Seeing Ning Rongrong openly speak up for Lin Mu, Ning Fengzhi's eyes flickered slightly, as if he had just thought of something.
After a moment, Ning Fengzhi smiled slightly and teased, "Rongrong, didn't you always say that Grandpa Sword was the most powerful person in the world? Why have you changed your mind now?"
These words struck Sword Douluo like a physical stab to the heart.
He hadn't paid much attention to Ning Rongrong's blatant favoritism, but Ning Fengzhi's added insult to injury nearly shattered his proud Dao heart.
However, Ning Rongrong didn't seem to care at all, pouting and muttering, "Isn't that the truth?"
On Sea God Island, she had personally witnessed Lin Mu's soul spirits, seven soul spirits all over 100,000 years old. Just two of them alone could easily deal with Grandpa Sword.
Besides, Lin Mu's personal strength was far greater, even completely surpassing Senior Bo Saixi.
Even if Lin Mu deliberately suppressed his cultivation to Level 98, with so many heaven-defying soul rings and soul bones, his true strength was definitely far above Senior Bo Saixi.
Therefore, she genuinely felt that Grandpa Sword couldn't possibly be a match for Teacher Lin Mu.
Even if she could apply a 90% or higher amplification to him, it would still be incredibly difficult for Grandpa Sword to force Teacher Lin Mu to even use his soul rings and soul bones.
Soon, Sword Douluo regained his composure and said calmly, "In that case, let's begin."
Originally, he wasn't particularly interested in a battle he was destined to lose, but Lin Mu's casual disdain, coupled with Ning Rongrong's dismissive attitude, forced him to defend his dignity.
He had to at least force Lin Mu to use his soul rings.
Soon, the group moved to the sect's large martial arts arena. Besides the high-ranking members of the Wuji Sect, some elite disciples also gathered around to watch the spectacle.
"Aunt Ye, once the competition begins, immediately start healing Sword Douluo," Lin Mu specifically instructed Ye Miaoyun before stepping into the arena.
When the Wuji Sect was first established, Ye Miaoyun had decisively joined with her entire family. Ultimately, the Ye family of the Nine Heart Begonia became the sect's Medical Hall.
However, the Medical Hall was not affiliated with the Tang Sect but was an independent institution that specifically recruited healing-type soul masters. The Hall Master was naturally Ye Miaoyun.
Unlike Ning Fengzhi, Ye Miaoyun had no inherent cultivation limitations and had already reached the Soul Douluo level.
"Sect Master Lin, aren't you underestimating me a bit too much?" Sword Douluo said, a hint of dissatisfaction in his voice.
Did this guy really think he could easily injure him using just his martial soul, without even using soul rings or soul bones?
Hearing this, Lin Mu didn't bother to answer. His figure flashed, instantly appearing on one side of the vast arena.
Seeing how dismissive he was, Sword Douluo snorted coldly and immediately leaped, landing gracefully on the opposite side of the arena.
As for Ning Rongrong, she didn't enter the arena but remained safely in the spectator area.
This distance wouldn't affect her ability to amplify Sword Douluo's power and would also perfectly ensure her safety, a win-win situation, since Lin Mu was just practicing and not actually fighting a life-or-death battle.
"Nine Treasures True Body!"
Before the competition even officially began, Ning Rongrong directly used her Martial Soul True Body, instantly giving Sword Douluo a massive boost of over 90%.
Although it was a boost far beyond her level, Ning Rongrong's soul power had already reached Level 82, several levels higher than Ning Fengzhi. This was more than enough to sustain the amplification for the duration of an incense stick burning.
"Such a terrifying boost, even I am far from being able to match it."
Ning Fengzhi looked up at the glowing nine-story glazed pagoda above, his eyes filled with deep envy. This was his lifelong pursuit, but alas, he simply didn't have the destiny for it.
If he wasn't mistaken, Lin Mu had probably already refined another pill that could reliably evolve a martial soul.
Ning Rongrong had taken one before the last Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament.
