Besides, Tang Wulin was improving, but it wasn't like they were slacking off! The demonic island military training had dealt Yue Zhengyu an extremely heavy blow, but after recovering from his traumatic experience, he was surprised to find that both his spiritual power and soul power had been significantly enhanced.

A bright gleam appeared in Tang Wulin's eyes as he appraised Xie Xie and Yue Zhengyu with his arms crossed, and his smile grew even wider.

Yuanen Yehui and Ye Xinglan were both standing off to the side, and Yuanen Yehui asked, "Xinglan, who do you think will win?"

A rare smile appeared on Ye Xinglan's face. "Are you asking this because you lack confidence in Xie Xie?"

Yuanen Yehui replied, "That's not the case. Xie Xie and Yue Zhengyu's combination should have a very good chance of coming out on top. After all, there's quite a large cultivation rank gap, and everyone is too familiar with one another. However, I like to think that I also know Wulin quite well. Back when he led the first graders against us in battle, he won over and over again against all odds. He looks really benevolent and easy-going, but he's extremely cunning on the inside and definitely wouldn't engage in battles that he has no chance at winning.

"On top of that, he's always standing at the forefront whenever we encounter any danger, so he'll definitely be able to impose his will on Zhengyu and Xie Xie. Overall, I think it's hard to say who will win in the end. Ever since we've returned from the demonic island, we don't actually know one another's abilities as well as we did in the past. In particular, Wulin disappeared in the Star Luo Empire for so long, and we still don't really know what happened to him during that time."

Ye Xinglan smiled, and said, "Then let's wait and see. If I had to make a bet, I also think that Wulin will win."

Yuanen Yehui was quite surprised to hear this. "Why do you say that?"

She was still rather hesitant, but Ye Xinglan's expression was one of absolute confidence.

Ye Xinglan shook her head, and replied, "I'm not sure why, either; it's just a feeling that I have. If you pay close attention, you'll notice that Wulin's aura really does seem to have changed. Xie Xie's sixth sense is right. As for exactly how he's changed, I guess we'll find out here. In any case, Wulin wouldn't be challenging the two of them out of the blue unless he was confident in his own abilities."

Yuanen Yehui nodded in response, and they both cast their eyes toward the trial grounds in unison.

Xu Xiaoyan wore a wide smile on her face as she announced, "I'll be the referee. Are you all ready?"

The area on the mountain summit only had a diameter of around 300 meters, which wasn't anywhere near large enough of a range for five-ring Soul Kings to display their full combat prowess. However, no energy would be escaping from the trial grounds as there was an ultra-powerful restriction in place, so they didn't have to worry about damaging their surroundings.

Tang Wulin nodded, and Xie Xie chuckled, "We won't be holding back, Boss! I still remember how you sent me flying the first time we met; you should know that I hold grudges!"

"Oh?" Tang Wulin looked at him with a hint of a smile on his face.

Xie Xie turned his gaze toward Yue Zhengyu, and the latter harrumphed, "Don't worry, I want to beat him far more than you do! Just don't weigh me down."

"Tch!" Xie Xie gave Yue Zhengyu a derogatory hand signal, and scoffed, "We'll see who's going to be the dead weight here! Xiaoyan, we're ready!"

Xu Xiaoyan smiled, and said, "Alright, then let's begin!"

She waved a hand through the air as she spoke.

Almost as soon as her voice trailed off, Yue Zhengyu was hurtling toward Tang Wulin like a speeding arrow. He wasn't playing any tricks; he was merely going for a full-frontal attack, and in doing so, he instantly opened up some distance between himself and Xie Xie.

"Oi! Wait for me! Do you know what teamwork means?" Xie Xie was very displeased, and he immediately set off as well, but he'd already been left far behind.

In the instant that Yue Zhengyu began to fly through the air, an unstoppable will emanated from his body, and a series of soul rings began to emerge around him.

They consisted of four purples and two blacks. That's right, there were six of them in total!

The sneaky hand signal that Xu Xiaoyan had given to Tang Wulin also depicted the number "six".

At just 21 years of age, Yue Zhengyu had shown himself to be a brilliant prodigy and became a six-ring Soul Emperor.

When he'd unleashed his innate bloodline Sacrifice ability to save Xu Xiaoyan's life, he'd burned through a significant portion of his life force. However, unleashing the Sacrifice ability helped members of the Holy Angel clan in a very special way. Through unleashing this ability, they could fully experience the connection between the flames of their own life force and their holy flames. Even though their life forces would be significantly dented, they'd be able to gain a much deeper understanding of their own holy bloodline for a short time, thereby allowing them to better improve themselves.

