Chapter 318: Mortal vs. God
Since Yang Xiong absorbed the ninth soul ring and soul bone, in addition to receiving the rewards for the trial, he also understood the content of the seventh trial of the Shura Nine Trials.
"Yang Xiong, the seventh trial of the Shura Nine Trials: A mortal challenges a god. To defeat a level 100 powerhouse with a mortal body, the time limit is one year. Failure results in obliteration."
When Yang Xiong saw the trial content at the time, he couldn't help but complain. Was the Shura God overestimating himself? How could he possibly challenge a god? The only true god in this world was Qian Renxue, who was about to ascend to godhood.
It wasn't until Yang Xiong fought Qian Renxue for the third time that he began to understand the huge gap between gods and mortals.
Without using his soul bone armor, Yang Xiong had no chance against Qian Renxue. Divine power seemed inherently more powerful than soul power, even having a subtle suppressive effect.
However, Yang Xiong didn't hesitate and quickly summoned all his soul bones. Instantly, nine soul bones appeared on his body, and after absorbing the ninth soul ring, all his soul bones turned blood-red. All the soul bones fused together, forming a complete armor set.
The three external soul bones were even more conspicuous. His right hand was ice-blue, his left hand was fire-red, and the external soul bone, Xuanwu Armor, was a primitive gray, protecting his entire torso like armor.
Qian Renxue snorted coldly. "You have quite a few tricks, but unfortunately, before a god, your little tricks are nothing but a joke."
Yang Xiong shouted angrily, "You, Qian Renxue, are merely relying on your ancestors' legacy. What's the difference between my soul bone armor and your Celestial Armor?"
With that, Yang Xiong transformed into a blood-red light and charged at Qian Renxue, the air seeming to tear apart as he moved.
Qian Renxue raised her right hand lightly. Even just a normal palm strike contained boundless divine power, causing the heavens and earth to change color.
But Yang Xiong was also making his full-force attack. His right claw collided with Qian Renxue's right palm, and this time, the two were evenly matched. Both of them were forced back several meters.
Qian Renxue was extremely surprised, and at the same time, incredibly angry. This was the first time she, a newly ascended god, had been forced back by someone, and it was Yang Xiong, the very person who had caused her to fail twice in the past.
"Interesting. I didn't expect you, a mere mortal, to have this kind of strength. Looks like things won't be boring for me after all!"
Yang Xiong and Qian Renxue moved at incredible speeds. Soon, the two clashed in the air countless times, with neither side gaining any significant advantage.
Qian Renxue, using her Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul, flew at speeds so fast that even the most elite soul masters couldn't catch her movements.
Yang Xiong, on the other hand, flew on his sword, and only by doing so could he keep up with Qian Renxue's speed.
The battle between Yang Xiong and Qian Renxue was intense. Even simple exchanges of attacks far exceeded the power of the ninth soul skill of a Title Douluo.
Yang Xiong knew very well that if the battle continued like this, he would eventually lose.
Especially in the sky, under the sunlight, Qian Renxue's divine power seemed endless, and her divine power not only had an extreme light attribute, but also contained terrifying Sun True Fire, capable of turning enemies into ashes in an instant.
Although Yang Xiong had his full set of 100,000-year soul bone armor, when facing a god, the soul bones still couldn't fully resist Qian Renxue's attacks.
Fortunately, Yang Xiong had two soul cores, the Power Soul Core and the Five Elements Soul Core, which spun rapidly, quickly absorbing the energy in the air to maintain his soul power consumption.
In that moment, Yang Xiong's eyes turned blood-red, and his entire body emitted a blood-red glow. The blood-red figure behind him seemed to hold a giant sky-reaching sword, slashing towards Qian Renxue. This was the second move of the Shura God: Shura God's Destruction.
But Qian Renxue snorted coldly. "Yang Xiong, it seems you're getting bolder. Last time, I lost to this move of yours, but do you really think I'll lose to the same move twice?"
The massive Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul behind her shielded her. The six wings of the angel formed golden hands, blocking Yang Xiong's full-force strike. The wings also surrounded her, protecting her entirely.
This was Qian Renxue's ninth soul skill, the second move: Grand Angel's Protection. Especially after Qian Renxue reached level 100, the defensive ability of this move had increased exponentially, rendering it immune to any attacks.
When the golden giant and the blood-red great sword collided, Yang Xiong felt an endless backlash force throughout his body. It felt as though his body might shatter. If it weren't for the full-body soul bone armor, this backlash force could have killed a level 98 Title Douluo.
In that moment, Yang Xiong seemed to understand why Sword Douluo's father had been blocked by Qian Daoliu's nine "Kill" words. This was the fundamental difference between soul power and martial souls, and the gap between each level of soul power after reaching level 98.
