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Amidst the golden light storm, Chrysanthemum Douluo was enveloped in layers of bony armor, shimmering in golden hues, as if formed from countless chrysanthemum petals.
Golden patterns converged on his chest, forming a blossoming Qirong Tongtian Chrysanthemum.
As the whirlwind dispersed, Chrysanthemum Douluo lightly clenched his fist, and a surge of formidable soul power erupted, forcing Elder Luo and the others to retreat uncontrollably.
"What is this?"
A bead of sweat dripped from Elder Luo's forehead.
Fair?
What a joke!
After donning this armor, his soul power surged directly to level 98... such an increase, isn't it a bit too exaggerated?
This isn't just an ordinary soul power increment of one or two levels but a leap from level 96 to 98!
Could it get any more absurd?
Meanwhile, Ghost Douluo emitted a swirling purple-black aura as a layer of black armor covered his body. A massive skull-like emblem adorned his chest, his face was fully masked, and two large, shield-like shoulder plates rested on his shoulders.
*The True Body of Martial Soul Armor isn't exclusive to Chrysanthemum Douluo!*
"Old Ghost, your Martial Soul Bone Armor True Body is much more impressive than mine." Chrysanthemum Douluo glanced at the massive shoulder plates on Ghost Douluo, teasing, "You're an assassination-type agility attack soul master, but you look more like a physical defense-type now."
"Perhaps this is the true form of my martial soul."
It was Ghost Douluo's first time using this True Body, and as he felt the changes in his body, a subtle smirk formed beneath his mask.
In his childhood, Ghost Douluo had experienced death—or something akin to it. Whether he truly died or was in a death-like state, no one knew except himself. But after his "resurrection," he awakened his martial soul, which was his own spirit—a so-called "ghost."
In a way, it was a type of Essence Martial Soul, but quite unique, being a purely spiritual martial soul.
By merging his martial soul entirely with his body and forming energy armor based on his skeleton, Ghost Douluo realized his original martial soul wasn't a spirit but his skeleton. The childhood "death" incident caused his unawakened martial soul to instinctively protect him, safeguarding his spirit, which led to his later awakened martial soul being his own spirit.
Now, his skeleton had reawakened, granting his Martial Soul Bone Armor True Body unparalleled defensive capabilities.
Of course, because a martial soul's essence is singular, Ghost Douluo couldn't possess twin martial souls. But in the True Body state, he could reawaken his skeleton.
"That's truly fortunate," Chrysanthemum Douluo remarked, not envious, as he sensed the fluctuations in their soul power. "Shall we try a Martial Soul Fusion Technique? I have a feeling that this time, we won't just create the Polar Static Field but achieve a true Martial Soul Fusion."
Martial Soul Fusion Techniques are now widely known on the continent, categorized into three types: Soul Power Fusion, Soul Skill Fusion, and Martial Soul Fusion.
Among them, Martial Soul Fusion includes both Soul Power and Soul Skill Fusion. However, because the first two can be used separately, they've been classified distinctly.
Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo could already perform Soul Power and Soul Skill Fusions, with the Polar Static Field being a powerful weapon. But since their martial souls weren't similar, and without transcendent power, even if their attributes balanced out, they could never fuse into a new martial soul state, remaining confined to Soul Skill Fusion.
But now, with both in the True Body of Martial Soul Armor, their martial souls had become completely compatible with their bodies, showing similarities. Coupled with their equivalent attributes, fusion seemed imminent.
The six narrow slits on Ghost Douluo's helmet flashed with a scarlet glow as he let out a chilling laugh. "Alright, let's see how powerful we can become when we join forces."
"Then here I come!"
Chrysanthemum Douluo's soul power bloomed like a chrysanthemum, enveloping him and Ghost Douluo, who also released his soul power, merging it with Chrysanthemum Douluo's.
The two were already in perfect sync, so performing a Martial Soul Fusion was as natural as flowing water.
"This is bad! We can't let them complete the fusion!" Elder Luo, realizing the danger, immediately led the five who had finished healing in a charge. But when they were within a hundred meters of the two Douluo, they were frozen in mid-air, unable to move.
