Xiao Lin lost with the Eight Trigrams Staff Technique—it seemed he had no choice but to use his third soul skill.
Facing the powerful and terrifying Tang Ni, this was all Xiao Lin could think.
He still knew Tang San's Chaos Cloak Staff Technique, but that was his trump card, and he didn't want to use it now.
Moreover, the weakness of the Eight Trigrams Staff Technique, its "death point," was that now, with Xiao Lin's height and the Qiulong Staff restored to its original form, he no longer had the element of surprise.
It looked like his next soul skill had to grant the Qiulong Staff the ability to extend and contract, and at the same time, he couldn't neglect the speed and strength soul skills.
Xiao Lin thought this, but his speed disappeared, and under his feet, the purple third soul ring flashed.
The next moment, under everyone's astonished gaze, Xiao Lin's expression and movements completely changed.
A faint fiery glow appeared on his body surface, and in his chest, a blazing, dazzling red furnace ignited.
The furnace inside his chest blazed fiercely, growing stronger with his breathing and movements.
"Third soul skill—Flame Power."
Tang Ni's eyes flashed with surprise as she watched the flame in Xiao Lin's chest grow more intense.
Now she understood why Xiao Lin had been able to battle her for so long.
Down by the arena, Dugu Bo, a titled Douluo who had researched many martial spirits, instantly grasped the effect of Xiao Lin's soul skill.
"Unexpectedly, Xiao Lin is a slow burner."
With his keen eyes, Dugu Bo could see that this was a burst-type soul skill, but Xiao Lin could sustain it thanks to his strong physique.
Quite a good soul ring—whoever helped Xiao Lin choose his soul rings must have been Master Xiao Yan.
Dugu Bo was certain of this.
On the arena, Tang Ni unleashed her third soul skill.
"Yin!"
Suddenly, a dragon's roar burst from her body. A powerful golden dragon's head condensed in her hand and merged onto her Golden Dragon Spear.
Then, a mighty aura exploded from Tang Ni, the wild wind blowing back Xiao Lin's hair, making him squint.
The Golden Dragon Fist—also called the Golden Dragon Head.
Though it didn't directly boost Tang Ni's strength, the soul ring passively granted her some power increase.
Moreover, it allowed Tang Ni to perfectly control her human body, enabling her to unleash the greatest power possible from a human physique.
She could also perfectly manage the strength buffs from her previous two soul skills.
Since Tang Ni could access human soul master info from Xiao Wu to Da Ming Erming, she naturally wouldn't randomly choose other soul rings. She chose this non-enhancement soul skill because she needed a skill that could perfectly release her strength.
Now, in Xiao Lin's eyes, Tang Ni wielded the Golden Dragon Spear, with a golden dragon phantom attached to it, staring at him with supreme majesty.
Faced with Tang Ni's terrifying aura, Xiao Lin had a vague guess—her strength now exceeded his third soul skill.
Hearing this thought from his mind, Xiao Lin couldn't help but smile wryly.
But the next instant, he charged at Tang Ni directly.
No matter what, Xiao Lin's soul power consumption was far lower than Tang Ni's—his advantage was obvious.
With the blessing of Flame Power, Xiao Lin's feet stepped on flames as he sped across the arena, leaving trails of fire behind.
The explosive power of the flames accelerated him; pure power and acceleration, combined with his own swift movements.
For a moment, Xiao Lin's speed was too fast for Tang Ni's golden dragon eyes to track.
Next moment, Xiao Lin arrived beside Tang Ni, stabbing the Qiulong Staff straight at her.
But just like with Yu Tianheng, though Tang Ni couldn't clearly see Xiao Lin's speed, her body's instincts made her make the correct judgment.
Tang Ni raised her right hand to block. The Golden Dragon Spear, empowered by the terrifying Golden Dragon Fist strength, forcefully deflected Xiao Lin's Qiulong Staff.
The rapid change caught Xiao Lin off guard.
When he recovered, Tang Ni controlled her forehead and charged at Xiao Lin.
Remember, Tang Ni was said to have the strongest beast martial spirit—Golden Dragon. If she had any other powerful attributes, she could be considered a god-level martial spirit.
Such a wildly forceful, primal attack from such an immensely strong soul master—if Xiao Lin were hit, he wouldn't fare well.
However, just when everyone thought Xiao Lin would dodge and retreat, something surprising happened.
Xiao Lin didn't dodge Tang Ni's headbutt—he actively met it head-on.
For a moment, a phrase flashed through Tang Ni's Eye of Destiny:
Tang Ni: "Roar! Facing my headbutt, you don't choose to escape but attack me instead?"
Xiao Lin: "How else can I smash you? Seems like we have the same type of martial spirit!"
Boom!
After that strange thought passed, Xiao Lin's headbutt collided with Tang Ni's with a loud bang.
The huge impact sounded like thunder exploding nearby. Everyone watching the arena was shocked.
At this rate, would their heads really be okay?
On the arena, feeling the terrifying strength between them, Xiao Lin and Tang Ni both tilted their heads back just to barely relieve the force.
When they regained composure, they resumed grappling.
Xiao Lin pushed the staff again and again toward Tang Ni. Knowing Tang Ni was slower, he chose this shameless fighting style.
He forced Tang Ni to defend—powerful collisions—when she knocked away his Qiulong Staff, Xiao Lin would headbutt her, then they'd separate and repeat.
Tang Ni grew furious at Xiao Lin's shameless tactic.
Her usually lovely face turned black with rage.
"Terrifying, terrifying—these two are just battle maniacs."
Watching from below, Xiao Wu felt a little scared.
It was the first time she saw someone fight Xiao Lin at full power for so long—no wonder she was a mythical beast.
As Xiao Wu spoke, everyone nodded in agreement.
Just now, their headbutts clashing wasn't a fight between soul masters—it was a life-or-death brawl, using every possible technique.
If Xiao Lin hadn't temporarily held Tang Ni back with this shameless method, no one dared imagine how their battle would proceed.
Would they resort to punching, clawing, or biting each other?
"Damn you, Xiao Lin!"
Suddenly, Tang Ni's sharp shout focused everyone's attention back on them.
Tang Ni's chest was pressed by Xiao Lin's Qiulong Staff. Blood trickled from her mouth, and her body was scorched and charred in many places—looking terrible.
But Tang Ni grabbed Xiao Lin's staff with her hand and swung it, pulling him close.
In Xiao Lin's shocked eyes, Tang Ni's iron fist rapidly came flying toward him, growing larger and larger.
"Go to hell!"
(End of chapter)