Heaven Dou Great Spirit Fighting Arena, main Soul Fighting Zone.
The atmosphere tonight was unusually electric. Just moments ago, the notorious and ruthless Mad Battle Team had accepted a challenge from a rookie team called Dragon Snake Begonia.
On an ordinary day, nobody would watch a match with such an enormous gap in strength.
On one side stood a team of seven hardened fighters, all above level thirty-five. On the other were three children who looked barely grown, with the highest level among them supposedly only in the twenties.
But there were two wild cards. The first was the ruthless young man who had kicked the Mad Rhino's cousin into the hospital just a few days ago. The second was the pair of stunning beauties standing beside him, whose peerless charms showed through even their veils.
A spectacle of "beauties and beasts," "revenge and slaughter"—nothing could excite gamblers more.
Inside the waiting room.
"Have you both got it?"
Yu Tianyu straightened his cuffs and looked over the two girls before him.
Dugu Yan wore a tight, dark green leather outfit today, showing off her fiery figure to the fullest. She looked like a beautiful snake, ready to strike at any moment.
Ye Lingling was still dressed in black, quiet as a begonia blooming in the dead of night.
"Got it." Dugu Yan tossed her hair impatiently. "I'll handle that Spider Woman, and the old support-type guy, too. As for the big rhino..."
"The big rhino's mine."
A bloodthirsty smile tugged at Yu Tianyu's lips. "I'll rip off his horn with my own hands and make you a hairpin out of it."
Dugu Yan blushed and spat at him. "Who'd want a hideous thing like that for a hairpin? But... if you really do rip it off, I'll... I'll let you bite me again."
"Deal."
Yu Tianyu snapped his fingers and turned to open the door.
"Let's go teach that arrogant bruiser a little 'biology.'"
"Now, please welcome the Mad Battle Team!"
At the host's hoarse announcement, seven brawny men and one alluring woman, led by the Mad Rhino, stepped onto the fighting platform.
"Roar!"
As soon as the Mad Rhino took the stage, he threw back his head and let out a furious roar. His nearly two-and-a-half-meter frame, muscles bulging like granite, and suffocating Soul Elder pressure instantly set off a wave of cheers.
"Mad Rhino! Mad Rhino! Tear them apart!" "Rip that pretty boy's head off!"
Facing the deafening roar of the crowd, the Mad Rhino proudly raised both arms, then fixed a sinister gaze on his opponents.
Three rather slender figures had just climbed onto the platform opposite him.
"Well, you really did dare to come."
The Mad Rhino grinned savagely, his eyes roaming brazenly over Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling. "Kid, I have to admire your courage. But when the fighting starts, I won't go easy just because you've got two pretty girls with you."
"On the contrary..."
He ran his scarlet tongue over his lips. "I'll tear their clothes to shreds, one piece at a time, right in front of you. Then you'll know what happens when you cross me, the Mad Rhino!"
Green light flared in Dugu Yan's eyes, and poisonous mist already curled around her fingertips.
Ye Lingling said nothing, but the petals of the Nine Heart Begonia in her hand began to stir without a breeze.
Yu Tianyu simply smiled.
He looked delighted, as if he'd just heard the funniest joke in the world.
"Tear their clothes? Not a bad idea."
Yu Tianyu slowly raised his right hand. A ball of crimson flame suddenly surged in his palm.
"But dead men don't get to tear anyone's clothes."
"Referee, let's begin. I'm in a hurry."
The referee felt a chill at Yu Tianyu's indifferent gaze and hurriedly raised his hand.
"Spirit fight... begin!"
"Brothers! Release your Martial Souls! Smash them to pieces!" the Mad Rhino bellowed.
"Moo!"
Three Spirit Rings—two yellow and one purple—rose from beneath his feet. His Rhinoceros Martial Soul possessed him, his skin instantly turning into a thick layer of hide as a sharp horn sprouted from his head.
Behind him, two agility-type Spirit Masters with sheep Martial Souls and the alluring Spider Woman Spirit Master released their Martial Souls as well. They charged like a pack of wolves closing in on prey.
"Two support types in the back and an attack type in front? You're asking for it!"
Yu Tianyu's gaze turned cold.
"Ye Lingling!"
"Nine Heart Begonia, full-field enhancement."
The girl's cool voice came from behind him.
This time, Ye Lingling held nothing back. The begonia in her hand bloomed instantly, turning into countless pink-white motes of light that sank precisely into Yu Tianyu and Dugu Yan.
The Nine Heart Begonia had only one healing Spirit Skill, but as a top-tier Martial Soul, its Soul Power alone could instantly restore its teammates to full strength and even boost all their attributes by ten percent!