*The Polar Static Field!*
As Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo performed their Martial Soul Fusion, an invisible barrier over a hundred meters in diameter formed around them. Anyone approaching would be frozen, unable to move.
"Who would have thought, in the True Body of Martial Soul Armor state, these two seniors could perform a Martial Soul Fusion, and their previous fusion technique now acts as a passive ability to protect them during fusion."
Tang San observed the intertwining and merging energies at the fusion center with great interest. Even their flesh and bones fused, achieving a true, inseparable balance...
When the golden and black storm subsided, a figure with a graceful yet formidable female form appeared in the arena. The figure stood six meters tall, clad in black armor with golden patterns. Twenty-four petal-shaped blades, black with golden veins, floated around it, spinning slowly.
A round helmet covered the top half of its face, with a golden gem resembling a budding daisy at its center, encasing a black skull.
The fused martial soul had taken the form of a towering female figure, appearing perfectly unified, possessing both the brilliance and strength of light and the shadowy, chilling aura of darkness.
Elegant and dignified.
Devious and cunning.
These two contrasting traits coexisted within this figure, revealing its truest form.
"Time and space are in my hands."
The towering figure spoke, not in the expected dual voice of Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo, but in a genuine female voice, as if the two had truly fused into a new life form.
With a slight raise of its hand, Elder Luo and the others were once again frozen in mid-air. Then, the twenty-four blades shot out, piercing through their chests.
In an instant, of the six, only Elder Luo, the level 98 Super Douluo, remained standing. The other five—three level 96 Titled Douluo, along with Yi Hongchen and Jun Youwei—were all slain. Their dropped spirit bones, all at the ten-thousand-year level, were collected by the figure and presented to Tang San.
"Rank ninety-nine, unparalleled in the world—who would have thought such a powerful spirit fusion technique existed? I lost this battle, but not unjustly," Elder Luo murmured, his pupils beginning to lose focus. He glanced at the shattered bodies of his comrades beside him, closed his eyes, and waited for death.
However, the six-zhang-tall female figure spared his life.
For the Spirit Hall, the value of keeping a ninety-eight-ranked Elder Luo alive far outweighed the benefits of killing him. Not only could he be used to threaten the Sun Moon Empire, but his body would also serve as an invaluable research specimen for Spirit Hall, especially for Tang San. Such a powerful body at the ninety-eight rank was extremely rare.
After all, Bibi Dong couldn't command the titled Douluo of the Worship Hall...
When the battle concluded, Tang San and the others descended to the ground, returning the Wisdom and Spirit Soul Imprint Throne to Hu Liena before gathering the remains of the five fallen titled Douluo. Even in death, their bodies were still valuable for research.
Since they were enemy corpses, there was no need for respect—just practical use.
But now, Tang San faced a new problem: the six-zhang-tall female form created by the fusion of Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo couldn't be separated.
The Spirit Bone Armor True Body allowed a spirit to fully merge with its user, essentially making the spirit corporeal. Now, after successfully fusing their spirits, Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo found themselves permanently fused into a single form.
Tang San couldn't immediately determine what had caused this change.
Reduced from six zhang to around 1.8 meters tall, the combined form of Chrysanthemum Ghost saw its spirit power drop to ninety-eight, but the body became more refined.
Using his divine sense, Tang San noticed that the body was in a state between energy and corporeality, with the Qirong Tongtian Chrysanthemum and Ghost spirits deeply fused together. The souls of Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo resided separately in the upper dantian, constantly being refined by the essence, energy, and spirit of the fusion.
If this process continued for a millennium, their souls might even evolve to the level of divine souls.
The physical body was now controlled jointly by the souls of Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo. As for why this fused form spoke with a female voice, no one could say for sure.
Perhaps it was because Chrysanthemum Douluo had always been somewhat effeminate, while Ghost Douluo's personality was naturally more sinister. When combined, they produced this unexpected result—an androgynous form with a female voice. Given that the body was a near-energy entity, if their thoughts leaned toward femininity, the external appearance naturally followed.
