Let's stop. You cannot fully call upon your power, so there is no point in continuing this fight," Tang Hao said.

"Even if I cannot use my full strength, it is still enough to deal with you," Ye Xuan said calmly.

If they were truly fighting for their lives, he could even kill Tang Hao.

After all, he was someone who had survived countless death matches.

If he wanted to kill the current Tang Hao, he could utilize Sword Twenty-Three.

Using that move might drain all the power he could currently summon, but it would absolutely be enough to kill Tang Hao in a single strike.

After all, in a state where everything was frozen, even if Tang Hao wanted to detonate his spirit rings, he wouldn't be able to do so.

Of course, there was no need for that; he and Tang Hao were not enemies.

"I believe what you say is true, but it isn't satisfying. It's because of the cultivation technique you practice that you are restricted, isn't it?" Tang Hao asked.

"Yes," Ye Xuan nodded.

In truth, he should thank Tang Hao; if not for this battle, he estimated it would have taken him much longer to notice.

The laws of this world did not allow a power like his to exist.

There were only two ways for him to freely unleash his full strength.

The first was to convert his internal energy into spirit power and integrate it into this world.

The prerequisite for this was to use his sword to forge a new martial soul for himself.

By using this martial soul as a medium and absorbing nine spirit rings, he should be able to become a level 99 Limit Douluo in one go.

But if he did that, he would have to follow the god-trial rules of this world if he wanted to become a god.

Ye Xuan naturally would not accept such an outcome.

As for the second method, it was to break the restrictions of this world himself.

He needed to contemplate and comprehend new rules based on his current foundation, break the world's limitations, and allow his own rules to integrate into this world.

In this way, he would also become a god, and because of the integration of his new rules, the people of this world would also be able to practice sword techniques and follow the path he was currently on.

This method was extremely difficult because there was no one to guide him; all he could do was slowly gain enlightenment on his own.

Fortunately, he had plenty of time now.

He was still very young, and the rules of this world would not kill him outright.

As long as he didn't force himself to use his full power, he would not be forcibly executed by the world's laws.

Using ninety percent of his power was already nearly invincible, so he could study it slowly.

Moreover, he now felt that his martial soul could also be appropriately upgraded.

Only by personally understanding martial souls and the power system of this world could he better distinguish them from his own cultivation and thereby comprehend his own sword path.