Yun Ming did not feel much regarding the Soul Power fluctuations of Subduing Demon Douluo, which were a notch more solid than those of Tang Xiao; his eyes were currently fixed solely on the opponent's martial soul.
Looking at the staff in the hands of Subduing Demon Douluo—adorned with dragon patterns, simple in style, yet possessing an aura not a whit inferior to the Clear Sky Hammer—Yun Ming thought to himself.
It has truly been a long time, Coiling Dragon Mace!
The Coiling Dragon Mace was a top-tier weapon spirit and the inherited martial soul of the Ancient Qian Family, the lineage of the Spirit Transfer Pagoda masters twenty thousand years later.
The Coiling Dragon Mace derived its name from the Evil Breaking Dragon attached to the martial soul. This was an extremely unique type of dragon. It was not even under the jurisdiction of the Dragon God, acting as an outlier among the Dragon Clan. Born of heaven and earth, it was condensed from the righteous energy of the world. One could say it was a dragon, yet one could also say it was not a pure dragon at all. However, it possessed the characteristic of breaking through certain evils. No matter how powerful the enemy, the Evil Breaking Dragon would always bloom with an unyielding spirit, often allowing the wielder of the Coiling Dragon Mace to display strength far exceeding their own.
In his past life, when Yun Ming was still alive, this lineage could be described as glorious to the extreme. The quasi-god level Battle Heaven Douluo, Qian Gu Dieting, and the demigod level Spirit Transfer Douluo, Qian Gu Dongfeng, were the legendary father-son duo of the Soul Master World at the time—two Limit Douluos in one family! Coupled with the Purgatory Douluo, Qian Gu Qingfeng, who possessed a mutated martial soul and achieved true godhood ten thousand years after Yun Ming's passing, the thickness of this clan's fortune was evident.
If not for the later Lord of the Plane, Tang Hao, who interfered with the order of the Human World and judged good and evil based on personal bias, this clan might have continued to flourish.
Seeing Yun Ming staring at his martial soul so intently, Subduing Demon Douluo said with a hint of pride.
"Yun kid, you have some insight! You know the power of my Coiling Dragon Mace."
Yun Ming was startled out of his thoughts by the words of Subduing Demon Douluo. He regained his focus and said with deep, lingering eyes.
"Indeed! The world-renowned Coiling Dragon Mace; naturally, this junior is clear on its power."
Yun Ming left the second half of the sentence unsaid. He knew the Coiling Dragon Mace was incredibly strong with an extremely high ceiling, but did the people of this era, including the two elders of Martial Soul Hall, know that? Probably not! He was somewhat curious to see the current level of a Coiling Dragon Mace user.
Hearing Yun Ming's praise for the Coiling Dragon Mace, Subduing Demon Douluo found him more pleasing to the eye and spoke up.
"World-renowned is a bit of a stretch, but you kid are lucky to witness its power with your own eyes."
"Come! That martial soul of yours, I feel it is also quite extraordinary. Let me see what you've got!"
After speaking, Subduing Demon Douluo planted his blood-colored staff on the ground, waiting quietly for Yun Ming to make his move.
Yun Ming did not stand on ceremony; he raised his long spear and assumed a stabbing stance.
"In that case, Senior, please be careful."
As his voice fell, Yun Ming exerted force through his feet, his figure flashing toward Subduing Demon. The tip of the Atlas Divine Spear shimmered with cold light as it thrust fiercely toward the chest of Subduing Demon Douluo.
Seeing such a natural strike from Yun Ming, the Sixth Elder, Thousand Jun Douluo, who was watching from the sidelines, had his eyes light up with brilliance.
The staff and the spear both belonged to the eighteen types of weapon spirits, one of the nine long weapons. Although their primary focuses differed, both belonged to the type that cultivated both technique and strength, utilizing both hardness and softness, and they shared many similarities.
