Bronze Soul Duel Medal

Just as Yang Xiong had said, very few Soul Masters had Amplification Soul Skills as both of their first two soul skills. Such amplification-type soul skills could easily gain an advantage in Soul Duels. Especially since Huyan Meng had already reached level twenty-eight, yet lacked the explosive power of group attack or defensive soul skills in team battles.

Huyan Meng's face darkened. "What do you know? That guy only won because he could fly. Otherwise, he was inferior to me in every aspect."

Yang Xiong nodded. "I understand now. He probably wore you down bit by bit. No wonder you lost."

Huyan Meng roared, "Enough nonsense! Let me see just how strong you really are."

Yang Xiong shook his head. "Your weaknesses are still too obvious. No matter how hard you try to make up for them, your body is still too large and not agile enough. I could wear you down too, but I'd rather test just how strong you truly are."

Huyan Meng suddenly burst into laughter. "You shouldn't have wasted so much time talking to me. Although soul skills consume my Soul Power, the Diamond Mammoth's recovery ability is absolutely the strongest among all Soul Masters, aside from its outstanding defense."

Yang Xiong focused his gaze and saw that the five bloody holes in Huyan Meng's shoulder had stopped bleeding and even showed faint signs of healing.

Yang Xiong smiled. "We were only playing around. Did you forget that I seemingly haven't used any soul skills yet? Whether it's Soul Power or physical stamina, I've consumed far less than you. Besides, who said what I showed just now was my full strength?"

Huyan Meng was startled, but before he could react, Yang Xiong had already pounced at him like a fierce tiger. Though Huyan Meng resisted with all his strength, the gap between his speed and agility and Yang Xiong's was simply too great.

After throwing several consecutive punches, Yang Xiong suddenly knocked aside Huyan Meng's fist with his elbow and drove a heavy punch directly into the wound on Huyan Meng's shoulder. Even with his defensive Amplification Soul Skill, the original wounds began to split open again.

Huyan Meng grunted in pain, gritted his teeth, and tried to smash both fists down at Yang Xiong's head with all his strength.

But an odd smile appeared on Yang Xiong's face. His hands shot out like lightning and seized Huyan Meng's right arm as he swung his punch. Yet instead of stopping the attack, Yang Xiong shifted to the side and used Huyan Meng's own force to hurl him down.

Yang Xiong threw Huyan Meng over his shoulder and slammed him heavily into the ground. A tremendous crash rang out, and the entire arena trembled slightly. Huyan Meng's full-force attack seemed to have landed entirely on himself, leaving him completely dazed from the throw.

Before he could react, Yang Xiong had already gripped his neck. Blood even trickled from it; clearly, with a little force, Yang Xiong could snap his neck.

Faced with such a swift reversal, the referee finally came to his senses. "Congratulations to contestant Hegemon of the World for winning this Soul Duel Competition."

The entire venue erupted once more. Such a reversal, where the apparent gap in strength had been so enormous, was even more exciting.

Yang Xiong merely shook his head before leaving the arena.

Yang Xiong had originally wanted to temper himself through Soul Duel Competitions, honing his Combat Awareness by fighting different opponents. Unfortunately, the Soul Grandmasters in the Soul Duel Arena could not put him under much pressure.

Just like Huyan Meng—although he possessed outstanding strength, seemed to have some combat experience, and had a certain degree of agility.

His enormous body ultimately still limited him in battle. Both his speed and agility were far inferior to Yang Xiong's, and even in terms of strength, there was no small gap between them. If Yang Xiong had merely wanted to win, he could probably have defeated his opponent in less than a minute, or even killed him.

Over the next period of time, Yang Xiong fought match after match, but he could basically win every battle without using much of his strength.

Yang Xiong even encountered the opponent who had once defeated Huyan Meng. He was a level twenty-nine Soul Grandmaster with the Flame Eagle martial soul. Not only could he fly and move at incredible speed, but he also possessed a certain Fire Attribute. Even his strength was impressive. Among Soul Grandmasters, he was practically invincible.

Yet Yang Xiong remained as still as a mountain throughout the battle, only counterattacking when his opponent attacked. Yang Xiong's counterattacks were especially faster than his opponent's. Not to mention that even a Soul Master with a Flame Eagle martial soul had to consume Soul Power to fly, so Yang Xiong was instead draining his opponent's Soul Power.

This was the longest match Yang Xiong had fought in all the competitions. It lasted nearly an hour, and that was only because Yang Xiong wanted to experience what it felt like to fight a flying Soul Master. Otherwise, he could have easily won with his first counterattack.

After participating in Soul Duel Competitions for thirteen consecutive days, Yang Xiong achieved thirteen victories and also obtained a Bronze Soul Duel Medal.

However, Yang Xiong had no plans to continue participating in Soul Duel Competitions. These matches put far too little pressure on him and could not truly improve his combat experience.

Moreover, Yang Xiong had already obtained the information he wanted in Heaven Dou City. Next came the next stage of his training—training that truly involved bloodshed.

Early one morning, Yang Xiong left Heaven Dou City alone. His destination this time was Sunset Forest.

Sunset Forest was only a little over a hundred kilometers from Heaven Dou City. It was one of the famous Soul Beast Forests across Douluo Continent, home to all kinds of soul beasts, including quite a few ten-thousand-year soul beasts. It was absolutely suitable for his true training and would certainly put him under enough pressure.

Yang Xiong understood very clearly that without experiencing danger, bloodshed, and pressure, a Soul Master's growth would ultimately remain limited.

As for safety, Yang Xiong was not worried about encountering any danger. On one hand, he was an Inner Sect disciple of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, so ordinary people would not easily provoke him.

On the other hand, he possessed two life-saving soul skills. Even if he encountered relatively high-level Soul Masters, he could escape quickly.

Besides, Soul Masters valued their lives. Without a special reason, no one would dare provoke a disciple of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Otherwise, they would bring catastrophic ruin upon their family and sect. This was the deterrence of the Upper Three Sects, especially since this was still the Heaven Dou Empire.

After walking for nearly half a day, Yang Xiong finally arrived at Soul Hunting Town on the outskirts of Sunset Forest.

Not only were there all kinds of merchants selling supplies needed for living in the forest, but there were also mercenaries of every sort, mainly helping people hunt soul rings.

Yang Xiong had prepared all these things long ago. More than half of his Soul Tool was packed full. After all, he had not spent all those years reading books for nothing; the books contained detailed records of the survival rules within Soul Beast Forests.

When a mercenary saw that Yang Xiong was alone, he seemed about to approach and strike up a conversation, but someone beside him quickly stopped him with a stern glare.

Yang Xiong paid them no mind and walked into Sunset Forest alone.

The man who had intended to approach him was somewhat confused. "Boss, he's alone. Maybe he could bring us a big job?"

The middle-aged boss looked exceptionally serious. "If you want to die, don't drag me down with you. Judging by his attire, he should be from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. As expected of a talent from the Upper Three Sects—he dared enter Sunset Forest at such a young age."

The people around them filled with fear upon hearing this. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was an insurmountable mountain in the world of Soul Masters.

Everyone knew why people went to Sunset Forest. All that remained was choosing the method and the time.