Martial Soul Tribute, Cultivating Together!

Wang Dong's pink-blue eyes burned with blazing light.

She grabbed Yun Yi's wrist with her backhand, speaking rapidly as her chest heaved violently with extreme excitement.

"Yun Yi, carefully feel how fast this power is circulating! This Yun Dong Power is incredibly domineering. Not only can it forcibly widen our meridians, it directly increases my cultivation speed. Just now, I silently completed one major circulation inside my body. It was nearly eighty percent faster than when I meditated alone!"

The more Wang Dong spoke, the more excited she became.

"Eighty percent! Do you know what that means for a Soul Master? As long as we keep cultivating together every day, the time it takes for me to break through to the Soul Elder realm will definitely be greatly shortened! Hurry and close your eyes to check. How much faster is it on your side?"

Yun Yi said nothing more and simply closed his eyes.

Through the point where their palms met, the brilliant golden fused Soul Power flowed endlessly into his extraordinary meridians.

This power carried the pure light affinity of Wang Dong's Light Goddess Butterfly, yet it was completely assimilated by his own ultimate light, becoming even denser and more solid.

Soul Power surged and roared through his body, steadily completing its circulation along the pathways of his meridians.

When he opened his eyes, Yun Yi's gaze fell upon Wang Dong's face, carrying a hint of something strange.

Under that stare, Wang Dong felt uncomfortable all over and instinctively shrank her neck.

She released one hand and tugged at her slightly disheveled collar.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Don't tell me your increase was really low?" Wang Dong asked tentatively, then began making excuses for him on her own. "That makes sense. You're already a level forty-eight Soul Ancestor. Your body is long used to high-intensity Soul Power washing through it, so naturally the boost would be smaller. Was it only twenty percent? Or maybe ten?"

Yun Yi slowly shook his head, a bold grin tugging at his lips.

"One point two times." Yun Yi raised one finger and lightly waved it. "My cultivation speed increased by one hundred and twenty percent."

The expression on Wang Dong's face froze instantly.

She sat there blankly, lips slightly parted as her mind struggled to process the number.

One hundred and twenty percent? While hers was only eighty percent?

After staring blankly for a full half minute, Wang Dong suddenly sprang up from the ground. Her movement was so large that she nearly stepped on the broken leg of the wooden table beside her.

"There's no justice in this!" Wang Dong planted her hands on her hips and loudly protested, her delicate features twisting together. "My Soul Power is lower, so why did I get less of a boost? You're a monster who's nearly at the Soul King realm. Not only do you hold the dominant position, you even got more benefits than me? Is there any fairness left in this world?"

Seeing Wang Dong's frantic, life-questioning appearance, Yun Yi laughed even more freely.

He reached out, caught Wang Dong's wrist, and forcibly pulled her back down.

"I don't know whether the world is fair, but in the world of Martial Souls, there is only absolute suppression by rank." Yun Yi's smile faded as his expression turned serious. "Normally, a Martial Soul fusion with such perfect compatibility should provide equal boosts. One hundred percent for each of us."

Wang Dong widened her eyes and demanded angrily, "Then where did my missing twenty percent go?"

"The twenty percent you lost was voluntarily offered up by your Martial Soul as protection money."

Yun Yi raised his left hand, and a dazzling crimson-gold radiance lit up in his palm once more.

The phantom of the Sun-Shooting Divine Bow suddenly appeared, and the temperature throughout the dormitory rose with it.

"My Martial Soul possesses both ultimate light and ultimate fire, two ultimate attributes. Your Light Goddess Butterfly may be a top-tier Martial Soul, but before ultimate attributes, it is still the inferior one. When the superior releases its pressure, the inferior instinctively fears and submits. That is an iron law carved into the origin of Martial Souls. To curry favor with my Sun-Shooting Divine Bow, your Martial Soul not only handed over the dominant position, but even voluntarily cut away twenty percent of your cultivation boost and offered it as tribute."

After hearing that explanation, Wang Dong completely broke down.

She closed her eyes and sank her consciousness into her own Martial Soul space.

Sure enough, the Light Goddess Butterfly, which was usually incomparably proud and quick to display its resplendent wings, was now curled up in a corner in a humble posture, with none of its former glory remaining.

"You useless thing!" Wang Dong slapped her thigh in fury and repeatedly berated her own Martial Soul. "I usually feed you spirit treasures and spirit herbs, yet the moment you encounter a little authority, you immediately switch sides? You've thrown even your backbone to the heavens? Giving up the dominant position would have been one thing, but why did you give away my cultivation speed too? You spendthrift!"

As Wang Dong hurled one indignant accusation after another at her own Martial Soul, Yun Yi watched the show leisurely from the side.

After cursing for a while, Wang Dong finally accepted the humiliating truth.

She had grown up in the Clear Sky Sect, and she possessed an innate optimistic streak.

Complaints were complaints, but her ability to adjust herself was first-rate.

She took a deep breath, tidied her messy hair, and pulled herself together.

"Fine, eighty percent it is." Wang Dong muttered quietly to console herself. "It's still better than getting nothing. Since it had the sense to preserve most of the boost, this young master won't hold it against it this time."

After shaking off her sense of defeat, Wang Dong's eyes lit up again as she eagerly began taking stock of the other benefits brought by Yun Dong Power.

