Faced with the sky-full of lethal intent, Dai Chengfeng merely lifted his eyes.
In those calm, lake-like eyes—finally—a ripple appeared.
Not fear. Not gravity.
But a lazy spark of… interest.
"Interesting."
Before the word fully left his lips, Dai Chengfeng stepped forward half a pace, sinking slightly into his stance.
The next instant—an indescribable aura erupted from within him.
It wasn't soul power fluctuation. It was something more primal, more domineering—a presence as if an ancient beast had just opened its slumbering eyes.
ROOOOAR——!!
A tiger's roar split the heavens.
The sound seemed to descend from the highest skies yet rise from the earth's core—carrying primordial, ancient authority that instantly drowned out all other noise in the arena.
The Arena's reinforced barrier shimmered violently. Spectators with weaker cultivation clapped hands over their ears, faces contorted in pain.
Behind Dai Chengfeng, a colossal phantom slowly solidified.
A white tiger.
But no ordinary white tiger.
Its entire body gleamed snow-white, fur like the finest silk—radiating both warm jade luster and icy coldness under the sun.
Twice the size of Dai Mubai's White Tiger martial soul, it stood over four meters at the shoulder, nearly eight meters long. Its mere phantom occupied half the arena.
Most astonishing were the massive wings unfurled from its back.
And its eyes—
One blue. One gold.
The left eye: deep-sea azure, so profound it seemed to devour souls.
The right eye: molten-gold brilliance, scorching enough to incinerate all creation.
Heavenly White Tiger!
The moment the martial soul manifested, a storm of Nine Nether Black Wind exploded outward from Dai Chengfeng.
Hiss-hiss-hiss—
Tang San's hidden weapons, upon entering ten meters of the phantom, struck an invisible iron wall.
The Silent Sleeve Dart shattered mid-air. Powder Shooting Shadow's poison needles veered off course. The hair-thin toxin-laced darts disintegrated into powder before even nearing the barrier.
Gale-force winds howled—not ordinary wind, but a bizarre current carrying both ice and fire.
Bone-chilling cold met searing heat. The dual-element vortex swept the arena clean, gathering weapon fragments and hurling them skyward—where they were shredded into metallic dust, raining down like ash.
Silence.
Every eye locked onto the winged white tiger—and the black-haired youth before it.
Dai Chengfeng stood unmoved, robes fluttering, expression serene.
Yet no one dared see him as an ordinary soul master anymore.
"What… what martial soul is this?!" someone cried from the stands.
"White Tiger? But White Tigers don't have wings!"
"The pressure… terrifying! My martial soul is trembling!"
Gasps, questions, fearful whispers rose like a tide.
But none were more shaken than those on the field.
Dai Mubai turned deathly pale, stumbling back five steps—each leaving a crater in the arena floor.
He stared at the winged tiger, pupils shrunk to pinpricks, body trembling uncontrollably.
Not from fear.
From his martial soul's instinctive terror.
He felt it clearly—his White Tiger martial soul now whimpered in submission.
This was the blood-deep reverence of a lesser beast facing its sovereign—the primal instinct that made wolves' legs buckle before a tiger king.
No matter how fiercely Dai Mubai resisted, his body wouldn't stop shaking. Veins bulged on his forehead; he bit down hard to keep from collapsing to his knees.
"Impossible… impossible…" he muttered, disbelief flooding his eyes. "White Tiger martial soul… how can it take this form…"
He wasn't alone.
In the VIP box, Bibi Dong lowered her elegantly crossed legs, leaning forward slightly.
For the first time, genuine shock flickered in her violet eyes.
She felt it—her supreme martial soul, the Death Spider Empress among her twin martial souls, had just shivered faintly.
The tremor was minuscule—but enough to send waves through the Pope's heart.
Death Spider Empress was the apex of spider-type martial souls, one of the pinnacle beast martial souls in existence.
Even against Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon or Hao Tian Hammer, it had never reacted thus.
Yet now… was it afraid of that boy's White Tiger?
"This little one…" she murmured, voice too low for anyone but herself to hear, "never fails to surprise me."
On the field, Ma Hongjun's Evil Fire Phoenix let out a pained cry, its flames dimming.
Oscar's sausage martial soul retreated entirely into his body, too frightened to manifest.
Even Tang San—though his Blue Silver Grass wasn't a beast martial soul—felt an inexplicable dread.
"What is this…" Cold sweat beaded on Tang San's brow.
"No! Absolutely not!"
Dai Mubai finally snapped, roaring hoarsely: "Dai Chengfeng! Your martial soul—what's going on?! This isn't a White Tiger!"
Dai Chengfeng turned slowly.
The Heavenly White Tiger's head swiveled with him, its heterochromatic eyes—blue and gold—gazing down at Dai Mubai with detached indifference.
Merely under that gaze, Dai Mubai felt his soul power circulation stutter.
"This is indeed a White Tiger," Dai Chengfeng said calmly, his voice carrying across the silent arena. "Just… an evolved one."
"Evolved" — the word sent shockwaves through the crowd.
"Martial soul evolution?!"
"White Tiger can evolve?! It's already a top-tier beast martial soul!"
"Wings? Ice and fire duality? If this is evolution, what tier has it reached?!"
"Stronger than Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon?!"
Chatter surged like a flood. Even the VIPs—seasoned elders who'd seen everything—wore expressions of deep contemplation.
Yu Xiaogang shot to his feet, knuckles white on the railing, eyes blazing with researcher's fervor. "Martial soul evolution… a true apex-case study… must document this…"
Chrysanthemum Douluo spoke slowly: "Your Holiness… can you feel that pressure?"
Bibi Dong nodded. "It's strong. No—not just strong. It's fundamentally different. If I had to compare…" She paused, searching for words. "It's like sparrows versus phoenixes. Both birds… but existing on entirely different planes."
Ghost Douluo, rarely speaking, added: "That boy's martial soul… doesn't feel like it belongs to this world."
On the field, Dai Mubai heard "evolved"—and froze as if struck by lightning.
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