"Hmph, am I really making you that excited?"
Tang Ni looked at Xiao Lin's expressions and actions, feeling a sense of pride and asked smugly.
"Of course! I've never met another soul master with a similar type to mine—only Xiao San barely counts as half."
Xiao Lin replied with certainty.
Without worrying about whether Tang Ni's body could withstand the power of his Qiulong Staff, Xiao Lin directly activated his first and second soul rings.
As a yellow and a purple ring surged into his body, Xiao Lin's aura instantly changed, startling Ning Fengzhi and the others watching outside the Soul Duel Arena.
Though they already knew his second ring was a thousand-year one, it was still shocking—because even with the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's medicinal baths, there wasn't a single youth whose second ring had reached the thousand-year level.
At this moment, they fully acknowledged Xiao Lin's strength and believed that his Qiulong Staff wasn't inferior to the Clear Sky Clan's Clear Sky Hammer.
In fact, the Qiulong Staff was even more powerful than the Clear Sky Hammer.
Everything the Clear Sky Hammer had, the Qiulong Staff possessed—and more.
As Xiao Lin activated his Vajra Indestructible Divine Art, a faint silvery metallic sheen glowed across his body.
The Qiulong Staff also transformed—the air around Xiao Lin was compressed under its pressure, becoming heavy and dense.
Attack power increased by over 500% (combined effect of first and second soul skills), and speed boosted by over 100%.
Xiao Lin didn't hold back, entering State 2 right away, afraid of losing to Tang Ni.
"Perfect! First soul skill: Golden Dragon Body! Second soul skill: Dragon's Power!"
Feeling the dense pressure in the surrounding air, Tang Ni grew even more satisfied with Xiao Lin and immediately activated her own first and second soul skills.
Just like Xiao Lin, a yellow and a purple soul ring appeared and merged into her body in a flash of golden light.
Also like him, both of Tang Ni's skills were self-enhancement types.
"How interesting... Are soul masters these days all choosing enhancement-type soul skills for their rings?"
Dugu Bo watched the escalating power and aura of both fighters on the Soul Duel Arena with amusement.
This kind of soul ring configuration showed absolute confidence in one's martial spirit and personal power. Only those completely sure of their strength would go for all self-buffs.
Unbeknownst to Xiao Lin, Tang Ni's transformed soul ring from her mythical beast form had changed its age.
Could this mean that soul beasts now knew the second soul ring could be a thousand-year one?
Xiao Lin pondered silently—maybe Xiao Wu had leaked some information?
If that were the case, just how strong were Tang Ni's soul skills?
Looking at her overwhelming strength, Xiao Lin guessed that her first and second skills had terrifying buffs.
The enhancement from her Golden Dragon Body might rival Yu Tianheng's fourth soul skill, and likely scaled with her level, possibly buffing all attributes.
As for her second soul skill, Dragon's Power—it might be equal in strength to Xiao Lin's third soul skill.
Facing such a formidable opponent, Xiao Lin didn't dare waste time.
Unlike Tang Ni, Xiao Lin didn't lose much soul power unless he actively released it—so for the sake of a fair fight, he struck first.
In an instant, Xiao Lin erupted in a brilliant lightning glow, the blinding flash obscuring Tang Ni's vision and sealing her sight.
"Well done!"
Just like Yu Tianheng's fourth soul skill, Tang Ni's first skill enhanced all attributes—and with her ultimate Golden Dragon spirit, her physical strength was even more monstrous than his.
As a result, her enhancement effects far surpassed Xiao Lin's.
So Xiao Lin's flash bomb had little effect.
Tang Ni simply closed her eyes, took one step back, and effortlessly dodged the range of the Qiulong Staff.
The next moment, she lashed out with her spear, aiming straight for Xiao Lin's weapon.
Though she couldn't see, she could sense his general location and launched a horizontal sweep with her Golden Dragon Spear. Unless Xiao Lin dodged, he would surely be hit.
Boom!
A deafening crash echoed across the arena.
The powerful impact even caused the protective barrier of the Soul Duel Arena to tremble.
Tang Ni's mighty spear and Xiao Lin's power-enhanced staff clashed with near-equal force.
In fact, Xiao Lin was faintly at a disadvantage.
This was because Xiao Lin's attack-enhancement wasn't especially effective against the extremely durable Golden Dragon Spear.
As the massive clash ended, Xiao Lin was knocked back several meters, while Tang Ni stood her ground, completely still.
At this point, Xiao Lin's flash technique had become useless against her.
Just one exchange on the Soul Duel Arena had already left the audience stunned.
Yu Tianheng:Damn it! Xiao Lin didn't use his full power when he fought me—not even his second soul skill!
He felt both anger and resignation—but upon seeing Tang Ni, who also possessed the Golden Dragon Martial Spirit, suppressing Xiao Lin, Yu Tianheng felt a little pleased.
If the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Spirit evolved, it would become the strongest martial spirit in the world—or so Yu Tianheng believed.
Other members of the Heaven Dou Imperial Battle Team had similar thoughts, all believing Xiao Lin was about to lose.
However, Tang San and Xiao Wu shook their heads.
They knew how terrifying Xiao Lin's true power and spirit form were. Before coming to Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, they had agreed he wouldn't reveal his full strength—unless it was the two-year inter-academy grand tournament.
Even now, they didn't think Xiao Lin was at a disadvantage.
After all, he hadn't used his third soul skill yet.
Meanwhile, Ning Fengzhi and the others watched the battle with shining eyes.
"Truly heroes among youth," they all thought.
For these three to give such praise showed just how monstrous Xiao Lin and Tang Ni were.
Unlike Chen Xin and Dugu Bo, Ning Fengzhi was becoming more and more fond of Xiao Lin.
In his eyes, Xiao Lin was becoming more and more worthy of Rongrong.
It was lucky that Tang Ni was a girl—otherwise, Ning Fengzhi might've had trouble choosing a future son-in-law.
Now he was just wondering how much dowry the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan would need to prepare if Xiao Lin really became their son-in-law…
Meanwhile, Dugu Bo had a sudden inspiration—seeing Tang Ni's power, he wondered if his granddaughter Dugu Yan's Bilin Snake King could evolve into a dragon.
If it became a dragon, perhaps the snake venom wouldn't affect her anymore?
It was a very reasonable thought—many snake-type soul beasts had dragon bloodlines, and the Bilin Snake was definitely one of them.
While everyone below the stage was lost in their thoughts, Xiao Lin and Tang Ni had already exchanged several rounds of intense combat.
This time, Xiao Lin switched to using Eight Trigram Staff Technique, relying purely on speed to launch his attacks.
Tang Ni, with her superior physique, fended him off using the Golden Dragon Spear—sometimes even counterattacking and forcing him back.
If it weren't for Xiao Lin's Vajra Indestructibility protecting his body, and his bold yet precise fighting style, he would've long been blasted off the stage and defeated.
(Chapter End)