"Besides this heaven-defying cultivation boost, the increase in actual combat strength is also ridiculous." Wang Dong clenched her fists, feeling the surging energy within her. "With Yun Dong Power supporting it, my Light Goddess Butterfly can temporarily borrow your ultimate light attribute as well. That means all my soul skills will experience a qualitative leap in destructive power. Against ordinary Soul Masters, I could even achieve absolute suppression through attributes."

She paused, then curled her lips. "Still, those added ultimate-light shields, attack effects, and such aren't anything special compared to a true killing move."

Wang Dong abruptly changed the subject, and her pink-blue eyes burst with fervor.

She grabbed Yun Yi's arm and nearly pressed her entire body against him.

"The important thing is the Martial Soul Fusion Skill! With the compatibility between our Martial Souls, it can't possibly stop at merely sharing Soul Power. We definitely have a Martial Soul Fusion Skill! Come on, we can't stay in this wrecked dormitory. Let's find an open area outside right now. I want to see with my own eyes just how earth-shattering our Martial Soul Fusion Skill is!"

Wang Dong was the type to act the moment she made up her mind. As soon as she said it, she dragged Yun Yi toward the door.

Yun Yi's feet seemed to have taken root, firmly nailed to the floorboards.

He grabbed Wang Dong's wrist in return, pulled her back to where she had been, and decisively shook his head.

"I'm not going."

Wang Dong froze, as though a bucket of cold water had been dumped over her burning enthusiasm.

"Why not? Aren't you even a little curious?"

"Curious is one thing, but I'm not insane." Yun Yi looked Wang Dong's thin frame up and down, mercilessly striking at the heart of the matter. "You seem to have a serious misunderstanding of your current strength."

Wang Dong puffed out her chest indignantly. "I'm a level twenty-four Soul Grandmaster. I'm absolutely among the best among the new students!"

"So what?" Yun Yi sneered. "The principle behind releasing a Martial Soul Fusion Skill is to instantly drain massive amounts of Soul Power from both sides, compress it until it undergoes a qualitative change, and unleash destructive power that surpasses one's realm. With my level forty-eight Soul Power foundation, using a fusion skill would naturally be easy. But what about you?"

Yun Yi extended a finger and tapped Wang Dong between the brows.

"With that meager amount of Soul Power you have, the moment you forcibly activate a Martial Soul Fusion Skill, your body will be drained into a dried corpse. Forget standing there to admire the skill's power. The instant the skill takes shape, you'll faint on the spot."

Seeing Wang Dong's expression gradually stiffen, Yun Yi continued to twist the knife.

"Tomorrow is Shrek Academy's first official day of school. The freshman class teacher is also Du Weilun, the notoriously strict director of academic affairs. If you don't want to be sprawled in bed tomorrow morning, unable even to stand, only for me to carry you to the classroom like a sack and embarrass you, then you'd better put away that unrealistic idea. Wait until your strength can barely keep up with my pace before bringing up testing the Martial Soul Fusion Skill again."

That blunt and incisive analysis was like a heavy hammer smashing viciously into Wang Dong's confidence.

A powerful sense of defeat washed over her once again.

She realized that before this roommate, she had been crushed completely in every aspect, from Martial Soul to strength to the foundation she had always been proud of.

She lowered her head dejectedly, released Yun Yi's arm, and looked utterly dispirited.

But the pride in Wang Dong's bones would never allow her to remain depressed.

After being downcast for only a few seconds, she abruptly raised her head. Her eyes locked onto Yun Yi, blazing with unprecedented fighting spirit and a refusal to admit defeat.

"You think I'm weak and holding you back, huh? Fine. Very well." Wang Dong declared through gritted teeth.

She turned and strode toward her still relatively intact wooden bed, leaping onto it before sitting down cross-legged.

Yun Yi raised an eyebrow and slowly walked over. "What are you doing?"

"Quit talking!" Wang Dong grabbed both of Yun Yi's hands and forcibly pressed their palms together. "From now on, other than eating, sleeping, and attending class, we'll spend all our remaining time cultivating together! I won't rest until I break through to the Soul Elder realm! I want to see what excuse you'll have left to stop me once my cultivation catches up!"

Seeing Wang Dong's desperate, all-or-nothing attitude, the corners of Yun Yi's lips lifted slightly.

This little girl's temperament was not entirely beyond saving.

The cultivation cheat and mobile battery Tang San had sent over seemed quite useful for now.

Yun Yi said nothing more and simply sat cross-legged on the edge of the bed.

Their palms faced each other.

Their breathing gradually fell into sync.

Brilliant golden light erupted from their joined palms in an instant.

Yun Dong Power formed a perfect circulating bridge between their young bodies.

The aura of ultimate light purified every speck of dust in the room, filling Dormitory 109 with sacred and tranquil energy fluctuations.

Massive amounts of heaven and earth energy were drawn in by the ultimate light, pouring madly through the dormitory window before turning into specks of golden radiance that merged into their bodies.

Wang Dong felt every pore across her body continuously open. The comfort of having both her soul and body nourished at once made her secretly marvel inwardly.

Shrek Academy's first night quietly passed amid the two's focused and efficient dual cultivation.