Xiling vs. Wu Zhangkong

At Wu Zhangkong's command to begin, Tang Wulin pulled out his Thousand-Forged Tungsten Steel Hammer and instantly clashed with Xie Xie.

Tang Wulin was incredibly strong, but he lacked real combat experience. Although his Blue Silver Grass covered a wide area, it either failed to bind the fast-moving Xie Xie or was severed by his Light Dragon Dagger.

Xie Xie, meanwhile, did not dare confront Tang Wulin head-on. Their fight became a war of attrition, and in the end, Tang Wulin exhausted his Soul Power, allowing Xie Xie to seize an opening and win.

Because of Wu Zhangkong, Tang Wulin's Golden Dragon King Bloodline had not been activated, which left Xiling slightly disappointed.

Just then, Wu Zhangkong's voice sounded beside him. "Xiling, your Soul Power Level is far higher than theirs, so your opponent is me."

"I'll suppress my strength to your level and only use my first three soul skills."

Hearing that it was finally his turn, a trace of fighting spirit flashed through Xiling's eyes. Since awakening his Martial Soul, he had never fought with his full strength. Even he was unclear about just how powerful he truly was.

He slowly stepped into the arena. His white hair stirred without wind as his azure eyes calmly fixed on Wu Zhangkong across from him.

"Teacher Wu, you should use your full strength. I'm afraid I might hurt you."

The moment those words came out, the entire group of students erupted, staring at the arena in shock.

No one had expected Wu Zhangkong to personally fight Xiling, much less that Xiling would be so arrogant as to ask Wu Zhangkong to go all out.

Though they did not know Wu Zhangkong's exact strength, as their homeroom teacher, he certainly could not be weak.

Wu Zhangkong stared at Xiling for a long while. There was not the slightest ripple on his cold face, and his aura remained as aloof as ever.

"Fine." He also wanted to see what gave Xiling the confidence to say such a thing.

The next second, six Soul Rings rose around him—two yellow, two purple, and two black.

The pressure brought by a six-ringed Soul Emperor and ten-thousand-year Soul Rings was not something these students, who had not even reached Soul Grandmaster rank, could withstand. They staggered back in alarm, their faces deathly pale.

"A Soul Emperor!"

"Teacher Wu is actually a Soul Emperor-level powerhouse!"

Wu Zhangkong held the Skyfrost Sword and stood silently in place. The surrounding temperature seemed to plummet as biting cold spread in every direction, and even a thin layer of frost formed over the ground.

Even after revealing the strength of a six-ringed Soul Emperor, his gaze toward Xiling remained calm. There was no contempt in it, nor any unnecessary emotion—only the composure of a true powerhouse.

"Make your move."

As his cold voice fell, Wu Zhangkong gripped the Skyfrost Sword. The chill around him grew even denser, Soul Ring light circulating as he prepared to meet the attack.

Xiling's hands at his sides tightened slightly, battle intent rising in his azure eyes as invisible spatial power began to quietly spread around him.

There was no dazzling manifestation of a Martial Soul, yet three Soul Rings appeared—rings enough to shatter everything they thought they knew.

"Th-those... what kind of Soul Rings are those?!"

A student pointed into the arena, crying out in a trembling voice, his eyes filled with disbelief.

Three Purple-Gold Soul Rings, shimmering with flowing light, floated quietly in the air. They were neither the standard yellow hundred-year rings, purple thousand-year rings, nor black ten-thousand-year rings.

Yet they exuded a pressure far beyond that of ten-thousand-year Soul Rings, defying everyone's understanding of Soul Rings!

Wu Zhangkong's hand gripping the Skyfrost Sword paused slightly. His eternally icy expression finally showed an obvious shift.

He stared fixedly at the Purple-Gold Soul Rings surrounding Xiling, a rare hint of surprise entering his voice. "Special Soul Rings. A type I've never seen before."

His knowledge was vast, yet even he could not identify their origin. All he could sense was the power contained within them—deep, tyrannical, and carrying an aura of space that seemed capable of tearing apart everything.

"Teacher Wu, be careful."

The instant his words fell, Xiling had not moved, yet the space before Wu Zhangkong suddenly twisted and collapsed without warning!

"Third soul skill, Spatial Strangulation!"

There was no warning and no fluctuation of Soul Power. Violent, frigid spatial turbulence instantly formed around Wu Zhangkong, and terrifying crushing and tearing forces ran rampant.

An ordinary person facing such a sudden killing soul skill would likely be severely injured in an instant.

But Wu Zhangkong was no ordinary Soul Emperor. His combat experience far surpassed that of most.

At the critical moment, the Skyfrost Sword blazed with icy light as extreme frost Soul Power poured out wildly.

"Third soul skill, Skyfrost Slash!"

Raging frost beams crisscrossed through the air and collided head-on with the violent, strangling power of space.

The piercing sound of space tearing apart echoed across the arena. Frost and turbulence collided and annihilated each other furiously, while cracks spread across the entire fighting platform and shattered stones flew everywhere.

Though Wu Zhangkong had defended in haste, the terrifying spatial impact still sent him stumbling back again and again, the ground beneath his feet freezing and sinking layer by layer.

The shock in his eyes deepened. A mere third soul skill possessed such terrifying power?

Before he could steady himself, the space around him shifted once more.

"Second soul skill, Spatial Imprisonment!"

A large-scale imprisoning field spread out in an instant, freezing the space across the entire battlefield.

The air around Wu Zhangkong became incomparably viscous. His body suddenly stiffened in place, and even the circulation of his Soul Power was greatly hindered.

Icy frost tried to spread and break free, but layer upon layer of spatial barriers locked it down tightly, leaving him unable to move even an inch for the moment.

Immediately afterward, the terrain of the entire battlefield quietly shifted.

"Second soul skill, Spatial Severing!"

The space around the area occupied by the two of them was instantly severed, isolating the entire battlefield.

Everyone outside could only watch the battle within, while the battle inside could not affect them in the slightest.

Outside the arena, Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, and the others stood dumbfounded, their bodies turning cold.

They had never seen soul skills so strange and so domineering. Manipulating space at will—imprisoning, teleporting, strangling—every ability defied common sense.

Wu Zhangkong, imprisoned in place, wore an expression of extreme gravity. He finally understood that Xiling was no ordinary genius. Even "monster" was insufficient to describe him!

Was this level of control over spatial power truly something a Soul Elder should possess?

Taking advantage of the interval created by the imprisonment, Xiling's gaze turned cold as he raised a hand and waved it.

"Second soul skill, Spatial Severing." His second soul skill could do far more than sever the battlefield—it was also an offensive technique!

Before his words had even faded, countless invisible spatial blades instantly emerged from the spatial barrier surrounding the isolated battlefield. Dense and packed together, carrying an edge that could tear apart everything, they shot toward the imprisoned Wu Zhangkong at high speed!