I Concede

Bing Yekong waited quietly to one side, keeping an eye on the Feng Family's movements. The Creation Mystic Soul Pill was simply too precious; if outsiders stumbled upon it, trouble would be inevitable. Fortunately, Feng Tianlin had gone to the City Lord's Manor early that morning for discussions, and the others in the Feng Family did not ask any questions when they saw Bing Yekong.

Two hours later, the light around Feng Xiaotian's body suddenly flared before withdrawing into him.

He opened his eyes, a sharp gleam flickering within them. The fluctuations of Soul Power around him had clearly risen by an entire level.

"Level forty-six..." Feng Xiaotian lowered his head to look at his hands, his voice trembling. "Three levels in one go... This, this..."

Bing Yekong cut off his shock. "Alright, alright. Now that you've broken through, it's time for the real business. Didn't you want to spar? Come on, let me see how far you've trained your Gale Demon Wolf's Thirty-Six Slashes."

Only then did Feng Xiaotian come back to his senses, blazing battle intent igniting in his eyes.

"Good! I was just thinking of testing my moves on you!"

The two moved to the Feng Family's training ground, which was specifically used for sparring among the family's younger generation. It was much more spacious than the rented one in Element City, and its floor was laid with granite reinforced by Soul Power, enough to withstand the aftershocks of battles at the Soul Emperor level.

Feng Xiaotian was the first to summon his Martial Soul. The phantom of the Gale Twin-Headed Wolf emerged behind him, while two yellow and two purple Soul Rings slowly rose beneath his feet.

He took a deep breath, with no intention of holding back. Soul Power surged violently, and fierce winds sprang up around him as the pair of cyan wings behind him abruptly spread wide.

"Third Soul Skill, Gale Twin Wings!"

Feng Xiaotian shot into the air and hovered overhead. Immediately afterward, his aura began rising steadily, Soul Power circulating rapidly through his body as the shape of those wings gradually changed, becoming increasingly solid and sharper by the moment.

Gale Demon Wolf's Thirty-Six Slashes began charging.

Bing Yekong remained where he was, merely watching him calmly. Only at the very instant Feng Xiaotian was about to launch his attack did he raise a hand and summon the Tianshuang Sword.

The moment the Tianshuang Sword appeared, biting cold swept across the entire training ground. Then, a deep yellow, a bright purple, a dark purple, and an ink-black Soul Ring rose beneath his feet.

Suspended in midair, Feng Xiaotian's breathing stopped for an instant when he saw that Soul Ring configuration.

Yellow, purple, purple, black.

The first ring was eight hundred years old, the second and third were thousand-year rings, and the fourth was a ten-thousand-year ring.

Such a Soul Ring ratio was enough to rank among the greatest in the history of the entire Soul Master world. For a moment, Feng Xiaotian could not think of any legendary genius who had possessed such a configuration.

Yet after his shock passed, the battle intent in his heart only burned more fiercely.

To cross blades with such an opponent was an honor for Feng Xiaotian!

"Take this!"

Feng Xiaotian roared as he dove from the sky like a cyan cannonball. Fierce winds wrapped around his rapidly spinning body, while the edges of his cyan wings trailed dozens of wind blades that sliced through the air like invisible sharp edges.

First slash!

Bing Yekong slightly turned to the side, holding the Tianshuang Sword level as he raised its tip. He did not use any Soul Skill, merely condensing peerless sword intent upon the blade before thrusting out.

"Clang."

The sound of metal striking metal rang out. Feng Xiaotian's first slash was precisely blocked, its offensive force completely dispersed. Alarmed, he had no time to think further and twisted his body in midair, following up immediately with the second slash.

Bing Yekong rotated his wrist, and the Tianshuang Sword traced an arc. Sword intent flickered as he effortlessly dissolved the attack once more.

Third slash, fourth slash, fifth slash...

Feng Xiaotian's slashes grew faster and fiercer. More and more wind blades formed along his cyan wings, and the force of every slash continued to stack. Veins bulged across his forehead as his Soul Power was pushed to its limit, making him seem like a cyan blade himself.

Yet Bing Yekong remained rooted in place, not retreating a single step.

His swordsmanship appeared plain and unremarkable, nothing more than casual combinations of basic sword moves. Yet every time he struck, an invisible sword intent accompanied his blade. It was as though that intent had predicted where each of Feng Xiaotian's slashes would land, dissolving them with the least effort possible.

The longer Feng Xiaotian fought, the more alarmed he became.

He had already reached the twenty-fifth slash. Even a Soul King would have to take such power seriously. Yet Bing Yekong's expression had barely changed. The faint curve at the corner of his lips even carried a trace of satisfaction, as if he were admiring a work gradually taking shape.

"Not enough," Bing Yekong said. "Your charging rhythm is still somewhat sluggish. After the twentieth slash, you were clearly a beat slower. Continue."

Feng Xiaotian gritted his teeth and roared, pouring all his remaining Soul Power into the wings behind his back.

Twenty-sixth slash! Twenty-seventh slash! Twenty-eighth slash!

The cyan wind blades had expanded from dozens to over a hundred. Feng Xiaotian seemed to be wrapped within a storm, and the force of every slash was nearing the level of a Soul King's all-out attack.

Twenty-ninth slash! Thirtieth slash!

"Crack."

A fine fissure spread across Feng Xiaotian's cyan wings. He was nearly at his limit, but he clenched his teeth and forced himself to endure.

Thirty-first slash! Thirty-second slash! Thirty-third slash!

Bing Yekong's sword intent also began to rise. What had initially been casual strikes now required him to focus more of his mind into every sword stroke. Even so, he remained firmly in place, his feet unmoving.

Thirty-fourth slash! Thirty-fifth slash!

Feng Xiaotian's entire body trembled. His eyes were bloodshot, his teeth clenched tight, and a trace of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth. Yet his eyes shone like two burning stars.

Thirty-sixth slash!

As the final slash descended, Feng Xiaotian became a pillar of cyan light, carrying the full power accumulated through the previous thirty-five slashes as it crashed down upon Bing Yekong like a meteor from beyond the heavens.

A glint of approval flashed through Bing Yekong's eyes.

He moved.

"Profound Ice Dragon Soar."

The instant his words fell, an extremely chilling aura erupted from Bing Yekong's body. Frostlight blazed from the Tianshuang Sword as an ice-blue dragon phantom condensed around him and roared into the sky.

But Bing Yekong controlled its power.

He deliberately suppressed the Ice Dragon King's pressure, using only the Tianshuang Sword's Ultimate Ice and sword intent to form that ice dragon. The dragon phantom was not large, only about ten feet long, but it carried sword intent and freezing cold as it met Feng Xiaotian's thirty-sixth slash head-on.

"Boom!"

Cyan and blue Soul Power collided fiercely in midair, erupting in a blinding flash. Violent shockwaves spread outward and slammed into the training ground's protective walls, causing the entire area to hum.

Feng Xiaotian was sent flying backward by the aftershock. He flipped several times in the air before barely steadying himself and landing on the ground. He staggered several steps before standing firm, his Martial Soul already automatically released from its possessed state as he gasped for breath.

Bing Yekong remained where he was. The Tianshuang Sword had already been put away, and he stood with his hands behind his back, his expression unchanged.

Feng Xiaotian looked at him for a long while before letting out a long sigh that carried both unwillingness and admiration.

"I concede."