Big Mop

Black rx bent slightly at the waist, fingers curling, arms and elbows forming a one-hundred-twenty-degree angle, his arms positioned a bit behind him.

With his left foot as the center and support, his right foot slid lightly to the rear, ready.

His right knee bent, the center shifting from his left foot to the balls of his right toes.

Black rx held his breath, pressed down harder, and then launched into a jump.

Beside him, Shadow Moon also leaped, just like black rx.

Though their starting stances differed, the two jumped at almost the same moment.

"Rider Kick!" ×2

Their deafening voices rang out clearly, not just on the stage but also below it.

Dugu Bo watched the two leaping figures without making any move—after all, his Martial Soul True Body stood there as an immovable force that the two present could not possibly defeat.

Midair, the two instantly controlled their bodies and adjusted their postures.

Both extended their right legs while their left legs coiled beside their right thighs.

Shadow Moon clasped his hands together tightly, as if intent on destroying even the giant python before him.

Meanwhile, black rx curled his fingers and kicked toward Dugu Bo with a resolute gaze.

At that moment, the sky darkened, a fierce wind howled, and the sun in the heavens seemed to be devoured by a celestial dog.

On the arena, Dugu Bo's Martial Soul True Body, the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor, fixed its cold, vertical pupils on the two figures in the sky, its bloody maw occasionally flicking out its forked tongue with a hiss.

In this dark place, two sources of light remained—Black rx and Shadow Moon.

Beneath black rx's foot, an image seemed to imprint itself: a black sun, wrapped in darkness yet unable to stop its light from leaking through, just like the one in the sky!

Beneath Shadow Moon's foot was a silver-white crescent moon, shimmering faintly with starlight in the darkness!

The sun and moon were never meant to appear together, yet here they miraculously converged.

Black rx's Eclipse and Shadow Moon's silver moon merged in a wondrous union.

Hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder, they broke through the limits of the air, streaking straight toward Dugu Bo like a meteor.

When the two collided with Dugu Bo, an explosion roared at the point of impact, and the entire Heaven Dou Empire heard the thunderous sound.

The smoke from the blast completely shrouded the arena area.

"Cough, cough, teacher, where are you?"

Dugu Yan coughed harshly from the thick smoke, unable to see her hand in front of her face, surrounded by haze on all sides.

"Dugu Yan, Dugu Yan! Don't run around, I'm here!"

Qin Ming pushed through the layers of fog and reached Dugu Yan's side.

"This battle between the three of them is really..."

Qin Ming shook his head with a wry smile. Even as a Soul Emperor, he couldn't claim he could fight like that.

Still, this meant that the Heaven Dou Royal Battle Team's strength would surely rise to another level with these two joining.

Above, the sun broke through the darkness once more, granting light to the world again.

On the ground, the smoke from the explosion—mixed with dust kicked up by the force of the three's battle—slowly dissipated.

The haze blocking everyone's view gradually cleared, and the crowd finally saw the outcome of the fight.

"This..."

Dugu Yan stared at the pockmarked ground. The arena was no longer distinguishable.

Because there was no arena left—the entire platform had been reduced to dust floating in the air by the blast's impact.

"Ah, Grandfather!"

Dugu Yan finally spotted a flash of dark green on the gray, dusty ground and rushed over.

"Ah, it's Yan Er."

Dugu Bo spoke calmly, hands clasped behind his back, as if the person running toward him wasn't his own granddaughter.

"Hey, where are those two?"

Dugu Yan glanced at Dugu Bo and saw he was only a bit dirty, so she didn't worry.

After all, it would be absurd for two Soul Ancestors to injure a full-strength Titled Douluo.

So her attention shifted from the victor, Dugu Bo, to Minami Kotaro and Shadow Moon.

"Over there, lying down."

Dugu Bo tilted his head, pointing in a direction.

The smoke there was slowly clearing, and it became clearly visible: on the ground lay Shadow Moon and Minami Kotaro, unconscious.

"Yan Er, when they wake up, tell them this: young people shouldn't be too arrogant. Having some strength doesn't mean you're the strongest. There's always a sky above the sky, and people beyond people!"

Dugu Bo spoke in the tone of an elder.

"Alright, Yan Er, I'm off now. You all should get along well in the future."

So Dugu Bo waved his hand, taking nothing with him, and flew off using the innate flight ability of a Titled Douluo.

"Eh, how come I feel like Grandpa was bleeding a bit when he flew away? No way, I must have seen wrong."

Dugu Yan watched Dugu Bo leave, rubbed her eyes, and gave herself a reason to believe it before heading off to tidy up for Shadow Moon and Minami Kotaro.

And so, the story at Heaven Dou Royal Academy came to a temporary close.

Meanwhile, over at Blazing Academy.

"You're saying you two have no blood relation, but your Martial Souls are similar, and not only can you perform a Martial Soul Fusion, but you're also mutually complementary?"

The admissions officer at Blazing Academy looked at the two strange figures before him, puzzled.

"Yeah, that's right."

Hino Eiji said with a smile.

But as he glanced at Ankh beside him, he quickly pressed Ankh's head down, forcing him to nod along.

"But your Martial Soul is clearly the Coin Martial Soul, a Tool Martial Soul, while his file and his hand both say he has a Bird Martial Soul, a Beast Martial Soul. You two still count?"

The Blazing Academy officer wore an expression that screamed, "I haven't read much, don't fool me," as he stared at the pair.

Martial Soul Fusion wasn't unheard of, but one of you has a Tool Martial Soul and the other a Beast Martial Soul, and you can still fuse?

And the Tool Martial Soul is a coin—basically loose change—while the other is a fire-type Bird Martial Soul that fits Blazing Academy.

This... this looks like something that couldn't be more unrelated.

"Ah, well, actually..."

Hino Eiji started to explain but was cut off by Ankh.

"Just let us into the academy and show you, won't that settle it?"

Ankh said impatiently.

The admissions officer at Blazing Academy had no choice but to lead the two inside.

Though the pair were full of holes, their young age and high soul power, along with their decent-looking Martial Souls, gave them a chance—otherwise, they wouldn't have been allowed in.

So, on the sports field of Blazing Academy.

Hino Eiji pulled out an Unknown Device in front of everyone and strapped it around his waist.

Then he took out two coins, one yellow and one green.

He slid the two coins into the gaps on the belt, but there was still one slot left. So Hino Eiji looked at Ankh with anticipation.

"Here, take it, take it, take it!"

Ankh reluctantly pulled out a red coin and tossed it into the air.

Hino Eiji caught it effortlessly and placed it into the last slot.

Then he took out a circular object, swiped it across the belt, producing a series of "ding-ding-ding" sounds, and looked at Ankh again.

"Taka Tora Batta!"

"Big Mop, Big Mop, Big Mop!"

Ankh shouted unwillingly, and everyone present was stunned.

What is this? Who am I? Where am I?

The crowd was baffled, then shocked by the bizarre red, green, and yellow thing in front of them.

And what the hell is that?