Faced with the roar of shock and bewilderment from the Hell White Tiger, Dai Weisi slowly lowered his crossed arms.
He did not even look at the giant claw he had stopped with his bare hands. He merely fixed his indifferent gaze on the Hell White Tiger's eyes, as though he could see through the mass of energy and look straight into Dai Mubai's soul within.
"You don't need to know what my Martial Soul is."
Dai Weisi's voice was even, yet it carried an unquestionable authority that echoed clearly in everyone's ears.
"You only need to understand one thing, Dai Mubai."
He paused, his lips curling into a cold smile.
"Only I can lead the Star Luo Empire to true glory. You are nothing but a stumbling block in the fight for the throne, one that doesn't know its own limits."
His words were like an invisible sledgehammer, smashing into Dai Mubai's heart once again.
A stumbling block?
Didn't know his own limits?
All his resentment, anger, and fear were ignited in that instant, transforming into hysterical madness!
"Aaaaaah-!"
Dai Mubai's frenzied roar came from within the Hell White Tiger.
He abandoned all thought, his last shred of reason swallowed whole by surging killing intent.
"I'll kill you!"
"Roar-!"
The Hell White Tiger abruptly opened its bloody maw. A black-and-white ball of energy, formed from all of Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing's remaining Soul Power, gathered and compressed within it at an astonishing speed!
A violent presence spilled from it, making even the air hum under the strain.
"Hell White Tiger Break!"
Without a moment's hesitation, the destructive ball of energy transformed into a black-and-white pillar of light and blasted toward Dai Weisi, who was right in front of it, carrying the resolve to take him down with them!
That attack drained the last of their strength.
The hearts of everyone on the viewing platform leaped into their throats once more. At such close range, with such a terrifying burst of energy, how could he dodge?
Yet Dai Weisi still did not move aside.
Just as the pillar of light was about to engulf him, a nimble, phantomlike figure finally arrived from the other side of the arena and landed lightly beside him.
It was Zhu Zhuyun.
She did not even look at the deadly pillar of light. Her sharp eyes held nothing but complete trust in Dai Weisi.
Dai Weisi turned his head and met her gaze. It was as if invisible sparks flashed between them.
"Martial Soul Fusion Skill."
A simple phrase, yet it sounded like the most beautiful command in the world.
"Roar-!"
A tiger's roar, higher and more majestic than the one before, suddenly resounded through the sky!
Golden light and black radiance intertwined, the sacred and the netherworld dancing together.
Under everyone's horrified gazes, a new giant tiger appeared out of thin air, nearly a third larger than Dai Mubai's!
The white tiger's fur looked as though it had been cast from molten gold, and between its black stripes, brilliant golden light shimmered faintly.
It possessed none of the violence and chaos of Dai Mubai's Hell White Tiger. In their place was the domineering presence of a sovereign ruling the world, and... an immense air of slaughter!
It was as though it were not a Ferocious Beast of the mortal world, but a divine lord who administered punishment!
"He... heavens! An-another Hell White Tiger!"
"How is that possible?! The fusion of the eldest prince and the Zhu Family's eldest daughter... its presence is so much stronger!"
On the imperial throne, the Star Luo Emperor's body, still leaning forward, trembled slightly with excitement.
As soon as the new Hell White Tiger appeared, it faced the Hell White Tiger Break already hurtling toward its face and merely raised one forepaw in disdain.
Unlike the other Hell White Tiger's, the five claws on its paw were not made of bone. They were a heart-stopping dark gold, as though forged from the hardest divine metal in the world, their sharp edges bared!
The Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear Right Palm Bone!
Break.
A cold thought flashed through Dai Weisi's mind.
The dark-gold tiger claw used no fancy Soul Skill. It simply swung forward, direct and straightforward!
"Rip-!"
A piercing sound rang out, like cloth being torn apart.
Before those dark-gold claws, the destructive ball of light containing all of Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing's power was as fragile as a bubble.
It collapsed on contact!
The ball of light was torn in two in an instant. Its violent energy became two torrents that roared past either side of Dai Weisi's Hell White Tiger and slammed into the square behind it, blasting two bottomless craters into the ground.
