Version Too Far Ahead

"You little bastard, how dare you ignore me!"

Several black-robed men saw Ma Xiaotao and Mu Baobao fooling around and immediately spoke in fury.

Ordinary people would flee in terror at the sight of Evil Soul Masters, but these two did not take them seriously at all. Colorful Soul Rings appeared around them.

Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black

Yellow, purple, purple, purple, black, black

Purple, purple, purple, purple, black, black, black

Such advanced Soul Ring configurations meant that even the weakest among them was a Soul King above rank fifty. The fluctuations of Soul Power immediately sobered the two up, and they looked at them with some apprehension.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. How many heinous deeds did they have to commit to get that?" Mu Baobao said with a chilling smile.

Only in the eras of Legend of the Dragon King and Ultimate Douluo could ordinary Soul Masters possess such astonishing configurations. Even owners of Twin Martial Souls had to wait until the later stages. He glanced at Ma Xiaotao.

After her Dark Phoenix mutated, the Holy Spirit Cult abducted her. By the time Huo Yuhao found her, her Soul Rings had risen from yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black to black, black, black, black, black, black, black, black, red. On Douluo Continent, only the two Limit Douluos, Qian Daoliu and Bo Saixi, possessed such a configuration after undergoing the Angel Eight Trials and the Sea God Nine Trials.

The Spirit Ascension System and the upgraded Soul Spirit System could increase the age of Soul Rings... Their methods were similar to those of Evil Soul Masters: entering a certain place, constantly hunting Soul Beasts, and absorbing Soul Power. The Spirit Pagoda and the Holy Spirit Cult also had ties, and Huo Yuhao had even served as their Holy Son. That was why Mu Baobao firmly believed Soul Spirits were simply undead created through Necromancy Magic.

"Fifth Soul Skill, Phoenix Meteor Shower!"

A cry resounded through the skies. The Evil Fire Phoenix spread her golden-red wings, and fireballs descended like meteors, hurtling toward the Evil Soul Masters on the ground.

Ma Xiaotao had already been in a foul mood, and after being provoked again, she could no longer endure it. She unleashed her Soul Skill.

Fire and light were both attributes Evil Soul Masters feared, much less such extraordinary flames. They hurriedly tried to release Soul Skills to defend themselves.

"What's happening? I can't move!"

They wanted to evade the attack, but discovered that their lower bodies had gone numb. They had lost all sensation and could not move.

"Third Soul Skill, Freezing Wind!"

Mu Baobao made his move. The phantom of Kyurem, the Ice Dragon, roared, and dragon roars intertwined with phoenix cries.

The chill of Ultimate Ice instantly froze their legs. A terrifying Blizzard swept through heaven and earth, cutting them like knives and making them ache all over.

Unable to move, they took the Phoenix Meteor Shower head-on. Screams rang out without end... Several Soul Ancestors and Soul Kings in their forties and fifties were severely wounded outright.

The collision between phoenix fire and Ultimate Ice erupted with such force that it directly melted into white mist.

Amid the vast whiteness, the two sneered.

"Martial virtue? How much slaughter have you Evil Soul Masters committed? You have long since lost all humanity. What is the point of wasting words on you?"

Most of the orphans who remained in Shrek's Inner Court had lost their relatives and friends to Evil Soul Masters. Zhang Lexuan and Ma Xiaotao... were among them. Mu Baobao and Mu Beibei's father had also died during a mission to hunt Evil Soul Masters.

According to the Shrek Inspectorate's rules, once someone was confirmed to be an Evil Soul Master, they had to be killed... With so many Soul Ring configurations beyond all common sense, was that not obvious enough?

"Kehehehe!"

"As expected of the Evil Fire Phoenix, and there is even an Ultimate Ice Dragon. Shrek truly is full of monsters."

The two stood on guard. They knew that this group of sewer rats... would not die so easily. Two figures emerged from the white mist.

Each carried two of their companions, but they were not saving them. Black Soul Power drew out the life energy from their bodies. Those Evil Soul Masters trembled incessantly, revealing just how much agony they were enduring as they turned into dried corpses at a visible rate.

The two Soul Saint-level Evil Soul Masters instantly recovered to their peak states. This was what made them terrifying: as long as living creatures were nearby—

They could devour them to grow stronger and restore themselves, even increasing the age of their Soul Rings... The reason Soul Masters of Douluo Continent wanted to exterminate them, aside from their brutality and inhumanity, was probably these few grotesque abilities.

Ordinary Soul Masters needed years of cultivation to rise a single rank, while an Evil Soul Master only needed to devour a Soul Master. Expenditure could only be restored over time, and Soul Ring age was even harder to raise at will.

With that... it would be strange not to be jealous.

"Ah!" Mu Baobao yawned. "Only after receiving the same treatment will you understand before death just how painful this is for others."

There was no fear in the two's eyes, further enraging the two Soul Saint Evil Soul Masters. Just as they were about to attack, the pair abandoned all pretense of martial virtue and struck first.

"First Soul Skill, Phoenix Fire Line!"

"Third Soul Skill, Ice Beam."

One cold and one hot, one red and one white. The Ice Dragon and Fire Phoenix opened their mouths, each spewing flames and icy beams toward the two Soul Saints. The terrifying temperatures surged forth with thunderous momentum.

"Seventh Soul Skill, Wraith Avatar."

"Seventh Soul Skill, Crow Avatar."

They directly activated their giant forms. One became a Wraith holding a bone staff, its transparent body shrouded in black robes as it swayed endlessly and emitted black mist.

The other's hands transformed into enormous pitch-black wings that blotted out the sky, while his head became that of a great bird... the Crow, an omen of misfortune.

Their auras multiplied. The seventh Soul Skill was a watershed for Soul Masters; in this state, their strength increased severalfold, and their Soul Skills had virtually no cooldown.

