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**
On the plaza, the battle between Ling Xiao and Huyan Li grew increasingly intense.
Neither of them had used a soul skill or activated their soul rings yet, but relying purely on the inherent power of their Martial Souls, the impact and momentum they created completely eclipsed their previous clash, their destructive power rising drastically.
During the fight, Ling Xiao did not exploit the Diamond Mammoth Martial Soul's deficiency in speed. He didn't use sudden bursts of speed to circle around Huyan Li and launch sneak attacks from blind spots.
In his view, while such a method would yield a much easier victory, it would be an ungentlemanly way to win. After all, his cultivation level was inherently higher than Huyan Li's. Even though he was suppressing his soul power output, it wasn't exactly the same.
For instance, the same single portion of soul power deployed now, at his current Soul Ancestor realm, possessed significantly greater potency compared to when he was a Soul Elder.
Furthermore, his total reserves of soul power far surpassed Huyan Li's, meaning he ran no risk of running dry and could sustain a prolonged battle with ease.
Another even more important reason was that doing so would prevent him from experiencing the true might of the Diamond Mammoth Martial Soul.
Forcing his opponent to lose in such a suffocating manner, with all that raw strength but no way to vent it, was not what he wanted. It wouldn't make his opponent yield wholeheartedly. He wanted to defeat Huyan Li in a direct, head-on clash.
Ling Xiao possessed an immense interest in the Diamond Mammoth Martial Soul, which was renowned throughout the Soul Master world for its strength and defense.
Encountering such a worthy opponent filled him with joy. In his excitement, he capped his soul power at the peak Soul Elder realm and continuously swung the Profound Sky Axe, launching a fierce assault against Huyan Li.
Though he hadn't executed any soul skills, the inherent might of the Profound Sky Axe, when stimulated by soul power, was nothing short of extraordinary.
The massive, silver-white blade constantly radiated a razor-sharp aura that seemed capable of tearing through space itself, sending chills down the spines of the onlookers.
Just a stray wisp of this sharp aura brushing past was enough to slice through the bluestone ground, leaving a distinct gouge. Combined with the innate weight of the Profound Sky Axe and Ling Xiao's raw strength, its destructive power was amplified even further.
Wielding a Profound Sky Axe that possessed both sharpness and crushing weight, Ling Xiao was practically unmatched in head-on combat, overwhelmingly dominant.
Even a Beast Martial Soul like the Diamond Mammoth, which similarly specialized in direct frontal assaults, would struggle to gain any advantage at the same cultivation level, and would even find itself suppressed.
What's more, though Ling Xiao had suppressed his soul power output to the peak Soul Elder realm, his Profound Sky Axe had already absorbed four soul rings. It was a Martial Soul that had already advanced to the early Soul Ancestor realm.
Even putting aside any inherent gap in their Martial Soul tiers, just looking at their current development, the core essence of the Profound Sky Axe was fundamentally stronger than Huyan Li's Diamond Mammoth.
This disparity was akin to the difference between a fourth-tier soul weapon and a third-tier soul weapon—it was incredibly pronounced.
Of course, although the Profound Sky Axe had reached the Soul Ancestor level and its core essence was vastly superior to Huyan Li's Diamond Mammoth—which had only been cultivated to the high-rank Soul Elder level—
A peak Soul Elder's soul power output was naturally insufficient to completely unleash the weapon's current maximum potential. Only by using soul power that matched the Soul Ancestor realm could the true, absolute might of the Profound Sky Axe be fully displayed.
Nevertheless, it was still visibly more potent than when Ling Xiao himself had actually been a Soul Elder. To prevent himself from being overwhelmingly powerful, which would make the battle boring, deliberately locking his soul power at the Soul Elder realm was already a major handicap.
After all, the innate core essence of a Martial Soul itself could not be suppressed.
If he were to lower his soul power any further, it would contradict the purpose of his current plan.
If his opponent couldn't even handle his peak Soul Elder-level soul power, they wouldn't be worthy of fighting him, and winning would hold no meaning. Furthermore, maintaining this level of soul power was a form of respect and recognition toward his opponent.
At this point, Ling Xiao and Huyan Li had been clashing with their Martial Souls for less than half a quarter of an hour. Although it seemed brief, both sides had pushed their Martial Souls to the limit, exchanging a relentless barrage of attacks.
With techniques clashing continuously, they had already traded nearly a hundred blows.
The display was a true eye-opener for the watching young disciples of the Elephant Armored Sect. Whether they were core disciples of the Sect Master's Huyan Clan or outer disciples with different surnames, everyone was struck with awe.
To think a battle at the Soul Elder realm could be this fierce!
The two before them hadn't even activated a single soul skill yet; relying purely on the foundational utilization of their Martial Souls, they could produce such devastating power and momentum. The onlookers stared wide-eyed, terrified of missing a single second.
Out on the plaza, Huyan Li refused to show any weakness in the face of Ling Xiao's ferocious onslaught.
He drove his Martial Soul to its absolute limits to contest the strikes of the Profound Sky Axe. At times, he threw out a punch, his fist meeting the edge of the blade head-on; at other times, he directly used his materialized Martial Soul physique to tank Ling Xiao's attacks.
The Diamond Mammoth truly lived up to its reputation as a formidable Martial Soul renowned across the world for its defense and strength.
