The Hai Po brothers, Seal-type Sea Soul Masters, unleashed their fifth Soul Skill—Demonic Soul Arrow Rain.
This fifth Soul Skill had been gained by hunting a peculiar species of fish Soul Beast native to the ocean depths. The creature didn't live in open waters or feed on marine life, but instead hunted birds flying over coastal shores. To acquire this Martial Soul, the Hai Po brothers had gone to extraordinary lengths—even forgoing a potential ten-thousand-year Soul Ring. All of it was to counter the natural enemy of sea Soul Masters: airborne Soul Masters.
The Demonic Soul Arrow Rain erupted. Every water arrow measured roughly a meter in length, shaped like a date pit, with the thickest point at the center roughly the width of a man's forearm. They shot forward at blistering speed, seemingly piercing the sky itself, their shrill whistles heart-stopping. Countless water arrows streaked directly toward Ma Hongjun in midair.
These were no ordinary water arrows. Each one was laden with massive Soul Power, amplified further by the water-attribute Martial Soul. This fifth Soul Skill was a perfect complement to their abilities—much like how Tang San's Blue Silver Emperor gained bonuses in a forest setting.
In the VIP box, Tang San and the others had all risen to their feet. Tang San's brows furrowed slightly. "Fatty's probably going to lose." Looking at the situation from every angle—Soul Power expenditure, positioning, timing—things looked terrible for Ma Hongjun. The worst part was that his opponents had already begun launching their Soul Skill while he was still ascending, putting him a step behind. By the time he tried to activate his own abilities, it might already be too late. Of course, if the Shrek Seven Devils were coordinating with him, the outcome would be entirely different. Unfortunately, Bai Chenxiang, who specialized purely in speed, had little she could do to help.
But at that very moment, Bai Chenxiang—who had been hovering motionless in the air—moved.
Her white figure left a trail of faint afterimages as she spun around, wings tucked close to her sides and only slightly spread. She dove headfirst toward the pool below with incomprehensible speed.
"What is Xiangxiang doing?!" Dai Mubai exclaimed in shock. The others tensed as well. They knew Bai Chenxiang's situation all too well. A single hit from that Demonic Soul Arrow Rain would be enough to deal her devastating damage.
Yet Bai Chenxiang proceeded to put her abilities on full display. Her third Soul Ring blazed to life. Her plummeting body swayed nimbly through the air, weaving through the gaps between the arrows, diving straight for the water's surface.
Ma Hongjun saw Bai Chenxiang dive past him and nearly had a heart attack, his throat tight with fear. But with a barrage of Demonic Soul Arrow Rain bearing down on him, he had no time to dwell on it. He spread his Phoenix Wings wide, bolstered by the dual amplification of Fire Phoenix Immersion, and braced himself head-on against the incoming attack. At the same time, he began channeling Soul Power without reservation to prepare his fifth Soul Skill—Phoenix Meteor Rain.
Bai Chenxiang's evasion in midair was breathtakingly elegant, like a white thread spiraling endlessly through the sky. She appeared to be plummeting straight down, yet she constantly sidestepped each incoming water arrow. No matter how powerful the attack, if it couldn't make contact with her body, it was useless. In the blink of an eye, she had nearly reached the water's surface.
The Shrek Seven Devils knew Bai Chenxiang had no offensive capability, but the Hai Po brothers did not. Ma Hongjun's strength had already shocked the two brothers considerably, and although Bai Chenxiang had only four Soul Rings, they were at the optimal configuration. This was the first time she had made a move since the fight began, and judging by her posture, she appeared to be striking with overwhelming force.
Startled, the brothers reacted immediately. The Demonic Soul Arrow Rain that had been hurtling toward Ma Hongjun rapidly contracted its spread, converging on Bai Chenxiang's descending position, attempting to snipe her before she reached the water.
But their attack speed simply couldn't keep up with Bai Chenxiang's movement speed. Moreover, Bai Chenxiang had never intended to attack in the first place. Just as her body was about to touch the water, she gracefully twisted, her wings beating once. Her downward momentum reversed sharply. Less than three meters from the surface, she pulled upward, tracing a beautiful arc before soaring skyward once more.
The sheer force of her dive left a long ripple trailing across the pool's surface. The Demonic Soul Arrow Rain that had targeted her sailed harmlessly through empty air.
Ma Hongjun had been weathering the Demonic Soul Arrow Rain with his body alone, under crushing pressure. But Bai Chenxiang's swooping feint had pulled the Hai Po brothers' attention dramatically, cutting the number of arrows he had to face. Relying on Phoenix Wings Soaring and Fire Phoenix Immersion, he held his ground by sheer brute force. And it was precisely then that his fifth Soul Skill—Phoenix Meteor Rain—completed.
