A food-type soul master taking on Dai Mubai, a powerful attack-type soul master?
Ning Fengzhi raised an eyebrow, intrigued.
"That does sound interesting. Why don't we all go watch?"
His suggestion received unanimous approval.
A massive crowd swarmed toward the Soul Spirit Experiment Base.
Left behind was Qian Renxue, standing with her two elderly protectors—
Looking exactly like someone who had just been coldly ignored.
A few seconds later…
Qian Renxue strode toward the base, her expression dark.
But hidden beneath her displeasure was a hint of satisfaction.
This Tang Lan, despite his young age, was incredibly reliable.
And yet…
This sense of distance he maintained with her left her feeling oddly uncomfortable.
She even entertained a fleeting thought—
Should I just hurry up and kill Xue Beng? Then I won't have to keep up this act anymore…
Upon arriving at the training area—
Qian Renxue caught sight of a food-type soul master, using Tang Lan's iconic green Life Soul Blue Silver Emperor, binding Dai Mubai!
For a moment, she was stunned.
What the hell?!
Even Dai Mubai himself was completely dumbfounded.
"Xiao Ao! How are you using the Sect Master's martial soul?!"
Oscar flicked his hair back dramatically, striking a perfectly arrogant pose.
Then, he smirked.
"The Sect Master had me sign a Mirror Beast as my soul spirit—allowing me to freely select its replication skill."
"That gave me my fourth soul skill—Replication Mirror Intestine! By consuming a drop of someone's blood, I can copy their martial soul and soul skills."
"Of course, there are some limitations—like the quality of the copied martial soul and soul ring age not exceeding my own limits."
"Otherwise…"
Dai Mubai, despite his shock, quickly caught onto the key detail!
His gaze locked onto Oscar's four black soul rings, and a sinister grin appeared.
"For a second there, I thought it was the Sect Master's real Life Soul Blue Silver Emperor. That would've been impossible for me to break."
"But since it's just six ten-thousand-year soul rings, then…"
"Third Soul Skill – White Tiger Crimson Flame Transformation!"
Dai Mubai's evolved Crimson Flame White Tiger Martial Soulempowered all his abilities.
His muscles bulged, red flame-like patterns spread across his skin, and both his limbs and eyes ignited with raging fire.
With a single cross slash of his tiger claws—
He tore through the Life Soul Blue Silver Emperor!
Oscar's eyes widened in shock.
"Dai Boss, too much, man!"
"My Life Soul Blue Silver Emperor might not be as strong as the Sect Master's, but it's still backed by six 45,000-year soul rings!"
"And you shattered it in one hit?!"
Dai Mubai lifted his head proudly.
"Ever since my White Tiger evolved into the Crimson Flame White Tiger, it has become stronger than the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon."
"My third soul skill evolved into White Tiger Crimson Flame Transformation—doubling my physical power and adding fire attribute damage."
"Compared to the Sect Master, I'm obviously nothing."
"But against your knockoff version? More than enough."
Oscar grinned mischievously.
Suddenly, three of his four soul rings dimmed, while the third soul ring glowed intensely.
"Ring Fusion—Life Burial!"
An enormous wave of Life Soul Blue Silver Emperor surged from beneath Dai Mubai's feet, rapidly engulfing him from all directions.
No matter how much he tore through it, the vines kept regenerating, eventually swallowing him whole.
"Welp! Looks like it's over!" Oscar flipped his hair dramatically again. "I only learned this Ring Fusion skill two days ago. If it weren't for my amazing ability to talk shit, I wouldn't have had enough time to use it."
As punchable as Oscar's attitude was—
No one could deny his natural talent.
Tang Lan's gaze swept over his core disciples.
Everyone quickly looked away, avoiding his eyes.
Hilarious.
They hadn't even gotten past the basics, had they?
"This kid has talent, no doubt," Gu Rong nodded approvingly. "But he's too careless—he didn't finish the job properly. That'll cost him."
Just as the words left his mouth—
A brilliant red glow burst from the layers of Life Soul Blue Silver Emperor!
A miniature sun shot into the sky, floating overhead.
Squinting against the brightness,
They saw Dai Mubai suspended midair, flames covering his entire body.
Two large wings stretched from his back, and a layer of fiery armor encased him—giving him an unparalleled aura of power, as if he were a Sun God.
"Fourth Soul Skill – Crimson Flame Demon God Transformation!"
