Ling Wuxie was having the most profound feeling. The Hidden Edge Stance could draw out his greatest defensive power. When the Nine-Ringed Silver Saber’s defensive ability was at its peak, it would launch its most powerful attack with. This was a powerful soul skill which combined both offense and defense. If this skill was used properly, it could be an ingenious maneuver that could turn the tide of battle.
But he had never expected that the giant dragon head would collide with such devastating force. It was beyond what he could bear. The Hidden Edge Stance had not even brought out its full power before it was utterly destroyed. He felt as if he was rammed head-on by a soul train. His insides seemed to be on fire, and he had already been heavily injured.
He had no other choice!
As he was flying backward through the air, Ling Wuxie stretched out both of his arms. Rays of light swiftly shot out of the bracelets on his wrists and transformed into battle armor covering his body.
The bright silver armor quickly merged together and covered his body in an instant. The precise moment when the breastplate fused together on his chest, a beam of silver light shot toward the sky. The light instantly steadied his body so that he was on his feet, no longer being tossed backward.
One-word battle armor! A full set of one-word battle armor!
The instant the silver light appeared, Tang Wulin had felt that this turn of events was far from reassuring. In terms of personal strength, he was confident enough to fight any opponent whether they had four rings or five. The only thing he feared was if his opponent was already in possession of a full set of one-word battle armor.
The difference one-word battle armor made to Soul Masters was truly overwhelming. When Ye Xinglan, whose personal combat strength was certainly not inferior to Tang Wulin’s, had first gone up against a one-word battle armor master, she only managed to weaken her opponent after using a method that was akin to a suicide attack.
Hence, when Tang Wulin saw the one-word battle armor releasing from Ling Wuxie’s body, the first thought that occurred to him was that there was no way he could allow him to completely unleash the full power of the armor. Otherwise, he would not have even the slightest of chances.
The sonorous dragon’s roar erupted from Tang Wulin’s body again. As the Golden Dragon Shocks the Heavens sent his opponent flying, he was already closing in for a follow-up attack. While Ling Wuxie was releasing his battle armor, Tang Wulin’s Golden Dragon Dreadclaw on his right hand had already swung toward his opponent.
The five dark golden blades of light enlarged instantly. They transformed into a massive claw which brazenly struck at its target.
Although Ling Wuxie had the protection of his battle armor right now, the feeling as if he was burning from the inside which had been brought about by the impact of Golden Dragon Shocks the Heavens had still not subsided. He was just about to take a breather and launch a counterattack with the help of his battle armor when the Golden Dragon Dreadclaw was already upon him.
The Nine-Ringed Silver Saber was positioned horizontally in front of him, but he could not utilize his soul skill in time. Ling Wuxie’s soul power within his body was scattered, and he needed time to adjust it.
“Boom!” An intense explosion followed the impact between the dark golden glow and the bright silver shine.
The Golden Dragon Dreadclaw was Tang Wulin’s most powerful attack. Under its full strength, its offensive power that was unbelievable. The Duskgold Dreadclaw Bear was already an extremely terrifying creature in the world of soul beasts. Additionally, Tang Wulin had the enhancement from his Golden Dragon King bloodline.
The battle armor creaked with a sound that made one’s teeth feel sore. The attack caused the Nine-Ringed Silver Saber to hit Ling Wuxie’s chest. If he had not been wearing a complete set of battle armor, which had enhanced the Nine-Ringed Silver Saber, he reckoned that this hit would have torn the Nine-Ringed Silver Saber into pieces.
The terrifying power of the attack was completely borne by the one-word battle armor. It was battle armor after all. Even the Golden Dragon Dreadclaw could not break its defenses. However, the immense force had left five deep gouges on Ling Wuxie’s battle armor. His entire body was sent flying and he crashed into the stage’s barrier.
This time, it was a heavy crash. Even with the protection of his battle armor, Ling Wuxie still felt disoriented. His entire body rebounded back to the stage after he collided with the barrier.
Tang Wulin had already followed up by then. He seized the opportunity before his opponent had time to react. He made a fist with his Golden Dragon Dreadclaw and landed a full-force punch on his opponent’s belly. He sent his opponent crashing into the barrier like a cannonball.
A thick dark blue vine appeared and twined itself around Ling Wuxie’s ankle. The vine swung and lifted Ling Wuxie as he was making his way back onto the stage and smashed his body onto the floor with a loud crash.
Tang Wulin moved like a shadow as he gave chase to Ling Wuxie until he finally reached his side. In the instant when his body crashed onto the floor, the exuberant dragon’s roar sounded again. He stomped his right foot mercilessly on the floor.
Eight dragon-shaped forms of energy gathered together and pounded on Ling Wuxie’s body, which tossed him around as he lay on the floor. A golden dragon head appeared again for the Golden Dragon Shocks the Heavens!