Dense, scorching flames condensed in midair, coalescing into a vast cloud of fire, with Ma Hongjun at its core. The Hai Po brothers had driven Bai Chenxiang back, and their Demonic Soul Arrow Rain skill had been nearly spent. It was at this moment that they felt the enormous pressure descending from above.
Seeing the black light shimmering around Ma Hongjun's fifth Soul Ring, the brothers' hearts sank simultaneously. They knew full well the gap between a ten-thousand-year Soul Skill and a thousand-year one. A resolute light flashed in their eyes. They clasped four hands together, and their fifth Soul Rings lit up once more.
The Phoenix Flame meteors began to materialize. Each one was the size of a millstone, trailing spectacular streams of fire as they plummeted toward the pool.
Simultaneously, the Hai Po brothers demonstrated their advantage in the water. Drawing on the water in the Dueling Arena pool, their fifth Soul Skill—which had consumed far less energy than Ma Hongjun's—erupted once again. The Demonic Soul Arrow Rain rose into the sky anew.
But this time was nothing like before. Ma Hongjun was no longer on the defensive. When he unleashed Phoenix Meteor Rain, every ounce of Soul Power in his body had been channeled into it through his two amplification skills. For him, this strike was all or nothing.
The Phoenix was king among all birds, and Phoenix Flame represented the absolute pinnacle of fire. While water could theoretically overcome fire from a compatibility standpoint, the quality of these sea Soul Masters' water simply couldn't compare to the caliber of the Phoenix Flame.
A single fire meteor falling often required dozens of Demonic Soul Arrows to neutralize, and there were far more meteors raining down.
With Ma Hongjun's current Soul Power, he couldn't fully control this Soul Skill, so some of the Phoenix Flame meteors crashed into the pool. The spectacle was magnificent, but it wasn't until the first fire meteor hit the water that the audience truly understood how terrifying this fifth Soul Skill from the Evil Fire Phoenix Ma Hongjun really was.
A single fire meteor entering the water produced an enormous plume of steam. The meteor spun violently underwater before detonating, sending a massive geyser skyward. Just that one meteor alone dropped the water level in the Dueling Pool by more than half a foot. The water temperature surged at a terrifying rate.
The Demonic Soul Arrow Rain, released jointly by two fifty-eighth-level Sea Soul Masters, still wasn't enough to stop the Phoenix Meteor Rain's power. Countless water arrows shot into the meteor swarm, managing only to slow their descent, while the immense crimson glow of fire continued to press downward. No one doubted what would happen when all those fire meteors finally hit the pool.
Only now did the audience understand that Ma Hongjun's earlier taunting hadn't been arrogance—he truly had the power to back it up.
The Hai Po brothers' faces had grown increasingly grim. The crushing pressure was suffocating them. Several fire meteors had already plunged into the pool, pushing the water temperature above their own body temperature. If this continued, they wouldn't be able to stay in the water at all, let alone withstand the hundreds of enormous fireballs still descending.
"Let's do it," Hai Bai growled.
The brothers drew a deep breath in unison. The next instant, they spread their arms wide and embraced each other. A blinding blue light exploded from their bodies. An overwhelming aura surged skyward. The entire pool churned as if they had activated a tidal wave technique, and the brilliant blue light instantly dyed every drop of water.
Pfft—another fire meteor plunged into the water. But this time, the moment it entered, it was shredded to pieces by the violent current.
In midair, the Fire Phoenix Immersion effect on Ma Hongjun had faded. He had no Soul Power left to sustain his second Soul Skill. The glow of his Phoenix Wings had dimmed considerably, barely keeping his body afloat.
Now, Fatty stared wide-eyed at the scene below. After the Hai Po brothers embraced, the massive blue light swallowed their bodies. The next moment, an impossibly powerful column of blue light erupted skyward. It wasn't aimed at Ma Hongjun—it simply shot straight up into the heavens. But the terrifying aura within it left Ma Hongjun shaken to his core.
Don't tell me I'm this unlucky? Ma Hongjun thought with a bitter laugh. He'd only come to show off a little—who would have guessed he'd run into freaks like these? With his battle experience, how could he fail to recognize this for what it was? The rarest and most devastating ability a Soul Master could possess—the Martial Soul Fusion Technique.
