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**
"My apologies, I struck a bit too hard."
Down on the plaza, Ling Xiao walked forward and spoke.
At this moment, his tyrannical and overbearing aura had already been completely restrained, and the Profound Sky Axe had been recalled into his body. Only his tattered clothing and the faintly visible bloodstains remained, failing to hide the raw intensity of the preceding battle.
"However, had I not done so, it would have been nearly impossible for me to shatter the Elephant Armor Formation."
Huyan Li lifted his head, locking his gaze onto Ling Xiao, and asked in a deep voice, "Just now, the might of your Profound Sky Axe skyrocketed. I want to know—what exactly was that black mist?"
"That was fiendish Qi."
Faced with Ling Xiao's explanation, Huyan Li was slightly perplexed.
He naturally knew what fiendish Qi was; after a Soul Master went through a massive amount of slaughter, their body would inevitably be tainted by a fiendish aura. This kind of substance could be said to have both advantages and disadvantages.
On one hand, during combat, it could inflict a glaring suppression on the enemy's morale, making them lose heart before the battle even began, preventing them from unleashing their full potential.
Those with exceptionally dense fiendish Qi could even rely solely on their aura to dispel certain spiritual attacks. They became entirely immune to illusions, and wandering spirits or spectral-type Soul Beasts wouldn't dare approach them either.
It could truly be called a ward against all evil.
On the other hand, fiendish Qi also brought certain drawbacks to a Soul Master. An intense fiendish aura could negatively affect a Soul Master's sanity; mild cases resulted in irritability and a short temper, while severe cases led to a brutal, bloodthirsty nature.
It was truly a double-edged sword.
Several high-level powerhouses within his Elephant Armored Sect harbored quite a bit of fiendish Qi within themselves, though they usually kept it restrained and intentionally cleansed it.
However, the core issue lay in the fact that although fiendish Qi would gradually accumulate and grow alongside an increasing body count, achieving the ability to condense it into a physical entity and cause actual material destruction was an extremely difficult feat.
It was absolutely not something that could be achieved overnight.
Without a specialized technique, if one wished to amass enough fiendish Qi to materialize it into solid form, they would have to undergo an unfathomable, countless amount of slaughter for it to even be possible.
Yet, to his knowledge, while Ling Xiao had tempered himself within the Mystic Trace Canyon for a year—enduring life-and-death slaughters and battling vicious beasts day and night—
Though this was enough to grant him a formidable killing intent and fiendish aura, it was still far from sufficient to materialize it into solid form and wield it as he had just done.
Ling Xiao continued, "My Profound Sky Axe possesses the innate power to condense fiendish Qi."
"You should know that in the process of a life-and-death struggle, it is not just the Soul Masters themselves who become tainted with fiendish Qi; their weapons do as well. Whether it is using a Tool Martial Soul or a soul weapon to slaughter, it will become stained with a fiendish aura.
"Although the fiendish Qi stained upon my Profound Sky Axe is still far from the level where it can spontaneously materialize into solid form, by relying on this specialized innate ability, I can condense and refine the fiendish Qi ahead of time, applying it directly onto the axe blade."
"Thus, with this ferocious and malevolent aura serving as its cutting edge, the might of the Profound Sky Axe naturally skyrockets. Huyan Li, for you all to force out my ability to condense the fiendish Qi of the Profound Sky Axe, you have no reason to feel disgraced by this defeat."
"I originally thought I could shatter your formation without borrowing the power of the fiendish Qi, but it seems I underestimated you. The Elephant Armor Formation is indeed formidable."
"Unfortunately, your cultivation levels are still insufficient; otherwise, you would certainly be able to unleash an even greater power from the formation. If that were the case, I wouldn't have to fight with my hands tied, and could truly pour out my absolute full strength to experience its true might."
Although Ling Xiao had acknowledged the strength of Huyan Li and his teammates, his words felt like a heavy sledgehammer slamming against their hearts.
The disparity in strength between them was actually far greater than they had previously imagined.
The Profound Sky Axe—what a terrifying Profound Sky Axe.
This kind of dominant and bizarre innate ability was not something an ordinary Tool Martial Soul could possess.
Although the Clear Sky Hammer claimed the title of the number one Tool Martial Soul under heaven, it did not possess this specific kind of uniqueness; it relied solely on its matchless, tyrannical strength.