The demonic island military training made Yue Zhengyu improve significantly in all areas, but most importantly to him, he'd absorbed an enormous amount of life force energy there. Not only was all of the life force energy he'd expended by unleashing his Sacrifice ability restored, his life force energy had been further enhanced. This was why he was so confident in his ability to defeat Tang Wulin today.

He had been traumatized the most out of anyone by the demonic island military training, but in reality, he had also benefited the most, both mentally and in terms of soul power.

Not long ago, after receiving approval from Xu Xiaoyan's family, he finally made a breakthrough to become a Soul Emperor, thereby officially elevating him to the realm of high-grade Soul Masters, and giving him the foundation required to become a two-word battle armor master.

Four purples and two blacks was most definitely an exceptional soul ring configuration. Dazzling holy flames rose up from his body, and his first soul ring lit up. A pair of pristine white feathered wings appeared on his back, and at the same time, a beam of holy light shone down upon him.

His holy light had both offensive and defensive properties. However, Yue Zhengyu was aware that his holy light attack wouldn't do anything to Tang Wulin, so he was using it solely to enhance himself. His pristine white wings immediately took on a golden hue, and a holy sword appeared in his hand.

The sword was shimmering with dazzling golden light, and it truly appeared as if he were an angel descending from the heavens.

Yue Zhengyu flapped his wings, and his entire body shot forth as a streak of golden light, hurtling directly toward Tang Wulin from above. A massive angelic projection appeared behind him, and he slashed his sword toward Tang Wulin with all his might.

This sword strike appeared to be very simple, but it had combined his first, second, and fourth soul skills. He had unleashed his Holy Angel Descends in the instant before his attack, and his timing had been perfect. It could be said that this attack raised his combat prowess to 120% of what it normally was.

Meanwhile, Tang Wulin remained completely still on the spot in the face of Yue Zhengyu's attack. He didn't even release his own martial soul, and he merely looked on with a smile as Yue Zhengyu hurtled toward him.

Only when Yue Zhengyu flapped his wings to accelerate did a hint of surprise appear on Tang Wulin's face.

Right at this moment, a crisp clang suddenly rang out, and an illusionary dagger suddenly appeared out of thin air without any premonition before striking him on the chest.

The dagger's tip had struck him on the right side of his chest, just in case it actually managed to impale Tang Wulin's body.

However, those concerns proved to be invalid as the dagger couldn't even pierce a single inch into his chest.

The dagger naturally didn't belong to Yue Zhengyu. An illusionary figure gradually appeared out of thin air, and Xie Xie was revealed with an incredulous look on his face.

How was this possible?

When Yue Zhengyu had spread open his wings, the dazzling holy light emanating from his body had completely concealed Xie Xie from Tang Wulin's field of view. After that, Xie Xie put on a show of frustration to further sell the act, but in reality, this was a predetermined strategy, and he actually hadn't fallen behind Yue Zhengyu at all. No matter how one looked at it, his attack shouldn't have reached Tang Wulin first, but that was exactly what had happened.

Even though he was only using his Shadow Dragon Dagger, he had accumulated as much power as he could before unleashing that attack, and it would still be a lethal strike to the average Soul King.

However, Xie Xie felt as if his dagger had struck a resolute mountain, and there was no way for its blade to pierce through.

It had to be said that he and Yue Zhengyu's teamwork was quite exemplary. Just when everyone had thought that Yue Zhengyu's attack would strike first, Xie Xie got in the first blow.

In reality, Xie Xie didn't think that this attack would win them the battle. All he wanted to do was distract Tang Wulin's attention, as well as break his defense and disrupt his rhythm. After that, Yue Zhengyu's attack would immediately follow.

However, never would he have thought that his Shadow Dragon Dagger wouldn't be able to harm Tang Wulin in the slightest, even though Tang Wulin had clearly made no effort to defend himself.

He realized in the instant that he saw the smile on Tang Wulin's face that he hadn't failed to notice him; Tang Wulin had simply planned not to adopt any defensive measures from the very beginning.

It was also right at this moment that Tang Wulin finally sprang into action. He abruptly stomped his right foot into the ground, and a low dragon's roar immediately rang out. The fearsome shockwaves from the attack made it feel as if the space in a radius of 30 meters had completely collapsed.

This was his Golden Dragon Shakes the Earth! But was it really still the same old Golden Dragon Shakes the Earth?