The Nether Phoenix's First Cry

A Martial Soul Fusion Skill was a powerful technique that could only be produced after the Martial Souls of two or more people had fused. Its offensive power was extremely formidable; Soul Masters of the same rank could fight across ranks after fusing.

Of course, it could not last for long. This technique consumed an enormous amount of Soul Power from both parties and was generally reserved as a final trump card.

Now that the Fire Snake Combination had unleashed it, it was just like their team name—a gigantic serpent phantom wreathed in flames.

Surging waves of fire swayed around the enormous snake, licking at the air and turning the entire space into a vacuum. Fu Hua and Zhu Zhuqing had come together at this point, both watching the scene with grave expressions.

They had never imagined that they would see a Martial Soul Fusion Skill in a two-on-two soul fight.

The requirements for a Martial Soul Fusion Skill were exceptionally harsh. First, the Martial Souls had to be highly compatible. Second, the two Soul Masters had to have an extremely high degree of trust in one another. Finally, to successfully fuse their Martial Souls, they had to open their hearts to each other.

Only then could their fused Martial Soul become immensely powerful, and only then could its duration be extended.

Fu Hua naturally feared nothing when it came to her own strength, but Master had already said that she was not allowed to use any abilities other than Soul Power. In battle, that was equivalent to shackling her.

Fighting with her hands tied, it was impossible to win perfectly against such a powerful Martial Soul Fusion Skill, even with her current level-forty Soul Power.

Her face beneath the mask was filled with gravity. She glanced at Zhu Zhuqing beside her, who was also ready for battle. Zhu Zhuqing was currently at level twenty-nine Soul Power and needed a high-pressure fight.

But the pressure in this match seemed far beyond what she could endure. Fu Hua could not guarantee that she would come out uninjured.

As if sensing something, Zhu Zhuqing turned to look at Fu Hua. Deep in her eyes was determination. She did not wish to give up this match—a match that was extremely important to her.

A voice suddenly came from the fire serpent, the overlapping voices of the woman in the qipao and the Red Snake woman.

"Admit defeat! No matter how formidable you are, Crimson Kite, you still can't defeat our Martial Soul Fusion Skill while dragging along a Soul Grandmaster in her twenties!"

Their voices were seductive. Perhaps because two voices had layered together, they remained irresistibly entrancing to many spectators even without using Charm. The two women had been alluring to begin with, and their voices were no exception. Their words immediately set countless imaginations running wild.

There was no pretense in their words, merely an ordinary attempt to persuade them to surrender. But Zhu Zhuqing heard them differently.

It was true that she was weaker. She had teamed up with Fu Hua precisely because she wanted to use intense pressure to spur her own growth. Having heard this, how could she possibly have any reason to surrender?

Her stubborn nature was instantly provoked. Her refusal to admit defeat left Fu Hua helpless.

Cats really did fixate on things.

Fine! If she wanted to make a fuss, then Fu Hua would indulge her. As long as I'm here, I absolutely won't let anyone hurt her.

Fu Hua thought to herself.

She gripped the Xuanyuan Sword, standing at Zhu Zhuqing's side to protect her.

Seeing this, the Fire Snake Combination said no more. The massive fire serpent flicked its thin tongue, its vertical pupils reflecting the figures of Zhu Zhuqing and Fu Hua as roaring waves of flame churned around it.

Layer upon layer, they wrapped around the soul-fighting platform.

Fortunately, a protective barrier surrounded the platform. Otherwise, the spectators would have fled long ago. Even so, wave after wave of scorching heat left them unbearably hot, sweat dripping down their foreheads.

In Shrek's resting area, Master watched this scene with a grave expression as well.

He knew about Martial Soul Fusion Skills, understood how difficult they were to achieve, and knew all too well how terrifying their offensive power was when successful.

Master, Flender, and another person had once formed the Golden Iron Triangle. It was precisely because of their Martial Soul Fusion Skill that many Soul Masters called them the Iron Triangle.

Fusion was difficult, but its power after succeeding was astonishing. Master simply had not expected to witness such a rare Martial Soul Fusion in the Great Soul Arena.

If Fu Hua had not been forbidden from using her other abilities, he would not have worried. But now...

"Ah! I just hope nothing happens."

Within the soul-fighting platform, the temperature continued to rise. Zhu Zhuqing's clothes had been soaked through with sweat, revealing her alluring figure and drawing more cries from the surrounding stands.

At this moment, Zhu Zhuqing looked just as she had on the first day of Master's training, except without the exhaustion of physical exertion.

