Vortex Vanquisher! Stone Steadfast, Mountains Unmoved!

On the vast training ground, Xu Yue and Yang Xiong stood dozens of meters apart, facing each other from afar.

"Xu Yue, we've known each other for over a year now. I know your strength." Yang Xiong sounded both admiring and helpless.

"If I suppressed myself to the same level as you, I'm afraid I wouldn't even last a single move before losing."

"So," he paused before continuing, "I've decided to calculate based on the combat strength of an ultimate-attribute Soul Master being two rings above an ordinary Soul Master, and suppress my soul power to Rank 51."

"As long as you can make me use power beyond this level, you win. How about it?"

Hearing Yang Xiong's proposal, Xu Yue nodded lightly, a flash of fighting spirit passing through his eyes.

It was a fact acknowledged across the continent that ultimate-attribute Soul Masters held a dominant position among those of the same rank.

If Yang Xiong truly suppressed himself to Xu Yue's level, it would be rather uninteresting instead.

He immediately clasped his hands toward Yang Xiong and performed an ancient salute.

"Xu Yue, martial soul Eden's Star, Rank 34 Assault-Control System Soul Elder."

"Please, Teacher Yang, don't hold back in your guidance!"

As his words fell, three deep-purple soul rings emerged beneath Xu Yue's feet.

"Good!"

Yang Xiong laughed and likewise clasped his hands toward Xu Yue.

"Yang Xiong, martial soul Soul-Breaking Spear, Rank 85 Assault System Soul Douluo."

Six purple and two black soul rings rose beneath his feet as well.

In an instant, the tidal soul-power pressure of a mid-rank Soul Douluo flooded the entire training ground.

Yet this aura did not last long. It swiftly waned, eventually settling at the strength of Rank 51.

With everything ready, Xu Yue did not hesitate. The second soul ring on his body flashed and vanished.

Second Soul Skill, Stone Steadfast!

Soul Skill Effect: All attributes increased by 50%, earth-element power increased by 100%, with the additional ability of elemental construction.

Immediately afterward, a thought crossed his mind.

Countless streams of bright-yellow soul power began surging and gathering in his hand.

In the blink of an eye, a rock spear roughly the same length as Yang Xiong's Soul-Breaking Spear silently took shape.

Dark gold from end to end, as if forged from stone, it gathered platinum light at its tip. It possessed both the sharpness of refined gold and the weight of the earth.

Vortex Vanquisher!

Combined with Xu Yue's usual black-and-gold style of dress, it could be said that his appearance was fully complete.

(Black Tassel Spear: Don't you love me anymore?!)

"Teacher Yang, here I come!"

Seeing Yang Xiong standing motionless in the distance, Xu Yue launched the first attack.

His foot struck the ground, making the training field tremble.

Enhanced by his second soul skill, his powerful physical strength directly smashed through the air.

He raised Vortex Vanquisher before him and thrust mercilessly at Yang Xiong.

Screech!

The spear tip tore through the air with a piercing hum.

"Good!"

At the sight of that thrust, Yang Xiong's gaze sharpened as he shouted.

Then, the Soul-Breaking Spear in his hand surged forth like a black dragon emerging from the abyss, meeting Vortex Vanquisher head-on.

Clang!

A shrill collision of metal erupted through the training room, and black-and-gold soul-power ripples spread outward like a vortex.

But soon, following the impact of the first exchange, an increasingly dense series of metallic clashes rang out in succession.

Clang! Clang! Clang...

At the start of the battle, neither Xu Yue nor Yang Xiong used any other soul skills. They fought entirely with the Soul-Breaking Spear Technique.

However, this state lasted less than half a minute before Yang Xiong praised him loudly.

"Xu Yue, your Soul-Breaking Spear Technique has reached mastery. Your attainment is in no way inferior to mine."

"In this regard alone, you've already graduated."

