What is the most effective way to recognize the gap between two people?
Xu Yuan posed the question while leading Tang Wulin and the others toward the combat room.
As they walked, pondering the question, and were about to reach the combat room, Xu Yuan asked again.
"So? Have you come up with an answer?"
Tang Wulin's expression turned serious. "A fight! A full-strength fight!"
Xu Yuan smiled.
He shook his head.
"When the gap is obvious, a full-strength fight can no longer allow the weaker side to truly grasp the difference between the two."
When both a demi-god and a quasi-god exert their full strength against an ordinary Titled Douluo, it might seem like overwhelming domination, evoking despair. But the differences between them are entirely distinct.
Even if one could distinguish the differences in how a demigod and a quasi-god attack, so what?
If you understand that both ten and one hundred are crushing your one, and that one hundred is stronger than ten, then what?
When the gap becomes glaringly obvious, the weaker party can only feel inferior but struggles to truly comprehend the disparity from a cognitive standpoint.
Because the weaker side lacks the qualification to define the stronger side's power level.
"So, Brother Xu, what method do you think would allow me to more effectively recognize the gap between us?"
Tang Wulin took a deep breath.
He already sensed that Xu Yuan's words were preparing him for the upcoming battle, as well as for what he called "better understanding the gap between them."
He had doubts in his heart.
Could there really be a way of fighting that would make him doubt himself?
No, the gap couldn't possibly be that large.
Xu Yuan stepped forward, aimed the bracelet on his left hand at the combat room's scanner, and after scanning, secured one hour of usage for the combat room. He then led everyone inside.
"I know you're eager for me to use my full strength in a fight against you, but that would just be a meaningless crushing defeat."
Tang Wulin frowned.
Such words were very uncomfortable to hear.
"I'll fight you using my spirit souls."
Spirit souls?
Wasn't that humiliating?
Did it mean his strength wasn't even worth Xu Yuan personally stepping in, and that his spirit soul alone was enough to defeat him?
Yuanen Yehui, Wu Siduo, and the others were shocked. They looked at Xu Yuan, then at Tang Wulin.
Tang Wulin's face darkened.
"Brother Xu, are you saying I can't even beat your spirit soul?" Tang Wulin was deeply dissatisfied.
Xu Yuan remained calm and didn't answer Tang Wulin's question. Instead, he continued, "I have five main spirit souls. 'Jue' carries the majority of my abilities—it's invincible against you, so I won't use it."
Xu Yuan's statement caused Tang Wulin's heart to sink further.
Not even using Jue?
Wu Siduo and the others swallowed hard and took a few steps back.
It felt like today's battle wasn't meant to be a friendly exchange but rather a form of "knocking some sense into him."
Among the five spirit souls, Jue inherited so many abilities that its strength was immense—something Tang Wulin would find hard to overcome.
Thus, the remaining options were Shanhe, Yao Yao, Xingjun (Star Lord), and Huan Xing (Phantom Star).
Among them, Xingjun was a hundred-thousand-year spirit, but it hadn't fused with Xu Yuan for long and hadn't mastered many abilities. Xu Yuan wouldn't choose it to fight Tang Wulin.
Yao Yao's abilities were too singular, relying solely on Dream Space battles, making it unsuitable for one-on-one combat.
Shanhe, though not as strong as Jue, could almost perfectly replicate Xu Yuan's abilities, albeit with slightly less intensity.
That left Huan Xing.
Xu Yuan raised his right hand, and a massive creature appeared in the combat room.
This creature wasn't Huan Xing's true form but rather a highly unconventional shape.
It stood ten meters tall, exuding an extremely robust presence. Its entire body gave off a phantom-like starry texture. A phoenix-like head made of flame erupted from its neck as if ignited from within, forming a massive fiery phoenix head. On its back was a giant turtle shell composed of rocky material, giving off a heavy and solid impression.
Coiled around its body was a massive python, its scales a deep blue. Upon closer inspection, one could tell it was a sea soul beast found only in the deepest parts of the ocean.
Its hands were enormous, seemingly possessing infinite strength. Each hand bore sharp claws with a dark golden glow, as if capable of destroying anything.
This was a chimera-like monster stitched together from various soul beasts' characteristics.
This was Tang Wulin's first impression of Xu Yuan's Huan Xing spirit soul.
