Following Gu Yue's gaze, everyone turned their attention to Xu Yuan's fifth soul ring.
Right!
Xu Yuan had always seemed overwhelmingly powerful in their eyes. After obtaining his fifth soul skill, they hadn't seen him use it even once, yet they had subconsciously overlooked this fact.
So, what exactly was the function of this fifth soul skill?
Gu Yue stared intently at Xu Yuan's fifth soul ring.
Her intuition told her that this soul skill was the key to reversing the tide of the battle.
Not just for this fight—her instincts suggested that this soul skill might even have some restraining effect on her as well.
What kind of soul skill could affect me?
Gu Yue's mind was filled with questions.
Long Yue glared at Xu Yuan, his eyes growing redder by the second.
His rationality hadn't returned; instead, the fluctuations in his bloodline grew more intense. The terrifying dragon might was beginning to subtly influence the primal energy of heaven and earth.
It was no longer just pure mental oppression—it was now mixed with the power of heaven and earth, using the forces of nature to suppress his opponent.
Xu Yuan remained calm. No matter how overwhelming Long Yue's dragon might became, his control over the forces of heaven and earth still surpassed Long Yue's.
Whether through the Seven Forbidden Techniques or the assistance of his dream space, Xu Yuan's mastery over the natural world was far superior.
However, this superiority had its limits. The closer he approached these limits, the harder it became for Xu Yuan to progress. But without a doubt, Long Yue's current control over the forces of heaven and earth through his dragon might still fell far short of Xu Yuan's level.
But as Long Yue continued to grow stronger, perhaps there was a chance he could break through this limit?
Xu Yuan recalled how, in the original storyline, his own teacher had been momentarily shaken by Tang Wulin's dragon might.
Perhaps it was because, for that brief moment, the dragon might's control over the forces of heaven and earth had surpassed his teacher's usual integration of essence, energy, and spirit with the natural world, causing him to be slightly affected.
This limit was still too restrictive on the upper bounds of the Seven Forbidden Techniques.
To solve this problem, exploring the Demon Plane was imperative!
Xu Yuan reaffirmed his resolve to establish a permanent gateway to the Demon Plane on the Sea God's Island.
Long Yue let out another deafening dragon roar before once again transforming into mountains and rivers, charging toward Xu Yuan.
The ground rose and fell, and the mountains and rivers in his hands seemed like mere toys. He appeared to be the creator of the continent, reshaping it at will.
Dealing with such an environment was incredibly difficult for Xu Yuan, but he had no choice but to adapt and continue fighting.
The flames of blood essence and life force intertwined, bursting forth brilliantly from the tip of his spear.
Amidst the battle, Xu Yuan gradually began incorporating star energy back into his spear techniques.
He was slowly pushing past his limits.
Star energy was the most primordial force in the universe. After being absorbed by various planes, it was converted into internal energy. For example, after Douluo Star absorbed raw star energy, it transformed it into the primal energy of heaven and earth, which sustained the plane's internal operations.
Of course, not all star energy could be fully assimilated. Some of it remained as star-attribute energy, scattered across the continent and absorbed by beings with a star affinity or concentrated in areas rich with natural star energy.
Though much of the raw primordial energy of star energy had been refined, the star attribute itself retained a power far greater than ordinary attributes.
Previously, Xu Yuan had attempted to incorporate the star attribute into his spear techniques.
In this regard, he had made decent progress.
After all, his innate spear soul and the traces of star essence within his Silver Jade body made integrating star energy into his spear techniques relatively straightforward.
However, combining the star attribute with the explosive force of blood essence and life energy had remained elusive.
Now, under the pressure of Long Yue, Xu Yuan had no choice but to seek a breakthrough.
"Come!"
Xu Yuan's eyes gleamed brightly, reminiscent of the first time he entered the Spirit Ascension Platform to fight.
This… was true battle.
This… was the feeling of burning passion.
A spear should ascend through combat.
Born for battle, unto death it shall persist!
A spear technique without battle lacked a soul.
Not only was Xu Yuan achieving better integration of the three energies in his spear techniques, but his footwork was also improving. He adapted seamlessly to the shifting terrain, and even the movements of the earth beneath his feet were completely within his predictions.
At this moment, he resonated with heaven and earth, as if gaining the ability to foresee the future.
His mind seemed to operate on multiple tracks simultaneously. One part controlled the battle, another observed the changing terrain, another performed predictive calculations, and yet another made decisions.
The passive benefits of his brain martial soul's second awakening weren't limited to when he actively used it—he could naturally multitask without needing to consciously activate the ability.
Xu Yuan's spear grew faster, sharper, and more penetrating with each strike.
Aside from Long Yue, who was locked in combat with him, only the members of Shrek Academy noticed this.
The rest of the audience could only see Xu Yuan being continuously suppressed. Each time he unleashed his peak spear strike against Long Yue, he was sent flying backward, only to stabilize himself and charge again.
However, as time passed, some began to notice something unusual.
"This Xu Yuan… is he unkillable?"
How many times had he clashed already?
Each time, the fluctuations of blood essence and life force burning outside his body were real—they were genuine signs of vitality. And each of those peak spear strikes wasn't an ordinary attack; they were undoubtedly bursts of all his essence, energy, and spirit.
Yet, why had he managed to unleash them dozens of times?
Every time, after being struck by Long Yue's terrifying force, sent flying, and tumbling across the ground, his injuries should have accumulated and worsened.
Why did he now seem stronger than he had been at the start?
En Ci was the most acutely aware of this.
As the strongest person present, he could perceive Xu Yuan's bursts most clearly.
"It's unmistakably the Flame of Life. He's burning his vitality, yet he can endure for so long."
En Ci's expression grew grave.
What kind of monster was this?
Had vitality become as expendable to Xu Yuan as soul power and blood essence?
No, even soul power and blood essence couldn't withstand such continuous bursts!
As for soul power, one could argue that Xu Yuan's mech, infused with spirit-forged alloys, provided an alternative energy source to compensate for the consumption. But now, Xu Yuan was burning his blood essence and vitality!
En Ci scrutinized Xu Yuan, trying to uncover his secret.
But no matter how closely he observed, he couldn't determine where Xu Yuan's vitality and blood essence were coming from.
To be precise, it seemed as though Xu Yuan's vitality and blood essence were entirely his own, surging forth from within his body.
It was as if they were inexhaustible.
Inspiration struck Xu Yuan.
He thrust his spear forward.
This spear strike was swift as light.
A spear must be fast!
A streak of lightning flashed across the arena, piercing through mountains and rivers with a thunderous boom, heading straight for Long Yue.
This strike didn't even reach the rhythm point of Xu Yuan and Long Yue's usual collisions.
Yet Xu Yuan still thrust it forward without hesitation.
At the spear's tip, crimson and azure flames intertwined, while the profound starlight transformed into flames, swirling around the surface of the two flames.
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