Martial Soul Fusion Skills

[In the days that followed, you settled into Chrysanthemum Garden.]

[Every day, as dawn barely broke, you entered the Fragrant Collection Pavilion and buried yourself among its volumes. From the Illustrated Catalogue of Immortal Herbs to the Comprehensive Guide to the Spiritual Qi of Plants, from the Study of Rare Flowers and Exotic Plants to Fragmentary Alchemical Formulas, you read through them all, even Chrysanthemum Douluo's casually annotated notes and reflections, without missing so much as half an essay.]

[Volume after volume, you read, annotated, and worked through deductions, never stopping, day or night.]

[The wealth of Chrysanthemum Douluo's collection far exceeded your imagination.]

[Dugu Bo's collection was substantial too, but it largely followed the path of toxicology and pharmacology, emphasizing "application"-methods of administering poison, formulas for antidotes, ways to fight poison with poison. Every last item concerned practical use.]

[Chrysanthemum Douluo's collection, however, placed greater weight on the true nature of plants, emphasizing "inherent properties"-their innate gifts, the natural spiritual resonance of flowers, and the cycles of withering and flourishing, soils, and waters suited to rare flowers and exotic plants. It encompassed everything.]

[You devoured this knowledge like someone starving and parched, anchoring your memories with mental power while also activating your Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, using the resonance of your plant essence to sense the rhythms of life described in the books.]

[Though you read quickly, your understanding was not shallow in the slightest.]

[Chrysanthemum Douluo often entered the Fragrant Collection Pavilion. Sometimes he brought a pot of freshly roasted chrysanthemum tea, its steam curling upward; sometimes he came only to retrieve a volume that was the sole surviving copy in the world, his footsteps exceedingly light; more often, he merely walked a quiet circuit among the rows of bookshelves with his hands behind his back, his gaze passing lightly over the pages spread across your desk and your freshly inked annotations.]

[Seeing your clearly organized annotations and original insights, some of which could even fill gaps in his collection, the appreciation in his gaze deepened further.]

[When you had leisure, you sat opposite each other, sipping tea and discussing flowers and plants. From the medicinal properties of plants to the circulation of Soul Power, from the origins of all things to Martial Soul Evolution, the more you talked, the more you found yourselves in accord. Often, a cup of tea would cool and be refilled, and more than half a day would pass without either of you noticing.]

[One evening, as you leaned over your desk reading an ancient text, the bamboo shadows outside the window abruptly darkened, and the chrysanthemum fragrance drifting beneath the corridor suddenly hung still.]

[An illusory black shadow seeped through a crack in the wall like ink, slowly gathering into form on the floor.]

[Sensing something, you raised your eyes.]

[The visitor was wrapped in a loose black robe, his face hidden beneath the shadow of his hood. Only a pair of deep, dark eyes remained exposed, like two still pools of icy water without the slightest ripple.]

[You had never seen this man before, yet you instantly guessed his identity-]

[Ghost Douluo, Gui Mei, an elder of the Elder Hall and a level ninety-five agility-attack Titled Douluo.]

[Utterly unlike Chrysanthemum Douluo's flamboyant, feminine manner, Ghost Douluo was gloomy and taciturn, one of Spirit Hall's foremost covert assassins and shadow guards.]

[The bond between him and Chrysanthemum Douluo counted as an anomaly even across the entire Douluo Continent.]

[They had met when they were insignificant, supporting each other all the way to their present standing.]

[You had once heard Chrysanthemum Douluo mention in passing that most of the rare and exotic varieties in this flower garden had been personally sought out for him by Ghost Douluo, who had traveled far and wide.]

[You set down your book, rose, and cupped your hands in greeting. "Greetings, Your Eminence Ghost Douluo."]

[Ghost Douluo said nothing, merely staring steadily at you, not the slightest sound emerging from beneath his black robe.]

[Already knowing his aloof disposition, you took no offense and said softly, "Have you come to see Elder Ju, Your Eminence? He is most likely tending the flowers and plants in the rear garden at the moment."]

[Ghost Douluo gave a slight nod. The next instant, his figure dissolved into wisps of black smoke and drifted through the gap in the window, vanishing without a trace in the blink of an eye.]

[Ghost Douluo's appearance brought something else to mind-Martial Soul Fusion Skills.]

[Martial Soul Fusion Skills were rare and powerful special combat skills, jointly activated by two or more Soul Masters through Martial Soul resonance. Their power far exceeded the simple sum of individual abilities, enough to allow combat against opponents of a higher level.]

["Douluo Continent" had no shortage of famous Martial Soul Fusion Skills: Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo's "Two Extremes Stillness Domain," the Star Luo Zhu Family and Dai Family's "Hell White Tiger," and Yu Xiaogang, Liu Erlong, and Flender's "Golden Sacred Dragon"...]

[Yet as you looked in the direction Ghost Douluo had departed, a question suddenly arose in your heart-]

[The users of these Martial Soul Fusion Skills all shared profoundly deep emotional bonds. Did those bonds arise from their feelings for one another, or did Martial Soul resonance, in turn, seep into their hearts?]

[You rose and searched among the shelves, hoping to find an answer in the texts.]

[But after you leafed through several relevant works, most recorded only cultivation methods and assessments of power. They devoted only a few scant lines to the mutual influence on the soul, and even those were vague.]

[You did not mind finding no answer, merely committing the question to memory. Returning to your desk, you collected yourself and let your fingertips fall upon the pages once more, soon becoming immersed in the texts again.]

[About an incense stick's worth of time later, Chrysanthemum Douluo pushed open the door and entered, carrying a pot of freshly brewed chrysanthemum tea.]

