"Forget it, Sister Yan. You should rest well tonight. Tomorrow, I'll try it with Bing'er and see if there's any difference. After all, we did succeed once."
Han Li stopped Dugu Yan, who was still eager to continue trying, and spoke with a bit of a headache.
"Alright, I guess that's all we can do."
Dugu Yan reluctantly agreed. She felt extremely tired; every time Han Li touched her martial soul, she had to carefully suppress its instinctive resistance and endure the strange sensations in her body. She was feeling quite sleepy now.
"Rest well, and we'll talk about it tomorrow."
Seeing her exhaustion, Han Li gently pulled the blanket over her and soothed her.
"Mm, remember to close the door for me."
Dugu Yan didn't refuse, smiled, and closed her eyes.
"Good night."
Han Li whispered, turned off the light, and walked out, gently closing the door behind him.
Standing at the door for a while, Han Li shook his head, glanced at the bright moon in the sky, and walked toward his room.
Forget it. Thinking about it won't solve anything. I'll know after trying tomorrow. I must have overlooked something.
The night passed without incident.
...
The next morning, he woke up later than usual. By the time he got up, everyone else had already finished their morning training and was chatting and laughing in the dining room.
Seeing him come in, Guang Ling couldn't help but ask, "Did you stay up all night studying?"
Han Li shook his head, sat down at the table, stirred the hot porridge in his bowl with a spoon, and looked up to answer, "No, I just couldn't figure it out when I got back, so I trained for a bit longer, and ended up waking up late."
"I heard from Yan'er that you two succeeded once and created a martial soul fusion technique like Hu Liena and Xie Yue's?"
Guang Ling asked with interest.
"Yes, we did succeed once. But after thinking about it, it seemed like it was a fluke. That martial soul fusion technique had a superficial fusion, but something felt off about the rest of it."
"It's better if I try it with Bing'er today. I can't figure out the problem right now. Maybe experiencing a true martial soul fusion technique will help me understand its mysteries."
Han Li swallowed a mouthful of porridge and looked across the table at Shui Bing'er.
Seeing him look over, Shui Bing'er nodded slightly in acknowledgment and continued eating her breakfast without saying anything.
"There's no rush. Since you and Yan'er succeeded once, you might naturally grasp it with time."
Guang Ling reassured him, then remembered something. "Oh, after we finish eating, let's go outside the city. There's a place that's perfect for you to try the martial soul fusion technique."
"That was my old hideout where I used to, um... relax. Usually, no one goes there, so it's quite secluded."
Guang Ling almost let slip the words "slack off," but quickly corrected himself. However, everyone already understood what he meant.
"Alright, since Master has already found a place, let's go there."
Han Li glanced at everyone's expressions and, seeing no objections, made the decision.
Breakfast ended quickly. The group returned to their rooms to grab some things and then headed straight outside the city.
In just about an hour, they arrived at a very secluded valley.
The scenery in the valley was quite pleasant—a small plain with a sizable pond. There were even some fishing gear setups by the pond that hadn't been put away.
It was obvious that this was Guang Ling's fishing spot.
Who knew you were a fishing enthusiast, Han Li thought, giving his master a peculiar look. Guang Ling had never mentioned it, probably because he often came back empty-handed, like many old fishing buddies.
Guang Ling pointed to an open area nearby with a calm expression.
"Let's do it there. The pond is nice. You can try it over there; the space should be sufficient."
Han Li and Shui Bing'er followed his direction, nodded at each other, and walked to the open space.
Standing firm, they both activated their martial soul possessions simultaneously. In the next instant, they directed their martial soul energies toward each other.
A brilliant icy blue light burst forth as an unseen force lifted them into the sky without any physical movement on their part.
Amid the sounds of a phoenix's cry and the hum of a bowstring, their martial souls left their bodies and expanded dramatically, shining even more brilliantly above their heads.
The phantom of a phoenix and the body of a bow spiraled upwards, creating an icy blue domain over a hundred meters in diameter. A torrent of cold air and snowflakes cascaded downwards from their combined power.
During this descent, the cold air condensed into arrows, hidden among the snowflakes, launching fierce attacks on the ground within the domain.
But that wasn't all. As their martial souls reached their peak, they converged at the top, and the ice phoenix's phantom transformed into a phoenix feather arrow, which automatically nocked itself on the bow.
Amid intense soul power fluctuations, a sharp phoenix cry echoed. The bowstring trembled slightly, and a massive arrow, alternating between icy blue and milky white, shot toward the ground like it had wings.
The impact created a huge crater, instantly filled with ice crystals, forming a sparkling, translucent mound.
Meanwhile, the two of them slowly descended from mid-air, but Shui Bing'er's face had turned pale.