"Then, let's begin our real battle!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he did not wait for Xu Yue's reply and stepped backward.

His entire body suddenly swept through a half-circle during the gap between attacks, the Soul-Breaking Spear sweeping toward Xu Yue's side.

Soul-Breaking Spear Technique—Black Dragon's Tail Sweep!

At the same time, the purple soul rings beneath his feet flashed.

First Soul Skill—Shock. Second Soul Skill—Burst.

Both soul skills were unleashed simultaneously.

In an instant, the already razor-sharp Soul-Breaking Spear blazed with dense black light, its overwhelmingly tyrannical aura charging straight at Xu Yue's face.

Twenty thousand years ago, the Breaking Clan had already been renowned across the continent for their ultimate offense.

And in this era, Soul-Breaking Spear Soul Masters had pushed the attribute of attack to its absolute peak!

In this regard alone, there were likely few Soul Masters on the continent who could surpass them at the same rank.

Seeing the Soul-Breaking Spear coming at him, Xu Yue's gaze sharpened, yet he did not dodge.

He raised the Vortex Vanquisher horizontally to block it, his first soul ring flashing.

First Soul Skill—Jade Shield.

Boom!

A bright yellow shockwave erupted from around him, sweeping across a five-meter radius.

However, the first soul skill was fundamentally defensive, and its accompanying attack was not particularly powerful.

Naturally, it could not inflict much damage on the charging Yang Xiong.

The instant the Jade Shield rose, Yang Xiong's Soul-Breaking Spear smashed heavily into the shaft of the Vortex Vanquisher.

Boom!

A thunderous crash rang out.

The dense black light exploded into a powerful shockwave.

Even the Jade Shield flickered continuously.

Yet—

Despite Yang Xiong's strike, Xu Yue did not move a single step, remaining firmly rooted where he stood.

It was as though Yang Xiong had not struck a person at all, but an ancient mountain that had stood unwavering for tens of thousands of years.

The first and second soul skills worked in tandem, granting a special effect.

Rock Sovereign Body!

Stone Steadfast, unmoving as layered mountains!

Yang Xiong was naturally not surprised that his strike had failed.

If he could win so easily, then his teaching over the past year would have been for nothing.

The next moment—

Xu Yue's gaze sharpened. With a light sweep of the Vortex Vanquisher, he knocked the Soul-Breaking Spear aside and said in a deep voice, "Teacher Yang, it is only proper to return what one receives. My turn now!"

"Good—"

Before Yang Xiong could finish that single word, he felt as though he had been plunged into a boundless deep sea.

An omnipresent force began squeezing his entire body. From his skin and muscles to his internal organs, everything seemed shackled by crushing weight.

If he used the strength of a Soul Douluo, he could ignore it, but at the Soul King level, he found it difficult to break free.

For a moment, both his speed and attack power dropped by no less than twenty percent.

And Xu Yue's attack had already arrived.

The dark golden spear was like a rock dragon bursting from the earth, crashing straight toward him with the oppressive force of a collapsing mountain.

Yang Xiong did not dare ignore this strike. He raised the Soul-Breaking Spear, using offense in place of defense!

However—

At the instant the Vortex Vanquisher and the Soul-Breaking Spear collided once more—

Xu Yue lightly turned his wrist. An invisible force coiled around the spear shaft, and its attack speed abruptly surged.

Gravity Domain, eightfold amplification!

The rock spear, condensed from ultimate earth element, was already tremendously heavy, weighing several hundred jin.

With its speed, pressure, and the amplification of the Gravity Domain, how could the force behind this strike be merely a few tons?

In that instant, Yang Xiong's expression changed slightly. But it happened too quickly, leaving him almost no time to react.

Boom!

The two long spears collided heavily.

Screech!

Yang Xiong staggered back three or four meters, the Soul-Breaking Spear in his hands trembling violently.

Even when he forcibly pressed it down, he could not stop the spear shaft from shaking in such a short time.