Both Wang Dong and Huang Chutian, as Power Attack–type soul masters, charged toward each other the moment they activated their martial souls.
Huo Yuhao, however, ignored Huang Chutian's Great Strength Divine Ape and focused his Eye of Truth on the twin sisters, Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo, who stood behind him.
"Xiao Xiao," he instructed calmly, "use your Three Lives Town-Sealing Cauldrons to support Wang Dong. Don't let her get tangled by those two sisters' martial souls. I'll find an opening to break through."
As he spoke, the sisters' long blue hair shimmered and extended outward, growing over ten meters long in moments. Under the amplification of soul power, the strands came alive, swirling through the air in graceful yet deadly motion.
Interesting, Huo Yuhao thought. Even before their martial souls fully activated, I could sense a faint connection between them—a form of twin telepathy?
While telepathy sounded mystical, it wasn't out of place in this world. Twin siblings often shared the same spiritual origin even before birth, and though their bodies were separate, a spiritual bond remained. Unless trained or stimulated, it usually faded over time as their souls grew distinct.
But because the twins' martial souls were identical and they cultivated a Martial Soul Fusion Technique, their mental link hadn't weakened—it had strengthened.
Their spiritual structure is fascinating… this must be the foundation for their fusion technique, he mused. They synchronize mentally first, merge their soul power second, then link both martial souls into one entity. I'll wait to see the fusion itself before drawing conclusions.
Meanwhile, Wang Dong and Huang Chutian clashed head-on, and it was clear who held the advantage.
Though Huang's Divine Ape was formidable, his raw strength still fell short of Wang Dong's. His twin fists pounded downward, but Wang Dong crossed her glowing wings before her body and blocked the strike with ease, even using the recoil to retreat unharmed.
Then came Xiao Xiao's attack—her three cauldrons encircled Huang and unleashed the Cauldron Shock technique.
Three resounding booms echoed, their vibrations converging into a single sonic wave that left Huang dizzy and off-balance.
Before he could recover, pain stabbed through his legs. He fell to the ground, numb from the knees down.
It was Huo Yuhao's hidden weapon—thin steel needles launched precisely into Huang's Achilles tendons.
Using the Eye of Truth and his spirit perception, Huo Yuhao pinpointed the exact weak points. The needles hit perfectly, sealing several meridian points and temporarily disabling movement.
Even the Divine Ape's natural toughness couldn't block that level of precision. He was strong—but not made of iron.
Huang cried out, panic flashing in his eyes. "My legs! I—I can't move my legs!"
Wang Yan, watching from the sidelines, frowned. He nearly intervened but quickly saw the injury wasn't severe. Huo Yuhao had only numbed him.
"Concede," Huo Yuhao said lightly. "Do it now and you'll be fine. Drag it out, and I can't guarantee what happens next."
The fight stalled. Huang glanced helplessly at Wang Yan, unable to comprehend how he'd lost control of his body so easily.
Behind him, the twins hesitated, their hair forming a glimmering net. They dared not advance or retreat.
Wang Yan raised his hand. "Since Huang Chutian has lost combat capability, step down. The match is temporarily paused."
After Huang was escorted off, Huo Yuhao deftly removed the needles. Moments later, Huang's legs tingled back to life.
Realizing he'd been tricked, Huang could only sputter, "You—you—!"
Wang Yan waved it off and restarted the match.
Back on the field, Huo Yuhao watched the twins intently. Their synchronization fascinated him—their soul skills meshed almost seamlessly.
So smooth… their combined control even surpasses Wang Dong's dual-skill combo. Though that might be because these are only first-ring abilities. Low-level soul skills consume less power, and body-type martial souls are easier to command.
Still, the principle is similar to overlapping soul circuits. Their fusion nearly reaches one plus one equals two—but never quite. Energy loss occurs during merging. If I replicated that effect using internal soul circuits… that could work.
While he theorized, he continued issuing calm tactical instructions. Under his direction, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao coordinated perfectly, prying small openings in the twins' hair net until Wang Dong finally broke through.
Then Wang Dong struck—her Wing Guillotine carved straight through the strands, shattering their defense.
Panicking, the sisters realized they couldn't unleash their second soul skills in time. Faced with Wang Dong's imminent assault, they acted in unison.
They embraced. Their soul rings vanished.
A surge of power flared between them as an azure halo enveloped their hair, transforming it into crystal-like silk.
Through the Eye of Truth, Huo Yuhao observed their transformation. So this is a Martial Soul Fusion Technique. The structure truly reorganizes at the core, yet it still relies on both original souls. Intriguing… could I replicate a self-fusion variant?
No—my case is different. Still, the fusion mechanism aligns with what I predicted.
So this is how, in the original timeline, Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao could merge such unrelated souls. That divine rune in Wang Dong's spirit sea must be Tang San's handiwork—a god's imprint enforcing spiritual harmony by brute force.
If a deity can manipulate soul rings and power directly, restructuring a martial soul isn't difficult. But it does mean Tang San's true power is… even more frightening than I thought.
The twins' fusion completed. Their Sky Net spread across the arena like a living sea of blue silk.
Wang Dong's expression hardened. Her attack was swallowed whole, and in the blink of an eye, she was wrapped tight—prey in a spider's web.
The web didn't stop there; it surged toward Xiao Xiao next.
Her cauldrons slammed down in defense, unleashing wave after wave of vibrations, yet the strands only wavered before knitting back together.
"Is this… a Martial Soul Fusion Technique?" Xiao Xiao muttered bitterly, realizing she couldn't stop it in time.
But before the net could engulf her, it suddenly froze midair—then shattered apart into countless blue strands.
The sisters collapsed unconscious, while Wang Dong stood panting, pale and trembling.
"What just happened?" Xiao Xiao asked, wide-eyed.
Huo Yuhao exhaled, pale as well. The answer was simple—he'd intervened.
Unlike the "original" Huo Yuhao, who had poured nearly all his mental energy into a desperate Spiritual Shock, this version had dismantled the fusion far more efficiently.
He'd only used about 30% of his total spiritual power, split over three precise shocks. The final one, costing merely 15%, had struck the fusion's weakest structural node.
Still… unsatisfactory.
It had taken him three tries—first at 5%, then 10%, then 15%. Theoretically, 5% should have been enough.
So my understanding of fusion techniques is still incomplete, he mused. But fine. Lesson learned—this experience will be useful next time.
Wang Yan rushed to check on the twins. They were fine—just unconscious.
"Class One, Wang Dong's team—victory!" he declared.
Even so, confusion clouded his mind. Strange… did their fusion collapse on its own? I thought they'd win. Was their training unstable? Or… did something happen mid-fight that I missed?
His gaze drifted toward Huo Yuhao, who trailed calmly behind his teammates. Huo Yuhao… just how many secrets are you hiding?
Back in the rest area, Huo Yuhao reclined in his chair, eyes closed. He didn't bother meditating—his soul power was nearly untouched. What he needed to recover was his mind.
"Take the next round easy," he murmured. "You rest, Wang Dong. Xiao Xiao and I will handle it."
"Alright," Wang Dong replied softly, letting out a weary sigh. She still couldn't shake the image of that collapsing blue web.
Was it you? she wondered silently. Did you predict that would happen too?
(End of Chapter)