Aside from granting flight, the flame armor was both offensive and defensive—enhancing fire attribute damage while absorbing part of the enemy's attacks.
"Xiao Ao, it's over!"
Dai Mubai dove downward, crimson flames surging around his tiger claws, ready to end the fight with a single strike!
Most expected Oscar to dodge using his movement skills.
But he didn't.
Instead,
He pulled out a Lightning-Flame Clear Sky Hammer—
Barely the size of his palm.
Then, he swung it with full force toward Dai Mubai.
In the blink of an eye—
Dai Mubai assessed the situation.
A hammer that tiny?
If Oscar could swing it with ease, it clearly didn't weigh much.
Which meant…
It wouldn't do much damage.
So, rather than dodging, he trusted his flame armor to tank the hit—
And continued his attack.
And then—
BOOM!
The Lightning-Flame Clear Sky Hammer—weighing several tons—
Shattered his flame armor in one hit.
Dai Mubai was sent flying backward.
Oscar raised a hand, sending vines to bind him midair—
Then clenched his fist with a triumphant smirk.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
The fragments of Life Soul Blue Silver Emperor scattered and exploded across the battlefield.
Yet, the vines binding Dai Mubai remained completely intact.
Oscar smirked triumphantly.
"Dai Boss, you're dead."
Dai Mubai lay on the ground, taking a solid half a minute to catch his breath and process everything.
Then, he sat up, his face full of existential crisis.
"That hammer was so freaking heavy—how the hell did you even swing it?"
Oscar chuckled slyly but didn't explain.
Dai Mubai glanced around at the surrounding crowd—
Then instantly understood.
They weren't at Tang Sect HQ right now.
They couldn't openly discuss Sect Master's martial soul abilities.
In fact—
Most outsiders didn't even know Tang Lan was a Twin Martial Soul Holder!
So, Dai Mubai deliberately said,
"As expected of a mutated martial soul—the evolution really boosted your strength!"
Oscar immediately played along.
"That's right! My Replication Mirror Intestine lets me switch to any martial soul I want—isn't that awesome?!"
Dai Mubai gave him a thumbs-up—this time, completely sincere.
This Replication Mirror Intestine—absolute game-changer!
Especially considering that—
In the future, they'd all be able to use each other's martial souls and soul skills.
His heart burned with excitement!
"Naturally, I wouldn't expect anything less from you, Lan-di!" Ning Fengzhi praised.
"Traveling all the way to the Extreme North to obtain this soul skill—it's perfect for Xiao Ao!"
"Indeed!" Gu Rong nodded approvingly.
"A man capable of writing the Tang Sect Encyclopedia—your understanding of martial soul cultivation is truly unmatched in this era!"
Qian Renxue had also intended to voice her admiration—
But just as she opened her mouth…
She paused.
Then, remembering her current relationship with Tang Lan, she shut it again.
Her brow furrowed slightly.
—She hated this feeling of having to hide everything.
Nobody noticed her change in mood.
Tang Lan simply chuckled, "This was all thanks to Xiao Ao's own ability. Being able to absorb a 45,000-year Mirror Beast as his fourth soul ring—this outcome was only natural."
At those words—
Ning Fengzhi and Gu Rong exchanged glances, clearly wanting to ask something…
They were both very curious—
How exactly had Oscar managed to absorb a 45,000-year fourth soul ring?
But with so many people around, they couldn't ask outright.
Luckily, Oscar himself scratched his head sheepishly.
"Haha, Sect Master, you're being too modest! It's all because of the soul bone you gave me—that's the only reason I could handle the age limit."
Ning Fengzhi and the others suddenly understood.
Oh, so he used a soul bone to boost his absorption limit.
That made sense.
After all, this method was widely known—
It was just that most people couldn't afford such high-quality soul bones.
Tang Lan suddenly smacked his forehead, as if remembering something.
Then, he turned toward Tang San with an apologetic look.
"Xiao San… about that soul bone I promised you—"
"The situation was urgent at the time, so I gave it to Xiao Ao instead."
"After all, a 45,000-year Mirror Beast was too rare to pass up."
"Besides, Xiao Ao is your disciple too, right? I figured you wouldn't mind…"
Tang San:
↓
(▼へ▼メ)
↓
(〝▼皿▼)
—LIKE HELL I WOULDN'T MIND?!
(End of Chapter)