Hmm—
It was likely that Chrysanthemum Douluo's mentality had a stronger influence, considering that in their partnership, Ghost Douluo usually had no strong opinions and often followed Chrysanthemum Douluo's lead.
"I think I understand your situation," Tang San began, "If you want to separate, we'll need to conduct further research when we return…"
"Separate?"
Before Tang San could finish, the female voice interrupted him. "I've always wanted to be a woman, and now that my dream has come true, I'm not going back."
Tang San was left speechless. Well, as long as you're happy. But research is still necessary, and you can't refuse it.
"What should we call you, then?"
"A name, huh? This body is a fusion of Old Ghost and me. Our most famous ability has always been our spirit fusion skill: the Polarized Stasis Domain. And since this body came about due to our Spirit Bone Armor True Body, let's go with 'Twin Polar Spirit Armor.' When I'm in control, call me Twin Polar Chrysanthemum Fairy. And when Old Ghost is in control—"
"I'm not as twisted as that Chrysanthemum freak." Suddenly, the voice deepened, and the body slimmed, shifting from female to male—
Ghost Douluo had taken control!
"Call me Mister Ghost."
"Mister Ghost? You're no scholar!" The body quickly shifted back to female, the voice softening again, clearly under Chrysanthemum Douluo's control.
And so, the two started arguing, their form oscillating between male and female…
"Third Brother, these two titled Douluo sure know how to have fun," Xiao Wu whispered to Tang San. "Not male, not female—how bizarre."
"Well, you could say they've transcended gender in a way," Tang San mused, but quickly reassured Xiao Wu and the others that he wouldn't be attempting anything similar...
After the battle, the four factions began distributing the spoils of war, mainly the soul tools from the Sun Moon Army.
Spirit Hall received the most, followed by Tian Dou, then Star Luo.
The new Heaven Dou Federation received the least.
As for the Sun Moon prisoners, any who had achieved the rank of soul master or possessed a spirit ring had their tendons severed and were temporarily held outside the city.
"This victory is all thanks to the Silver-Blue Count," Golong toasted Tang San at the celebration banquet, laughing heartily. "Not a single soldier lost, and we defeated the invading enemy army."
Tang San raised his cup and exchanged a few polite words before discussing the next steps. "Though we've won this battle, Haohai City remains in enemy hands. We must remain vigilant."
"We should first use the enemy prisoners to negotiate the release of Haohai City's citizens."
"And we need to extract detailed information about the Sun Moon Continent from the elder codenamed [Star], so we can prepare for future conflicts."
Gu long naturally agreed, considering Tang San had already demonstrated a fraction of his power by crushing an army of ten thousand, including a titled Douluo at rank ninety-eight, with his mysterious throne.
How could anyone dare to oppose such a figure?
"Using the enemy prisoners to exchange for Haohai City's captured citizens is a good plan, but we must be cautious," Ning Fengzhi added, raising his cup. "The Sun Moon forces are also studying soul tools and have already achieved mass production of soul weapons. If they were to attach soul bombs to the captured citizens and send them to us..."
Everyone realized that given the Sun Moon Empire's history of massacres, such an action wasn't out of the question. Additionally, whether the Sun Moon forces would actually return the more than ten thousand prisoners was still uncertain.
After all, the tendons in the hands and feet of these more than ten thousand prisoners had already been severed. Even with the Sun Moon Empire's numerous healing-type soul masters and advanced soul tool medical equipment, it was impossible to heal these injuries immediately.
Over time, these prisoners would become a burden to the Sun Moon forces, especially since they were all stubbornly refusing to surrender. The most common phrase they shouted was, "For the glory of the Emperor!"
This was deeply unsettling—
The so-called Emperor had brainwashed them to such an extent that they were willing to give everything for the Sun Moon Empire's ruler. Their thoughts, actions, and very existence were dedicated to fulfilling the Emperor's commands, rather than their own free will.
These soldiers were like puppets, completely devoid of independent thought.