He then began analyzing which abilities this stitched-together monstrosity incorporated.
"The flaming phoenix head represents fire attributes, the turtle shell seems to represent defensive capabilities, and the deep-sea python… what does it signify? And those sharp claws might be derived from the Dark Golden Terrorclaw Bear."
Tang Wulin felt a slight headache.
Each of these soul beasts was terrifying on its own, and Xu Yuan had somehow managed to stitch them all together into a single entity.
As he analyzed the four most easily identifiable traits, Tang Wulin began to feel a sense of familiarity.
Xu Yuan had been quietly waiting since summoning Huan Xing, giving Tang Wulin ample time to think.
Finally, Tang Wulin grasped the familiar feeling in his mind.
"Five Elements! This is the Five Elements!"
"The Dark Golden Terrorclaw Bear's claws represent metal, the python represents water, the fire phoenix represents fire, the turtle shell represents earth. The Five Elements—metal, wood, water, fire, earth—are missing wood." Tang Wulin's gaze lingered on the enormous monster's body.
Within its starry, phantom-like texture, faint tree trunk patterns could be discerned. Its limbs seemed to twist like tree trunks, and this gave him a sense of familiarity.
"The power of the Golden Ancient Tree…"
Wood derived from the Golden Ancient Tree.
Metal, wood, water, fire, and earth—five powerful soul beasts representing five elements, pieced together to form this colossal monster.
Tang Wulin gasped.
This was definitely not any known soul beast. Moreover, he clearly remembered that Xu Yuan's Huan Xing wasn't originally like this—it was a Phantom Beast.
The fact that Xu Yuan could manifest such a creature likely meant he had studied these soul beasts in depth and could now materialize their abilities, incorporating the Five Elements into this monster's body.
In reality, it was close to that.
Xu Yuan hadn't seen a fire phoenix, but he had witnessed a unique flame at the bottom of the Abyss. The flame was peculiar, and after simulating it, Xu Yuan attempted to carry it with various soul beasts. Ultimately, he found the phoenix head to be the most suitable vessel, so he used it for the monster's head.
In fact, he wanted to add phoenix wings, but due to the interplay of the Five Elements' generation and restriction, he couldn't incorporate them into this monster's body.
Water and fire repelled each other.
Xu Yuan had already exhausted his mental efforts to perfectly fuse water and fire attributes into a single body.
Huan Xing's current form was a manifestation of his mastery of the Five Elements.
A beam of light shot out from Xu Yuan's forehead and into the monster's body.
Instantly, the massive creature seemed to come alive. Its phoenix eyes opened, radiating sharpness and arrogance, as if looking down on everything around it.
Tang Wulin took a deep breath.
Though he felt Xu Yuan sending out a spirit soul to fight him was overestimating his own strength, he couldn't deny the immense pressure emanating from this monster. If he didn't give it his all, he would likely lose.
This realization pained him and silenced his doubts about Xu Yuan.
Now, he vaguely understood what Xu Yuan had meant.
The gap between them was too vast.
Vast enough that Xu Yuan could send out a spirit soul—not even his strongest—and still possibly defeat him.
Tang Wulin silently stepped forward, standing at one end of the combat room, while Huan Xing stood at the other.
Clearly, he had accepted this method of testing.
Though he felt the pressure, Tang Wulin was determined to give it his all and defeat Huan Xing to prove his strength.
Even if such proof would feel somewhat feeble.
"Roar!"
He let out a thunderous roar, and surging blood energy erupted from his body. The blood energy boiled, not just blood-red but also tinged with a golden hue.
A dragon's roar echoed, and a terrifying dragon aura filled the room. Among the Shrek Seven Monsters, except for Xu Yuan, the other six's faces changed slightly, feeling the overwhelming pressure of this dragon aura.
Just this unintentional roar, infused with dragon might, was enough to serve as a spirit-shaking soul skill for an ordinary soul master.
Under Tang Wulin's roar, his body transformed rapidly, growing to eight meters in the blink of an eye.
Golden diamond-shaped scales spread across his body, completely covering him. Upon closer inspection, it seemed as if he had two layers of scales, making them even denser.
Behind him, a pair of massive dragon wings sprouted.
Five golden halos rose beneath Tang Wulin's feet.
