Chapter 1403: Overmatched
The Tong Continent Great Emperor floated suspended in the air, his hands clasped behind his back, his eyes narrowing slightly as he watched Remnant Moon repeatedly collide with his own Soul Armament.
"This Yang Haoran, he truly broke through to the Life Soul realm. And judging by the intensity of the power he unleashed, it's certainly not just a day or two since he broke through to this realm. Such formidable power is absolutely not something one can possess immediately after breaking through to the Life Soul realm. But how did he manage to achieve this?"
The Tong Continent Great Emperor had guessed Yang Haoran had broken through to the Life Soul realm after witnessing Yang Haoran's previous attack that destroyed the skeleton man. Although he was quite confident in his guess, he couldn't rule out the possibility that Yang Haoran had obtained this power through special means, and hadn't actually broken through to the Life Soul realm at all. This possibility, though negligible in his eyes, was not entirely non-existent.
But now, having personally witnessed Yang Haoran opening his Heaven, Earth, and Life Souls, and the three clusters of Yin Qi nurturing his Soul Armaments appearing by his side, he was finally certain that his guess was correct; Yang Haoran had indeed broken through to the Life Soul realm.
At this, he was both shocked and greatly perplexed. He simply couldn't comprehend why Yang Haoran, a newcomer, had improved so rapidly in strength. An ordinary Emissary of Death couldn't even open their Earth Soul in the same amount of time. Yang Haoran had not only opened his Earth Soul long ago, but now even his Life Soul. How could he not be shocked? How could he not be perplexed?
"The reason his strength has improved so rapidly. . . could it be due to Xu Meijing's Supreme Yin Body and the profits from Jingran Pharmacy?"
The Tong Continent Great Emperor thought this to himself. He had investigated Yang Haoran and knew that because of Xu Meijing's Supreme Yin Body, Yang Haoran's strength had seen a leap in a short period. He also knew that Jingran Pharmacy had brought Yang Haoran enormous profits. That was why he now entertained such a thought, believing Yang Haoran must have broken through to the Life Soul realm in such a short time for these very reasons.
No sooner had this thought arisen than it was immediately dismissed by the Tong Continent Great Emperor.
Having mentally dismissed Xu Meijing's Supreme Yin Body and its Supreme Yin Qi, the Tong Continent Great Emperor then dismissed Jingran Pharmacy.
"While Jingran Pharmacy has brought Yang Haoran immense profits and granted him considerable financial resources, it's simply impossible for him to break through to the Life Soul realm based solely on that. Breaking through from the Earth Soul to the Life Soul realm requires an exceptionally terrifying amount of Pure Yin Qi. Jingran Pharmacy hasn't been open for very long, and even with the best business, it couldn't meet that requirement. Furthermore, the operation of Jingran Pharmacy also requires a large amount of capital; after all, Dānyào don't just fall from the sky. Yang Haoran's rate of power increase is simply too terrifying. There must be some unknown secret hidden within this!"
As the Tong Continent Great Emperor mentally controlled his sword-shaped Soul Armament to attack Yang Haoran, he pondered this internally. If Yang Haoran hadn't broken through to the Life Soul realm, he wouldn't have found Yang Haoran's power increase problematic. Because both Xu Meijing's Supreme Yin Body and the Underworld's Jingran Pharmacy were powerful aids to Yang Haoran's strength improvement, and all of that could be somewhat justified.
But Yang Haoran had actually elevated his cultivation to the Life Soul realm, and from the look of his power, he wasn't merely a newcomer to it. This was unreasonable. That's why he believed there must be some hidden secret involved!
It would certainly be unrealistic to expect Yang Haoran to reveal this secret himself. He didn't believe Yang Haoran would speak, and even if he did, he wouldn't trust that Yang Haoran was telling the truth. Only by killing Yang Haoran and extracting his soul; then, with his Ghost Eye activated, he could naturally determine if Yang Haoran harbored any further secrets!
It was no wonder the Tong Continent Great Emperor harbored such suspicions. In terms of time spent in the Underworld Office, Yang Haoran couldn't catch up to him even if he added two zeros to his own tenure. As for financial power, he had occupied the Emperor position for an unknown number of years. Given his status in the Underworld Office, second only to one and above tens of thousands, the immense wealth he had accumulated was unimaginable. It was absolutely not something Yang Haoran could compare to, nor could Luo Yao, the newly appointed Great Emperor, match it.