Feeling power surge through his body, Yu Tianyu planted his foot on the ground.
"Boom!"
The hard granite floor cracked instantly.
He didn't dodge the Mad Rhino's charge. Instead, under everyone's astonished gazes, he charged straight at the human tank!
"Tianyu! Don't be reckless!" Dugu Yan cried.
That was a level-thirty-eight defensive-type Soul Elder! Meet him head-on? Wasn't that suicide?
Seeing Yu Tianyu charge at him, the Mad Rhino's expression grew even more vicious. "You're courting death! Third Spirit Skill: Savage Charge!"
His purple Thousand-Year Soul Ring lit up.
The Mad Rhino's speed surged. His whole body became a black whirlwind, and his horn gleamed with a chilling light as it drove straight for Yu Tianyu's heart!
Even a Soul Elder of the same level wouldn't dare take that attack head-on!
And yet—
Just as the two were about to collide—
Yu Tianyu's eyes changed.
His black pupils instantly became vertical slits, and he released without restraint a terrifying pressure from ancient times—the might of a true Dragon King!
"Martial Soul suppression?!" The Mad Rhino's heart lurched.
He felt the Rhinoceros Martial Soul inside him trembling. It was a fear rising from deep within his bloodline, as if he were facing the apex predator of the food chain.
His movement froze for a split second.
In a battle between experts, a moment could last an eternity.
"Dragon Slayer Secret Art..."
Flames instantly wrapped around Yu Tianyu's fists. This was no ordinary fire—it was Dragon's Fire, imbued with explosive power!
"Crimson Lotus—Explosive Flame Blade!"
Yu Tianyu's arms swept through the air in a dazzling arc of fire. Using the momentum of his charge, he slammed his fists into the Mad Rhino's horn!
"Clang!"
A deafening boom, like a massive bell being struck, echoed across the arena.
Then—
"Crack!"
The crisp snap made everyone's heart skip a beat.
The supposedly unbreakable rhinoceros horn had been smashed halfway through by Yu Tianyu's iron fist, wrapped in Dragon Flame!
"Ahhh!"
The Mad Rhino let out a shrill scream. The tremendous impact sent him flying backward, his massive body rolling across the ground like a ball for seven or eight turns before finally stopping.
The entire arena fell silent.
One punch?
Another one-punch victory?!
If he'd beaten that bald guy last time, it had been a Soul Grandmaster fighting another Soul Grandmaster. But this time, he'd crossed a gap of more than twenty levels!
Level fifteen against level thirty-eight, meeting head-on—and he'd broken the other man's hardest horn?
Was this guy even human?!
"I told you I'd break your horn."
Yu Tianyu stood where he was, flicking the blood from his hand—the Mad Rhino's blood—and looking down on his opponent. "This is only the beginning."
Meanwhile, on the other side of the arena,
Dugu Yan moved, too.
Seeing her sweetheart fight so bravely, how could she, the granddaughter of Poison Douluo, stand by and let him outdo her?
"Trying to sneak up on us?"
Dugu Yan stared coldly at the Spider Woman Spirit Master, who was trying to circle around and attack Ye Lingling.
"Jade Phosphorus Purple Poison!"
She opened her mouth and spat out a dense cloud of purple mist.
The Spider Woman was an expert in poison as well. She sneered when she saw it. "How quaint! My spider venom is—"
She didn't get to finish. Her expression changed.
When her poisonous web of mist met Dugu Yan's Jade Phosphorus Purple Poison, it was swallowed and dissolved instantly, like snow meeting fire!
"How is that possible?! My poison..."
"Your poison's too weak."
Dugu Yan darted through the mist like a snake, her long leg whipping into the Spider Woman's waist.
"Thud!"
The Spider Woman screamed as she was sent flying.
Just then, the remaining members of the Mad Battle Team finally reacted.
"They're all monsters! Stop holding back!"
The Ruyi Disk support Spirit Master in the back shouted as the silver disk in his hand blazed with light.
"Fanaticism!"
This was the Mad Battle Team's trump card.
A group-wide Fanaticism status!
Once this status was applied, every member would lose the ability to feel pain, gain a fifteen-percent boost to all attributes, and become a killing machine!
In an instant, the remaining six members of the Mad Battle Team, including the Mad Rhino, who had struggled back to his feet, had bloodshot eyes. Their bodies swelled another size, and they roared like wild beasts.
"Not good! They're in a Fanaticism state!" Dugu Yan's expression changed, and she fell back beside Yu Tianyu. "They won't feel pain in this state. We have to stop that support Spirit Master!"
