Soul Land: Full Body Martial Soul

As Yang Xiong had mentioned, it was quite unusual for Spirit Masters to possess two enhancement-type Spirit Skills as their first two abilities. These enhancement-type Spirit Skills provided a significant advantage in Spirit Duels, particularly since Huyan Meng had already reached level twenty-eight. However, in team battles, he lacked the explosive power that came from group attack or defensive Spirit Skills.

Huyan Meng's expression darkened with frustration. "What do you know? That guy only won because he could fly. In every other aspect, he's inferior to me."

Yang Xiong nodded thoughtfully. "I understand now. I'm afraid that person wore you down completely. No wonder you lost."

"Enough with the nonsense!" Huyan Meng roared. "I'll show you exactly how strong I really am."

Yang Xiong shook his head calmly. "Your weaknesses are still too obvious. Even if you try your best to compensate for them, your physique remains too large, and your body lacks the necessary flexibility. Although I could wear you down to exhaustion as well, I'd still like to test your true strength."

Huyan Meng suddenly burst into laughter. "You shouldn't waste so much time talking to me. While Spirit Skills do consume my Spirit Power, the Diamond Mammoth possesses not only outstanding defense but also the strongest recovery ability among all Spirit Masters."

Yang Xiong looked more closely and noticed that the five bloody wounds on Huyan Meng's shoulder had actually stopped bleeding and were even showing signs of healing.

Yang Xiong smiled confidently. "I was just playing around. Have you forgotten that I haven't even used my Spirit Skills yet? Whether it's Spirit Power or physical strength, my consumption has been much less than yours. Besides, who said that what I showed just now represents my full strength?"

Huyan Meng was caught off guard, but before he could react properly, Yang Xiong had already pounced on him like a fierce tiger. Even though Huyan Meng tried his best to resist, the difference in speed and agility between them was simply too great.

After landing several punches in rapid succession, Yang Xiong suddenly used his elbow to block Huyan Meng's incoming fist and delivered a heavy punch directly to the original wound on Huyan Meng's shoulder. Despite having a defense enhancement Spirit Skill active, the original wounds began to split open once again.

Huyan Meng felt the sharp pain course through his body. Gritting his teeth, he attempted to smash his fists down on Yang Xiong's head with all his remaining strength.

However, Yang Xiong displayed a peculiar smile on his face. His hands moved like lightning to grab Huyan Meng's punching right arm, but he didn't stop his attack there. Instead, he turned his body to the side and used Huyan Meng's own momentum to execute a perfect shoulder throw.

Huyan Meng was thrown heavily to the ground by Yang Xiong's technique, creating a loud crash that made the entire arena shake slightly. Huyan Meng's full-strength attack seemed to have been redirected entirely onto himself, leaving him completely dazed from the impact.

Before he could recover his senses, Yang Xiong had already grabbed his neck, and blood began to flow from where his fingers pressed. It was obvious that with just a little more force, Yang Xiong could easily break his neck.

Faced with such a rapid reversal of fortune, the referee finally snapped back to attention. "Congratulations to player Xiong Batianxia for winning this Spirit Duel competition!"

The entire venue erupted in excitement once again. This kind of dramatic reversal, despite the huge apparent gap in strength, was even more thrilling for the spectators.

Yang Xiong simply shook his head and left the arena without ceremony.

Originally, Yang Xiong had wanted to use the Spirit Duel competition as training to sharpen his combat awareness by fighting against different types of opponents. Unfortunately, these Spirit Grand Masters in the Spirit Arena couldn't provide him with enough pressure or challenge.

Take Huyan Meng, for example. Although he possessed outstanding strength and appeared to have some combat experience, and his body showed a certain degree of flexibility, his massive frame ultimately limited his combat effectiveness. His speed and agility were far inferior to Yang Xiong's, and even his strength couldn't match up. If Yang Xiong had simply wanted to win quickly, he could have probably defeated his opponent in less than a minute, and could have even killed him if necessary.

