The phantom of a white tiger astonishingly soared from his body, its aura of terror tearing the rocks on the Cliff of Life and Death to tatters, as if they had been clawed by tiger paws.
The air around them seemed like glass that was instantly shattered by a collision, creating a temporary vacuum.
"Hahaha, Eighty Percent Martial Soul Fragment, this time Ling Xiao is surely doomed, not to mention defeating Li Xinghui in six moves, he’s bound to lose this time!"
Fei Yu laughed excitedly.
The pressure from the Eighty Percent Martial Soul Fragment was too shocking. In the entire Heavenly Ninja Academy, aside from the Ninja Warriors with complete Ninja Spirits, this was considered the strongest Martial Soul Fragment.
He didn’t even want to blink his eyes, wishing he could immediately see Ling Xiao being swallowed by the giant White Tiger and then torn into pieces.
Wan Ben also showed a satisfied smile.
Ling Xiao, with his terrifying potential and mentored by Lin Ze, would sooner or later become a threat to him and to the Heavenly Ninja Academy.
Killing him now was definitely a good thing for him.
Over at Hidden Dragon Camp, the expression on Lin Ze’s and General Jiu Yue’s faces were not so good. Originally, Ling Xiao had a huge advantage.
But now with Li Xinghui’s Martial Soul Fragment suddenly breaking through, this made them worry once again.
Contrarily, Ling Yixue still wore a confident expression.
She believed that Ling Xiao had anticipated this before the battle. To others, Li Xinghui’s soul fragment breakthrough was a surprise.
But for Ling Xiao, this was all within his calculations.
Many people thought that Ling Xiao’s most terrifying aspect was his potential, but Ling Yixue knew they were all wrong. What was truly fearsome about Ling Xiao was his scheming.
Just as Ling Yixue had said, Li Xinghui’s soul fragment breaking through was something Ling Xiao had calculated long ago.
Not only had he anticipated it, but his continuous attacks were intended to induce the opponent’s soul fragment to break through.
The stronger his opponent became, the greater the pressure he felt.
And he took this opportunity to break through his own cultivation level.
His cultivation had already shown signs of breakthrough during the past few days of training; all he lacked was an opportunity, which today he had created for himself.
Of course, it could also be said that Li Xinghui had delivered it to him on a platter.
Facing this incredibly fearsome attack.
The True Essence within Ling Xiao started to circulate wildly, and a barrier within his seventh Martial Vein was forcibly broken through.
At this moment, the breakthrough he had been longing for finally arrived.
And Li Xinghui, the poor fool, was but a tool being used by him.
He wasn’t experiencing a Martial Soul Fragment breakthrough, but his cultivation level was rising from the Martial Vein Seventh Initial Stage to the Martial Vein Seventh Intermediate Stage.
A breakthrough that seemed like a small realm brought him a sudden surge in strength.
"Thank you, Brother Li."
Looking at Li Xinghui, Ling Xiao revealed a sincere smile, his True Essence flowing within him, his vigorous aura enveloping him.
"This child must be killed!"
By this time, Wan Ben’s eyes were nearly popping out.
He didn’t care whether Ling Xiao was a beginner disciple newly accepted by Master Baiyun, because he felt threatened by Ling Xiao.
Especially the scheming in this young man’s heart, which had completely played Li Xinghui like a puppet.
No, it could be said that even he had been played.
How could he, the illustrious Baiyun Governor, swallow such a blow?
"Hahaha, this kid, had me worried for nothing. It seems, ah, there’s no need to worry about others, he’s the most reliable one of all."
Lin Ze also noticed Ling Xiao’s breakthrough, and that it was a planned one, which made him burst into laughter, feeling extremely relieved.
General Jiu Yue also murmured to himself, "I knew this kid Ling Xiao was exceptionally talented, but I never thought, ah, that he would have reached this extent."
If Li Xinghui’s soul fragment breakthrough during combat was surprising, then what Ling Xiao was doing was nothing short of pioneering.
Breaking through under immense pressure was something that only occasionally happened and was quite rare.