Even though Ling Xiao's Profound Sky Axe had already reached the four-ring Soul Ancestor realm and his hidden cultivation level was superior, Huyan Li, by pushing the Diamond Mammoth to its absolute peak and fighting with everything he had, was remarkably managing to hold his ground.
He showed very few signs of collapsing, trading blows back and forth with Ling Xiao while constantly looking for opportunities to counterattack.
While this was partly because Ling Xiao was intentionally holding back—wanting to thoroughly experience the might and characteristics of his opponent's Martial Soul—it was still an incredible feat.
Had it been the Soul Ancestor Bu Le, whom Ling Xiao killed previously, trying to block these same attacks, he wouldn't have lasted three moves.
As they fought, the soul power light on Huyan Li's Martial Soul form flashed incessantly.
The diamond on his forehead became so condensed it looked completely solid. From time to time, a diamond-like brilliance would flare across his upper chest, arms, and fists, manifesting what looked like a layer of crystalline armor.
It was entirely thanks to this unique, brilliant diamond energy that the defensive power of Huyan Li's Martial Soul form was augmented so drastically.
Otherwise, the outer defense of his Martial Soul would have long been cleaved apart by Ling Xiao's Profound Sky Axe, causing internal damage to the Martial Soul and potentially even severely injuring its core essence.
If that had happened, his Martial Soul would have suffered a catastrophic blow.
It wouldn't be like now, where most of his injuries were superficial wounds sustained when the outer layer of his defense was breached, with very little structural damage reaching the interior of his Martial Soul.
This power was known as the Diamond Force.
It was a special energy inherent to the core essence of the Diamond Mammoth Martial Soul and the very foundation of the Diamond Mammoth species' survival.
The clan's name was derived precisely from it.
Generally speaking, the Diamond Force of the Diamond Mammoth lineage was buried deep within their bloodline.
Usually only manifesting outwardly on their tusks and the massive diamond located between their brows. Consequently, under normal circumstances, these two areas possessed the absolute strongest defense on a Diamond Mammoth.
However, once a Diamond Mammoth soul beast unleashed this Diamond Force to coat its entire body, its defensive capabilities would skyrocket, turning it into an incredibly indomitable fortress.
At that point, it could even withstand the attacks of top-tier soul beasts of the same cultivation level—even those belonging to species that specialized heavily in pure offense.
It was by relying on this very trait that the Diamond Mammoth Martial Soul possessed defensive power worthy of stepping into the top-tier Martial Souls, and why the Elephant Armored Sect was hailed across the Soul Land as the sect with the ultimate defense.
Because of this, there had always been a highly debated topic that many in the Soul Master world loved to discuss:
Between the Elephant Armored Sect's Diamond Mammoth and the Armor Plated Giant Rhinoceros—the inherited Martial Soul of the Defense Clan, one of the Clear Sky Sect's four major single-attribute subordinate clans—which one truly possessed the ultimate defense?
Supporters of the Elephant Armored Sect pointed to their grand status as one of the seven great sects and argued that the Diamond Mammoth's overall quality neared a top-tier level.
Conversely, others argued that the Armor Plated Giant Rhinoceros specialized so purely in defense that its focused defensive capability surpassed the Diamond Mammoth.
They claimed this unrivaled defensive potential was exactly why the Clear Sky Sect originally brought the Defense Clan under its banner, cementing their fame before Spirit Hall's suppression stagnated their growth.
According to the deep archives of Spirit Hall Academy, Ling Xiao knew the definitive truth behind this comparison. While the Armor Plated Giant Rhinoceros possessed a superior base defense and better agility.
The Diamond Mammoth was an overall stronger "sub-top-tier" Martial Soul because its strength reached top-tier levels. The key to the Diamond Mammoth's defense lay in its bloodline's "Diamond Force."
When this unique energy was unleashed, its defensive power skyrocketed far beyond its normal limits to withstand top-tier attacks.
However, this Diamond Force could not be maintained indefinitely; without it, the Diamond Mammoth's pure beast-attribute defense was actually inferior to the specialized, steadfast defense of the Armor Plated Giant Rhinoceros.
Although Huyan Li could already mobilize the Diamond Force to reinforce his body, he had yet to condense the renowned Diamond Elephant Armor.
Seeing the diamond-like brilliance flickering across Huyan Li's body without fully taking shape as armor, Ling Xiao could not help but feel a trace of disappointment. He had originally hoped to witness the true pinnacle of the Diamond Mammoth Martial Soul's defensive capabilities.
Unfortunately, Huyan Li's mastery of the Diamond Force was still limited to its basic applications.
At this moment, as the battle between the two grew increasingly intense, Huyan Li had not only consumed a significant amount of soul power, but had also accumulated a considerable number of injuries.
The axe marks covering his Martial Soul Possession became more and more numerous. His fists, arms, and chest were especially battered, crisscrossed with deep wounds left behind by the Profound Sky Axe.
Among them were several axe wounds that had already broken through the outer defensive layer of the Martial Soul and penetrated deep into its interior.
These were no longer superficial injuries.
While weakening the state of Huyan Li's Martial Soul, they also continuously transmitted pain back to him through the connection between the Martial Soul and its master.
**
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