Han Li quickly supported her, preventing her from collapsing.
Looking around, Han Li noticed that the entire valley was now completely frozen, and the temperature extremely low. Even though the martial soul fusion technique had ended, its effects lingered.
The spectators, Xiu'er and Dugu Yan were wrapped in soul power by Guang Ling and Qing Luan to protect them from harm.
"Let's go over there."
Han Li glanced sideways at Shui Bing'er, who was being supported by him.
"Mm."
Shui Bing'er, blushing slightly from his proximity, nodded and let him support her as they walked over.
There was no other way; although she felt the gesture was somewhat intimate, she was almost completely drained by the martial soul fusion technique. Her legs were practically jelly, and she feared that if Han Li let go, she'd collapse to the ground in the next second.
"The power of your martial soul fusion technique is substantial. Below the Soul Douluo level, even those who have activated their martial soul true bodies might find it difficult to withstand such an attack. They could be instantly defeated," Guang Ling remarked in amazement as the two returned.
"Yes, indeed. The strength of the ice element is very high. Even without the final strike, it could be used as a domain, making it nearly impossible for anyone below the Soul King level to move freely," Azure Luan, also observing the frozen valley, couldn't help but comment.
"Yes, it certainly exceeded my expectations in terms of strength."
Han Li handed Shui Bing'er over to the two women, then crouched down, touched the ice-covered ground, and felt the element's strength, which was almost identical to his own. He responded softly.
Immediately after, he began to control the ice element to eliminate traces of their activity in the valley. Xiu'er and Dugu Yan couldn't withstand such low temperatures.
Once he finished dealing with the ground, the valley returned to normal.
Although it still felt cold, it was no longer necessary for the two titled experts to protect them. Simply channeling soul power was enough to endure it.
Only then did Guang Ling look at the two of them and ask, "Tell us about the specific effects of your martial soul fusion technique. Oh, and give it a name while you're at it."
Han Li glanced at Shui Bing'er, who had somewhat recovered, and then replied, "I can feel that our martial soul fusion technique's soul power is essentially a combination of mine and Bing'er's, barely reaching the level of a Soul King."
"Secondly, there's the domain. The diameter of the domain is about one hundred to one hundred and twenty meters. It might increase as we improve. Within this domain, all ice attribute attacks are boosted by one hundred and fifty percent, and the final strike is amplified by two hundred percent."
"That's roughly it. However, there's an issue. Bing'er's martial soul element strength is still relatively low. During the martial soul fusion technique, it barely reaches my level before stopping. The boost to me isn't as effective as expected, but once her martial soul strength improves, that's when the power will be at its peak."
As Han Li said this, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly. As expected, the so-called ultimate attribute was a trap with no end. Luckily, he hadn't dived headfirst into it and was still focused on quickly leveling up.
"Tsk, can the power continue to increase?"
Guang Ling couldn't help but shake his head. He found it hard to imagine. During the martial soul fusion technique, he had already felt a bit of the cold. He was curious to see how much more powerful it could become.
"Opportunities will come. After all, Bing'er's martial soul is gradually increasing in strength. As for the name, Bing'er and I will discuss it later," Han Li said, smiling at his master.
After speaking, he walked towards Shui Bing'er and stopped in front of her.
"Do you want to try a way to quickly restore your soul power?"
When they had just used the martial soul fusion skill, he had been paying close attention and finally noticed a clue. Now was the perfect time to test it.
"Mm."
Although Shui Bing'er didn't know what he was planning to do, the feeling of having her soul power drained in such a short time was quite uncomfortable, so she naturally wouldn't refuse. She watched as Han Li reached out his hand to her. A barely noticeable blush crossed her pale face. After hesitating for a moment, she placed her hand on his.
The next second, her eyes widened. She felt a very familiar soul power fluctuation coming from Han Li's hand. If it weren't for the fact that the aura didn't belong to her and was even purer than her soul power, she would have thought she was hallucinating, as if it was something she had cultivated herself.
"Is this the effect of the martial soul fusion skill?"
Shui Bing'er asked in surprise. When she refined this soul power, she felt almost no resistance, as if it naturally belonged to her.
"No, to be precise, it's because of this reason that the martial soul fusion skill occurs," Han Li explained.
"In that case, as long as we follow this idea, the martial soul fusion skill isn't that hard to find."
Shui Bing'er seemed to realize something, and even she, who was usually calm, got a bit excited.
"This is just one possibility or rather one type. It's not entirely accurate," Han Li clarified carefully, seeing her rare excitement.
"Oh, that's true. But this is still a great discovery. I didn't expect that this is the secret behind it," Shui Bing'er said, recalling the martial soul fusion skills recorded in texts and nodding in sudden realization.
"Can you two stop speaking in riddles and explain it to us?"