"No need."
Yu Tianyu watched the pack of frenzied beasts charging at him. Instead of tensing up, he took a deep breath.
"Yan Yan, let me borrow your poison."
"What?" Dugu Yan blinked.
"Release all the poison you have. Aim it at me."
Yu Tianyu spread his arms and puffed out his chest as if he were a dragon drawing breath.
Dugu Yan didn't understand, but she trusted him completely. Without hesitation, she released all the Jade Phosphorus Snake Poison in her body.
Purple mist instantly engulfed Yu Tianyu.
"What's he doing? Killing himself?" the spectators cried out.
But the very next moment, they saw something they would never forget.
Yu Tianyu wasn't poisoned to death.
Instead, he opened his mouth wide and swallowed the Jade Phosphorus Snake Poison—enough to kill an elephant—along with all the surrounding air!
"Gulp..."
His cheeks bulged, and faint purplish-red dragon-scale patterns appeared on his skin.
The Fire Dragon Magic inside him and the Poison Dragon Magic he'd just inhaled compressed and fused wildly in his throat.
This was a technique he'd only recently mastered—Dual Dragon Mode (Pseudo).
He still couldn't truly fuse the two dragons, but by "eating" Dugu Yan's poison, he could unleash a single mixed spell. That was enough!
Facing the six frenzied Spirit Masters, who had charged to within five meters of him,
Yu Tianyu suddenly stepped forward.
He cupped his hands around his mouth.
"Dragon Slayer Fusion Ultimate..."
"Poison Flame Dragon's—Roar!"
"Rumble!"
A terrifying purplish-red beam erupted from his mouth!
The beam held not only flames that could incinerate all things, but also a poison that corroded everything!
The Mad Rhino took the brunt of it.
The Fanaticism status he'd been so proud of was like paper before this destructive power.
"Ahhhhh!"
This time, his screams were ten times more pitiful than before.
The purplish-red dragon's breath surged like a flood, swallowing the entire Mad Battle Team. It continued onward, smashing through the railing behind them and melting a three-meter-wide hole into the solid wall!
When the light faded,
the platform was intact only where Yu Tianyu and the two girls stood. Everything in front of them had been reduced to scorched earth.
The Mad Rhino lay at the bottom of a crater, charred all over, purple poisonous smoke rising from his body. He looked like a dead dog, twitching now and then.
The other members were in even worse shape. Some foamed at the mouth; others were left with their clothes in tatters. All of them had lost the ability to fight.
That so-called "Fanaticism" status hadn't even lasted a second before it was forcibly interrupted.
The entire arena...
fell silent again.
This time, though, the silence lasted longer than ever.
A full minute passed.
"Gulp."
The sound of someone swallowing echoed with unusual clarity through the quiet arena.
Then a roar erupted, loud enough to lift the roof!
"W-We won?!" "A one-shot?! Another one-shot?!" "What Spirit Skill was that?! Did he just spit it out of his mouth?! Was that a dragon's breath?!" "Dragon God! Dragon God! Dragon God!"
Someone started the chant, and soon cries of "Dragon God" rang throughout the entire Great Soul Arena.
In a world that worshipped strength, Yu Tianyu's devastating attack had completely won everyone over.
On the platform.
Yu Tianyu wiped the lingering purple smoke from the corner of his mouth and swayed slightly.
That one strike, "Roar of the Poison Flame Dragon," had drained most of his Soul Power. Forcing two different attributes together put an enormous strain on his body.
Just as he began to feel weak,
two hands caught him at once, one on either side.
On his left was Dugu Yan, her face full of concern. On his right was Ye Lingling, her eyes brimming with worry.
"Have you lost your mind? Don't you know eating random things can kill you?" Dugu Yan scolded him as she sent Soul Power into his body.
"Are you all right?" Ye Lingling asked, without another word. The Nine Heart Begonia in her hands bloomed once more, bathing him in a gentle healing light.
Feeling the warmth of the two women beside him, Yu Tianyu's slightly pale face once again broke into that infuriating grin.
"I'm fine."
He slipped an arm around each of their slender waists and let them bear his weight.
"I'm just a little hungry."
"Come on. Bring that rhino horn—we're going to have a feast."
Amid the cheers, the three of them helped each other down from the Soul Fighting platform—though mostly Yu Tianyu took advantage of the situation.
Behind them, the once-arrogant Mad Battle Team had become nothing but dust in history.
In the most luxurious VIP box on the Great Soul Arena's top floor,
a refined young man dressed in golden court robes watched the three departing figures through the floor-to-ceiling window.