Across the continent, perhaps only the Seven Kill Sword—which was born with a terrifying killing intent and was hailed as the absolute pinnacle of the path of slaughter—possessed an equally horrifying innate ability.
"So, this is the true power of your Profound Sky Axe."
"Ling Xiao, I, Huyan Li, admit defeat wholeheartedly."
Huyan Li spoke with immense admiration, his words filled with deep respect.
Their seven brothers had joined forces and exhausted every method available, yet they were still defeated by the youth before him. How could he not admire him?
However, even so, Huyan Li would absolutely never give up.
Ling Xiao was strong, but he would definitely cultivate with everything he had in the future, striving to catch up to him and defeat him.
"Ling Xiao, our brothers were defeated today. But in four years, at the Continental Elite Young Soul Master Tournament, I will definitely challenge you again."
Despite his injuries, Huyan Li still spoke with passionate, stirring words.
"Haha, good. I'll be waiting for you," Ling Xiao nodded with satisfaction.
"Alright, you boys stop talking for now and treat your injuries first."
"I'll have to trouble you," Huyan Zhen said, looking toward Chrysanthemum Douluo.
"No matter."
Following that, under Chrysanthemum Douluo's gesture, Fang Jin once again drove his Martial Soul, the Ring of Healing, to treat their injuries. Under his formidable healing power, the four who were severely injured quickly showed noticeable improvement.
However, just as the milk-white healing radiance descended upon Ling Xiao, he shifted his body and dodged it. Facing the confusion of Fang Jin and everyone else, he thought for a moment and said, "There's no need to trouble yourself."
"Though the power of a healing-type Martial Soul is miraculous, relying on it too much isn't necessarily a good thing; it will affect one's tolerance to injuries. My wounds aren't severe either, so it's better to head back and heal slowly."
"Ling Xiao takes his leave."
After speaking, Ling Xiao walked toward the outer edge of the plaza.
Along the way, the Elephant Armored Sect disciples they encountered all split up to yield a path for him. Although Ling Xiao had broken the Elephant Armor Formation of Huyan Li's group—turning all their previous contempt and mockery of Ling Xiao into nothing but bubbles—
Ling Xiao's tyrannical momentum during his relentless assault on the Elephant Armor Formation also left them in awe.
The disciples of the Elephant Armored Sect harbored an exceptionally favorable impression toward those with an open and grand combat style that favored ferocious, unyielding offenses. They respected opponents who could shatter their defenses and defeat them even more.
Furthermore, Ling Xiao's words were quite original and unconventional, leaving quite a few people lost in thought.
Come to think of it, it made sense.
Although healing-type Martial Souls had outstanding effects—showing immediate results that even surpassed ordinary healing pills—their powerful effects could also cause a Soul Master to develop a reliance on them.
The moment they got hurt, they would want to receive treatment.
Over time, it would become increasingly difficult to endure pain, and their own natural recovery ability might even weaken. This was in regards to Martial Souls, and by the same logic, pills were also similar, just not to such an exaggerated degree.
This was exactly why Ling Xiao didn't plan to consume pills to recover either. After all, his injuries weren't severe; under the circulation of his soul power, it would be enough to help him fully recover.
If one were to extend this concept even further, they could also arrive at some new reflections.
Among auxiliary-types, amplification-type Martial Souls possessed power sufficient to massively boost a Soul Master's strength, which wasn't inferior to those pills that could cause a person's strength to skyrocket in a short time.
Would these also make it easy for a Soul Master to immerse themselves in the substantial short-term increase in power, and instead neglect their own cultivation?
Hard to say. Hard to say.
"That makes sense. Then I won't use it either."
Seeming to feel that Ling Xiao's words held some truth, Huyan Li also chimed in with a sentence.
However, just as he finished speaking and before he could even take a few steps, he suddenly felt the space around his entire body tighten up, rendering him completely unable to move.
Behind him, on the high viewing platform, a terrifying aura violently erupted, and surges of soul power bounded upward, yet remained contained without discharging. Even so, its immense, dominant pressure could be felt by everyone in the entire Colossal Elephant City.
It was none other than the Sect Master of the Elephant Armored Sect, Huyan Zhen.
Under his spatial lockdown, with a casual reach of his hand, Huyan Li was dragged right back.
"Hmph, you better accept the treatment properly and don't go anywhere."
**
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