Black rx bent slightly at the waist, his fingers curling slightly as his arms and elbows formed a 120-degree angle. He held his arms slightly behind him.
Using his left foot as his center and support, he lightly slid his right foot backward in preparation.
His right knee bent, and his center of gravity shifted from his left foot to the toes of his right foot.
Black rx steadied his breathing, pressed down harder, and abruptly launched himself upward.
Shadow Moon, beside him, also leaped like black rx.
Although their preparatory movements differed, the two jumped at almost exactly the same time.
"Rider Kick!" ×2
Their deafening voices were heard not only on the stage, but clearly beneath it as well.
Dugu Bo watched the two leap up without making any move to respond. After all, merely standing there in his Martial Soul Avatar was already something the two of them could not defeat.
The two figures in midair instantly took control of their bodies and adjusted their stances.
Their right legs extended, while their left legs curled beside their right legs.
Shadow Moon clasped his hands tightly together, as though he intended to destroy the giant serpent before him completely.
Meanwhile, black rx curled his fingers and kicked at Dugu Bo with an unwavering gaze.
At that moment, heaven and earth darkened, and fierce winds rose. Even the sun in the sky seemed to have been swallowed by a celestial hound.
On the arena, Dugu Bo's Martial Soul Avatar, the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor, fixed its cold vertical pupils on the two people in the sky. Its enormous maw intermittently flicked out its forked tongue with a hiss.
Yet within that darkness, two points of light remained. They were black rx and Shadow Moon.
Under black rx's foot seemed to be a black sun, like the sun in the sky wrapped in darkness yet still unable to conceal the light leaking out from within!
Under Shadow Moon's foot was a silver-white crescent moon, gleaming amid the faint starlight of the darkness!
The sun and moon were things that could never appear together, yet at this moment, they miraculously did.
Black rx's Eclipse and Shadow Moon's silver moon merged together in a wondrous union.
Hand in hand and shoulder to shoulder, they broke through the limits of the air and streaked straight toward Dugu Bo like a meteor.
The instant they collided with Dugu Bo, an explosion rang out from the point of impact, and the entire Heaven Dou Empire heard it.
The smoke raised by the blast completely enveloped the area where the arena stood.
"Cough, cough... Teacher, where are you?"
Dugu Yan coughed violently from the thick smoke. Right now, she could not see her hand in front of her face, and smoke surrounded her in every direction.
"Dugu Yan, Dugu Yan! Don't run around! Your teacher is over here!"
Qin Ming pushed through the layers of fog and arrived at Dugu Yan's side.
"The battle between those three really was..."
Qin Ming shook his head with a bitter smile. Even as a Soul Emperor, he did not dare claim he could produce a fight like this.
Still, this meant that after those two joined, the Heaven Dou Royal Battle Team's strength would definitely rise to another level.
At that moment, the sun broke through the darkness and once again bestowed light upon the world.
The smoke created by the battle's explosion, mixed with the dust thrown up from the ground by its force, gradually dispersed.
As the smoke blocking everyone's view slowly cleared away, people finally saw the outcome of the battle.
"This..."
Dugu Yan looked at the crater-ridden ground. She could no longer even tell where the arena had been.
Because there was no arena anymore. The entire arena had been reduced to dust floating through the sky by the force of the explosion.
"Grandpa!"
Dugu Yan finally spotted that dark green figure amid the gray haze and hurried over.
"Ah, Yan Er."
Dugu Bo clasped his hands behind his back and spoke with a calm expression, as though the one running toward him was not his own granddaughter.
"Huh? Where are those two?"
Dugu Yan gave Dugu Bo a quick look. Seeing that he was only a little dirty, she did not pay it much mind.
After all, it would have been far too absurd for two Soul Ancestors to injure a Titled Douluo at full strength.
So Dugu Yan shifted her attention from Dugu Bo, the victor among the combatants, to Minami Kotaro and Shadow Moon.
"There. They're lying over there."
Dugu Bo tilted his head and pointed in a direction.
The smoke over there was also slowly clearing, revealing Shadow Moon and Minami Kotaro unconscious on the ground.
"Yan Er, when they wake up, remember to tell them this: young people shouldn't be too hotheaded. Having some strength doesn't mean you're the strongest. There are always greater heavens beyond heaven, and greater people beyond people!"
Dugu Bo spoke in the tone of an elder lecturing the younger generation.
"All right, Yan Er, I'm leaving too. You all should get along well from now on."
With that, Dugu Bo waved his hand and flew away without taking a single cloud with him, using the flight ability that came naturally to a Titled Douluo.
"Huh? Why did it seem like Grandpa was bleeding a little when he flew away? Impossible. I must have seen it wrong."
After watching Dugu Bo fly away, Dugu Yan rubbed her eyes, found herself a reason to believe otherwise, and went to tend to Shadow Moon and Minami Kotaro.
And so, the story at Heaven Dou Royal Academy came to a temporary end.
Meanwhile, at Blazing Academy.
"You're saying that the two of you aren't related by blood, but your Martial Souls are similar, and not only can you perform Martial Soul Fusion, they also complement each other?"
The Blazing Academy admissions officer looked at the two strange fellows before him and asked doubtfully.
"Mm. Yes, that's right."
Hino Eiji replied with a smile.
But when Hino Eiji looked at Ankh beside him, he hurriedly pressed down on Ankh's head and forced him to nod as well.
"But you clearly have a Coin Martial Soul, which is a Tool Martial Soul. His records and his hands both indicate that he has a Bird Martial Soul, which is a Beast Martial Soul. And you two still count?"
The Blazing Academy official looked at them as though saying, I may not know much, but don't try to fool me.
It was not as though he had never seen Martial Soul Fusion before, but could a Tool Martial Soul and a Beast Martial Soul really perform Martial Soul Fusion?
One was a Tool Martial Soul in the form of coins—basically, metal currency—while the other was a fire-element Bird Martial Soul suited to Blazing Academy.
No matter how he looked at it, those were two things with absolutely nothing to do with each other.
"Ah, well, actually..."
Hino Eiji had just begun to explain when Ankh interrupted him.
"Wouldn't you know if you just let us show you inside the academy?"
Ankh said impatiently.
The person in charge of Blazing Academy's admissions could only lead the two of them into Blazing Academy.
Although the two were full of holes, they were young and had high Soul Power, and their Martial Souls looked decent enough. Otherwise, they would never have been given this opportunity.
Thus, on Blazing Academy's Sports Field.
Before everyone's eyes, Hino Eiji took out an Unknown Device and fastened it around his waist.
Then Hino Eiji took out two coins, one yellow and one green.
Hino Eiji inserted the two coins into the gaps of the belt, but there was still one slot left. He then looked at Ankh expectantly.
"Fine, fine, fine!"
Ankh reluctantly took out a red coin and tossed it into the air.
Hino Eiji caught the coin with ease and placed it into the final slot.
Then Hino Eiji took out a round object and swept it over the belt. After it emitted a series of clanking sounds, he looked at Ankh again.
"Taka Tora Batta!"
"Big Mop, Big Mop, Big Mop!"
After Ankh shouted it with obvious reluctance, everyone present was stunned.
What was this? Who was I? Where was I?
Everyone stared in confusion, then was stunned by the strange red, green, and yellow creature before them.
What the heck was this now?