A true expert knows the moment a move is made. Yun Ming's strike was seamless, like a dragon emerging from the water, possessing great aesthetic beauty and spirituality. Even Thousand Jun Douluo, who had studied staff techniques for many years, could not find a single flaw.
Subduing Demon Douluo was also overjoyed to see this strike from Yun Ming and let out a loud shout.
"Well struck!"
He raised the Coiling Dragon Mace in his hand and also thrust it out fiercely.
"Ding—"
An invisible wave of air surged from the point where the spear and staff met, as the Atlas Divine Spear and the Coiling Dragon Mace clashed once again across time and space.
Seeing his move blocked, Yun Ming retracted his spear, the weapon turning into a blur of shadows as he pointed it madly at Subduing Demon Douluo once more.
Watching the spear shadows that were like a raging storm yet remained completely orderly, Subduing Demon Douluo felt joy in his heart while he moved to block again.
"Ding, ding, ding, ding."
The Coiling Dragon Mace flew up and down in the hands of Subduing Demon Douluo, poking or deflecting, catching every strike Yun Ming threw. The spear and staff clashed rapidly in the air, creating a dazzling series of afterimages.
Qian Daoliu, Jin E, and the remaining elders watched the lightning-fast exchange between the two, their expressions becoming increasingly solemn. Their evaluation of Yun Ming in their hearts climbed continuously, far exceeding their initial psychological estimates.
Spear technique was not Soul Power cultivation; beyond the accumulation of daily hard work, it relied more on comprehension. At such a young age, Yun Ming showed them such a high and profound realm of spear mastery—how could they not take it seriously?
The Sixth Elder, who had been surprised by Yun Ming from the start, saw the increasingly high standard of Yun Ming's strikes and asked Qian Daoliu.
"Big Brother, can you see through this child's spear realm?"
Qian Daoliu stared intently, then spat out four words.
"Skill Approaching the Dao!"
Hearing Qian Daoliu's evaluation of Yun Ming, the group of elders could not help but gasp in unison.
Ya Li saw the surprised expressions of the old men and remained calm, but the little person inside her heart was proudly standing with hands on hips.
"Ding, ding, ding, ding."
The two continued to exchange moves rapidly. Through this brief clash, Yun Ming could see that Subduing Demon Douluo's staff technique was quite good, but he was likely still holding onto the airs of a senior, never taking the initiative to attack and only defending passively. This made it impossible for Yun Ming to see his true comprehension of the Coiling Dragon Mace!
If Subduing Demon knew what Yun Ming was thinking, he would surely have cursed out loud. Although he had held that intention at the beginning, was it that he didn't want to counterattack later? It was that he had no opportunity!
Yun Ming's spear strikes grew faster and the angles more devious. In the thirty moves that followed, he had wanted to counterattack, but he suffered from having no chance.
There was no helping it; whenever Yun Ming thought about the fact that he was facing a wielder of the Coiling Dragon Mace martial soul, his spear strikes became more and more spirited, though he didn't know why.
After a hundred probing moves, Yun Ming tapped his feet and retreated, looking at Subduing Demon Douluo opposite him.
"Senior, let's end the holding back here. Let me see your true comprehension of your martial soul!"
After speaking, the Atlas Divine Spear in Yun Ming's hand glowed with brilliant golden light, and a spear light condensed to the point of tangibility began to circulate on the Atlas Divine Spear.
Subduing Demon Douluo had just breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the kid opposite him wanting to launch a fierce attack again, and he dared not be careless anymore.
He saw red light flare brightly on Subduing Demon Douluo's long staff, and a faint dragon roar echoed through the hall. Yun Ming immediately felt the aura of Subduing Demon Douluo soar once again.
Feeling the boost from the Dragon Force, Subduing Demon regained his confidence and postured toward Yun Ming.
"In that case, you kid had better watch closely!"
As his voice fell, he charged forward with his staff.
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Translated by: randomtranslator.com
Proofread by: DaoistReader