This was different from the way soul masters on the continent revered Tang San, the master of spirit theory. Most of them admired Tang San because they had accepted the theories he proposed, rather than blindly worshipping him as a person.
But the soldiers of the Sun Moon Empire? They revered their Emperor entirely, as if his words and actions were absolute truth, and anything less would make life unworthy.
Frankly, Ning Fengzhi thought that in the past, he would have been pleased if the non-direct disciples of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan had such loyalty. But now, seeing the Sun Moon Empire's soldiers with such fanaticism, he felt a sense of dread.
This kind of fanaticism, driven by so-called "glory to the Emperor," could justify any atrocity. It was akin to a form of corrupted devotion!
"Clan Master Ning is right," Tang San acknowledged Ning Fengzhi's concerns and added, "However, I also have some understanding of soul tools. With my spiritual power, I can conduct thorough inspections and prevent any traps."
"Moreover, regarding whether the Sun Moon Empire would agree to an exchange—"
"They might abandon the ordinary soldiers, but they will definitely want the ninety-eighth-ranked titled Douluo back. That's our bargaining chip."
Ning Fengzhi suddenly understood.
From the beginning, the real bargaining chip had always been Elder Luo at ninety-eight rank, not the ten thousand Sun Moon soldiers. Including them was just a way to add pressure on the Sun Moon forces…
…
After the banquet, Gu long had a soldier from the Sun Moon Empire brought in, his injuries treated. "You're in luck, Sun Moon scum. Go back to Haohai City and tell the four titled Douluo there that in three days, we will come to retrieve the captured citizens of Haohai City, in exchange for Elder Luo and ten thousand soldiers."
"You better not sever Elder Luo's limbs," the soldier gritted his teeth, fearing that Tang San and the others would amputate Elder Xing's limbs to harvest spirit bones.
"We won't sever his limbs," Tang San assured him. "Everyone knows I never lie. As the Holy Son of Spirit Hall, I must keep my word."
The soldier gave Tang San a deep look, choosing to believe him, and then ran off without looking back.
Though his injuries had been healed, his spirit power hadn't recovered. Gu long hadn't provided him with a horse, and the distance between Soul Sea City and Haohai City would take an ordinary soul master a full day of travel. Whether this soldier could make it back in three days without rest or nourishment remained uncertain.
It all depended on how much his fanatical devotion to that so-called Emperor could fuel his willpower.
After the soldier left, Tang San, Ning Fengzhi, and the others made their way to the dungeon, where they found Chrysanthemum Fairy wielding a whip against the bound Elder Luo.
The once-proud Elder Luo was now a mere shadow of his former self. His white hair was disheveled, his body covered in blood, with his limbs pierced by steel needles over three centimeters thick, nailing him to the wall. Chains connected to hooks had pierced through his shoulder blades, rendering him completely powerless.
"Senior Chrysanthemum Douluo, it's not good to mistreat prisoners," Tang San admonished Chrysanthemum Fairy.
"What can I do? This guy isn't saying anything, so I had to resort to torture," Chrysanthemum Fairy replied, putting away the whip. His bashful, coquettish manner made Ning Fengzhi and the Bone Douluo beside him quite uncomfortable.
After all, this person had been a man during the day, albeit a somewhat effeminate one. But now, he had truly become a woman and could switch freely between the two forms.
Their worldviews found it difficult to accept such a transformation.
"May I ask your full name?" Tang San, not wanting to engage further with Chrysanthemum Fairy, turned his attention to Elder Luo.
"Xu Fu," Elder Luo raised his head, meeting Tang San's gaze directly. This was the perfect moment for self-destruction, but his soul power was suppressed, and his spiritual power weakened to the extreme.
Self-destruction… was impossible.
"Your name is quite well-known," Tang San said after a moment of silence.
[That expression... It's just like His Majesty's when he first learned my name…]
Xu Fu was puzzled but still asked, "Oh? Have you heard of me somewhere? But I've always been on another continent. How could you know?"
Tang San slowly replied, "In my hometown, there's a man with the same name as you. He liked to sell fake medicine."
Xu Fu: "..."