“Rawrrr!” In an instant, Ling Wuxie seemed to be swallowed whole by the giant golden dragon head. His body was hit by a cacophonous barrage of explosions.
From when Ling Wuxie was first sent flying by Tang Wulin’s first Golden Dragon Shocks the Heavens until the following attacks, all of them happened seamlessly. The continuous stream of attacks had dazzled the audience’s eyes as they stared with their mouths agape.
This…
However, that was a one-word Battle Armor Master, a five-ringed Soul King! Why was he nothing but target practice for that young boy who only had two soul rings?
Ling Wuxie himself who was flying through the air also could not understand it. He felt as if all his joints were dislocated. His battle armor had helped him bear the brunt of the attacks, but the force from the impact still got to him. It shook him so much that his soul power could not condense from the very beginning, and he could not truly utilize the battle armor’s powers.
Tang Wulin seemed to have leaped into the sky with his opponent’s body. The Golden Dragon Dreadclaw clutched his opponent’s neck. On the sharp edges of the Golden Dragon Dreadclaw, dark golden light blades shone brightly. He seized his opponent’s body midair and smashed him onto the floor.
“Yield!” The terrifying energy from the Golden Dragon Dreadclaw rubbed against the weak joint of the neck battle armor. Tang Wulin knelt with his knees on Ling Wuxie’s belly and once again dispersed his soul power that was only beginning to condense.
The stabbing pain that came from his neck was excruciating. Ling Wuxie had felt a danger of dying in an instant. Even the protection of one-word battle armor had its limits! After Tang Wulin’s combo attack just now, its defensive capabilities were greatly worn down. When it was faced with the Golden Dragon Dreadclaw at point-blank range, it was already at its limits.
“Tap! Tap!” Ling Wuxie smacked the floor, gesturing that he conceded defeat.
Tang Wulin leaped upward. He retracted the Golden Dragon Claw on his right hand and stood firmly on the floor.
On the spectators’ stands, there was already a clamor. For the two elders of Ling Wuxie, other than staring with their mouths agape, their expressions were so gloomy that they seemed to be almost dripping with water.
With their cultivation bases, they could tell that Ling Wuxie with his one-word battle armor certainly had the ability to defeat his opponent. But his opponent had not given him a chance to unleash the powers of his one-word battle armor before he ended the battle. From the beginning until the end, the rhythm of the battle was under the control of the opponent. That was truly frightening.
He lost. He lost in the very first round? This also meant that he was eliminated from the competition. The final opportunity for Ling Wuxie to take part in the Continental Young High-Ranking Soul Masters Elite Competition was lost just like this. How could this not make them shocked and enraged?
Ling Wuxie lay on the floor, his mind completely blank. There were no more external pressures. His battle armor started to give feedback to his body. It helped him organize his soul power and made adjustments to his body. However, the physical pain was secondary to the blow he had taken to his mentality.
He lost, just like that, in a baffling manner.
If he had released his battle armor from the moment he had stepped onto the stage and not given his opponent the chance to close ranks with him, things would not have turned out this way.
‘Even the lion uses its full strength when it wrestled with a rabbit.’ His teacher’s words echoed in his mind. He was filled with regrets. He regretted underestimating Tang Wulin in the beginning. He had regretted not being able to unleash his fifth soul skill from the beginning until the end.
Nevertheless, in this world, there was no medicine for regret. Nobody had ever pitied the losers. He had lost and thus was already eliminated. He was a loser.
Tang Wulin was panting slightly. In truth, the pressure that he was bearing just now was also just as great.
The recoil from striking the one-word battle armor had been very uncomfortable for him. The enhancement of a full set of battle armor on a Soul Master was truly overwhelming. If the Golden Dragon Shocks the Heavens had not dealt a great blow to his opponent immediately, which was followed up by his seamless combined strikes, and he had given his opponent the chance to regain his bearings, what he would have faced was an opponent close to the rank of a seven-ringed Soul Saint! If he fought seven rings with four rings, even if he had the stronger body, he would be hard-pressed to defeat his opponent. Losing in the first match would have been dreadfully embarrassing.
Fortunately, there was no need for second-guessing. He had won, very happily. The series of combo attacks just now had improved his actual battle strength somewhat. He had merged the potential stimulated by the Body Sect and his own strengths together.
Of course, if his opponent had unleashed the full strength of a one-word battle armor master, it would not have been as if Tang Wulin had absolutely no chance of winning. He still had the Bluesilver Emperor, as well as Goldsong and the Overlord Dragon.
Tang Wulin leaped down the competition stage and swiftly ran into the contestants’ passageway. He had no intention of becoming the center of the crowd’s attention.
“That’s was great!” Gu Yue’s voice came from beside him. Tang Wulin turned to look. She was already waiting for him here.
Tang Wulin smiled wryly. “This luck of mine has been absolutely wonderful. I hope this won’t happen again. It’s a lot of pressure to go up against a one-word battle armor master.”