[His eyes swept lightly around the room, catching the lingering dark, spectral aura in the air, and the corner of his mouth lifted slightly. "Old Ghost was here?"]

["Yes." You nodded. "I told him where you were, and he left."]

[He set the teapot on the desk, the faintest trace of warmth rising in his eyes. "Old Ghost is aloof by nature and has always been a man of few words. Don't take it to heart."]

[You nodded slightly, having never taken it to heart in the first place.]

[Your fingertips unconsciously brushed the edges of the yellowed pages. A thought stirred, and you chose your words carefully. "Senior, I just came across An Introduction to Martial Soul Resonance. It records that mastering a Martial Soul Fusion Skill requires both parties to understand each other's hearts, possess compatible souls and Martial Souls of comparable strength, and, moreover, have complementary attributes or origins that share the same root and nurture one another."]

["Mm." Chrysanthemum Douluo raised an eyebrow slightly. With his little finger tilted upward, he lifted the plain porcelain teapot and poured you half a cup of clear chrysanthemum tea, the liquid swirling in the cup. "After taking so many turns, little one, what exactly are you trying to ask?"]

[You accepted the cup and thanked him before raising your eyes to ask, "I have heard that Martial Souls are the outward manifestations of a person's soul and bloodline. And using a Martial Soul Fusion Skill requires both parties' Soul Power to mingle and their minds to resonate. With such deep entanglement at the level of the spirit and soul, would they not gradually influence each other's dispositions and states of mind?"]

[At your words, Chrysanthemum Douluo set down the teapot and tapped the rim of his cup with neither a heavy nor a light touch. After a moment's silence, he slowly said, "Martial Soul Fusion Skills inherently require the users' spirits and souls to connect, so naturally, they share a portion of their perceptions and emotional imprints."]

["And most Martial Soul Fusion Skills distinguish between a dominant and a subordinate user. The dominant user determines the fused form, the direction of its abilities, and even the weighting of their wills; the subordinate user chiefly provides Soul Power support and attribute enhancements, keeping most of their spirit and soul withdrawn while passively accepting guidance and direction."]

["Over time, the dominant user's disposition, emotions, and even subconscious fixations and preferences seep into the subordinate user like water into paper, subtly influencing them. It is like two streams joining the same river: the stronger current will always divert the course of the other."]

[You nodded and listened quietly, without interrupting.]

["However-" He shifted tack, his fingertips rubbing the warm side of his cup. "The 'Two Extremes Stillness Domain' Old Ghost and I use is somewhat different from ordinary Martial Soul Fusion Skills."]

["Oh?" A hint of surprise passed through your eyes. "How is it different?"]

["With ordinary Martial Soul Fusion Skills, even if both Martial Souls are of equal quality, distinctions of dominance and subordination, strength and weakness, can always be drawn from gender, disposition, or Soul Power realm."]

[He paused briefly, lifting his cup to take a small sip.]

["But Old Ghost and I-"]

["Old Ghost's Martial Soul, the ghost, is the utmost yin and the utmost insubstantial; my Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum is the utmost yang and the utmost substantial. The two extremes of yin and yang are inherently equal existences."]

["Moreover, we are both men, and our dispositions are evenly matched. Thus, our Martial Soul Fusion Skill has never distinguished between dominant and subordinate. There are only two opposing extremes, checking and balancing each other."]

[You nodded thoughtfully.]

[Yet Chrysanthemum Douluo did not stop there. He lifted his cup again, rubbing its warm side with his fingertips, his voice growing a little weightier. "But-even so, I can still clearly perceive that, from the day we mastered our Martial Soul Fusion Skill, his disposition and mine have been quietly drawing closer to each other."]

["He has shed some of his sinister coldness and silent isolation, while I have reined in some of my sharpness and flamboyance."]

[You nodded silently, a glimmer of understanding passing through your heart.]

[The influence Martial Soul Fusion Skills exerted on their users ran far deeper than people understood.]

[Between people of opposite sexes, this spiritual entanglement might gradually give rise to romantic feelings; between those of the same sex, this resonance could also lead them to regard each other as confidants.]

[For spouses and family members, this might be flowers added to brocade, deepening their bonds and bringing their hearts closer.]

[But for people whose positions and aspirations already differed, this influence might not be a blessing.]

[You could not help recalling various things from the original work-]

[Zhu Zhuqing had originally been independent and decisive, self-reliant and strong, yet after mastering the "Hell White Tiger" fusion skill with Dai Mubai, she gradually lost her own sharp edges, becoming increasingly dependent on his pace and decisions. Without realizing it, she had become the fusion skill's "subordinate accessory."]

[There was also the love triangle that had entangled the "Golden Iron Triangle" for half their lives. Yu Xiaogang was cowardly and evasive, yet Liu Erlong only tolerated and accommodated him, while Flender chose to silently help them be together. How could that bond among the three of them, impossible to sever and only growing more tangled when unraveled, not also have been a product of their dispositions accommodating one another and making mutual compromises after prolonged Martial Soul resonance?]

[Such a technique of spiritual fusion appeared to be a shortcut to defeating enemies above one's level, yet concealed the worry of "eroding the self." Especially with fusion skills that clearly distinguished dominant from subordinate, over the long years, the subordinate user's disposition would inevitably have its edges worn smooth, their will quietly drawn along, until they finally became the dominant user's shadow.]

[Viewed this way, using Martial Soul Fusion Skills demanded the utmost caution-the stronger the resonance, the greater the need for a clear sense of self as an anchor.]