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**
Under the empowerment of the malevolent aura, the Profound Sky Axe felt as though its restraints had been completely unshackled. Its aura flared wantonly and undisciplined—tyrannical, overbearing, and laden with an absolute, crushing weight.
Gripping the axe, Ling Xiao also seemed influenced by this intense malevolent energy. His gaze turned frigid and emotionless, entirely distinct from his previous demeanor. Circulating his soul power, Ling Xiao slashed downward from mid-air.
The Profound Sky Axe erupted with a terrifying, menacing aura as its might skyrocketed.
A black-red arc of light flashed, and a massive axe blade projection stretching over ten meters violently extended from the weapon, hacking straight down toward Huyan Li's head.
With Ling Xiao unleashing his full power, the might of this Profound Sky Slash had practically reached the absolute limit of the three-ring Soul Elder realm.
Watching the colossal axe projection slice through the void, threatening to claim him in the blink of an eye, Huyan Li was seized by overwhelming dread. Feeling as though no amount of effort could possibly block it, he momentarily lost all will to resist.
"Big brother!"
Fortunately, the frantic shouts of Huyan Ba, Huyan Shan, and the others snapped him out of his daze.
Just as Ling Xiao's Profound Sky Slash was about to crash onto Huyan Li, the six Hu brothers—who had anticipated Ling Xiao's full-throttle strike and prepared themselves accordingly—rushed to Huyan Li's side in the nick of time.
In the next instant, Huyan Li recaptured his fighting spirit.
Seven Diamond Great Shields manifested once more in their hands, rapidly fusing together to forge a colossal diamond shield wall. Its defense resembled an iron bastion, flawless and impenetrable.
This was none other than the Elephant Armor Formation. Previously, they had relied precisely on the defensive might of this formation to withstand Ling Xiao's fierce assaults, waiting for the perfect opportunity to separate and surround him.
This time, however, things would not go exactly as they wished. The very moment the diamond shield wall finished coalescing, the massive axe projection of the Profound Sky Slash slammed heavily onto it.
A deafening bang instantly exploded, vibrating so violently it made the eardrums ache.
As the two forces collided head-on, a staggering wave of energy erupted across the plaza.
The residual shockwaves of the clash rippled outward, birthing a gale out of thin air that swept in all directions like a storm. The air hissed and screeched with an ear-piercing buzz, and the surrounding bluestone ground shattered entirely, sending fragments flying everywhere.
Within a radius of over ten meters at the center of the plaza, the terrain was utterly devastated, sinking down by over ten centimeters out of thin air.
Even with the seven of them combining their strength to sustain the Elephant Armor Formation's defense, they couldn't help but be driven backward continuously by the sheer force of the strike.
The seven youths drove their Martial Souls to their absolute limits, taking several heavy steps to channel the rebound force into the ground before finally stabilizing their footing.
At the very center of the shield wall they had conjured, a horrifyingly large axe mark had carved itself from top to bottom, making the wall look as though it were on the verge of snapping right down the middle.
Although they had blocked Ling Xiao's strike, not a single trace of joy could be found on the faces of Huyan Li and his teammates.
First, it was because the power of Ling Xiao's Profound Sky Slash had surged drastically, clearly eclipsing his previous attacks and nearly shattering their Elephant Armor Formation in a single blow.
Second, after unleashing such an incredibly devastating strike, Ling Xiao actually showed no regard for his soul power consumption, launching into another ferocious assault without a single moment of hesitation.
If they chose to deactivate the Elephant Armor Formation now, they would be utterly incapable of defending against Ling Xiao's attacks. But if they kept it active, how many more strikes could this heavily compromised iron bastion actually endure?
The hearts of all seven youths sank simultaneously.
If Ling Xiao falling into their entrapment just moments ago had offered them a glimmer of hope for victory, they were now plunging directly into the abyss of defeat.
In the distance, Ling Xiao spun his body the moment his feet touched the ground after the initial strike, executing three rapid slashes in sequence.
In the blink of an eye, three crescent-shaped, massive axe projections—intertwined with a pitch-black malevolent aura—flew menacingly toward Huyan Li and his team.
The ink-black aura amplified the power of the Profound Sky Slash by another thirty percent, vastly increasing its imposing weight. It gave off an ominous sensation that it could cleave through even a spiritual entity or soul form.
Faced with Ling Xiao's unsparing, relentless offensive, Huyan Li and the others had no choice but to brace themselves and continue blocking. However, after three muffled booms resonated, the expressions of Huyan Li and his teammates warped drastically.
The three axe strikes Ling Xiao had just unleashed did not target the existing fissure in the center of the shield wall; instead, they slammed into other sections of the wall with absolute, devastating force.