Two against one, he wasn't afraid. But when those two became a Martial Soul Fusion Technique, it wasn't a matter of one plus one. It was an exponential increase. Facing opponents like this, Fatty could forget about winning—staying alive was the real question.
The pool water seemed drawn by the blue light. When that massive blue pillar erupted skyward, the sheer force of it prevented Bai Chenxiang—who had just risen back into the air—from getting anywhere near. The terrifying pressure forced her to keep climbing. Streams of water poured into the column, causing the blue pillar to spin violently. In a matter of moments, it had taken shape into something truly horrifying.
This was the Hai Po brothers' Martial Soul Fusion Technique—the Forbidden Water Dragon Tornado.
What materialized before Ma Hongjun resembled an enormous whirlpool standing independently on the ground. The pool had been completely drained. One didn't need to think hard to understand—their combined Martial Soul Fusion Technique had to be equivalent to at least a seventieth-level Soul Skill, the kind that came with Avatar transformation.
"Fatty!" Bai Chenxiang screamed from above. Though she left the words unspoken, both Ma Hongjun and the Shrek Seven Devils understood what she meant. If it couldn't be done, just admit defeat. It was only a Dueling Arena match.
But Ma Hongjun paid her no heed. His gaze was heavy and resolute. He drew a deep breath. The Phoenix Wings behind him snapped open to their fullest extent, and then his entire body spun a full rotation in midair. Using the momentum from his wings, he drove the Phoenix Meteor Rain without the slightest hesitation toward the massive whirlpool.
In truth, he didn't even need to steer it—the enormous Water Dragon Tornado itself possessed tremendous suction.
Booming echoes rang out across the tornado as each fire meteor detonated in a massive explosion. But after every blast, the splashed water was immediately sucked back in by the vortex. The colossal blue tornado drifted slowly—yet inexorably—toward Ma Hongjun.
Ma Hongjun's Phoenix Wings could barely sustain his body any longer, but he still raised his right arm. A blinding golden-red radiance erupted, annihilating his sleeve in an instant. He had not given up. With a sharp shout, he threw his right fist forward.
This punch wasn't aimed at the Water Dragon Tornado. It struck the fire cloud generated by his fifth Soul Skill.
With a thunderous roar, the entire fire cloud detonated. Even more—irregular—fire meteors rained from the heavens, slamming into the Water Dragon Tornado from all directions.
And after throwing that punch, Fatty's face went ashen—pale as gold paper—as he plummeted straight down.
Bai Chenxiang had no time to worry about the crushing pressure bearing down on her. She carved an arc along the outer edge of the Dueling Pool's vertical range, swooping down to chase after Ma Hongjun's falling body. Just before he hit the ground, she barely managed to catch him.
It had to be remembered—the Dueling Pool was completely empty now. If he hit the bottom, Fatty would be lucky to survive, let alone stay in one piece.
Though Bai Chenxiang lacked offensive and defensive prowess, she was still a Soul Ancestor-level Soul Master with solid physical capabilities. Her powerful flight ability let her just barely bear Fatty's weight. But she couldn't fly back up with him—the two of them dropped straight to the pool floor.
And at that exact moment, the countless fire meteors collided violently with the Water Dragon Tornado. Explosions thundered as water sprayed in every direction, plunging the arena into its most explosive spectacle yet.
The audience was on the verge of madness, yet strangely, not a single cheer escaped their lips. Every ounce of their attention was locked on that final collision. Today's two-versus-two Duel had given them more surprises than they could handle. They had never witnessed such a magnificent clash of Soul Skills.
Amid the deafening roar, red was gradually swallowed by blue. Though the final barrage had been augmented by Fatty's flame-right-arm explosive strike, he was ultimately facing the Martial Soul Fusion Technique of two Sea Soul Masters.
The enormous vortex shrank by half—that was how much water the fire meteors had evaporated. But the remaining Water Dragon Tornado still towered dozens of meters high, its form twisting and spiraling.
"Are you okay?" Bai Chenxiang asked anxiously, supporting Fatty. His complexion was terrifying—Soul Power exhaustion had turned his chubby face a ghastly bluish-white, and his fat was still trembling uncontrollably.
But even looking like this, Fatty still managed to take the opportunity to lean into Bai Chenxiang's embrace. A strange little smile crept across his round, puffy face as he forced out the words: "Don't worship me. I'm just a legend. Break."
As if to prove Fatty's words, the dozens-of-meters-high Water Dragon Tornado shattered with a deafening boom, dissolving into countless streams of water cascading from the sky. Waves spun and splashed in every direction, flooding the Dueling Pool and spraying into nearly every corner of the two-versus-two arena.