Hundred Sects Tournament · Golden Core Finals (4)

Even the few Golden Core soul troopers that attempted to block her found their solidified soul weapons shuddering violently and dimming the instant they struck her dart tips. Often, after only a few collisions, they dissolved with anguished wails.

Ultimately, they were merely summoned puppets. Without the combat instincts and adaptability they had possessed in life, they could not compare to the unpredictable cunning of genuine Golden Core cultivators.

"This...!"

Before the Water Mirror, the spectators—especially cultivators familiar with the Su Family's Soul-Taming and Spirit-Nurturing Art—showed undisguised astonishment. Whispers and discussion spread like ripples.

"Something isn't right... Su Zhaoyang's soul warriors can't possibly be this fragile!" A middle-aged cultivator in gray robes knitted his brows, his voice full of confusion.

"I watched his earlier matches too. Even those Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment soul warriors took some effort to deal with, let alone the Golden Core soul troopers. Opponents at the same level had to expend considerable strength and use specific techniques to disperse them... How can Ling Anxin cut through them so effortlessly?"

His question voiced what many were thinking. Within the Water Mirror, that black-clad figure darted through the gray-white tide of souls. Wherever she passed, soul warriors melted like snow under boiling water, with an efficiency that made their hearts quail.

An elder from a major sect, a man of broad experience, narrowed his eyes and stared intently at the light flowing over Ling Anxin's dart tips. He spoke slowly, his voice carried by the formation to everyone around him. "The soul warriors haven't weakened. This young woman's cultivation method... completely counters them."

At his words, many young cultivators who had merely been enjoying the spectacle looked enlightened, while the more knowledgeable spectators nodded in firm agreement.

The inexperienced youngsters might not see the subtleties, but how