The ice-type Soul King was pleased with how this exchange was shaping up. He could easily kill Bai Yunfei through a strike in the throat with the power of the elemental ice gathered around his right hand, but Bai Yunfei could not say the same with his spear.

But before his hand could even strike Bai Yunfei, the Soul King’s eyes widened in abject horror and surprise.

The reason behind his surprise was simple. The crimson red spear that should’ve been stopped by his barrier had simply gone straight through it as if the barrier hadn’t even existed!

His elemental barrier was strong enough to defend against most low-heaven tier soul armaments, but it was good as gone when the spear stabbed through it!

This was a surprisingly unexpected hair-raising situation for him. His back grew slick with sweat as the spear continued towards him. Even with how strong he was physically, getting stabbed through the chest with a spear would be extremely painful.

The Soul King realized then that his current attack to kill Bai Yunfei would be foolhardy in the face of this spear. Bringing his hand back as quickly as lightning, he brought the hand to his chest to try and defend himself with the elemental ice.

“Clang!!!!”

There was a sound of collision as both Bai Yunfei and the ice-type Soul King froze in place in the air.

The Fire-tipped Spear had stabbed straight through the elemental ice around the Soul King’s hand, but it stopped just half an inch away from the Soul King’s heart!

It hadn’t stabbed into him!!

The Soul King had stopped the Fire-tipped Spear from going any further in by clamping it in between his two fingers!!

With just those two fingers, he had stopped Bai Yunfei’s almost-certain killing move!

Bai Yunfei had been so excited when the spear stabbed through the Soul King’s barrier, but then when it was stopped by him, the look of excitement immediately turned into one of horror. The strongest move he had in his a.r.s.enal had been stopped almost effortlessly.

The ability of the Fire-tipped Spear to ignore elemental defenses had worked multiple times in the past, and none of Bai Yunfei’s foes had been one the wiser when hit with it. But…..this Soul King had grabbed at it so easily between his two fingers! How could Bai Yunfei not feel bad?!

The shock hadn’t slid off the face of the Soul King either. Though he made it look simple, catching the Fire-tipped Spear between his two fingers had actually needed him to use more physical strength than he was normally accustomed to using. He rarely used his physical body to fight ever since he became a Soul King, but there was no helping it this time. His elemental defense had ‘failed’, leaving him no order choice. It was only fortunate that he managed to defend himself, else he would’ve been sorely hurt….

Noticing the look of shock on Bai Yunfei’s face, the Soul King’s eyes flashed dangerously with a hint of ice. Murderous intent flooded the air as he stared at the Soul Exalt who had forced into such a state. Not only was this humiliating, it was unforgettable. He’d make sure this whelpling would die in the most painful way possible for him to actually feel appeased.

“Die!!”

The Soul King roared, his right hand twisting so that the Fire-tipped Spear was wrestled away from Bai Yunfei’s hands and knocked to the side. And then, now with his hand freed up, the Soul King slammed his right hand onto Bai Yunfei’s chest!

His hand had been filled with elemental frost when it slammed against Bai Yunfei’s chest. Even if Bai Yunfei didn’t have his organs broken to pieces, he’d be rendered into an icicle anyways.

And because of Bai Yunfei’s earlier usage of the +13 additional effect of the spear, Bai Yunfei’s soulforce was already a quarter of what it normally was. He was left unable to defend himself with his Fire-tipped Spear being too far away to be brought close, so he could only grit his teeth and take in the stockpiled soulforce in the Violet Soul Ring into his body. He took a half step back with his left leg, drawing elemental fire to the Critical Glove on his left arm. All charged up, Bai Yunfei lashed out to punch at the Soul King’s palm!

Such an action wasn’t lost on the Soul King. A Soul Exalt who was trying to compete in strength against a mid-stage Soul King? It was a surprising way to die, but if Bai Yunfei wanted to do so, then so be it.

He sneered, the murderous intent in him growing even heavier. He could tell from the golden light s.h.i.+ning from Bai Yunfei’s left arm that the glove on it was a powerful soul armament, but that didn’t dissuade the Soul King. The sneer on his face grew even more sinister as his eyes flashed dangerously, the white light around his right hand immediately turning into a baleful wisp of black energy!

The change had been instantaneous. The moment when both their hands clashed with one another, the black energy around the Soul King’s right hand was transferred over to Bai Yunfei’s left hand!

But at the same time, Bai Yunfei snarled, the soulforce in his body draining into the glove even more to make it s.h.i.+ne unbelievably bright!

+12 Additional effect of the Critical Glove, activate!! 

Eighty-one Fold Fist Force!!

“Boom!!!!”

There was an ear-deafening explosion as white, yellow, red, and a bit of black light flew into any and every direction, with both Bai Yunfei and the Soul King also being blown away from each other.

The only difference was that while the Soul King had been forced to stagger backwards, Bai Yunfei was….blown off his feet and through the air!

The Eighty-one Fold Fist Force with four times the strength was dreadful to even think about, but the +10 additional effect of the glove hadn’t activated, so it wasn’t the strongest it could possibly be. Though with just those two, the power behind the strike was more than enough to surprise even the Soul King. He wasn’t fatally hurt, but his right hand was already wracked with pain as the force of the blow traveled up his arm and into his body in no time at all.

The Soul King couldn’t believe his eyes, Bai Yunfei had surprised him once again. The power behind the Soul Exalt was far stronger than what any other Soul Exalt the Soul King knew was capable of.

But even with that shock, the Soul King was already certain that Bai Yunfei would be dead now that his right hand had connected….

    ……

Likewise with Bai Yunfei, the shock he was experiencing was many times that of the soul King. The collision between the two soul cultivators had left Bai Yunfei in both shock and then fear as he watched himself be launched through the air without any control over his body.

He felt the black energy from the Soul King’s hand the very instant he touched it. In the next moment, it was as if an unbelievably cold frost had invaded his bones and froze his body. But the more startling thing was the black aura that was sapping away at his energy!

Black….as in elemental darkness!

As soon as it entered his body, Bai Yunfei felt the energy ‘eat away’ at his energy….and sapping away at his soulforce!

Even more dangerously, the foreign energy was withering whatever it touched throughout his body as it made its way towards….his soul!

Pain strong enough to tear at his soul started to erupt from him. Wide-eyed and shaking all over, it took all Bai Yunfei had not to cry out in pain!

This...this was…..

“The Soul Refining Palm!!” Bai Yunfei mentally howled those four words. This was the signature move of the Soul Refining School, the Soul Refining Palm!! He had felt it once before, but this time the strength behind it was many times stronger than before!

“Ah!!!!”

Flying a hundred meters away, Bai Yunfei let loose a roar as his soulforce started to go haywire in his body. Even the two fireseeds responsible for keeping Bai Yunfei in his Berserk Mode was starting to shake. The fires started to go out of control outside of his body, wrapping around his body to flicker, die out, and reignite over and over….

He couldn’t even hold onto the Fire-tipped Spear, letting it drop to the ground as he clutched at his head with his hands. His eyes were turning red with blood as he continued to scream at the top of his lungs as the immense pain from the Soul Refining Palm ravaged his body.

This was a pain he had never experienced before! Words couldn’t even describe the pain! It was as if his soul was being torn apart bit by bit!!