The Eve of the Finals: Undercurrents Surge

As the results were announced, the entire arena erupted in an uproar; the renowned Hell White Tiger had been shattered upon contact by an unknown Martial Soul Fusion Skill.

"Oh no, those two children!"

Du Weilun hurriedly flew onto the arena to check on the condition of Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu. Fortunately, the two were only temporarily immobilized and suffered no major harm, though Dai Huabin's body was inexplicably covered in lumps.

"Dragon Whisker Needle?!"

The moment he saw this terrifying item, Du Weilun immediately rushed to Huo Yuhao, who had just finished performing his Martial Soul Fusion Skill, and demanded he remove the needles from Dai Huabin. Unexpectedly, no sooner had he finished speaking than Huo Yuhao rolled his eyes and fainted.

"Huo Yuhao has exhausted his soul power; he's collapsed from overexertion."

Wang Dong waved his hands helplessly. Seeing this, Du Weilun's face turned a shade of green and white, but he had no choice but to give up and personally carry Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu to the infirmary. However, due to this battle, the finals had to be postponed by two days.

On the other side, Ning Tian had just finished chanting her soul skill and hadn't yet managed to apply the buffs to Wu Feng when she was tossed aside by Su Qing. Furious, Wu Feng activated Dragon's Fury to amplify herself and charged at Su Qing, only for He Bin's Sandalwood to suddenly appear beneath her feet, tripping her. In her extreme rage, she was promptly kicked flying by Su Qing.

The remaining Nanmen Yun'er knew she couldn't handle the situation and conceded the match herself. Hearing the spectators in the adjacent stands discussing this unwatchable fight, those on Huo Yuhao's side cheered that it had been worth the trip—a Martial Soul Fusion Skill against a Martial Soul Fusion Skill, what a thrill!

"Hehe, Su Qing, we're sure to win!"

Watching Wang Dong carry Huo Yuhao away, Xiao Xiao immediately ran to the side of Su Qing, who had already finished his battle, unable to contain her smugness.

"Are you so sure I'll give you the chance to perform a Martial Soul Fusion Skill?"

Su Qing raised an eyebrow. Was this girl getting a bit too carried away? The arena was only twenty meters long, and from the center, his Wind-Gathering Wing-Weaving allowed him to reach any spot on the field instantly. Interrupting a Martial Soul Fusion Skill was as easy as drinking water.

"Ah~ then do you dare to let them successfully perform their Martial Soul Fusion Skill!"

Suddenly realizing that having a Martial Soul Fusion Skill didn't guarantee a win, Xiao Xiao immediately used a provocation tactic, hoping to trick him into taking their combined attack head-on.

Hearing this, the corner of Su Qing's mouth twitched as he tilted his head.

"Do I look like an idiot to you?"

"Hehe!"

Xiao Xiao gave an awkward laugh. Hearing that simple, innocent sound, Su Qing felt relieved—it turned out the idiot was right beside him.

"You've done very well to make it this far. Your awareness in cutting off Zhu Lu's retreat just now was excellent; our Xiao Xiao has become quite clever!"

Compared to the original, she was now much more proficient in using the Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron, and her coordination with teammates' skills had become far more flexible. It was clear she had been working hard to keep up with his pace, and Su Qing naturally wouldn't be stingy with his encouragement.

"That's a must! Soon, I'll be able to help you out!"

"Mm."

After a brief exchange, Su Qing invited her to stroll around Shrek City, and Xiao Xiao naturally agreed with delight.

"Xuan Zi, what do you think of the Martial Soul Fusion Skill those two little ones performed today?"

After handling the competition matters, Wang Yan sought out Xuan Zi again to ask for his opinion on the unheard-of technique. As a scholar, he possessed an almost fanatical thirst for knowledge regarding Martial Soul theory.

"The Martial Soul Fusion Skill is fine, but that one-ringed boy's talent is too poor. Soon, he will be unable to keep up with Wang Dong's strength, which will cause the effectiveness of their Martial Soul Fusion Skill to plummet."

Xuan Zi did not give a favorable evaluation. In his view, although a spiritual-attribute body-integrated Martial Soul could stand out in terms of mental power, the boy's talent was simply too lacking; with his Soul Power Level unable to keep up, everything else was just empty talk. He understood Wang Yan's eagerness, but pouring massive cultivation resources into a child with an uncertain future was likely to be a losing investment.

"Xuan Zi! You cannot jump to conclusions!"

Wang Yan's earnest pleading made Xuan Zi somewhat impatient, but he finally agreed to grant the boy core disciple status, with further investment depending on his future performance. Seeing Xuan Zi's firm attitude, Wang Yan had to let it go, though he wondered if Huo Yuhao would mind.

"Hahaha, Huo Yuhao, your acting was so realistic! Even Director Du didn't realize you were faking it. Hahahaha, poor Dai Huabin, he'll be kept awake by the pain of those Dragon Whisker Needles all night."

That night, unable to stop laughing at the day's events, Wang Dong tossed and turned until he finally couldn't take it anymore, jumping onto Huo Yuhao's bed and patting his thigh wildly.

"Take it easy, or you'll actually knock me out."

Huo Yuhao rubbed his aching thigh and looked at Wang Dong with a grave expression.

"This must never be known by anyone else, or we won't be able to explain it to Director Du."

The two had been of one mind regarding deceiving Du Weilun. The joy of crushing the Hell White Tiger had almost made him forget that the Dragon Whisker Needles were still inside Dai Huabin, which was why he had faked fainting when Du Weilun offered to remove them. Fortunately, Wang Dong had reacted in time, or Du Weilun would likely have woken him up to finish the extraction.

"I know, I know. But for the finals, how are we going to defeat Su Qing? His first soul skill is too fast; I'm afraid we won't be able to use our Martial Soul Fusion Skill in front of him."

Not wanting to be lectured, Wang Dong immediately agreed with a perfunctory nod before steering the conversation toward the finals.

"I'll think of a way when the time comes..."

Huo Yuhao pondered for a moment. At this point, the gray bead in his spiritual sea had awakened, and the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had been told not to sleep for the next few days...

"You're saying that the white-haired boy briefly granted you the ability of Ultimate Fire, which allowed you to break free from the control of the evil fire? Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Under the Golden Ancient Tree, Yan Shaozhe's eyes nearly popped out of his head upon hearing Ma Xiaotao's explanation. How could this girl not have told him about such a major event earlier? Now that they had offended Su Qing, if he wanted to ask the boy to help purge the evil fire, wouldn't he have to lower himself and apologize?

"I only realized it recently. At the time, I thought I had caused a disaster and was too panicked to process it..."

Ma Xiaotao scratched her head in embarrassment. She had only realized it after reviewing her cultivation and noticing that the evil fire had weakened.

"Sigh, forget it. Since that's the case, I will make the trip myself. As long as he can truly solve your evil fire problem, even if I have to kneel to him, I will make him agree to help!"

The hope that had vanished from Yan Shaozhe's eyes regarding the eradication of the evil fire ignited once more. What was a little pride compared to his disciple? As long as he apologized sincerely—and if that didn't work...

Thinking this, he looked at Ma Xiaotao. This girl had decent conditions; if it really came down to it, he might have to let her use her charms. But how would he explain that to Zhang Lexuan... After much deliberation, he decided to go probe Mu En for his thoughts first.