Just as with the decision made at the beginning, Di Er Meng had no intention of playing by the rules when Di Yi Ye was in danger, directly controlling her Flying Sword to attack.
However, Di Yi Ye knocked away the Flying Sword, and at the same time, he raised his Spear to block Su Lu's attack. His Tang Heng Saber even thrust downwards, clearly having sensed Su Lu hidden in the Quicksand. Of course, he could also see how swift his reaction was when dealing with unexpected situations.
Seeing Di Er Meng make a move, Su Ming and the others, including Su Meng, couldn't help but want to act. However, after seeing Di Yi Ye knock away the Flying Sword, they refrained from acting rashly. Of course, the most important factors were the sharp aura emanating from Di Si Qing Wu and the nine Flying Swords shooting out from above Di Er Meng's head.
Wielding twelve Flying Swords simultaneously, Su Ming and the others naturally knew what this meant—Di Er Meng had already achieved successful soul condensation.
Di Er Meng achieving soul condensation at such a young age was enough to shock them. Considering that Mind Masters are best at fighting many with few, Su Ming and the others felt wary and naturally did not act rashly.
Su Ming and the others did not make a move, and Di Er Meng pouted slightly in disappointment because she really wanted to test the extent of her strength after soul condensation. Her sudden attack on Su Lu earlier was also an attempt to provoke Su Ming and the others into attacking so she could have a great battle, but it was clear her plan had fallen through.
This was a minor interlude; Di Yi Ye's battle with Su Lu continued. The Tang Heng Saber thrust downwards, and sharp sword qi erupted. Even though Su Lu reacted quickly and burrowed underground again, he was still affected by the sword qi and sustained some injuries. He was straightforward and chose to concede.
Although the injury was not severe, it had already affected Su Lu's actions. Most importantly, he knew that he couldn't do anything to Di Yi Ye even with a sneak attack. Now that he was injured, his chances were even slimmer, making surrender the wisest choice.
Su Lu was defeated. The only ones who had not yet entered the arena were Su Ming and Su Meng. Di Yi Ye nudged his chin towards Su Ming, his meaning self-evident.
Su Ming let out a cold snort, followed by a roar. He shapeshifted into a Giant Bear and then lunged at Di Yi Ye on his hind legs. Before he even arrived, an extremely powerful aura washed over them. Coupled with the pure metal Great Club he wielded, his imposing presence was astonishing.
Although only parts of his body, such as his limbs and head, could manifest in the Black Bear form due to being only in the Soul Condensation Stage Realm, Su Ming was now a full two and a half meters tall, a veritable giant. The three-meter-long Great Club in his hand weighed over a hundred catties, yet he wielded it with ease, indicating the immense strength he possessed. It was likely even greater than Di Yi Ye's.
Seeing Su Ming charge directly at him, Di Yi Ye was unfazed. He retracted his Long Saber and then took up his Spear to meet him. When they were still two to three meters apart, they each raised their weapons high and then brought them down with the force of splitting a mountain.
A buzzing sound of metal and stone clashing echoed, and the entire Heaven and Earth seemed to tremble. As the sound subsided, the two figures on the battlefield retreated. However, Su Ming retreated three meters, while Di Yi Ye retreated a full five meters. Furthermore, his hands holding the Spear trembled slightly, with a faint trace of blood at his tiger's mouth. His body even trembled slightly.
As for Su Ming, he was unharmed. From this point alone, it could be seen that he had gained the upper hand in their first exchange, and his advantage was quite significant.
"A Cultivator in the Soul Condensation Stage after Gene Awakening, especially one who has awakened the Bear Clan Gene, Su Ming's Physique is indeed stronger than mine. Perhaps only after I achieve soul condensation can I contend with him purely through Physique."
Di Yi Ye took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. Although he was at a disadvantage, his eyes now shone with a brilliant light, and his fighting spirit surged.
He could naturally see that he had gained the advantage in this exchange, which greatly excited Su Ming. He roared again and then charged at Di Yi Ye with even greater speed, bringing his Great Club down again, covering the sky and earth.
With a thought, Di Yi Ye activated the Golden Light Spell and also silently activated the Buddhist Golden Bell for body protection. For a moment, his body also slightly enlarged. Then, he met the charge head-on without evasion, his Spear dancing as he directly collided with the Great Club in Su Ming's hand.
Su Ming had expected that his attack, fueled by more qi, would send Di Yi Ye flying. He did not expect that in this collision, Di Yi Ye only retreated three meters. Although he himself retreated further, the advantage was clearly not as significant as before.
Su Ming was also intelligent. He instantly understood that Di Yi Ye's Golden Light Spell greatly enhanced his Physique and strength. Even so, he still held some advantage.
Su Ming understood. He decided to continue his full-power assault, relying on his powerful Physique. This would surely expand his advantage, and at the very least, it would increase Di Yi Ye's consumption, as the Golden Light was maintained by qi, and continuous use would undoubtedly consume a large amount of qi.
After making his decision, Su Ming swung his Great Club with all his might at Di Yi Ye, his attacks becoming even more ferocious than before.
After the first two collisions, Di Yi Ye already knew the Gap in Physique between himself and Su Ming. He also understood the significant enhancement to Physique provided by the Body Protection Golden Light and the Buddhist Golden Bell. Having figured these out, he no longer clashed head-on with Su Ming. His Spear danced like a dragon, and he thrust directly towards Su Ming's body.
That's right, the previous two collisions were intentional on Di Yi Ye's part. He did this to gauge the extent of his Physique's strength and to verify the defensive Power of the Golden Light Spell. These would be very helpful in future battles, as one must know oneself and one's enemy to win a hundred battles. And knowing oneself and one's enemy begins with understanding one's own strength.
Since he had figured these things out, Di Yi Ye naturally had no need to continue clashing head-on. He began to use his agile Spear Technique to attack. For the time being, he could handle it, and was even slowly gaining the advantage.
It made sense. His Physique and strength were not much weaker than Su Ming's, and Di Yi Ye was much more agile than Su Ming. His Spear Technique was exquisite, and after evading the Great Club's block, he could always stab at Su Ming's body. Even with the formidable Physique of the Bear Clan, he still showed specks of blood splatter from the direct spear thrusts, dripping down his black fur in sticky strands.
However, Di Yi Ye's attacks could only inflict less than half an inch of damage on Su Ming, which was nothing to the highly defensive Giant Bear. The pain and blood only further enraged Su Ming. He roared repeatedly, his eyes gradually becoming bloodshot, showing a hint of madness.
Just as Su Ming had thought, maintaining the Golden Light Spell and the Buddhist Golden Bell required Di Yi Ye to consume a large amount of qi. From time to time, his Spear had to collide with the Great Club, further increasing his consumption. Most importantly, the Spear attacks only caused minor injury to Su Ming, far from fatal. With his powerful Physique, such a battle could continue for a long time.
Di Yi Ye, however, could not sustain it for much longer. If the fight continued, he would naturally be the one defeated.
"It seems I can only use my strongest attack, otherwise, if I continue to fight like this, I will surely be defeated."
Di Yi Ye's expression was resolute. It was clear he had made up his mind to unleash his strongest attack—the Righteous Sword Qi.
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