The eighth and ninth Soul Skills were even more heaven-defying. Only Soul Saints could truly be said to have entered the upper ranks of Soul Masters, though they were still at the bottom and could not defeat Soul Douluos or Title Douluos. Ma Xiaotao and Mu Baobao looked at the two towering above them.

They seemed somewhat tiny before the Martial Soul Avatars, yet the two's arrogant confidence instead made them look like weaklings desperately pretending as they flew into the sky.

"I told you it would come in handy!"

Mu Baobao patted his metal case and said, "Next comes a battle of version 3.0."

The Evil Soul Masters' Soul Ring configurations were absolutely overpowered in version 2.0 of Douluo Continent, the era of Peerless Tang Sect. Battle Armor... was the same.

"Kehehehe! Tiny Soul Emperors can only kneel and beg for mercy before Soul Saints. Shrek's reputation has made you so arrogant that you have forgotten what it means for strength to be unequal!" the Wraith Evil Soul Master said with a grim laugh.

"I will gnaw through your corpses bit by bit until you die in living agony."

The Crow Evil Soul Master was even more crazed.

"Awaken, my little universe!"

Ignoring their mockery, Mu Baobao flamboyantly swung the metal case before him and even shouted a line from his childhood memories with embarrassing enthusiasm.

Soul Power flowed into the metal case. He could even vaguely hear a classic, deeply familiar BGM playing, after which he entered an invincible state enveloped in holy light, his excitement written all over his face.

"Huh? That's so damn embarrassing!"

Ma Xiaotao covered her forehead. Men truly remained boys until death. Still, some beautiful girls were just as obsessed with transforming, though she was definitely not among them.

With a light pat on his case, the statue atop the metal case emitted holy light. Eleven components were drawn toward him and covered his body, every section containing at least one magical... Soul Guidance array.

More than ten seconds later, both of them wore a refined set of Thousand Refinement armor. Compared with the initial version that had to be put on manually, Mu Baobao's improved version reduced the time by nearly a minute.

Before powerful Soul Masters, they would have died countless times over. Putting it on slowly would take another two or three minutes; by then, the enemy would have already finished transforming and ended the battle.

"That won't do. You need to shout a slogan to enter invincible mode, otherwise you could easily get ambushed." Mu Baobao gave Ma Xiaotao a meaningful look, earning an eye roll from her.

"Are you a child? Why are you so childish?"

Would I really choose this guy as my partner in the future? His mouth is irritating enough, so why is he so immature too? Still, he treats me well.

"I also want to put every set of Thousand Refinement Battle Armor into a half-meter Soul Tool and make it look like a Soul Coin. I'd engrave it with my own Martial Soul too. When it's time to transform, I can toss out a Soul Coin and a case will appear, then holy light will put the Battle Armor on me... It would be ridiculously cool."

Storage Soul Tools were not expensive... Even Yu Xiaogang, who could barely afford food, had a belt with twenty-four half-meter storage spaces. Tang Ya even prepared one for every Tang Sect member.

The cost... was less than one-thousandth that of One-Word Battle Armor. This idea seemed feasible... After all, the improvement saved the time needed to put it on.

In the era of Ultimate Douluo, Qian Lei of the Shrek Seven Devils had Gold Soul Coins as his Martial Soul. Every time he tossed one, he could summon a Soul Beast. Unfortunately, he was a little fat guy. Otherwise, that would have been truly cool.

Under the amplification of the One-Word Battle Armor, their Soul Power rose by more than ten ranks, reaching the level of Soul Saints and becoming nearly equal to the two Evil Soul Masters. However, the latter had activated their Martial Soul Avatars, multiplying their strength severalfold.

They were slightly stronger than the pair. A blazing flame flashed through Ma Xiaotao's eyes as phoenix fire swept over her body, covering her completely. A pair of red wings emerged behind her back... and after spreading open, they stretched nearly four or five meters. At that moment, her aura was even stronger than those two Evil Soul Masters.

"Second Soul Skill, Bathing Fire Phoenix."

"Fourth Soul Skill, Phoenix Wings Soar to the Heavens!"

Both Soul Skills could amplify fire attributes by forty to fifty percent. Although the dual amplification was not as outrageous as multiplication, its effect was still extremely impressive...

Ma Xiaotao forcefully kicked off from the ground and leaped into the sky. She moved so fast that only two red streaks could be seen. Her long right leg lashed like a whip against the Crow Evil Soul Master's waist, smashing him directly into the ground.

After climbing back up, he stared at Ma Xiaotao as though he had seen a ghost. The Wraith Evil Soul Master on the other side was the same.

"Song of Curse!"

The bone staff in his hand shook, producing a sound like ringing bells, but to human ears it was exceptionally grating. Mu Baobao felt his strength decrease slightly. Though it was not obvious... it was there.

"First Soul Skill, Battle Cry!"

A dragon's head appeared in the sky and roared, instantly shattering the Song of Curse. A surging fighting spirit rose within him, amplifying his strength.

Kyurem had originally been a battle fanatic. This skill was extremely important to it; not only could it increase its strength, it could also bolster its divine beast majesty. On Douluo Continent, it should be called Ice Dragon Roar.

Fire Dragon Roar, Thunder Dragon Roar... Dragon-attributed Soul Skills were largely similar, since dragons themselves possessed overwhelming combat strength. Their branches corresponded to certain Dragon Claws.

"There's something strange about their armor. It amplified their Soul Skills by more than ten ranks, bringing them to the Soul Saint level... Since when did such heaven-defying Soul Tools exist?"

The Wraith Evil Soul Master was forced back by the Battle Cry. The Crow Evil Soul Master gathered beside him.

After exchanging a glance, they spoke.