But the fact that great pressure could help Martial Artists break through had been proven by countless fighters.
Yet, to completely harness such pressure without wasting any bit of it, to fully control it, he had never seen it before.
Today was truly an eye-opener.
Even more impressive was that the terrifying pressure from Ling Xiao’s small realm breakthrough was even more frightening than many Martial Artists’ breakthroughs in a larger realm.
This showed that Ling Xiao’s cultivation was incredibly solid, each step taken firmly, without any superficiality.
The phantom behind Ling Xiao changed.
It shifted from the Blood Blade Remnant Soul to the Giant Sword Remnant Soul.
The sword intent that soared to the heavens surged once more, as a terrifying sword qi pierced through the clear skies, dispersing the clouds above.
"Does he really possess two Martial Soul Remnants?"
"I thought it was just a rumor."
"This is terrifying, two Martial Soul Remnants perfected to seventy percent, is this kid a demon?"
Seeing Ling Xiao suddenly switch his Martial Soul Remnant, the crowd once again erupted in exclamations of shock.
"Master, what’s going on? Didn’t you say that a martial artist could at most have only one soul to assist?"
Inside the True Spirit Hall, Zuo Leng looked at Master Baiyun in astonishment and asked, "But how does he have two Martial Soul Remnants? This defies reason."
Master Baiyun was also somewhat perplexed.
He smiled wryly and shook his head, "I am a little baffled as well. Perhaps it’s because his body structure is different from ordinary people."
Even as a martial artist of the Transcendent Realm, this was the only explanation he could offer to fend off the confusion.
It wasn’t that he was inadequate, but that the Mountain and River Martial Soul was too mysterious, beyond the comprehension of someone of his realm.
Ling Xiao gripped his sword in both hands and then cast his gaze towards Li Xinghui, directly slashing out at the pouncing White Tiger.
"Too bad, you won’t live to see the sixth move!"
With his breakthrough in cultivation, Ling Xiao’s strength had greatly increased; naturally, he wouldn’t need to use the sixth move to end the fight.
"Oh no, what’s happening to my True Essence!"
"The same for me, why is my True Essence flying towards the battlefield!"
The spectating crowd suddenly realized that their True Essence was uncontrollably surging out of their bodies, breaking through their restraints and flying towards Ling Xiao.
Only then did they discover, to their astonishment, that all these True Essences were entering Ling Xiao’s Giant Sword Remnant Soul, making its momentum grow stronger and stronger.
Most of the geniuses present were merely Seventh Layer Martial Masters of Martial Pulse; they couldn’t stop the gushing True Essence and, in fear, turned pale with no idea what to do.
Wan Ben let out a cold snort, and with a sweeping motion of his hand, the air on their side suddenly became isolated from the battlefield’s. Only then did the geniuses’ True Essence finally calm down.
"Governor, you are mistaken. True Essence yearns for the righteous path, rushing towards the bright way. How could it be called the Evil Path?"
Although Lin Ze also found the situation bizarre, he couldn’t quite agree with Wan Ben’s words.
To call others Evil Path, Wan Ben simply had no right to say so.
Wan Ben snorted coldly, without saying anything more, as he was very focused on the changes happening in the arena.
Although the momentum of the Giant Sword Remnant Soul did not escalate further, Ling Xiao’s sword move had long been ready.
How terrifying was this sword strike!
The fearsome sword qi converged into an immense sword shadow, as if it intended to slice open heaven and earth.
Then it precisely struck the massive phantom of the White Tiger.
The moment the sword shadow collided with the tiger shadow, the latter shattered like glass, breaking into pieces.
The sword shadow weakened slightly, but its momentum remained fierce as it penetrated Li Xinghui’s Purple Crystal Shield and then his body.
A giant rock behind Li Xinghui completely crumbled.
And Li Xinghui’s body was already faltering.
Ling Xiao showed no mercy.
Nor was there any need for mercy.
He would not recklessly kill a person, but he also had no sympathy for those who sought to kill him.