Battle Against Dugu Bo

"Hen Shin!" ×2

Shadow Moon and Minami Kotaro moved like mirror images, striking identical poses on either side as they began their transformation.

If Shadow Moon was a mechanical-style Kamen Rider, then the Black that Minami Kotaro transformed into was purely biological in style.

If Shadow Moon's body was covered in metallic silver-white, then Minami Kotaro's Kamen Rider Black was pitch-black all over, with the most striking features being the two red compound eyes on his dark head and the twin antennae atop it.

Also eye-catching was the symbol on Kamen Rider Black's left chest—a shape resembling the letter "n," but with the bottom-right corner extending out, curving, and ending with a detached dot.

Qin Ming, the teacher of the Heaven Dou Royal Battle Team, had always had one question: what truly counted as the best coordination?

In truth, the Soul Master world had plenty of discussions on this. After all, categorizing by Martial Soul type was just a broad classification; most people sorted themselves based on their specific Martial Soul.

Types like Strength Attack, Agility, and Support existed, but how did different effects need to coordinate with each other?

Mostly, adjustments were made based on the team's members.

For example, the Heaven Dou Royal Battle Team had two Agility Attack types and two Defense types.

If the opponent had two Strength Attack types, Tian Yuheng would handle one, while a Defense type could take the other.

It was all the standard Warrior-Priest-Mage tactic.

Strength Attack or Defense types tanked up front, Control and Agility types handled crowd control or flanking, and Support types just added buffs or healed.

Easy to say, but in actual combat, coordination was tough—the gap between Soul Masters was even bigger than the gap between Soul Masters and Soul Beasts.

So most teams still needed their members to work together.

After all, tactics were rigid, but people were flexible. The best strategy was to adapt to different situations.

That meant team members had to mix and match in battle—Strength Attack types could act as meat shields, Support types could go in for attacks, and so on.

But when it came to actual coordination, problems arose. Every genius had their own ideas; no one truly wanted to be a supporting role. Everyone wanted to be the star.

So relying on these geniuses was unreliable. Even the Spirit Hall's vaunted Golden Generation only had three standout members; the other four on the Spirit Hall Team were complete dead weight.

But today, Qin Ming finally saw what textbook coordination looked like.

Minami Kotaro and Shadow Moon had grown up together—brothers in all but blood, with no shared parents but a bond deeper than family.

And most importantly, both were willing to give their lives for the other. They were true comrades who could entrust each other with their backs.

Their coordination was seamless.

This level of teamwork surpassed even those Soul Master pairs with Martial Soul Fusion, and that was what shocked Qin Ming the most.

Even a genius of Shadow Moon's caliber was willing to be the supporting role for Minami Kotaro, and Minami Kotaro, at the same level, was equally willing to support Shadow Moon. This was the ideal team in Qin Ming's eyes!

But on the arena, even if Shadow Moon and Minami Kotaro were practically invincible among Soul Ancestors, that didn't mean they could join forces to defeat Dugu Bo as he was now.

Even if Dugu Bo suppressed his Soul Power to the Soul King level, the pressure was immense. And on top of that, Dugu Bo knew Soul King wasn't enough. The petty-minded Dugu Bo's current strength wasn't limited to Soul King—it was nearly approaching Soul Saint.

It was like two level-three heroes with just Q and W skills fighting a fully-geared, max-level 18 hero with all skills unlocked.

Even if the level-18 guy said he'd only use Q and W, no E or R, his maxed-out stats and fully-leveled Q and W meant he could let you have the E.

But maybe one basic attack from him would take you out. That was the reality—even as a Titled Douluo suppressing his Soul Power, Shadow Moon could barely hold his own.

And Dugu Bo, being the protective and petty type, wasn't just at Soul King—he was nearly at Soul Saint.

Yet Shadow Moon and Black kept fighting. Though Dugu Bo wore a carefree expression on the arena, a storm was raging inside him.

"One Shadow Moon is this strong, and there's another at the same level here. I'm at Soul Saint now, and they can still hold their own against me for this long. No wonder Yan Er and the others lost without complaint!"

Dugu Bo sighed inwardly. The gap between Soul Power levels only widened as they increased.

If earlier Soul Elders and Soul Kings could still be overwhelmed by numbers, then a Soul Saint like Dugu Bo could kill a normal Soul Emperor with one punch.

What also amazed Dugu Bo was their nearly flawless coordination.

Whenever Dugu Bo threw a punch, one of them would block it while the other seized the chance to attack.

If he used both hands, they'd block with both arms and strike with their legs.

Dugu Bo realized he couldn't beat them in close combat. But that was fine—he was a mage!

He decided to kite them instead.

So Dugu Bo used his Soul Power to suppress Shadow Moon and Black, then blasted them backward with force. He coated his feet in Soul Power and leaped back.

Watching the distance he'd created, Dugu Bo began using his Soul Skills.

Second Soul Skill: Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor Formation!

Countless venomous snakes appeared at Shadow Moon and Black's feet, eyeing them hungrily.

Fourth Soul Skill: Serpent Python Heavenly Shield!

A faint, almost invisible green shield formed around Dugu Bo's body.

Third Soul Skill: Jade Phosphorous Haze Formation!

First Soul Skill: Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor Ball!

The third skill was meant to confuse them, while the first was for offense.

Shadow Moon and Black had just started grappling with the snakes on the ground when a wave of toxic mist appeared, dulling their senses.

Shadow Moon and Black could only feel their bodies wracked with agony as their vision blurred.

Above their heads, a massive, dark green sphere hung in the air—clearly dripping with lethal poison.

"Kotaro, I'm counting on you!"

Shadow Moon turned to Minami Kotaro, who understood and nodded in response.

Black clenched both fists with force, slamming them together against his chest.

"Emperor Stone Light!"

Black's belt blazed with a dazzling radiance—one of his signature moves, capable of dispelling all negative status effects, clearing enemy invisibility, and launching a wide-area attack.

In an instant, Shadow Moon and Black's vision sharpened. As the blinding light faded, the venomous snakes on the ground and the debuffs clinging to them were all purged.

Just then, the poison sphere in the sky began to descend.

Black and Shadow Moon exchanged a glance and nodded. They both bent low, then leaped into the air at the same time.

"Rider Kick!" ×2

The two unleashed their Rider Kicks, but their targets differed.

Black aimed for the poison sphere above, while Shadow Moon set his sights on Dugu Bo.