In the following period, Yang Xiong continued to participate in many more battles, but each contest basically didn't require him to exert too much effort to achieve victory.

Yang Xiong even encountered the opponent who had previously defeated Huyan Meng. This was a level twenty-nine Spirit Grand Master whose martial spirit was the Flame Eagle. This person could not only fly and move with extreme speed, but also possessed fire attributes, and his strength was considerable as well. Among Spirit Grand Masters, he was practically invincible.

However, Yang Xiong remained completely motionless throughout the entire battle, only counterattacking when his opponent attacked him. Yang Xiong's counterattack speed was even faster than his opponent's assault speed. Not to mention that even Spirit Masters with the Flame Eagle martial spirit had to consume Spirit Power to maintain flight, which actually worked in Yang Xiong's favor as it drained his opponent's energy.

This turned out to be the longest match in all of Yang Xiong's competitions, lasting almost a full hour. This was only because Yang Xiong wanted to experience the sensation of fighting against a flying Spirit Master. Otherwise, his first counterattack could have easily secured the victory.

After thirteen consecutive days of Spirit Duel competitions, Yang Xiong achieved thirteen victories and obtained a Bronze Spirit Duel Medal.

However, Yang Xiong decided not to continue participating in Spirit Duel competitions. These contests put far too little pressure on him and couldn't truly improve his combat experience in any meaningful way.

Moreover, during his time in Heaven Dou City, Yang Xiong had already gathered all the information he needed. The next phase would involve a different kind of training—real, bloody combat experience.

Early one morning, Yang Xiong left Heaven Dou City by himself. His destination this time was the Sunset Forest.

Sunset Forest was located just over a hundred kilometers away from Heaven Dou City. It was one of the most famous spirit beast forests on the entire Douluo Continent. The forest contained all kinds of spirit beasts, including many ten-thousand-year spirit beasts. It was definitely suitable for his real training needs and would certainly provide him with enough pressure and challenge.

Yang Xiong understood clearly that without experiencing genuine danger, without facing blood and pressure, a Spirit Master's growth would ultimately be limited and incomplete.

As for safety concerns, Yang Xiong wasn't worried about encountering any serious danger. On one hand, he was an inner disciple of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, and ordinary people would not easily provoke someone with his background.

On the other hand, he possessed two life-saving Spirit Skills, so even if he encountered relatively high-level Spirit Masters, he could escape quickly and safely.

Furthermore, Spirit Masters were generally quite cautious about risking their lives. They wouldn't dare to provoke disciples of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School without very special reasons, as doing so would bring disaster upon their families and sects. This was the deterrent power of the Upper Three Sects, especially here in the Heaven Dou Empire's territory.

After walking for the better part of a day, Yang Xiong finally arrived at Spirit Hunting Town on the outskirts of Sunset Forest.

Here, there were not only various vendors selling items necessary for surviving in the forest, but also numerous mercenaries whose primary business was helping people hunt for spirit rings.

Yang Xiong had already prepared everything he needed. Most of his spirit guidance devices were fully stocked. After all, his many years of reading and study hadn't been in vain. The books contained detailed records about the survival rules and strategies for navigating spirit beast forests.

A mercenary noticed that Yang Xiong was traveling alone and seemed to want to approach him to strike up a conversation, but he was quickly stopped by a stern look from another person nearby.

Yang Xiong paid no attention to such matters and walked directly into Sunset Forest by himself.

The person who had intended to approach Yang Xiong looked puzzled. "Boss, I noticed he's traveling alone. Maybe he could provide us with a lucrative job?"

The middle-aged leader's expression became extremely serious. "If you want to die, don't drag me down with you. Looking at his attire, he should be from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School. As expected of the talented disciples from the Upper Three Sects, he dares to enter Sunset Forest alone at such a young age."

When the surrounding people heard this revelation, their eyes filled with fear. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School represented an insurmountable mountain in the Spirit Master world.

Everyone understood why Yang Xiong had come to Sunset Forest. The next step would be to choose the appropriate method and timing for whatever he planned to accomplish there.

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