Beads of sweat fell from her chin, only to evaporate under the intense heat before they could reach the ground.

Fu Hua, on the other hand, looked entirely unaffected. Not a single drop of sweat had formed on her. Perhaps after awakening the Honkai Beast genes within her, she had also inherited some of that Honkai Beast's traits.

Standing beside Fu Hua, Zhu Zhuqing felt a burst of coolness wash over her. Alternating between cold and heat, she actually bristled after activating her Martial Soul Possession.

Perhaps feeling somewhat guilty that Zhu Zhuqing was struggling against the high temperatures, Fu Hua shifted a step to the side. Instantly, the icy sensation made Zhu Zhuqing shiver, and the fine hairs on her arms seemed to stand on end.

"Sorry!"

Zhu Zhuqing shook her head.

"Can you still hold on?"

"I can," Zhu Zhuqing replied coldly.

At this moment, she had already mobilized all of her level-twenty-nine Soul Power, desperately resisting the fire serpent's might.

The blazing heat of the flames scorched the lungs and heart, yet it also had a tempering effect, much like how iron had to be heated before it could be forged.

Wave after wave of fiery tongues licked across Zhu Zhuqing's body, making her tremble between ice and fire. Yet she remained standing. Every impact felt like a massive hammer striking her body, continuously tempering her flesh and making it tougher.

The Fire Snake Combination's Martial Soul Fusion Skill was called Fire Dance Whirlwind.

Through layer after layer of heat waves, it continuously swept over enemies caught within them, forming a fiery whirlwind. Each wave was heavier than the last, each layer stronger than the one before, using this to crush the enemy's will and fighting strength.

Unfortunately, Fu Hua and Zhu Zhuqing were the ones standing within their skill. After training with Fu Hua, Zhu Zhuqing's body had undergone some strengthening, so enduring the first few waves was naturally not difficult.

But it would only become harder the farther it went.

From that point on, her body would begin to be tempered anew. If she could endure it, the gains would certainly be considerable.

One had Fu Hua's support, while the other remained standing through sheer willpower. This secretly alarmed the Fire Snake Combination, who had been watching closely. Crimson Kite truly deserved her reputation—she had endured for so long. And her companion was strong as well. With merely Soul Power in the twenties, Zhu Zhuqing had held on until now, which was enough to show how extraordinary her willpower was.

But a battle was a battle—there would be winners and losers. Although their Martial Soul Fusion Skill had a high degree of fusion, using it still consumed an enormous amount of Soul Power. If they could not end this before then, they would undoubtedly lose.

With that in mind, the Fire Snake Combination raised the power of the fire wave once more.

With a pop, something suddenly sounded beside Fu Hua's ear. Zhu Zhuqing's Soul Power began circulating rapidly and smoothly again, but unfortunately, she herself could no longer feel it.

After the Fire Snake Combination increased the fire wave's power, Zhu Zhuqing was knocked unconscious by the force.

Fu Hua hurriedly reached out to support her, preventing her from falling. At that very moment, a strange sensation spread from where Fu Hua's left hand clasped Zhu Zhuqing's left hand.

A crimson color, even more vivid than the layers of fire waves, wrapped around Fu Hua and Zhu Zhuqing in ring after ring. The surrounding fire waves seemed to have encountered their ruler and trembled uncontrollably.

Fire was originally emotionless, yet at this moment, it gave birth to emotions. It was terrified. It was afraid—afraid of the existence within that crimson cocoon.

It seemed that something terrifying was about to be born within.

The Fire Snake Combination was horrified. Why was their fire afraid?

The enormous snake phantom began to writhe uneasily. The commotion on the fighting stage immediately drew the audience's attention. Though they could not see what was happening to Fu Hua and Zhu Zhuqing within the fire waves, the restless fire snake stirred everyone's emotions.

It seemed that a turning point had appeared.

At the center of the fire waves, that color more vivid than flames was so striking that it instantly drew countless gazes.

Just as everyone watched the crimson cocoon, another change occurred.

No one knew where it began, but a ghostly color crept over the crimson cocoon, gradually enveloping it and forming a pitch-black cocoon. Waves of ghostly aura swirled around it.

Deep and icy, like the gaze of the abyss of the netherworld.

Waves of pressure spread in every direction. Even with the barrier blocking it, the spectators were still terrified, their legs trembling as though they were about to kneel and bow their heads.

Within the VIP seating area occupied by Spirit Hall—

The Titled Douluo hidden beneath his cloak shot to his feet in horror. His aura surged violently, his tone filled with disbelief.