However, the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda had only evolved into the Eight Treasures Glazed Pagoda back then. He originally thought there were no such miraculous pills left, but now it seemed Lin Mu actually had a stockpile.
The reason he hadn't taken it out yet was perhaps because he felt the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda wasn't worth the heavy investment.
"Sect Master Lin, you have fought with me many times, so you must be well aware of the immense attack power of my Seven Kill Sword. Now, with Rongrong's enhancement, its attack power has almost completely doubled. You must be careful."
Sword Douluo pointed the gleaming Seven Kill Sword at Lin Mu, giving him a fair warning.
Lin Mu remained entirely calm and composed, seemingly completely unconcerned.
"Thunder Atlas Armor!"
After donning the radiant armor, Lin Mu casually rolled his shoulders and slightly moved his wrists.
Seeing this, Sword Douluo's eyes twitched slightly. It was indeed this armor; its overall stats were even more terrifying than the cyan-green Hurricane Armor.
Although he had only seen Lin Mu use it once, the impression it left was incredibly profound.
"Fourth Soul Skill: Unleashed Killing Intent!"
Sword Douluo decisively seized the initiative, unleashing a terrifying wave of sword aura towards Lin Mu. It was incredibly sharp, and with Ning Rongrong's massive enhancement, it was even stronger than the sixth soul skills of other Super Douluos.
However, Lin Mu didn't even draw a weapon. He directly threw a simple punch right at the incoming sword aura.
In an instant, his fist, carrying surging golden lightning, crushed the sword aura effortlessly. The resulting gust of wind even forced Sword Douluo back several steps.
Previously on Sea God Island, Lin Mu had easily lifted the immensely heavy Sea God Trident without even using his martial soul.
This meant Lin Mu's base physical strength already exceeded 100,000 jin.
If he were to use his martial soul, further amplified by the Thunder Atlas Armor, his raw physical power would reach an unimaginable level.
With such immense power, using soul skills would simply be redundant.
This single, casual strike left everyone present breathless.
This was a true peerless expert!
With only physical strength and raw soul power, he utterly crushed Sword Douluo's fourth soul skill, even forcing him back a considerable distance.
Sword Douluo hadn't expected Lin Mu to be this overwhelmingly strong.
Although he had always known Lin Mu was no ordinary person, he never expected him to be able to unleash such devastating power without using a single soul skill.
Just as Sword Douluo was frantically pondering a countermeasure, Lin Mu had already made his next move.
With an explosive burst of speed, he appeared directly before Sword Douluo in the blink of an eye, delivering a brutal punch right to his abdomen.
At the critical moment, Sword Douluo hurriedly used his second soul skill, Spirit Sword Protection, to defend himself.
However, the sturdy sword energy shield shattered instantly, and Sword Douluo was sent flying backward like a cannonball.
Meanwhile, Ye Miaoyun was already actively healing Sword Douluo from the sidelines.
Under Ye Miaoyun's rapid treatment, Sword Douluo, though severely injured by the impact, was not seriously hurt long-term; he only spat out a few mouthfuls of blood.
"Such terrifying power... it's completely unbearable!"
Sword Douluo stood up shakily, his expression growing increasingly grave. This guy simply wasn't like a soul master; his physical strength was even more terrifying than a 100,000-year-old soul beast.
The next second, Lin Mu charged forward again, sending Sword Douluo flying high into the air with a vicious uppercut.
Immediately following was a brutal downward elbow strike, slamming the old man hard into the ground.
"Uncle Sword."
Watching the brutal scene before him, Ning Fengzhi was both shocked and heartbroken. Uncle Sword was already an old man, yet he was still being mercilessly tormented by Lin Mu.
Seeing Sword Douluo's injuries rapidly worsening, Ye Miaoyun hurriedly had her daughter join in the treatment.
Unlike Ye Miaoyun's focus on actively treating injuries, Ye Lingling focused entirely on restoring the soul master's life force, quickly bringing Sword Douluo back to his absolute peak condition.