Chapter 31.2
Chapter 31.2: The Golden Path VS Netherworld White Tiger
Du Weilun’s facial muscles twitched as he resisted laughing out loud. Fan Yu, on the other hand, had covered his face with his hands and buried his head in his lap, acting as if he didn’t recognise Qian Duoduo.
Dean Qian was an extremely outstanding person in many aspects, but he had a single shortcoming—his stinginess. Because of that, he was given the extremely long nickname of ‘lots of money, small hands, cheapskate, porcelain quail, glass rat, glazed cat’ in the Academy. The meaning of this nickname was that, even though he had a lot of money and resources, it’d be an extremely difficult task to take anything from him. He was the very definition of the word stingy!
It was true that Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong had a slight edge in the match. Strength-wise, they were inferior to Dai Huabin, even if they worked together. However, Huo Yuhao’s Spiritual Detection played a decisive role in their current situation. By relying on its powerful prediction abilities, they were able to fight with Dai Huabin without meeting him head on; all of their attacks were strategic in that they forced Dai Huabin to act defensively. Wang Dong’s wings were fully unfurled under the strengthening effect of the Haodong Power, while Huo Yuhao moved around using the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Tracks, making it seem as if the two were acting as one. As Wang Dong’s dazzling blue wings soared about the sky, Dai Huabin could only cry out to no avail, no matter how fiercely he attacked.
It wasn’t as if he hadn’t taken any risks; the problem was that his opponents seemed to be able to see through all of his plans. In the end, the only things he had to show for it were the wounds on his body. However, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were still able to ingeniously evade all of his attacks.
Dai Huabin had also been paying attention to Zhu Lu’s situation. At the beginning of the battle, Zhu Lu had already gone all-out, bringing her speed to the limit in an attempt to break through Xiao Xiao’s wall. Because of that, her soul power consumption had been extremely large. On the other hand, Xiao Xiao, who’d already formed a strategy to counter her, had consumed much less soul power than Zhu Lu. Even though she’d released both of her martial souls, she was only using the first soul skill of her Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute.
Zhu Lu’s speed had clearly decreased, and due to the Ninephoenix Worshipping Flute’s speed-inhibiting soul skill, her exhaustion was now beginning to show.
Dai Huabin had continuously used his White Tiger’s Vajra Transformation for the sake of maintaining his absolute advantage in attack power, but he was starting to find it difficult to manage its enormous consumption of soul power. From his point of view, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong should’ve consumed a similarly enormous amount of soul power. However, they were both seemingly still filled with energy. If the battle continued like this, he could actually lose the match.
“If you have any ability, meet me head on!” Dai Huabin roared angrily. He wasn’t able to hold back his rage any longer.
A trace of disdain appeared on Huo Yuhao’s lips. “Don’t you know what strategy is? You’re the son of the White Tiger Duke, yet you don’t even know what strategy is. What a piece of rubbish.”
A savage light flashed through Dai Huabin’s eyes. Suddenly, to Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong’s astonishment, he cancelled his White Tiger’s Vajra Transformation.
Although they had the assistance of Huo Yuhao’s Spiritual Detection, the two of them had always avoided a direct confrontation with Dai Huabin; they’d always maintained a fixed distance between them. Even though Huo Yuhao was aware of Dai Huabin’s actions, their movements had slowed due to their bewilderment.
Dai Huabin didn’t advance, but instead wildly retreated. The sudden change in his movements sent Huo Yuhao’s trio into a daze. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao was able to tell from the circulation of Dai Huabin’s soul power that his actions weren’t a trap, but a genuine retreat.
The instant Dai Huabin turned back, Zhu Lu made a move as well. After using a Netherworld Stab on Xiao Xiao, she instantly retreated towards Dai Huabin.
What are they doing? Are they trying to recover their soul power?
Wang Dong jumped off Huo Yuhao’s shoulder, while Xiao Xiao hurriedly rushed back to their side. The three of them all had puzzled looks in their eyes.
Suddenly, inexplicably, Huo Yuhao’s heart began to palpitate intensely. This feeling wasn’t new to him; when he’d entered the Great Star Dou Forest before entering Shrek Academy, he’d felt this exact feeling when he met his first soul beast. It was a mysterious premonition that came from his Spirit Eyes.
They were in a match right now, and their strange actions along with the palpitations in his heart shook Huo Yuhao’s heart. He cried out involuntarily, “Are they trying to release a fusion skill?”
At that exact moment, Dai Huabin let out a tiger-like roar. This was followed by his body immediately expanding once again, along with white fur and black stripes frantically surging out.
Zhu Lu softly bit her teeth together, followed by her body being covered in a faint black light. Her body then floated into the air, and even seemed to have become transparent. Afterwards, she spread her arms towards Dai Huabin.
The current Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu could only see each other. Dai Huabin’s twin pupils had fused into a single pupil, but the grimness in his eyes still remained. Contrarily, Zhu Lu’s gaze had become as tranquil as water, making it seem as if she were going to melt into him.
In that instant, the auras of the White Tiger and the Netherworld Civet had fused completely, giving off an extremely mysterious feeling. The white tiger seemed to have devoured the black cat, and an intense undulation of soul power erupted from their fused body like a geyser. The two lights fused into a single entity within the golden halo, giving off a transcendent feeling.
A martial soul fusion wasn’t as simple as ‘1+1=2’. Even two identical martial souls might not possess a fusion skill, because the act of the fusion itself required the two souls to both complement each other and have perfect compatibility. When a fusion skill was released, its incarnation was definitely not just at the level of two soul masters; it was a transcendent existence.
Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu’s bodies vanished in the instant that the fusion occurred, leaving only an enormous White Tiger in the Assessment Area. The White Tiger’s body was transparent, while its fur was lined with black stripes. Its purple eyes gazed coldly at Huo Yuhao’s trio.
Yes, this was the secret that belonged to the bloodline of the White Tiger Dukedom and the Zhu Family, which was also a top-ranked noble family within the Star Luo Empire; the secret of a martial soul fusion.
Almost all White Tiger Duke’s were wed to a woman from the Zhu Family. This was also the case for the Duke’s wife who’d persecuted Huo Yuhao’s mother. The reason that she was able to cover the heavens within the White Tiger Duke’s Mansion wasn’t just due to her own authority. It was also due to the strength of her family, as well as the large amount of strength she herself possessed!
The martial soul that belonged to the White Tiger Dukedom had a more accurate name—the Evil Eyed White Tiger. Moreover, the most distinct trait of a person who possessed the Evil Eyed White Tiger would be the two pupils in his eyes. On the other hand, there was an extremely high chance that the Evil Eyed White Tiger would have a high enough compatibility rate to perform a martial soul fusion with the Zhu Family’s Netherworld Civet.
The bloodline of the White Tiger Duke had maintained a close relationship with the Zhu Family since ancient times. In the past, when the bloodline of the White Tiger Duke was still the royal family of the Star Luo Empire, the Zhu Family had inherited the position of prime ministers. Although the two families no longer held their past glory, these enormous, deeply-rooted powers still held important positions within the Star Luo Empire. Furthermore, the best tie and bridge between the Duke’s Mansion and the Zhu Family were the marriages that had occurred in the past.