"Hey, let's talk this out. There's no need to resort to violence..."
No matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't break free. The Berserk Team captain's eyes instantly cleared.
Seeing this,
Tang Wu rubbed his fists together and beckoned to the other six.
"What do you think?"
"What are you standing around for, brothers? Beat the crap out of him!"
"Heh, heh, heh—"
The seven members of Shrek surrounded the Berserk Team captain, grinning menacingly.
"Can you at least not hit me in the face? Ah, ow, ow, ow, ow..."
But the only answer he got was a string of screams.
Special thanks to Teacher Tom for the voice work.
The referee's voice rang out, officially declaring Shrek the winner.
Thud—
"From beginning to end, they were toyed with. They couldn't even fight back."
"Some Berserk Team! They couldn't even beat a bunch of kids who'd only just become Soul Elders. Useless! Every last one of them is useless!"
In a private box at the Spirit Fighting Arena,
seeing how easily the Berserk Team had lost, Gangzi kicked over a table and flew into a rage.
It wasn't as though he genuinely cared whether the Berserk Team won or lost.
But if they lost, it was his, Gangzi's, reputation on the line.
Watching the chaos, Flender silently shook his head.
Xiao Gang, Xiao Gang...
If they were useless, then what did that make you, someone who couldn't even break through to Soul Elder?
Flender could see it now. Gangzi's obsession with getting one over on Tang Wu had become a full-blown fixation.
Let's set aside what happened here for now.
Level 39.
After his match against the Berserk Team, Tang Wu's Soul Power Level broke through from level 38 to level 39.
He had advanced naturally. Everything had fallen into place.
Over the next few weeks, they were matched against one team after another.
Under Tang Wu's leadership, they smashed their way through, winning every match.
Before long...
They had won eight matches in a row. They needed just one more victory to fulfill the two men's wager.
But the Soto Spirit Fighting Arena had only so many teams. There were only so many active Soul Elder teams suitable for matching.
The further they progressed, the longer it took to find an opponent.
And while they waited, Tang Wu and the others didn't simply sit around...
Ning Rongrong's Self-Created Soul Skill had made great strides over the past few days.
Her ability to turn invisible had spread from her arms to her torso, letting half her body blend into the surroundings.
The others had made considerable progress as well.
Xiao Wu had also figured out the basics of her Mi-Tu Shockwave and had started practicing it.
Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing had grown much faster and more explosive.
As for Oscar and Dai Mubai, they were still working hard to raise their levels.
There was no helping it.
One of them was a support-type Soul Master. His body had no fighting strength whatsoever, so he could only rely on his Soul Skills.
The other simply had a low level and needed to cultivate as quickly as possible to break through sooner.
"Brother, I've noticed something really interesting about Blue Silver Grass."
"Oh? What is it?"
Tang San played along with Tang Wu's mysterious act, living up to his curiosity.
"From what I've observed, Blue Silver Grass is so frail that when it's in danger, it offers its Soul Power to the strongest nearby member of its kind."
Tang Wu explained his theory:
"Brother, our Martial Souls are both Blue Silver Grass. In theory, we should be able to do the same."
"Doesn't that mean we could use this method to gain unmatched strength among Soul Masters of the same rank, at least for a short time?"
Tang San: (●-●)
"That makes sense—!!!"
Tang San was stunned. If his brother's theory held true, the two of them would have few rivals at the same rank.
Even if their opponents had a Martial Soul Fusion Skill, they could still put up a fight.
Even someone as composed as Tang San couldn't stop himself from trembling with excitement at the thought.
Tang San grabbed his hand, ready to try it right away.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's find out if it works!"
"Wait, I haven't finished yet..."
"That's not all. With your Blue Silver Connection, brother, could we link up with two more teammates and transfer Soul Power to form a four-person combination?"
Tang Wu dropped another bombshell.
And it hit just as hard.
With a boom, Tang San felt as though his head were about to explode. His scalp prickled.
"H-how did you even come up with that, Xiao Wu?"
"A four-person Martial Soul Fusion Skill! No one's ever even heard of such a thing!"
Tang San knew that Martial Soul Fusion Skills existed, though he'd never witnessed one himself.
He thought that simply combining Soul Power counted as a Martial Soul Fusion Skill. He didn't know there was another kind of technique on the Douluo Continent: a Martial Soul Overlap Skill.
A Martial Soul Fusion Skill,
was a profound fusion of one Martial Soul with another. It required at least a fifty-percent compatibility to activate.
The users also had to be in perfect sync, making its requirements extremely strict.
Martial Soul Overlap Skills didn't have nearly so many harsh requirements.
All they required was for the users' Martial Souls to be similar and their Soul Power levels to be close.
"Third Brother, what's going on over here? Why did you suddenly shout so loudly?"
Hearing Tang San's cry, Xiao Wu tilted her head in confusion, blinking as she looked toward the two of them.
Seeing this...
Ning Rongrong and the others gathered around too.
After Tang San explained, they were all very interested in Tang Wu's plan.
"This sounds promising. How about we give it a try?"
Dai Mubai was the first to express his curiosity and volunteer.
Zhu Zhuqing's brows lifted slightly. She was clearly tempted by the idea too.
"How about this? To be safe, Beast Martial Souls come with stronger bodies, so the men can go first."
"Aw, what a shame. I wanted to be the first one."
Oscar sighed.
His Martial Soul was the Food God, and his Soul Rings couldn't grant him a powerful physique, so he was naturally ruled out first.
After that,
Tang San acted as the relay, using one end of his Blue Silver Connection to link up with Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun.
He transformed their Soul Power into Soul Power imbued with Blue Silver Grass's properties.
The converted Soul Power streamed through the other end of the Blue Silver Connection, flowing to Tang Wu at the front.
"That's it. That's exactly the feeling..."
"Abundant Soul Power is coursing through me, and the Blue Silver Emperor Bloodline is boiling in my veins. This feels incredible!"
Tang Wu seemed to have fallen into a state of frenzy, his expression twisted like a lunatic's.
He felt an urge to stick his index finger into his temple and spin it around.
The Blue Silver Seed Martial Soul sprouted rapidly and grew strong.
An immense life force swept over them. Nourished by it, the wild grass at their feet quickly spread until it reached their waists.
Blue Silver Emperor Bloodline activated!
No matter what kind of Martial Soul it was, it would be assimilated by the Blue Silver Emperor.
Even the Golden Dragon King—or the Dragon God—would have to take root in Blue Silver Grass.
What happened next shattered the understanding that everyone who witnessed it had held for ten thousand years...