The Bird Weary of Flight

Wang Dong flapped his butterfly wings and landed quickly. The girl looked forward with eager anticipation, her gaze earnest.

Bai Cai did not respond to Wang Dong, instead blocking the path in front of Xiao Xiao and turning to face Xu Sanshi. "Mental Pollution!"

Kirlia locked onto Xu Sanshi with her mental energy, her pitch-black ten-thousand-year soul ring contracting violently, transforming into a Dark Abyss that twisted the very field of vision.

The Dark Abyss swallowed Xu Sanshi in an instant. Xiao Xiao made a swift decision; her three Soul-Suppressing Cauldrons returned in a flash, merging into one giant Soul-Suppressing Cauldron that hovered above the Dark Abyss.

Her first and second soul rings lit up simultaneously. Cauldron Oscillation, Cauldron Sweep, the heavy vessel of the state—Cauldron Oscillation!

The giant Soul-Suppressing Cauldron slammed into the ground with a deafening thud. Xiao Xiao remained highly vigilant, her first and second soul rings lighting up once more as the giant cauldron slowly rose into the air and crashed down again.

With both soul skills executed, Xiao Xiao panted softly.

Xu Sanshi's martial soul was clearly of the tortoise variety, and his defense was monstrous. Striking him with Cauldron Oscillation felt like hitting a steel ingot, and neutralizing the recoil consumed a significant amount of soul power.

The middle-aged referee frowned deeply. Under his soul power perception, Xu Sanshi showed no abnormalities; not only were his injuries minor, but his soul power remained abundant.

If he was fine, why wasn't he counterattacking? The middle-aged referee was puzzled.

The Abyssal Demon Octopus is an evil soul beast that dwells in the deep-sea abyss. Indescribably bizarre, its body is covered in viscous tentacles and lined with terrifying, sharp teeth. An Abyssal Demon Octopus over ten thousand years old can even prey upon Deep Sea Demon Whales.

The Abyssal Demon Octopus is a mental-type soul beast. When encountering one, if one's mental resistance is insufficient, one will not only fall into a negative state but may even suffer self-annihilation.

Hallucinations of sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch, accompanied by amnesia, fear, confusion, charm, and more—the victim's mind would collapse instantly.

If not for the fact that the Deep Sea Mermaid is a mental-type soul beast that happens to counter the Abyssal Demon Octopus, and if not for the fact that the Snow Empress is the Ruler of the Far North and shares a deep connection with the mermaid race, it would have been impossible for Bai Cai to hunt an Abyssal Demon Octopus for a soul ring.

The Abyssal Demon Octopus is a sea soul beast living in the deep-sea abyss, a place where whale-type soul beasts like the Deep Sea Demon Whale, the Evil Spirit Orca, and the Vast Sea Dragon Whale frequently appear.

High pressure, darkness, and sea soul beasts—the dangers of the deep-sea abyss far exceed those of the Extreme North, making it even more treacherous than the core of the Far North.

Title Douluos dare to venture deep into the core of the Extreme North, but they dare not dive into the deep-sea abyss; the same holds true for Title Douluos among sea soul masters.

Deep in the core of the Extreme North, as long as one avoids the Titan Snow Demon King, the Ice Empress, and the Snow Empress, a Title Douluo is perfectly safe.

Diving into the deep-sea abyss, however, means certain death if one encounters whale-type soul beasts like the Deep Sea Demon Whale, the Evil Spirit Orca, or the Vast Sea Dragon Whale.

Whale-type soul beasts hunt in packs, and the leaders of these pods are at least one hundred thousand years old, sometimes even reaching the level of fierce beasts. Therefore, diving into the deep-sea abyss is no different from seeking one's own death.

The difficulty of obtaining the Abyssal Demon Octopus soul ring matches the effectiveness of its soul skill.

Kirlia's third soul ring, Mental Pollution, has the effect of polluting the opponent's mind and soul, inflicting multiple negative effects and perfectly inheriting the bizarre, evil nature of the Abyssal Demon Octopus.

The Dark Abyss dissipated, leaving dust swirling in the air. The middle-aged referee waved his sleeve, and a gust of wind swept the dust away.

Xu Sanshi stood there blankly, wearing a strange, half-smile.

"Nannan." Calling out softly, Xu Sanshi embraced the empty air in front of him, his expression filled with tenderness. "We're married now."

Xu Sanshi pursed his lips, like an octopus spraying ink. "Muah, muah, muah..."

"Bei Bei? Why are you here?"

Seeming to notice something amiss, Xu Sanshi hurriedly pushed away the air in front of him, his tone turning hostile. "Where is my Nannan?"