Guang Ling interrupted. Ever since the two had clasped hands, they had been reacting strangely. He could vaguely understand what they were talking about, but he didn't know the details, which made him even more anxious.
"Don't worry, Master. We need to let Bing'er recover some soul power first. Otherwise, we won't be able to demonstrate," Han Li explained, seeing his master's impatience.
"Bing'er, control the cold air and release it outside so Master and the others can see. It will make it easier to understand," Han Li said, turning back to Shui Bing'er.
"Okay, no problem."
Shui Bing'er felt a bit excited. If the principle of the Martial Soul Fusion Technique was really as Han Li described, she would inevitably become someone recorded in history.
The next second, the two of them exchanged a glance, and a visible chill emanated from their bodies. Unlike usual, the chill spread outwards in ripples from the two of them.
Of course, their fluctuations were not entirely identical, but they overlapped significantly about seventy to eighty percent.
"Soul power fluctuation?"
Guang Ling blurted out. With just one look, he understood what they were expressing.
"That's right, this is my discovery. Everyone has a unique soul power fluctuation. This might be the secret of the Martial Soul Fusion Technique," Han Li said, smiling as he confirmed his master's hypothesis.
"So, is that why the Martial Soul Fusion Technique is so rare? Indeed, the number of soul masters is not large to begin with. Many people might never meet someone with a similar soul power fluctuation in their entire life," Guang Ling murmured, feeling a bit dazed for a moment.
"What about Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo?"
Azure Luan suddenly interjected, looking at Han Li.
"Right, they didn't have the Martial Soul Fusion Technique at the beginning. They only comprehended it after knowing each other for a long time," Guang Ling said, reminded by Azure Luan of the two Elders and wanting to hear Han Li's explanation.
Seeing Shui Bing'er's improved complexion, Han Li squeezed her hand, signaling that she was okay before disconnecting their link.
"Yes, this is what I want to tell you next. Of course, this is just my reasonable speculation. Whether it's true or not requires further verification."
Han Li took a few steps and stood in front of everyone. With a wave of his right hand, an ice-element-formed blackboard appeared on the ground.
"Based on my speculation, the formation of the Martial Soul Fusion Technique requires several prerequisites."
"First, the frequency bands of soul power fluctuations must be similar, complementary, or incrementally evolutionary. Second, the issue of Martial Souls also follows the above theory. Of course, this mainly refers to innate conditions, like being blessed by the Angel God."
Upon hearing his last sentence, everyone had a peculiar expression but did not interrupt him.
"Let's use real cases for explanation."
"First, let's talk about similarity. For example, the famous soul master couple 'Unrivaled Dragon Serpent,' they are the most obvious case. One uses a dragon staff, the other a snake staff. Their Martial Soul Fusion Technique is the best example of similar martial souls forming a fusion technique, with their martial soul qualities being roughly the same tier."
"Secondly, there's complementarity. I don't need to say much here; Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo have already provided the best demonstration. Their martial souls are yin and yang, or you could say it's a combination of physical and spiritual attributes. A hint: don't forget the effect of the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum."
Han Li paused here to help everyone understand better, especially pointing out the effect of the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum.
Except for Shui Bing'er, who was relatively unfamiliar with the topic, everyone else nodded. Although Shui Bing'er didn't understand what the "chrysanthemum" referred to, she could barely follow along and didn't ask any questions.
"Next, let's talk about incremental evolution. We'll start with a special case that everyone is more familiar with: the 'Hell White Tiger' of the Dai and Zhu families in the Star Luo Empire.
Their case is special because the relationship between their Martial Soul Fusion Techniques is quite complex, involving similarity, complementarity, and incremental evolution."
"As for the quality of their martial souls, I think the difference between the two is not significant. Of course, the Dai family has always claimed to have top-level martial souls. However, in my personal definition of martial souls, while the White Tiger Martial Soul is balanced, it is somewhat mediocre compared to other top-tier beast martial souls. In other words, it lacks any outstanding traits."
"You could say that the White Tiger is the most perfect type among high-level martial souls. Its overall capabilities can rival top-tier martial souls, but in terms of pure quality, I still classify it as a high-level martial soul."
With these words, Han Li effectively excluded the White Tiger from his definition of top-tier martial souls. The others thought for a moment, compared their martial souls, and found no issue with his assessment. They nodded, signaling for him to continue.
PS: Regarding the White Tiger Martial Soul, this is primarily for the sake of the plot. Although I also somewhat believe this, the White Tiger's overall strength among beast martial souls is not weak. However, compared to other top-tier beast martial souls, it is somewhat average and lacks standout features. Other than the Martial Soul Fusion Technique, there isn't much else to say about it, mainly based on the portrayal in the first Douluo novel.