He was Xue Qinghe, Crown Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire—or rather, Qian Renxue.
Two black-clad guards knelt behind her.
"Your Highness, we've finished the investigation," one of them reported in a low voice. "His name is Yu Tianyu. The public says he's the illegitimate son of Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan Leader Yu Yuanzhen. He awakened a mutated Trash Martial Soul and was expelled from the clan. Somehow, though, he gained a strange ability to devour flames and poison."
"A mutated Trash Martial Soul?"
Xue Qinghe looked at the traces left behind by the purple-red dragon's breath Yu Tianyu had just spat out, the corner of her mouth curling in amusement.
"A Trash Martial Soul that can wipe out the Mad Battle Team in an instant? Is Yu Yuanzhen senile, or is he playing some grand game?"
She gently swirled the wine in her glass, a golden glint flashing in her eyes.
"That devouring ability... It can even combine with Dugu Yan's Jade Phosphorus Snake Poison."
"If that's true..."
"Perhaps my plan could use another piece."
Xue Qinghe turned around, her voice once again warm and refined:
"Go and deliver an invitation to this junior, Yu Tianyu."
"Tell him I'd like to invite him for tea. If he doesn't mind, he can bring his two lovely companions."
"Yes, Your Highness!"
The guard accepted the order and left.
Xue Qinghe turned back to the window, her gaze deep and thoughtful.
"Dragon God? Heh."
"On Douluo Continent, there can only be one true god."
"But before you become a thorn in my side, I don't mind seeing how big a storm you, little dragon, can stir up."
Late that night, in the academy dormitory,
the three of them didn't split up. They'd won a fortune—Pang Hu had bet everything he owned—and finally gotten their revenge.
Of course, doing anything too improper was out of the question. This was the academy dormitory, after all.
But...
"Ah... go easy!"
Yu Tianyu lay face-down on the bed, bare-chested, his well-defined muscles on display. Dugu Yan sat astride his back, her hands slick with medicinal oil as she massaged him.
The Nine Heart Begonia had healed him, but the aching in his muscles still needed to be eased by hand.
"Serves you right! That's what you get for showing off!"
Dugu Yan scolded him, though her hands had grown much gentler. "You scared me half to death. What if that rhino had actually hit you?"
"Hit me? His horn would've been the thing to break."
Yu Tianyu buried his face in the pillow, his voice muffled. "By the way, where's Lingling? Didn't she say she was getting me some water?"
"What, I'm not enough to take care of you by myself? You want us both?" Dugu Yan pinched him at the waist.
Just then, the door opened.
Ye Lingling came in carrying a cup of warm water.
Seeing their suggestive position on the bed, she paused, a blush flashing across her face. But she didn't turn around and leave.
Over the past half month, Yu Tianyu had nearly broken through her defenses.
"Here's your water."
Ye Lingling went to the bed and set down the cup.
"Feed it to me." Yu Tianyu turned his head and opened his mouth like a pampered lord.
Ye Lingling hesitated, then picked up the cup and brought it to his lips.
Yu Tianyu took a sip, then suddenly caught her by the wrist.
"Lingling, when you said 'I'm not afraid' on the platform... you looked beautiful."
Ye Lingling's hand trembled slightly, spilling a little water onto Yu Tianyu's chest.
She quickly pulled out a handkerchief to wipe it away, but Yu Tianyu grabbed her. She lost her balance and fell right onto the bed, landing beside him.
For a moment, all three of them were crammed onto the narrow single bed.
On the left was the beautiful snake, straddling his back. On the right was the aloof begonia, fallen into his arms.
The air grew hot in an instant.
"Um..."
Ye Lingling tried to get up, only to find Yu Tianyu's arm clasped around her waist like an iron vise.
"Don't move."
Yu Tianyu's voice was a little hoarse. "I used up too much energy tonight. I need... to recharge."
"Y-You... what are you planning?" Dugu Yan also sensed something was off. She could feel that someone beneath her was having a certain reaction.
"Nothing."
Yu Tianyu closed his eyes, a contented smile on his face.
"I just want to hold you both while I sleep. Just sleep."
"Liar!" "Pervert!"
The two women scolded him in unison.
But neither of them got up to leave.
That night, moonlight streamed through the window and spilled across the bed.
Nothing went all the way, but the warmth and intimacy of sleeping in each other's arms was more intoxicating than any passionate embrace.
Yu Tianyu knew that from this day on,
the two most outstanding young women in Heaven Dou City had been marked as his.
They weren't getting away.
Before you continue