Chapter 70: You are all wrong

Panther-type soul beasts are generally agility-type, and Shadow Panthers are among the best of them.

Ordinary soul beasts, without absolute confidence, rarely engage in combat with a Shadow Panther.

The Shadow Panther's speed is simply too fast. If your cultivation level is similar to theirs, you wouldn't even be able to touch them.

"Damn it, why did we run into another thousand-year soul beast?" Mu Xi didn't run away. With the speed of a thousand-year Shadow Panther, running would only lead to being picked off one by one.

Even if she could escape, she wouldn't abandon her teammates to save herself.

"Hold him off for a moment, give me five seconds!" Mu Xi shouted, her beautiful eyes turning sharp. Her purple third soul ring lit up, and the fire elements in the air gathered around her like rivers converging into the sea. The blazing sun above her head shone brightly once more.

"Roar!" The Shadow Panther shattered the earthen wall summoned by the Earth Hammer with a single strike. A shadow lunged at the soul master holding the Earth Hammer, instantly snapping his neck, and then pounced on Xia Yi.

At the same time, another shadow lunged at another two-ring soul master near Mu Xi.

As for its real body, it charged directly at Mu Xi.

Upon reaching the thousand-year mark, the Shadow Panther also understood that Mu Xi was gathering power.

Generally, charged soul skills are far more powerful than regular ones, not to mention Mu Xi was already a Soul Elder, charging a thousand-year soul skill.

The Shadow Panther knew it couldn't allow Mu Xi to complete her charge.

Seeing the shadow lunging at him, Xia Yi had already realized that the Shadow Panther's shadow clones were immune to physical attacks. His Thousand-Forge Bronze Hammer would pass right through them without causing any harm.

So, Xia Yi raised his hand and shot a Dark Phoenix at the Shadow Panther clone charging at him, directly dispersing the shadow. Then, he hefted his Thousand-Forge Bronze Hammer and swung it at the Shadow Panther's real body.

The Shadow Panther wasn't strong in terms of power. Seeing Xia Yi's hammer whirling toward him, the Shadow Panther twisted its body and narrowly dodged the strike.

But with Xia Yi in the way, the Shadow Panther couldn't recklessly attack Mu Xi anymore.

"Such incredible speed!" Xia Yi murmured, glancing back at Mu Xi, who was still charging. He gripped his hammer and once again struck at the Shadow Panther.

Although the Shadow Panther was incredibly fast and difficult to hit, Xia Yi's only goal was to stall until Mu Xi completed her charge.

The Shadow Panther flickered ten meters away, its eyes fixed on Xia Yi. It could feel that Xia Yi's soul power was far inferior to its own.

But Xia Yi's monstrous strength, combined with his hammer, forced the Shadow Panther to keep dodging, preventing it from getting close to him.

While Xia Yi managed to eliminate one of the Shadow Panther's clones and keep the real body busy, Mu Xi's two-ring teammate wasn't faring as well.

This soul master, whose martial spirit was a blade, had all his soul skills focused on physical attacks. Just like Xia Yi's hammer, they were ineffective against the Shadow Panther's clones. He was quickly knocked to the ground by a shadow clone.

Fortunately, in a critical moment, he activated a distress signal and avoided being torn apart by the Shadow Panther.

"Roar!" Another low roar echoed as the Shadow Panther's freed-up clone turned its sights on Xia Yi.

All soul skills have cooldown periods, and the Shadow Panther intended to capitalize on the downtime of Xia Yi's Dark Phoenix soul skill to eliminate him.

Otherwise, Xia Yi's hammer posed too great a threat to the Shadow Panther's real body.

"Your teammates are a bit useless, huh!" Xia Yi glanced helplessly at Mu Xi.

Originally, he thought stalling for five seconds wouldn't be difficult.

Now he realized it was impossible.

"You're fast, huh? Let me show you what speed really is." Xia Yi eyed the Shadow Panther's real body, put away his 100-kilogram Thousand-Forge Bronze Hammer, and stomped forcefully on the ground.

With a boom, a large crater appeared beneath his feet.

Using the powerful counterforce, Xia Yi shot toward the Shadow Panther like a cannonball, leaving the approaching shadow clone far behind.

Holding the hammer, Xia Yi couldn't match the Shadow Panther's speed, but without it, he could briefly burst into speeds surpassing the Shadow Panther's.

"Roar!" The Shadow Panther let out a long howl and, instead of retreating, advanced. It pushed its speed to the limit, charging directly at Xia Yi.