For some unknown reason, the sharp, piercing edge of the Profound Sky Axe was visibly superior to before. Had he been hiding his true strength all along? To think he dared to be so arrogant and look down on us so thoroughly while fighting one-versus-seven!
Shock and fury flared in the hearts of Huyan Li and his brothers, yet the sheer disparity in strength left them with a profound sense of helplessness.
Because the core of the diamond shield wall formed by the Elephant Armor Formation was already compromised, its structural integrity was severely weakened. Just these three axe projections alone left deep, glaring gashes across its surface.
Yet, Ling Xiao's follow-up attacks pressed on relentlessly.
Within a mere few breaths, Huyan Li and his team were forced to receive several more strikes—seven entire axe projections in total. Instantly, the diamond shield wall that was once hailed as an impenetrable iron bastion was reduced to a battered, fragmented mess.
Aside from the colossal fissure running almost entirely through the center of the shield wall, both flanks were now riddled with crisscrossing, intersecting axe gouges.
The defensive wall was pushed to the absolute brink of collapsing, making it nigh impossible for anyone to believe it still possessed any defensive capability.
This was precisely the outcome Ling Xiao desired.
To prevent them from using the impact to scatter their formation and drag him into another surrounding melee, he intended to completely demolish the defense conjured by the Elephant Armor Formation. It was time for this match to reach its conclusion.
Ling Xiao raised the Profound Sky Axe, unleashing a Profound Sky Shatter.
A torrent of energy brimming with a brutal, violent aura instantly erupted from the colossal axe, carrying a terrifying physical force as it crashed into the defensive shield wall of the Elephant Armor Formation.
A deafening boom resonated like a clap of thunder exploding across the sky, and a vast cascade of crystalline fragments instantly burst forth across the plaza.
The torrent of energy from the Profound Sky Shatter erupted completely, its sheer might instantly tearing through the battered remnants of the Elephant Armor Formation. The diamond shield wall shattered into dust, and the formation's defense was utterly annihilated.
The massive depletion of their diamond power meant they would be unable to manifest the Elephant Armor Formation again within a short period.
Not only that, but because the formation's defense had already been in tatters, it failed to absorb the true extent of the Profound Sky Shatter's destructive power. After pulverizing the formation, the violent energy shockwaves blasted directly onto the bodies of Huyan Li and his teammates.
Following several muffled groans, multiple figures were violently sent flying from the center of the energy torrent across the plaza, eventually crashing heavily onto the ground. It was Huyan Li and his crew.
At this moment, their injuries varied, though none were light.
The three with higher cultivations—including Huyan Li—remained standing, though their possessed Martial Soul bodies were riddled with wounds and heavily battered. Their injuries were primarily sustained by their Martial Souls.
Meanwhile, the other four were in even worse shape; their Martial Souls had suffered severe trauma, forcing them out of their Martial Soul Possession state.
Blood seeped from the corners of their mouths, as the residual shockwaves had rattled their internal organs the moment their Martial Souls were broken during the clash.
"Sect Master!"
High up on the viewing platform, seeing the crushing defeat of Huyan Li's team, several elders of the Elephant Armor Sect couldn't help but speak up, their expressions laced with anxiety. After all, Huyan Li and the others were severely injured and could no longer continue the fight.
Hearing this, Huyan Zhen waved his hand to silence them.
He knew exactly how severe the injuries were; they weren't enough to damage their foundations.
For a Soul Master, these injuries were nothing, and were a necessary experience they had to go through. The disciples of his Huyan Clan were not delicate flowers raised in a greenhouse who couldn't handle a bit of pain.
They weren't that fragile.
To become a true powerhouse, one had to go through hundreds of battles.
Who could guarantee they would never get hurt? Roaming the continent was no easy feat; if they were afraid of being injured, they might as well stay home forever instead of coming out to test their mettle.
"Elder Chrysanthemum, this battle should come to an end. I truly did not expect this young man from your esteemed Hall to possess such staggering strength."
"Even while suppressing his soul power to the Soul Elder level, he could still crush the Elephant Armor Formation sustained by seven of them. The new generation truly surpasses the old," Huyan Zhen said, his expression highly complex.
He was naturally displeased that his sect's inherited formation had been broken, yet he was left utterly speechless. After all, when seven of them joined forces only to be dismantled by a single opponent, what more could he possibly say?
**
Enjoying the story? Support the translation and get early access to future chapters here: www.patr eon.com/c/FanficTranslator
Thanks for reading!
I have 100+ advanced chapter now on Patreon. I will post 5 advanced chapter on Patreon everyday except Sunday