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Seven Days Later
As they wrapped up training and headed for dinner, Ma Hongjun stumbled in, bruised and ragged. "Boss Ning, help me!" he bawled, tears streaking his swollen face.
"What's wrong?" Ning Tian asked, a smirk tugging at his lips. Ma Hongjun looked like he'd been pummeled half to death.
"I got jumped," Ma Hongjun sobbed, spilling the tale: he'd fancied a girl at the brothel, only for Bu Le, a creep with a Heavenly Net Double Cover martial soul to snatch her and nearly kill him.
Ning Tian knew Bu Le's type, preying on the vulnerable. "Show me where," he said.
Zhu Zhuqing, itching to test her skills, added, "I'm in."
Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong, passing by, joined after hearing the story. He baited Bu Le out, and finished him with one sword stroke.
......…
Five days passed, and Yu Xiaogang launched his "second phase": sending the Shrek team to Soutuo City's Great Spirit Arena for silver badges in solo and group fights. First, he summoned Tang San and Dai Mubai.
"Little San, Mubai, you've felt the link between your martial souls, right?"
They nodded grudgingly. The others perked up even Zhu Zhuqing, though her bond with Dai Mubai had faded.
"Summon your martial souls and fuse them," Yu Xiaogang pressed. "Master this, and you'll be Shrek's backbone, maybe even outshine Ning Tian."
That last bit sparked their interest. Alone, they doubted they could top Ning Tian, but together… maybe. "Let's do it," Dai Mubai growled, roaring as his White Tiger emerged, two yellow and one purple soul rings glowing. White light swallowed him.
Tang San called forth his Blue Silver Grass, mirroring the ring setup, cloaked in blue. Their energies clashed—one white, one blue as they drew near, almost embracing. Dai Mubai's gaze fixed on Tang San, his usual scorn replaced by focus. Tang San felt an odd tug, his eyes lingering on Dai Mubai in a way that stirred unease like glimpsing Xiao Wu. The thought twisted his gut, not from illness but disgust, nearly breaking the fusion.
"Why's it failing?" Flender muttered.
Yu Xiaogang frowned. "Fusion needs harmony, but their martial souls match perfectly. It should work regardless."
Ning Tian stepped up. "Dean, let me try."
Flender nodded. Ning Tian's insight often eclipsed Yu Xiaogang's. "Mubai, Tang San, follow him. No fighting it."
Reluctantly, they obeyed. Ning Tian's approach was blunt: force the fusion through contact. He gripped their heads, easing them closer until their faces nearly touched, a scene uncomfortably close to a kiss.
The group winced, but the fusion energy spiked. Then, with a quick push, Ning Tian pressed their lips together.
"What the—?!" they shouted, too late to stop it.
Once their lips met, they couldn't pull apart. Their forms melded, white and blue lights weaving together as their martial souls fused fully.
A surge of soul power pulsed outward, beyond Spirit Elder strength rivaling a level forty-four or forty-five Spirit Ancestor. Tang San and Dai Mubai vanished, replaced by a towering tiger, seven meters long and two meters high. Its fur wasn't white or blue-black but a striking green, odd and unsettling.
'Though the way to do soul fusion feels…..unconventional, if it works it's fine.' Yu Xioagang through before leaning in eagerly. "Little San, how does it feel?"
"Master, it's Mubai," the tiger rumbled in Dai Mubai's voice. His higher soul power gave him control. "I feel powerful, like I could crush a Spirit Ancestor with one hit. Master, can I test this Evil-Eyed Green Tiger?"
His eyes locked on Ning Tian, eager for a fight.
"Go ahead," Yu Xiaogang said, thrilled at the prospect of humbling Ning Tian.
The others cleared the field. Ning Tian's yellow, purple, and purple soul rings flared as he summoned his Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Sword. 'Good timing, let me see the result of the training' he thought.
"Don't blink," the green tiger snarled, its massive frame blurring into motion.
Ning Tian sidestepped the charge and, with his first soul ring aglow, swung a heavy overhead strike.
It ended in an instant. Both flew back—Dai Mubai spat blood mid-air, Tang San coughing from the recoil. Their fused form spun wildly until Flender caught them.
"Ning Tian, they're your teammates! That was too much!" Yu Xiaogang snapped, torn between shock and anger.
"Master, Dai Mubai wasn't holding back either," Ning Tian said.
"Exactly," Ning Rongrong piped up. "You can't expect Ning Tian to just stand there."
Ma Hongjun grinned slyly. "Master, we respect you, but don't pick sides."
Zhu Zhuqing's tone was frigid. "Shameless."
Xiao Wu stayed quiet, mindful of Tang Hao, but her look said enough. Oscar, intimidated by months of Ning Tian's fists, kept silent.
Yu Xiaogang glanced around, seeing no trace of awe in their eyes. His three months of "work" had been a farce—they'd never taken him seriously.
Flender coughed, breaking the tension. "Enough for today. Pack up, we're going to Soutuo City tonight."
As they scattered, Tang San staggered up, still reeling. "Ning Tian, hold on."
Ning Tian turned, smirking. "What, round two?"
"No," Tang San said, startling them all. "You were right. My teacher's theories are off."
The words struck Yu Xiaogang like a bolt, leaving him dazed. "Little San, you—"
"I'm sorry, Master," Tang San said, voice thick. "But your ideas are flawed. Since hitting level thirty, my martial soul's side effects have plagued me. After my third ring, it's worse. If I stick to your plan, I'll get nowhere."
He faced Ning Tian. "If I take a wood-type soul ring for my fourth, can I undo the damage?"
'Finally seeing it,' Ning Tian thought, masking his glee. He shook his head gravely. "Not easily. The poison rings are already stalling you. Even if you hit level forty in three or five years with a wood ring, it won't overpower the poison. You'd need at least your fifth ring for that."
"Fifth ring?" Tang San's face darkened. Three to five years for the fourth was doable, but the fifth? By then, the others, especially Ning Tian, would be leagues ahead.
"Is there no other way?"
"Not unless you find an attribute strong enough to suppress the poison," Ning Tian said, nearly hinting at Tang San's second martial soul.
Tang San's eyes flickered. "So, a soul ring that outmatches the poison could do it?"
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