Having done all that, the sacred Hell White Tiger did not pause for even a moment. Its hind legs kicked hard against the ground, and its enormous body turned into a bolt of gold-and-black lightning. Rather than retreat, it charged at its opponent!
The Hell White Tiger opposite it had become utterly enfeebled after unleashing that attack.
Now, seeing its killing blow broken so easily and another of its kind charging toward it with boundless divine might, a trace of fear finally appeared in its bestial eyes.
Dai Mubai, fused within it, was scared out of his wits!
He wanted to retreat, but his body was sluggish from exhaustion.
He could only watch helplessly as the giant dark-gold claw rapidly grew larger in his vision!
"Roar!"
Dai Weisi's Hell White Tiger let out an earth-shaking roar and swung its claw, showing no mercy as it struck its opponent squarely on the head!
"Boom-!!!!"
An immensely muffled crash rang out.
Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing's Martial Soul Fusion Skill could no longer hold together before such absolute power.
The enormous body of the Hell White Tiger twisted violently, then exploded like a pricked balloon, scattering into points of light that filled the sky.
Two figures flew backward out of the lights like kites with severed strings, landing heavily and awkwardly at the edge of the arena.
Pfft!
Dai Mubai struggled and spat out a great mouthful of blood, even mixed with fragments of his internal organs.
More than half the bones in his body were broken, and his face was as pale as paper. He struggled twice, but lacked even the strength to stand.
Zhu Zhuqing, on the other side, was in even worse condition.
Her Soul Power had already been far lower than Dai Mubai's. The moment their Martial Soul Fusion Skill was forcibly broken, the immense backlash overwhelmed her Sea of Consciousness, and she fell completely unconscious without so much as a groan.
Above the arena, the sacred Hell White Tiger also came apart, and Dai Weisi and Zhu Zhuyun reappeared.
Dai Weisi remained calm and composed, as though that earth-shattering blow had been nothing more than a warm-up for him.
Zhu Zhuyun's face was only slightly pale. She had used up quite a bit of Soul Power, but was otherwise unharmed.
The entire square was silent enough to hear a pin drop.
Everyone was stunned by the lightning-swift, overwhelmingly domineering conclusion.
From Dai Mubai's sneak attack, to Dai Weisi taking it head-on, to Dai Weisi striking back before his opponent could act, summoning a stronger Hell White Tiger and settling everything in a single blow.
The entire process had taken only a few dozen seconds.
Yet the shock it brought everyone far surpassed that of all the previous matches.
Dai Weisi walked slowly over to Dai Mubai and looked down at him. There was no pity in his eyes, only icy indifference.
"Now, what else do you have to say?"
Dai Mubai lay on the ground, gasping violently, each breath stirring the agony throughout his body.
He raised his head and fixed his bloodshot eyes on Dai Weisi.
The humiliation of defeat, the pain in his body, and his mental collapse had all failed to extinguish the last trace of pride in his eyes.
He bared his teeth, blood flowing steadily from the corners of his mouth, and let out a hoarse, crazed laugh.
"Heh heh... heh... if you're going to kill me, do it..."
"I, Dai Mubai... would rather die than yield!"
[Host has defeated Dai Mubai, a rival for the throne. God-Level Selection System activated!] [Choice one: pardon. In consideration of your brotherly bond, cripple his Soul Power, expel him from the imperial family, and reduce him to a commoner, never to set foot in Star Luo City again. Reward: Soul Power Level +1, one Thousand-Year Soul Ring.] [Choice two: execute. Pull up the grass by the roots and eliminate future trouble for good, using Dai Mubai's death to secure your position as crown prince once and for all. Reward: Soul Power Level +3, one Five Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring, one random Soul Bone.] [Choice three: humiliate. Imprison him in the deepest part of Star Luo City's imperial prison and use every means to leave him unable to live or die, witnessing the host rule the world amid endless despair and darkness. Reward: Soul Power Level +5, one Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring, one Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone for a body part of your choice!]