"Impossible, impossible... How could this be? I'm actually... afraid."

Just its aura alone could make a Titled Douluo in his nineties feel fear. What kind of terrifying thing, then, was about to be born from that black cocoon?

He did not dare imagine it, nor did he wish to.

Because it was too terrifying. Once it was born, it might shake the entire continent.

Beneath his cloak, his hands clenched tightly as he stared fixedly at the fighting stage.

The Fire Snake Combination trembled in fear, the snake's body swaying violently. It was frightened. It was terrified.

"What... exactly is that?"

Crack!

Crack, crack!

One crack, then two cracks.

The crisp sounds echoed through the silent Great Soul Arena, repeatedly striking at everyone's hearts.

"No, no, no—"

Spirit Hall's Titled Douluo cried out in alarm. No longer caring that this was the Great Soul Arena's territory, he rushed out without regard for his dignity and struck with his palm.

Soul Power churned through the air. The crushing pressure made everyone present unable to breathe, forcing their heads down and pinning them to the ground, their bodies trembling. This was the might of a Titled Douluo—mere presence was enough to make low-level Soul Masters kneel.

Under this palm strike, the barrier around the fighting stage was utterly useless. It could not even produce a ripple before the attack struck the black cocoon in the blink of an eye.

Silence.

Absolute silence.

Inside Shrek's resting room, Master's body had gone rigid, while Flender's expression was furious.

He recognized that aura. It was the aura of a Titled Douluo.

A strike from a Titled Douluo! How could that black cocoon possibly stop it? Fu Hua and Zhu Zhuqing were still inside!

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The cocoon split apart. That was only natural—how could it remain intact after taking a strike from a Titled Douluo?

Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!

The cracking grew increasingly rapid. The black cocoon was now covered in fissures, like shattered fragments forcibly glued back together.

The anger on the faces of Shrek's little monsters was impossible to conceal. Dai Mubai's eyes had turned blood-red, and he wished he could charge out and fight him immediately, but Flender forcibly held him back.

That was a Titled Douluo. He was simply not someone little monsters like them could compare to. Going out there would only mean being crushed with a single finger.

"Mubai, calm down."

"How can I calm down? Zhuqing is still in there!"

Crack crack crack crack crack crack!

Fragments scattered everywhere, just like Dai Mubai's heart gradually shattering.

"Zhuqing—"

"Eek—"

A clear, resounding cry rang out. Everyone felt their minds sway, and the crushing pressure on their bodies vanished in an instant, as though it had never existed.

Yet that Titled Douluo stood there with a blank expression and lifeless eyes, still holding his palm-strike posture as Netherworld fire suddenly ignited around him in midair.

The flames seemed to appear from nowhere, with no source and nothing to burn, yet they instantly enveloped the Titled Douluo. There was no sound and no strange odor.

The black flames slowly vanished along with the human figure. No—it should have been said that the human figure slowly vanished along with the black flames, until everything returned to normal.

Only the shattered glass remained, recording that someone had once been there.

The Great Soul Arena was deathly silent. There were the bewildered spectators, the horrified Flender, and the delighted Dai Mubai.

While no one knew what had happened, only the two members of the Fire Snake Combination had seen something.

As the black cocoon shattered, a Nether-hued bird burst forth from within. Its eyes glimmered with an eerie light. It was a divine bird from the Nine Nether Abyss.

—Netherworld Nine Nether Phoenix

It governed all life and death in this world. The Netherworld Nine Nether Fire could burn through all heavens and myriad worlds.

It could not be gazed upon, nor could it be reached.

Because it was an invitation from the abyss.

The waves of fire dispersed, and the Nether hues receded.

Fu Hua's figure slowly emerged from within, standing there with the unconscious Zhu Zhuqing cradled in her arms.

For some unknown reason, the two members of the Fire Snake Combination had collapsed on the ground opposite them, their faces deathly pale, as though they had undergone an unimaginable journey.

Without a doubt, they had lost.

The Nether Crimson Kite Combination had won.

The spectators cheered, and the Great Soul Arena seemed to return to its former bustle.

But once the undercurrent had begun to stir, it would not simply fade away.

PS: I don't want to give Zhuqing back to Dai Mubai anymore. I think he isn't worthy of Zhuqing. Maybe it's because I'm a germaphobe! Filthy.

PS1: After rereading Douluo Continent, especially regarding Ma Hongjun and Dai Mubai, men can do it many times while women only get one chance. So I think they're filthy and completely unworthy of those outstanding girls.