At the same time as his transformation completed, Tang Wulin unleashed his power.
Two of the five golden soul rings beneath his feet began to shine with dazzling golden light.
These were the first and fourth soul rings.
With the activation of the two Blood Essence soul skills, Tang Wulin's appearance underwent another dramatic change.
"Golden Dragon Body!"
Every part of his body covered in scales radiated brilliant golden light, and his entire being seemed to exude even greater power. His Blood Essence surged and activated.
"Golden Dragon Rampage Domain!"
A massive domain instantly enveloped the entire combat room. The domain seemed to be composed of blood, and the spectators couldn't help but feel a surge of bloodlust.
However, they were only momentarily affected. After snapping out of it and focusing their minds, they were no longer influenced.
The Golden Dragon King's bloodline within Tang Wulin seemed to have entered a frenzied state.
Before, his bloodline energy had already dominated the room with its overwhelming presence. Now, it carried an additional layer of madness.
If Tang Wulin before was a mighty dragon dominating the land, then now he was a crazed dragon, exuding an even more dangerous aura.
After activating his two amplification-type soul skills, Tang Wulin wasted no time. He stepped forward and swung his right Golden Dragon Claw.
His Golden Dragon Claw possessed a crushing property—invincible and capable of shattering anything it came into contact with.
Seeing this, Huan Xing raised its right hand, countering with its Dark Golden Terrorclaw.
Huan Xing's right hand was wrapped in the Five Elements' energy, primarily metal-aligned, which covered the Dark Golden Terrorclaw.
BANG!
Upon collision, both parties retreated several steps.
Tang Wulin glanced at Huan Xing's right hand and noticed that the pair of Dark Golden Terrorclaws remained unbroken, still gleaming with sharpness as they had initially.
"Is the Dark Golden Terrorclaw really this strong?" Tang Wulin thought in astonishment.
"No, that's not it—it's his mastery of the Five Elements' energy."
In the blink of an eye, Tang Wulin swung his Golden Dragon Claw again.
This time, he swung with his left claw.
His left Golden Dragon Claw had a tearing property, capable of rending targets apart—even space itself could be torn.
However, Huan Xing didn't intend to continue clashing head-on. It took a step back, its phoenix-like head rising high. A resounding phoenix cry echoed throughout the room, followed by a terrifying burst of flames erupting from its mouth.
Seeing this, Tang Wulin showed no hesitation. With his left claw, he tore the fireball apart.
The scorching fireball split open, and the scattered flames caused the temperature in the combat room to skyrocket.
Yue Zhengyu, watching from the side, felt the overwhelming power of these flames and was deeply shaken.
His martial soul was the Holy Angel, which had undergone a transformation during his time in the Demon Plane, almost reverting to the form of the six-winged angel from twenty thousand years ago. Even his holy flames were no match for this flame.
What kind of flame was this?
The massive python on Huan Xing's body let out a hiss, opening its enormous mouth and spitting out a thick stream of water, shooting toward Tang Wulin.
Tang Wulin swung his claw once more, tearing through the water stream.
However, after being torn apart, the water split into two streams, swirling in the air before continuing to charge at him.
Frowning, Tang Wulin mobilized all of his blood energy, activating the Golden Dragon Rampage Domain. The blood energy within the domain seemed to transform into flames, instantly evaporating the incoming water.
Tang Wulin looked at Huan Xing and said with a frown, "Stop testing me. Your elemental soul skills have no effect on me."
Huan Xing responded with a human-like expression, as if to say, "I know that too."
After pulling back, it had already planned to use its most proficient technique.
On its body, five lights simultaneously bloomed. The Five Elements' energy circulated, forming a massive spinning disk.
BOOM!
A sudden thunderclap erupted from the ground.
As the Five Elements rotated, lightning energy began to gather on the spinning disk.
Five Elements Divine Thunder!
The lightning energy condensed into a single force, striking down at Tang Wulin.
One bolt followed another, then another. In the blink of an eye, countless bolts of divine thunder rained down like a storm, flooding the battlefield with endless lightning.
Tang Wulin swung his claw, colliding with the Five Elements Divine Thunder.
Feeling the numbing sensation coursing through his arm, he realized the destructive power of the Five Elements Divine Thunder was astonishing. This couldn't continue.
