As power-type soul masters, both Wang Dong and Huang Chutian charged toward each other immediately after their martial souls were activated.
Huo Yuhao, however, ignored Huang Chutian, whose martial soul was the Mighty Arm Ape, and instead used his Spirit Eyes to observe the two at the back of the opposing team,Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo.
"Xiaoxiao, use your Three Lives Soul Suppressing Cauldron to support Wang Dong. Don't let her get entangled by the sisters' martial souls. I'll look for an opening to break through."
Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo's long blue hair fluttered in the air as it rapidly extended to over ten meters in length. Stimulated by their soul power, the strands moved freely in the air, controlled perfectly by the twin sisters.
'Interesting… it seems that apart from martial soul activation, the two of them share some sort of natural connection. Is this twin telepathy?'
Telepathy, though seemingly mystical, wasn't hard to explain in this world. Twins share a mental bond even before birth; their spiritual power originates from the same source.
Although separated into two bodies after birth, they still retain a faint connection,able to sense each other's emotions and thoughts to some extent.
Unless specially cultivated or stimulated, this connection gradually fades as they grow older. However, since Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo share the same hair-type martial soul and have even practiced a Martial Soul Fusion Technique, their connection has only become stronger with time.
'The structure of their spiritual power is quite intriguing. Could this be a prerequisite for martial soul fusion? First, spiritual synchronization, then merging of soul power, finally linking their martial souls together into one…'
'I'll have to observe more closely when they actually perform the fusion. For now, let's help Wang Dong and force the sisters to use it.'
Meanwhile, Wang Dong and Huang Chutian were already clashing, but Huang Chutian was quickly being pushed back.
Although the Mighty Arm Ape was a strong beast-type martial soul, his physical strength still couldn't match Wang Dong's.
Huang Chutian brought his fists together and struck downward, but Wang Dong crossed her butterfly wings in front of her to block, using the force of the blow to retreat unharmed.
Then, the Three Lives Soul Suppressing Cauldron appeared and surrounded Huang Chutian.
"First Soul Skill: Resonant Shock of the Cauldron!"
Three thunderous booms echoed as sound waves converged, trapping Huang Chutian within. He was shaken dizzy by the resonance.
Before he could recover, his legs suddenly went numb, and he collapsed to the ground, realizing he could no longer control his legs.
Moments later, he understood,it was an attack from Huo Yuhao's hidden weapons.
After confirming the sisters' martial souls through his Spirit Eyes, Huo Yuhao had already thrown several flying needles aimed precisely at the weak points near Huang Chutian's ankles.
Under his Spirit Eyes and Spiritual Detection, every needle pierced a vital acupuncture point, temporarily paralyzing the leg muscles.
Although the Mighty Arm Ape's martial soul provided some toughness, Huang Chutian was still only a Grand Soul Master. He wasn't strong enough to resist precision-based hidden weapons like these.
While the effect was temporary and harmless in the long run, it still rendered him nearly helpless in combat.
"My legs! Why can't I move my legs?" Huang Chutian cried out in panic.
Seeing this, Wang Yan, the instructor observing the match, was startled at first. But realizing Huang Chutian wasn't seriously injured, he did not intervene.
"Admit defeat," Huo Yuhao calmly said. "Surrender now, and you'll be fine. If we keep fighting, I can't guarantee the same."
The battle came to a sudden halt. Huang Chutian, confused and alarmed, glanced toward Wang Yan for guidance.
Behind him, Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo dared not act rashly. Their hair had already intertwined into a net through their combined first soul skills,making it impossible to advance or retreat.
"Since Huang Chutian has lost the ability to fight, he'll step down. The battle is temporarily paused," Wang Yan announced.
Once Huang Chutian was taken off the stage, Huo Yuhao pulled out the flying needles. As soon as they were removed, Huang Chutian felt sensation return to his legs.
He finally realized he had been tricked,but in the heat of battle, he hadn't dared to gamble on whether Huo Yuhao's hidden weapons were harmless.
"You… you…" Huang Chutian stammered, not knowing what to say.
Wang Yan simply gestured for Huo Yuhao to rejoin the field. "The match resumes!"
Now, Huo Yuhao focused fully on observing the sisters' martial soul combination.
'Their telepathic link really is convenient. With matching first soul skills, their coordination far surpasses Wang Dong's combination of her first and second skills.'
'Of course, that's partly because these are only hundred-year-level skills. The soul power cost is low, and controlling one's main martial soul is much easier.'
'Still, the way their soul power circuits overlap is fascinating. It's almost a perfect 1 + 1 = 2 synergy. If only they could completely merge into one, there'd be no energy loss.'
'If I could replicate this by constructing identical soul power circuits within myself… hmm, definitely worth studying.'
