Martial Soul Fusion Skill: Phantom Water Golden Body

For the first attempt, Xiao Hongchen was a beat too fast. Before Yan Hongchen's soul power was in place, Xiao Hongchen's had already surged over, missing entirely.

For the second attempt, Yan Hongchen was a moment too slow. Their soul powers crossed past each other like two trains passing by, neither connecting with the other.

On the third attempt, they finally matched frequencies. Their soul powers met between their palms, like two streams finally flowing into the same lake.

Yan Hongchen was delighted, but the synchronization lasted less than two seconds before deviating again, like gears meshing for an instant before slipping apart.

The fourth time, the fifth time, the sixth time... After every failure, the two would fall silent for a moment, adjust their breathing, and begin again.

Xiao Hongchen's brow furrowed tighter and tighter, while Yan Hongchen's lips pressed together slightly, but neither of them spoke of giving up.

"No, it failed again." Yan Hongchen opened his eyes, his face full of helplessness.

Xiao Hongchen opened his eyes as well and patted him on the shoulder. "Bro, your sister and I tried who knows how many times before we succeeded."

"You and I have only been trying for a little while. What's the rush? Keep going!"

Yan Hongchen nodded, closed his eyes again, and the two began their tireless attempts.

Time quietly passed as their palms met again and again, the sun over the training ground moving from east to west.

But they were not wasting their efforts. With every failure, the duration of their soul power synchronization quietly grew longer.

As the number of failures increased, their rate of progress actually became faster and faster.

During that time, Yan Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen also used Milk Bottles to restore their soul power.

They had no idea how many times they had failed. Fifty times? Eighty times? A hundred times?

Yan Hongchen had already lost count. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead, and Xiao Hongchen's breathing had become somewhat hurried as well.

But at the instant their palms met during one attempt, a strange sensation surged into their hearts.

Their soul powers no longer repelled each other. Instead, like two magnets, they began drawing together on their own.

Soul power flowed through their palms and into each other's bodies, blending together without distinction.

The Three-Legged Golden Toad and the Phantom Water Spirit Toad resonated intensely at that moment!

Yan Hongchen felt that Xiao Hongchen's martial soul origin was like a steady metallic mountain, while his own martial soul origin was like a lively, iridescent spring.

Like mountain and water, they found each other's rhythm at that moment.

Their minds were linked. Yan Hongchen believed this would definitely work, and he offered no resistance whatsoever.

Without realizing it, his body transformed into a stream of azure water and lightly drifted toward Xiao Hongchen.

The stream flowed in through Xiao Hongchen's chest, like a drop of water merging into the sea, silent and seamless.

Xiao Hongchen's body trembled slightly. A faint pattern of water ripples appeared over his skin, and a glassy blue radiance tinged the depths of his originally golden eyes.

He still looked like Xiao Hongchen, but his aura had completely changed.

It was the combined weight of two people's soul power pressing heavily upon the air, seemingly lowering the surrounding temperature by several degrees.

Liu Yueming, Meng Hongchen, and Yue Hongchen stood at the edge of the field, and all three froze at the same time.

Yan Hongchen... had disappeared?

No, he had not disappeared.

He had merged into Xiao Hongchen's body!

"Xiao Hongchen" slowly raised his hand. A metal sphere and a wisp of water simultaneously appeared in his palm.

The metal sphere spun while wrapped in the flow of water, emitting a faint hum.

He grinned. That smile held Xiao Hongchen's flamboyance as well as Yan Hongchen's steadiness.

"Did we succeed?" The voice came from "Xiao Hongchen's" mouth, but it carried a faint echo, as though two voices overlapped.

Liu Yueming walked forward two steps in surprise and carefully examined this new form. She quickly realized what had happened.

"Little Yan, Xiao'er, you're now in a state of fusion. It's a complete humanoid form with Xiao'er as the primary body and Little Yan as the support. Feel out your soul skills."

"Xiao Hongchen" closed his eyes. A moment later, he opened them again, surprise flashing through his gaze.

Metal Control, Golden Shaping, Source Gathering Reflux, Spring Rain Brings Life, and even spiritual detection—all of them were usable!

With a thought, the metal sphere in his palm began to deform, while the wisp of water gathered and reversed into blue metal, rapidly taking the shape of an exquisite metal cannon barrel.

Water-like luminous patterns flowed across the cannon barrel's surface, faintly revealing an azure sheen.

"Uncle Yue," he said, raising the barrel and aiming it at Yue Hongchen, "help me test a full-power strike!"

How could Yue Hongchen refuse? He strode forward, putting some distance between himself and "Xiao Hongchen," then let out a deep shout and summoned his martial soul.

A massive gray-black toad phantom emerged behind him.

Its back was covered in rock-like armor, its limbs thick as pillars, and its eyes dark gold, radiating an indestructible, heavy presence.

Ironclad Giant Toad—dual metal-and-earth attribute, with astonishing defensive power. It could devour metal to strengthen its own armor, and its attacks primarily consisted of charging and crushing.