"Nannan~ Nannan~"

Xu Sanshi suddenly became foolish and dazed, his mouth crooked and his eyes askew. "Hehe~ Nannan~"

The middle-aged referee frowned and stepped forward to grab Xu Sanshi's shoulder. "Student Xu Sanshi, wake up! The soul battle is not over yet!"

"Scoundrel! How dare you try to steal my Nannan?"

His third soul ring lit up in an instant. With the Black Tortoise Power augmenting his Black Tortoise Shield, Xu Sanshi flew into a rage, swinging his shield in a flurry of attacks. "I'll kill you! I'll kill you! I'll kill you!"

As the Black Tortoise Shield struck out fiercely, the middle-aged referee raised his left arm, moving faster than the attack to clamp onto the shield like iron tongs, seizing it. "Student Xu Sanshi, can you hear me?"

After several tugs, unable to retrieve his Black Tortoise Shield, Xu Sanshi suddenly fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face. "Father, your son is unfilial."

The audience erupted in an uproar. Xu Sanshi's state was clearly abnormal, as if he had lost his mind.

The Dark Abyss created by the ten-thousand-year soul ring had forced the fifth-year core disciple of the Martial Soul Department—the low-level Soul Ancestor of the defense system, the Eternal Defense Xu Sanshi with his mutated Black Tortoise martial soul—to lose his sanity and fall into chaos.

Except for sustained-damage soul skills, most soul skill effects cannot be reversed. If a soul skill inflicts burns, the burns will not disappear simply by dispelling the remaining soul power.

Unless he received timely treatment, Xu Sanshi's madness...

"Nannan, don't go, don't go." Xu Sanshi knelt on the ground, clutching at the air, his voice hoarse. "How can I live without you!"

"Nannan, take me with you!" Xu Sanshi suddenly went completely manic, banging his head against the ground, his hair disheveled. "Nannan, my Nannan!"

The ground thudded as he struck it; his forehead turned a dark red, blood seeping into the soil. It was a pathetic and gruesome sight.

The middle-aged referee tapped his toes, crossing dozens of steps in an instant to land in front of Huo Yuhao. "Huo Yuhao's team, do you concede?"

Bei Bei had suffered the backlash of his own soul skill, Xu Sanshi had gone insane, and only Huo Yuhao remained unscathed.

At the start of the battle, Xiao Xiao had used her three Soul-Suppressing Cauldrons to surround Huo Yuhao. Huo Yuhao had used his Ghostly Hidden Tracking Steps, employing his Mysterious Jade Hand in coordination with Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon, barely managing to parry.

To deal with Huo Yuhao, Cauldron Oscillation was overkill; Xiao Xiao had only used Cauldron Sweep, and Huo Yuhao had barely held his ground.

Xu Sanshi had used his fourth soul skill, Black Tortoise Displacement, to force a swap with Bai Cai. Xiao Xiao had immediately diverted two Soul-Suppressing Cauldrons to try and block Bei Bei, which was how Huo Yuhao had gained a moment to breathe.

Kirlia had copied and executed Black Tortoise Displacement, Bei Bei had taken the brunt of the soul skill backlash, and Huo Yuhao had remained unharmed.

Bai Cai and Kirlia retreated to defend their side, unleashing the third soul skill, Mental Pollution. The ten-thousand-year soul ring produced by the Abyssal Demon Octopus transformed into a Dark Abyss to engulf Xu Sanshi, while Xiao Xiao immediately mobilized three Soul-Suppressing Cauldrons to attack him, following up with two strikes of Cauldron Oscillation.

Throughout the entire soul combat process, Huo Yuhao had not sustained any injuries.

Cauldron Oscillation was not an offensive soul skill; the source of its damage was primarily the weight of the Soul-Suppressing Cauldrons.

Huo Yuhao trod with Ghostly Hidden Tracking Steps, employing Mysterious Jade Hand in tandem with Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon, making him more slippery than a loach. Although the three Soul-Suppressing Cauldrons pursued and intercepted him, leaving Huo Yuhao exhausted from the constant maneuvering, he was never struck directly by them.

Therefore, the outcome for Huo Yuhao's team now rested solely on him. To continue this desperate resistance would only delay the treatment window for Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi, or he could simply concede, allowing the healing instructor to enter the arena and save them.

"Referee, please take Senior Brother Bei Bei and Senior Xu Sanshi off the field for treatment."

Huo Yuhao bowed in apology, then turned to face the Bai Cai Team, his eyes flushed red, his voice somewhat hoarse, "I have not lost, I have not lost!"