While his mind raced, Huo Yuhao calmly issued tactical instructions to Wang Dong and Xiaoxiao, helping them find gaps in the sisters' seemingly flawless net of hair.
With their cooperation, small openings began to appear. Step by step, Wang Dong closed the distance.
Once she was close enough, she unleashed her power. "First Soul Skill: Butterfly Blade Wings!"
Her golden-blue wings cut through the air, shredding the hair net as she charged directly toward the sisters.
Startled, Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo realized Wang Dong was already too close for them to use their second soul skill effectively. They would lose if she reached them.
They didn't hesitate. The sisters embraced each other, their soul rings vanishing as a powerful wave of soul power exploded outward.
A deep blue radiance enveloped their hair, turning it translucent and crystalline. Through his Spirit Eyes, Huo Yuhao saw the structure of their martial souls becoming far more complex than before.
'So this is a Martial Soul Fusion Technique… fascinating. The internal structure of their martial souls has been reconfigured, though still based on their original framework.'
'That means a fusion begins with restructuring existing martial soul patterns rather than creating a new one entirely. Could I simulate this myself? Maybe not yet,but it confirms my theory.'
'Perhaps this is also why the original Huo Yuhao could fuse his martial soul with Wang Dong's, even though they were completely unrelated. That divine rune within Wang Dong's spirit sea must have been a safeguard left by Tang San himself.'
'A god's divine sense could easily force synchronization between incompatible spirits. After that, he could adjust and refine it. If a god can manipulate soul power and rings, reshaping martial souls should be trivial.'
'Still, this means Tang San's strength was probably even more terrifying than I imagined. His control over disassembly and fusion was truly abnormal.'
While Huo Yuhao analyzed, Wang Dong was facing the full might of the fusion skill.
The two sisters, once the prey, had become the hunters. Their fusion skill,Heavenly Net,completely engulfed Wang Dong like a spider trapping its victim.
The massive net continued to spread toward Xiaoxiao. Even with repeated use of the Cauldron's Resonant Shock and Wave, she couldn't stop it.
The web slowed slightly but soon reformed and advanced again.
Watching it descend, Xiaoxiao smiled bitterly. "So this is a Martial Soul Fusion Technique…"
But just as the net was about to swallow her whole, it suddenly froze in midair,then shattered apart, falling harmlessly to the ground.
When the glowing strands dispersed, the two sisters lay unconscious on the stage, while Wang Dong stood unsteadily, pale and gasping for breath.
She had nearly exhausted her soul power trying to break free earlier, and even her Butterfly Blade Wings had failed to cut through the fusion skill.
"What happened?" Xiaoxiao asked in disbelief.
She couldn't understand why the seemingly unstoppable Heavenly Net suddenly disintegrated. Had the sisters run out of soul power? That didn't seem right.
Huo Yuhao frowned slightly, his face pale as well. The reason was simple,he had broken it himself.
In the original timeline, Huo Yuhao could interrupt their fusion with a spiritual shock, and he had just done the same here.
However, he was dissatisfied,not because it failed, but because it had cost him more spiritual power than expected.
He had assumed that only a minor fraction of his spiritual energy would suffice. In the end, he had to use three separate Spiritual Shocks, consuming nearly thirty percent of his total energy.
'So my understanding of fusion techniques is still lacking… they're more complex than I thought.'
'Well, I'll take this as a lesson. Next time, I'll be better prepared. Experience is the best teacher.'
Wang Yan quickly examined the sisters' condition and sighed in relief when he found they were only unconscious.
"The victory goes to Wang Dong's team," he declared.
Still, doubt lingered in his mind.
'Strange… did their fusion collapse on its own? I was sure Wang Dong's team was about to lose. Was it because the sisters' technique wasn't fully mastered? No, that can't be,it wouldn't make sense for them to be seed competitors otherwise.'
'Then something must have happened that I didn't see. Wang Dong and Xiaoxiao didn't seem to do anything… could it have been Huo Yuhao?'
Glancing at the quiet boy following behind Wang Dong and Xiaoxiao, Wang Yan's eyes narrowed.
'Besides hidden weapons and his martial soul, Huo Yuhao… what else are you hiding?'
"Take a good rest. The next match won't be long from now," Huo Yuhao said calmly. "Wang Dong, don't fight next time,leave it to me and Xiaoxiao."
In the rest area, Huo Yuhao didn't meditate to recover soul power; he simply closed his eyes to restore his spiritual energy. His soul power had barely been used, after all.
"Alright," Wang Dong replied softly, letting out a long breath. She had nearly lost despite her confidence earlier.
'So it was you who acted in the end… you even predicted this, didn't you?' she thought silently as she entered meditation.
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