Soul Land: Full Body Martial Soul

Yang Xiong and Tang San stepped forward, positioning themselves six meters apart in preparation for their first spirit battle.

"Yang Xiong, be careful," Tang San warned. "While your combat strength is excellent, my Blue Silver Grass has become much faster than before."

Yang Xiong smiled confidently. "Actually, I've been looking forward to fighting you. I want to see how much your third spirit ring has improved your abilities."

Both fighters regarded each other warily. Tang San, as a Soul Elder, stood a full major realm above Yang Xiong, and his combat prowess had already proven exceptional. He had defeated Dai Mubai, whose physical qualities far exceeded his own—and Dai Mubai possessed the amplification of a Beast Soul at that.

Yet Yang Xiong's combat abilities had equally surprised many. He had demonstrated the ability to simultaneously battle Ning Rongrong and Oscar, two peak Spirit Grand Masters, without even employing his spirit skills.

As the match commenced, both combatants manifested their martial souls and spirit rings simultaneously. A silver phantom materialized around Yang Xiong's entire form.

Countless Blue Silver Grass vines erupted from Tang San's body, surging toward Yang Xiong with noticeably greater speed than during his Spirit Grand Master days.

But Yang Xiong moved with exceptional agility. He leaped aside instantly, and his previous position became engulfed in Blue Silver Grass.

Yang Xiong sprinted rapidly, his movements fluid and swift. Though the Blue Silver Grass pursued relentlessly, it couldn't match his speed.

Skillfully evading the Blue Silver Grass's pursuit, Yang Xiong steadily closed the distance to Tang San. As Yu Xiaogang had stated, control-type soul masters held certain early-stage advantages, particularly with long-range attacks—but only if they could restrict their opponent. Otherwise, they merely wasted soul power.

Recognizing that his Blue Silver Grass couldn't match Yang Xiong's speed, Tang San shifted tactics. His figure blurred with ghostly speed as he approached Yang Xiong, employing his Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track.

A smile crossed Yang Xiong's face as Tang San drew near. While Blue Silver Grass's long-range attacks could theoretically trap enemies given sufficient soul power depth, Yang Xiong himself lacked ranged offensive capabilities.

Despite Tang San's extraordinary speed with the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, Yang Xiong proved equally formidable. The two clashed rapidly.

Their fist and palm collided directly, sending both fighters sliding back several meters. In terms of raw strength and physical constitution, Yang Xiong clearly held the advantage.

Yet Tang San moved with greater mystery and unpredictability, his hands gleaming like white jade with incomparable hardness.

The Tang Sect's techniques indeed provided overwhelming advantages in a soul master's early stages. After all, the Douluo world lacked comparable martial arts, especially when ordinary soul masters hadn't developed self-created spirit skills.

Tang San felt genuinely shocked. His palm strike against Yang Xiong had revealed unexpected hardness in his opponent's fist—harder than imagined, with strength far exceeding expectations.

In mere moments, the two exchanged rapid blows, transforming their spirit battle into pure hand-to-hand combat.

If Tang San embodied mystery and unpredictability, Yang Xiong represented raw power and directness—somewhat like Chinese martial arts facing modern combat sports from Earth. Compared to Tang San's systematic martial arts foundation, Yang Xiong's untrained approach appeared simpler and more brutal.

After several consecutive exchanges, Yang Xiong suddenly shifted tactics. His fingers curved like dragon claws, grasping toward Tang San. Despite Tang San's exceptional reaction speed, Yang Xiong caught his jade-transformed right hand.

Tang San's Mysterious Jade Hand proved harder than anticipated, bearing only five faint scratches. Even so, Tang San felt astonished—his Mysterious Jade Hand had never encountered damage from equal-level soul masters before.

As Yang Xiong continued his dragon claw attacks, he suddenly felt his center of gravity destabilize, as if grasping cotton. His hands involuntarily shifted position. Tang San's hands generated a vortex-like suction force, and before Yang Xiong could react, his body began tilting. Tang San seized the opportunity with lightning speed, landing a kick.

Yang Xiong absorbed Tang San's abdominal kick, sliding back several meters. This technique was Tang San's Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon, employing the principle of using four ounces to deflect a thousand pounds.

However, given Yang Xiong's current physical qualities, such ordinary attacks proved ineffective. He immediately performed a kip-up and charged toward Tang San again.

Tang San reacted swiftly, launching countless Blue Silver Grass vines to envelop Yang Xiong.

But Yang Xiong showed no fear of the Blue Silver Grass. His right hand transformed into a blade, the palm turning silver and appearing sharp as steel. With full force, he chopped downward, splitting the approaching Blue Silver Grass.

Despite the Blue Silver Grass's speed, its toughness ultimately proved insufficient. Tang San himself expressed surprise—Yang Xiong's hand blade resembled a weapon-type martial soul, which seemed impossible.