But Yang Xiong didn't feel afraid. Instead, his eyes were filled with excitement, and his entire body seemed to boil with blood.
Purely from the perspective of soul power, he was indeed at a significant disadvantage compared to a god, but this also made him see the path forward and set his challenge.
Yang Xiong felt his blood boiling at that moment. His entire being was filled with the will to fight, and this fighting spirit seemed to spread throughout his body and even into every inch of his soul.
"Life never ends, and neither does the fight. I, Yang Xiong, with my mortal body, will battle a true god today!"
Yang Xiong's soul rings flashed, activating his third soul ring skill, Dragon Tyrant Rage, his fourth soul ring skill, Dragon Elephant Hard Body, and his seventh soul ring skill, Shura True Body.
With all three enhancement skills active, his height, originally less than two meters, instantly surpassed three meters. His muscles bulged all over, exuding an incredibly fierce aura, like a wild beast.
At this moment, Yang Xiong no longer cared about techniques. His entire being was consumed by rage as he charged at Qian Renxue with full force.
But Qian Renxue snorted coldly, clenched her right fist, and seemed to channel endless golden divine power into her fist. Her speed was even faster than before, many times quicker than at the start. This was her first soul skill: Angel's Strike.
When Yang Xiong once again grabbed Qian Renxue's fist, it felt as though he had struck an immeasurable force. He was once again forced back several dozen meters, while Qian Renxue only moved back a few meters.
Qian Renxue sneered. "At first, I was just playing with you. Did you think that was my full strength? I just wanted to test how strong a mere level 98 Title Douluo like you could be, and whether you could truly shake me, a god."
"Now that I've had enough fun, it's time for you to witness my true strength and experience what true despair feels like."
With that, Qian Renxue's seventh soul ring flashed, and her entire body emitted an endless radiance. The six wings of her Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul turned into fiery serpents, and she herself seemed like a golden sun, capable of destroying the heavens and earth.
Yang Xiong understood that this was Qian Renxue's seventh soul skill, Martial Soul True Body. Especially after reaching level 100, this move had become exponentially stronger. After all, Qian Renxue's seventh soul ring had reached the 100,000-year level. The difference between a 10,000-year soul skill and a 100,000-year soul skill was a fundamental one.
Yang Xiong gritted his teeth. Since the three enhancement skills weren't enough, he decided to add one more.
Normally, soul masters would only use a few enhancement skills, as they could increase the battle capabilities but would also burden the body.
Yang Xiong had already used three supreme enhancement skills, far exceeding the capacity of his body.
But at this moment, Yang Xiong refused to admit defeat. He summoned his ninth soul ring, and his entire body seemed to change in an instant. His external soul bone, the Ice-Fire Dragon Claws, suddenly grew longer, and his hands transformed into dragon claws. His entire body was covered with bright blue dragon scales.
This was Yang Xiong's ninth soul skill: The Magic Whale Angry Dragon Transformation, a 1,000,000-year enhancement skill obtained from the Deep Sea Demon Whale King. Using this skill, his strength and defense were maximized, and he became like a demon dragon, similar to the Dragon Transformation of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.
Even Qian Renxue, who had remained calm earlier, became more serious at this moment. Yang Xiong had used a million-year enhancement skill, and with four enhancement skills activated simultaneously, his strength seemed to have reached its peak, seemingly surpassing the 100-level realm.
Especially after Yang Xiong activated the Magic Whale Angry Dragon Transformation, his Shura Domain became stronger again. Even the Angel Domain seemed unable to suppress his domain.
Yang Xiong, filled with rage, charged at Qian Renxue with his dragon claws, each strike like the cracking of the sky.
But Qian Renxue, as a god-level powerhouse, was still incredibly fast. Though there was some pressure, she was still able to handle the battle with ease.
The two clashed countless times in the air, exchanging blows. However, their recovery was so fast that the wounds healed almost as quickly as they were inflicted.
Yang Xiong's soul bone armor seemed to crack under the pressure, and his skin and bones were severely damaged, but his two soul cores spun rapidly, quickly healing his body.
Meanwhile, Qian Renxue was scratched by Yang Xiong's claws. However, for a god, she only bled a few drops of golden blood, and the wound quickly healed.
If anyone paid attention, they would notice that although Yang Xiong's blood remained dark red, there was now a hint of gold mixed in.
Yang Xiong and Qian Renxue fought so fiercely that it seemed as though the sky itself would collapse.
When they separated again, Yang Xiong had blood at the corner of his mouth, while Qian Renxue looked slightly better.
Even with the four enhancement soul skills, the difference between level 98 and level 100 was still enormous.
(END CHAPTER)
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