Yue Hongchen did not dare underestimate it. Although he was already at the quasi-Titled Douluo level, this martial soul fusion skill form was extremely rare. Who knew how powerful it might be?

"Seventh Soul Skill, Martial Soul True Body!"

The gray-black giant toad phantom abruptly solidified and merged with Yue Hongchen's body. A layer of rock-like armor surfaced over his skin, turning him into a moving fortress.

"Fifth Soul Skill, Copper Wall, Iron Bastion!"

A dark-golden barrier spread out from his body, condensing into a heavy shield wall before him. A metallic sheen flowed across its surface, with faint patterns visibly shifting beneath it.

Xiao Hongchen took a deep breath and activated Source Gathering Reflux. Ambient soul power from heaven and earth converged from every direction and poured into his body.

At the same time, he held nothing back, channeling all his remaining soul power into the metal cannon barrel. The glowing patterns on its surface grew brighter and brighter, changing from azure blue to a blinding gold.

The core of the soul tool formation let out a humming tremor beneath the immense influx of soul power, and fine cracks faintly appeared along its edges.

This third-grade formation was already close to its limit.

"Enough!" Xiao Hongchen shouted in a low voice as the cannon muzzle abruptly flared.

A condensed beam of light shot from the barrel with a piercing shriek, blasting straight toward Yue Hongchen's Copper Wall, Iron Bastion.

Boom—!

The beam struck the dark-golden shield wall, detonating a ring of visible shockwaves.

The stone slabs of the training ground quivered and bounced slightly, while the rising dust obscured everyone's sight.

Fine cracks spread across the stone beneath Yue Hongchen's feet. His body tilted back slightly, but his feet seemed rooted in place, utterly unmoving.

When the beam dispersed, it left a deep dent in the shield wall, its edges showing signs of melting. Yet it had ultimately failed to break through.

Yue Hongchen withdrew his martial soul true body and walked over to the shield wall. He reached out and touched the dent, then looked at Xiao Hongchen with a trace of surprise in his eyes.

"Not bad." He nodded. "An ordinary Soul King wouldn't be able to block the power of that strike. Especially with that life-or-death style of overcharging—you nearly blew up the soul tool formation."

Xiao Hongchen grinned, but before he could speak, his body suddenly shuddered.

That azure stream of water surged from his chest, fell to the ground, and condensed once more into Yan Hongchen's figure.

Xiao Hongchen staggered as well, bracing himself on his knees as he gasped for breath.

Both of them looked utterly exhausted, their faces pale and their foreheads covered in sweat, as if every last bit of soul power had been drained from them.

The metal cannon barrel completely collapsed. Yue Hongchen promptly wrapped it up and tossed it aside, then strode forward and lifted the two little ones off the ground, one in each hand, as though he were carrying a pair of chicks.

"Not bad. Succeeding in fusion on your first try and even unleashing an attack like that is already remarkable." His voice was rough, yet it carried a hint of approval.

Liu Yueming also walked over. She took a handkerchief from her sleeve and first wiped the sweat from Yan Hongchen's forehead before turning to Xiao Hongchen and wiping the streak of dust from his face.

Her movements were gentle, and a faint smile rested on her lips. She said nothing, but that tenderness was more reassuring than any words could have been.

Once Xiao Hongchen had caught his breath, he straightened up and turned to Yan Hongchen. "Little brother, we should give this martial soul fusion skill a name, shouldn't we?"

Yan Hongchen leaned against a stone pillar with his eyes closed as he regulated his breathing. At that, he opened one eye. "You name it."

"You're the main body," he said. "Who told you to use up all your soul power just to test the limit? I'm exhausted..."

No wonder the Phantom Water Spirit Toad had said that a stronger body would be better. So their martial soul fusion skill had Xiao Hongchen as its main body, while Yan Hongchen served as support.

When fused, the two of them could use all of their soul skills and martial soul innate abilities. For now, that meant five abilities, but as they advanced, the number of soul skills would increase, along with the demands on their bodies.

Xiao Hongchen scratched his head and thought seriously. His gaze fell upon the metallic gleam in his palm, then shifted to the Phantom Water Spirit Toad's phantom emerging over Yan Hongchen's shoulder and the rippling water patterns that had yet to fully fade from his own skin.

After pondering for a moment, his eyes suddenly lit up. "Got it—how about 'Golden Waves: Spirit Toad Possession'? No, that's too long..."

Meng Hongchen, listening from the side, kept shaking her head. "You still love showing off when you name things. Can't you make it simpler? If it's too long, I won't even want to say it."

Xiao Hongchen refused to accept that. "Then you name it."

Yan Hongchen felt that something more straightforward would be better. "Let's call it Phantom Water Golden Body. This martial soul fusion skill has a very high ceiling. With every stage of advancement, the abilities it can use will stack higher."

Yue Hongchen stood nearby, watching the three children discuss the name back and forth. A faint smile appeared on his rugged face.

He turned to Liu Yueming and said quietly, "Sister-in-law, your children are incredible."

Liu Yueming looked at Yan Hongchen, Xiao Hongchen, and Meng Hongchen, her gaze as gentle as water. "Yes," she said softly. "They truly are."