Before Tang San could process this, Yang Xiong closed in again. Tang San's reflexes remained exceptional, his Mysterious Jade Hands meeting Yang Xiong's assault.

After several minutes of continuous combat, Yang Xiong had taken multiple hits from Tang San. Yet despite Tang San's considerable strength, he couldn't inflict real damage on Yang Xiong.

The surrounding observers found the scene peculiar. How had a battle between soul masters devolved into what resembled ordinary hand-to-hand combat?

Yu Xiaogang's expression turned particularly sour. He hadn't expected Tang San to abandon his Blue Silver Grass control in favor of physical combat techniques—completely unlike a control-type soul master's approach.

Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon indeed represented the pinnacle of Tang Sect techniques, the ultimate expression of softness overcoming hardness through borrowed force. Despite Yang Xiong's dedicated physical combat training, he remained inferior by comparison, seemingly unable to exert his full strength.

After countless unsuccessful attacks, Yang Xiong launched another claw strike toward Tang San, only to feel like he'd hit cotton once more.

This time, however, Yang Xiong came prepared. His hands shifted from claws to palms, coming together in that instant. The previously fierce attack halted, his movements becoming extremely slow and circular.

Tang San had intended to use Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon to redirect the force, but Yang Xiong's attack completely defied expectations. Tang San felt caught in a vortex himself.

Even when Tang San's Mysterious Jade Hand struck Yang Xiong with full power, it felt like attacking cotton—as if his opponent had also mastered Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon.

Before he could react, his hand seemed magnetically drawn in, involuntarily deviating from its path. Though Yang Xiong moved with extreme slowness in that moment, after completing one circular motion, he pushed forward with hands still forming a circle. Despite appearing light and gentle, the push sent Tang San flying—his first time being knocked back.

This was precisely Yang Xiong's Tai Chi Push Hands. Compared to Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon's subtlety, Tai Chi Push Hands represented Tai Chi's culmination. Yang Xiong had practiced it on Earth—anyone who studied Tai Chi knew Push Hands.

Tang San's expression darkened considerably. He'd always held supreme confidence in Tang Sect techniques, especially Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon. Even against stronger opponents, he could achieve victory through these unique skills.

Though he'd taken a hit from Tai Chi Push Hands, Tang San's competitive nature demanded redemption. He would rise where he'd fallen, immediately launching another assault using the same approach.

Tang San's figure moved like a phantom, combining Mysterious Jade Hand, Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon, and Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track. Yang Xiong stood motionless as a mountain, his techniques shifting fluidly between fists, palms, and claws to meet Tang San's assault.

The battle no longer resembled a spirit contest but rather a martial arts competition.

Tang San repeatedly employed Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon, clearly determined to prove his earlier defeat was mere chance—that his combat skills surpassed Yang Xiong's.

Though Yang Xiong's Tai Chi appeared superficial, his superior physical foundation compensated. His body's endurance far exceeded Tang San's.

Throughout their countless exchanges, Yang Xiong found himself knocked back more often than Tang San, yet he occasionally managed to repel Tang San with Tai Chi techniques.

This battle transcended typical soul master combat, becoming a test of physical endurance and stamina.

After ten full minutes, sweat began beading on Tang San's forehead while Yang Xiong showed no signs of fatigue. Clearly, Yang Xiong's physical stamina vastly surpassed Tang San's.

Tang San began to understand that continuing this war of attrition would play entirely into Yang Xiong's rhythm, making victory impossible. By the end, he would likely collapse from exhaustion.

Yang Xiong's physical qualities exceeded all expectations. Despite taking numerous hits, he showed no injury. Tang San hadn't held back with either his Mysterious Jade Hand or other techniques.

Though Tang San recognized his Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon as technically superior to Yang Xiong's obviously superficial Tai Chi Push Hands, he couldn't gain any advantage. Worse, Yang Xiong seemed to improve with each exchange, making skill-based victory increasingly difficult.

While Tang San felt surprised, Yang Xiong remained relaxed. Having always trained alone, he'd never known his combat skills' limits. Fighting a combat expert like Tang San felt less like battle and more like tempering.

As the battle progressed, Yang Xiong's Tai Chi mastery deepened. He began comprehending Tai Chi's underlying principles.

Tai Chi emphasized softness overcoming hardness, constancy responding to all changes. Though it appeared weak in combat, the practice contained profound truths encompassing yin-yang balance, hardness within softness, and the interplay between motion and stillness.

As his Tai Chi understanding deepened, his soul power began circulating involuntarily. His Yin-Yang Meditation technique seemed to expand, spreading from his body and head into his limbs, gradually integrating with every cell.

Through repeated Tai Chi applications, his soul power began merging into a unified whole. No longer a simple circulation, it transformed into a natural succession of yin and yang, spontaneously formed.

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