However, although the wealth he had acquired through various means was countless, the vast majority of it had been invested in cultivation. It was precisely because of this that he understood even more clearly how difficult it was to improve one's strength even slightly after entering the Life Soul realm—it was far more challenging than breaking through from the Earth Soul to the Life Soul realm! Yet Yang Haoran had not only broken through to the Life Soul realm in a short time but had also stabilized his position within it. How could he not grow suspicious!
Of course, he merely harbored suspicion; he didn't fear Yang Haoran. Although he, like Yang Haoran, had simultaneously opened his Heaven, Earth, and Life Souls, the power fluctuations he emitted were far stronger than Yang Haoran's. He knew Yang Haoran wasn't using his full strength, but neither was he. He had no reason to fear Yang Haoran whatsoever.
Precisely because there was a considerable gap in the power they were currently unleashing, when both of them wielded a single Soul Armament, the Tong Continent Great Emperor's sword-shaped Soul Armament held the absolute upper hand. Conversely, Yang Haoran's Soul Armament, Remnant Moon, was suppressed by the Tong Continent Great Emperor's sword-shaped Soul Armament.
In a short span, the two Soul Armaments had clashed dozens of times. Before absolute power, Yang Haoran's Soul Armament, Remnant Moon, was steadily pushed back, appearing on the verge of collapsing.
The Soul Armament clash being at a disadvantage was not a good sign, but Yang Haoran didn't frown in distress because of it. A faint smile still graced his face, as if the one currently at a disadvantage wasn't his Soul Armament, but rather the Tong Continent Great Emperor's.
On the surface, Yang Haoran remained nonchalant, but inwardly, he was a wreck of worry. At this moment, he was controlling Remnant Moon with his mind while racking his brains for a countermeasure. He knew he simply couldn't be the Tong Continent Great Emperor's opponent. This wasn't self-deprecation, but a recognition of the truly vast gap in their strength.
At the Life Soul realm, every slight increase in strength was hundreds, even thousands, of times harder than it was at the Earth Soul realm. Although Yang Haoran had successfully entered the Life Soul realm and stabilized his position within it, he was currently still in the early stages of the Life Soul realm.
The Tong Continent Great Emperor, however, was different. According to the intelligence Yang Haoran had gathered, the Tong Continent Great Emperor had stepped into the mid-stage Life Soul realm long ago. The exact duration was impossible to verify; perhaps even the Tong Continent Great Emperor himself had forgotten how long it had been. However, one thing was certain: the Tong Continent Great Emperor's current realm was at least mid-stage Life Soul, if not higher!
Facing such a powerful expert was like an egg hitting a rock. Even if he still possessed Rising Yin Pills that could temporarily boost his strength, and various talismans, he still had no confidence in defeating the Tong Continent Great Emperor. It would be strange if he weren't panicking internally.
"Hmph! Playing tricks! As annoying as that kid Huo!"
Yang Haoran's faint smile was seen by the Tong Continent Great Emperor. He let out a cold snort, thinking this to himself.
The instant the Tong Continent Great Emperor's cold snort faded, a booming sound echoed. Yang Haoran's Soul Armament, Remnant Moon, was sent flying by the sword-shaped Soul Armament. The dense Yin Qi released by Remnant Moon was scattered. Then, Remnant Moon emitted a series of cracking sounds, and lines of cracks actually appeared on it.
This sight caused the smile on Yang Haoran's face to stiffen slightly, before returning to normal. Conversely, upon seeing this, a trace of a sneer couldn't help but appear on the Tong Continent Great Emperor's face.
Yang Haoran did not allow Remnant Moon to shatter. Because if Remnant Moon shattered, he would have no Soul Armament to block the Tong Continent Great Emperor's attacks. His other two Soul Armaments didn't possess any defensive capabilities. Even Remnant Moon wasn't a defensive Soul Armament, but an offensive one. It was just that his other two Soul Armaments were even less effective than Remnant Moon at resisting enemy attacks. Therefore, he could only choose to use Remnant Moon to withstand the Tong Continent Great Emperor's sword-shaped Soul Armament!
Although a Soul Armament could be reformed after shattering, reforming it would still take some time, and even if that time was but an instant, the Tong Continent Great Emperor would very likely seize the opportunity to deliver a fatal blow. So, it was naturally best if the Soul Armament didn't shatter.
To prevent his Soul Armament from shattering, he had to inject more Spirit Power into it. Yang Haoran, who had remained perfectly still until now, no longer cared about maintaining the demeanor of a master. With a wave of his hands, a large amount of Spirit Power surged from his body, and under his control, it poured into Remnant Moon, which was riddled with cracks and on the verge of shattering.
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