The second Blood Essence soul ring flashed.
"Golden Dragon Invincible Body!"
A torrent of Five Elements Divine Thunder rained down, pouring onto Tang Wulin's body.
For a full ten seconds, the thunderstorm persisted.
Ten seconds later, the lightning faded, revealing Tang Wulin enveloped in a golden-red Blood Essence glow.
With a roar, Tang Wulin reversed the flow of his Blood Essence.
Around his body, golden Blood Essence swirled, coalescing into a phantom dragon shape.
"Golden Dragon Ascension!"
Tang Wulin rapidly closed in on Huan Xing, throwing a powerful punch. A golden dragon phantom surrounded his right fist, as if ready to soar into the heavens.
Huan Xing showed no sign of panic. The Five Elements' energy continued to rotate.
Five Elements Divine Light Shield!
The Five Elements' energy spun, forming a shimmering shield of five elemental colors in front of Tang Wulin.
BOOM!
The Golden Dragon Ascension unleashed a piercing dragon roar. The Five Elements Divine Light Shield trembled violently but did not break.
At this moment, Tang Wulin's heart sank.
This was the strongest attack he could unleash.
He had already used his status-enhancing soul skills, pushed his Blood Essence to the limit, and even utilized the absorbed damage from the Golden Dragon Invincible Body to boost his strength.
Even so, he couldn't break through this single soul skill?
"Huan Xing, end the battle."
Xu Yuan spoke calmly from the side.
Receiving the command, Huan Xing's Five Elements' energy rotated above its head, merging into a single force. Stars twinkled in the sky, and stellar energy flowed into the Five Elements' energy.
A dazzling divine light erupted.
Five Elements Divine Light!
This blinding divine light descended upon Tang Wulin. He felt as though the dragon scales covering his body offered no resistance—the divine light penetrated directly into his body, reaching deep into his internal organs.
The five-colored divine light swept over him, sealing away the power within his body.
His Blood Essence began to weaken, and the golden glow of his scales dimmed.
His massive form rapidly shrank, returning to his normal human appearance.
Tang Wulin stood frozen in place, staring blankly ahead at Huan Xing's monstrous form, his eyes filled with confusion.
What kind of soul skill was that just now?
Such an overwhelming soul skill—it shattered all defenses.
He had clearly felt it: an indescribable sealing force that bypassed all defenses through the divine light, directly locking down the Blood Essence within his body.
This kind of oppressive soul skill—he searched his memories and could only think of one example: the legendary 100% Fusion Skill from ten thousand years ago, the *Golden Path*, capable of stripping a target's martial soul, stunning enemies, and even dissolving everything it touched.
But the Five Elements Divine Light just now wasn't a Fusion Skill—it was a soul skill released by one of Xu Yuan's spirit souls!
"Is this a new soul skill Brother Xu obtained?"
How terrifying.
Just one of his spirit souls using it was enough to swiftly seal away my strength.
He felt the vast gap between them.
Fighting against just one of Xu Yuan's spirit souls made him feel powerless—what would fighting Xu Yuan himself be like?
At this moment, Tang Wulin began to vaguely understand Xu Yuan's earlier words.
To recognize the gap between oneself and a stronger opponent, one doesn't necessarily need to experience their full-strength attack.
Because you wouldn't know the details of how they strike.
Perhaps when Xu Yuan strikes, he might use similar soul skills—but it definitely wouldn't just be these. He would also unleash even more terrifying forces to suppress his opponents.
The Five Elements Divine Light just now was already overwhelming in terms of its mechanism alone. What about when combined with Xu Yuan's own power suppression?
Ultimately, Huan Xing was only a ten-thousand-year spirit soul. Its power level shouldn't reach the rank of a Titled Douluo.
However, the soul power it channeled belonged to Xu Yuan, and the soul skills it used were extraordinarily refined—this was what allowed it to defeat Tang Wulin.
Yet, this only further highlighted its strength, and by extension, Xu Yuan's strength.
The monster's body dissipated, and Huan Xing transformed into a streak of light, merging back into Xu Yuan's body.
In its eyes, a flicker of satisfaction passed.
------------------------------------------------------
40+ Chapters Ahead Guaranteed: patreon.com/EphemeralShadow
There's something for free patrons too! Free Patrons receive 1 chapter in advance :)