This time, it didn't dodge. Without the hammer that it feared, the Shadow Panther was confident it could kill Xia Yi before he retrieved it from his storage soul tool.

After all, Xia Yi was only a one-ring soul master.

Xia Yi indeed didn't have the time to retrieve his hammer.

But just as the Shadow Panther approached, five golden claws suddenly extended from Xia Yi's right hand. Before the Shadow Panther could react, five dark golden streaks of light flashed.

The dark golden light swept through silently, as if a hot knife had melted through butter.

A surge of energy enveloped Xia Yi as the thousand-year Shadow Panther's body silently fell apart into fragments, dispersing into pure energy.

Still charging, Mu Xi was left with her mouth agape. Such terrifying attack power—this...

Xia Yi frowned slightly. "This power is still weaker than it was when I fought the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear."

"You! You!" Mu Xi stammered, finally regaining her composure after a moment. "What just happened?"

"It's a soul bone ability!" Xia Yi smiled.

"A soul bone ability?" Mu Xi was shocked again, her eyes sparkling. With her background, she clearly understood the significance of soul bones.

After a long while, she asked solemnly, "Did you do that on purpose?"

"Do what on purpose?" Xia Yi was puzzled.

"You had such strong attack power. Why did you wait until after Luo Xiao and the others were eliminated to use it? Was it because they said you were dragging them down? Were you trying to get back at them?" Mu Xi looked at him curiously.

"You're overthinking it. I just didn't want to steal your energy." Xia Yi shook his head. He wasn't lying; initially, he had only planned to stall the Shadow Panther to give Mu Xi enough time to charge and land the killing blow.

He hadn't expected her teammates to be so incompetent, failing to last even five seconds, forcing him to finish off the Shadow Panther himself.

"For me?" Mu Xi was stunned, but she soon smiled, striking a big-sisterly pose. "Alright, since it was for me, I'll let it slide this time. Just don't steal my energy again."

"Sure! Next time, it's all yours!" Xia Yi nodded seriously. After killing the thousand-year Shadow Panther, his energy was sufficient to upgrade his first soul ring to the thousand-year level.

Once he left the Spirit Ascension Platform, his soul ring would immediately advance.

Seeing how readily he agreed, Mu Xi quickly waved her hands. "I was just kidding! Don't take it seriously."

"Since this entry ticket was given by you, I'm already satisfied with getting a hundred years of energy from killing a thousand-year Shadow Panther. Next time, I'll hold back and leave the final blow for you," Xia Yi said casually. After retrieving the Thousand-Forge Bronze Hammer he had thrown earlier, he asked, "How many years is your first soul ring at now? I'll help you upgrade it to a thousand years."

"I was kidding! My first soul ring is at 900 years now, but since I have three rings, any energy I gain is distributed among all of them. I'd need at least 300 more years of energy to break through. You only have one ring, so it's easier for you to upgrade. Focus on your own soul ring first," Mu Xi replied.

"After killing the Shadow Panther, I already have enough energy to break through the thousand-year mark," Xia Yi said calmly.

"Already enough to break through?" Mu Xi was stunned again. Although she didn't know exactly how many years Xia Yi's first soul ring had before entering the Spirit Ascension Platform, she could tell it wasn't over 500 years.

This meant Xia Yi had gained over 500 years of energy in this session.

"With a freak like you, the Spirit Pagoda must be in despair," Mu Xi said with a chuckle.

If every soul master gained as much as Xia Yi in the Spirit Ascension Platform, the platform wouldn't be sustainable, no matter how vast its resources.

"Let them despair, then," Xia Yi laughed, leading Mu Xi deeper into the Star Dou Forest.

He knew the Spirit Pagoda must be regretting it. After all, he didn't just gain energy in the Spirit Ascension Platform—he also acquired a soul bone.

"Father, Uncle, maybe you're both wrong. His talent isn't just in forging. His potential as a soul master is top-tier too. Even though his soul power is low now, he'll definitely reach the rank of Titled Douluo," Mu Xi muttered to herself, watching Xia Yi's back.

She understood why Mu Chen and Zhenhua were hesitant to directly take Xia Yi as a final disciple: his weak martial soul and low soul power.

Unlike Tang Wulin's terrifying bloodline power.

Yet Xia Yi, with his weak martial soul and low soul power, had shone brightly.

The talent he displayed was no less impressive than that of any genius.

(End of chapter)