At this moment, thanks to activating his Martial Soul True Body, Xiao Lin's physical qualities had been greatly enhanced. The burden of sustaining the Twin Flamehearts on his body was no longer much of an issue.
What limited him now was his soul power.
Fortunately, Xiao Lin's soul power was already far beyond other Soul Masters of the same rank. And since he had only used the True Body at the very last moment, more than half of his reserves still remained.
Even so, Xiao Lin did not plan to rush over to help his teammates.
Because, in his line of sight, Donnie and the others were already on the verge of victory.
Three minutes earlier.
While Kaku was dueling Xiao Lin, Snake and Assad had also found opponents of their own.
Originally, the two had planned to coordinate and fight together.
But the Shi brothers' relentless taunts had forcibly separated them.
As a result, Shi Mo ended up fighting Snake alone, while Donnie faced Assad one-on-one.
That's right — only Shi Mo fought Snake. This was because Shi Mo wanted to use the pressure of Snake's strength to push himself through to Level 44.
Although Shi Mo had originally been a level higher than Shi Mo's brother Shi Mo (石磨), the consumption of immortal herbs had evened out their soul power levels.
But even then, Shi Mo was already right on the edge of breaking through to Level 44. That was why he volunteered to take on Snake.
Considering Snake's Martial Soul was serpent-type and filled with poison, Shi Mo's brother Shi Mo still stayed close by, ready to intervene and prevent any accidents.
With Shi Mo's enhanced Xuanwu Martial Soul and the raw might of his fourth soul skill, their battle was essentially one-sided.
Meanwhile, on the other battlefield, Donnie and Assad clashed.
At this point, Donnie's body bore numerous wounds. Much of her clothing had been torn, exposing patches of pale, snow-white skin beneath.
Assad, a short and ugly middle-aged man, however, hadn't suffered a single injury. His strange soul power twisted unnaturally as he fought.
"Heh heh heh… Little girl, I told you already. There's no way you can win. I am a Soul King — and you're just a mere Soul Ancestor."
"And more than that… I've already seen your fate. Next, you'll say: None of your business."
Assad grinned wide, exposing yellowed teeth, his lustful gaze roaming shamelessly over Donnie's fair, supple skin.
"None of your business!"
Just as he predicted, Donnie snapped back with those exact words. Even she froze in momentary shock, frowning.
She, the one who bore the destiny of a soul beast, had actually been seen through?
Impossible. Donnie refused to believe such a thing.
This ugly wretch must have used some other trick.
Donnie silently affirmed this to herself. She wasn't about to believe his words, no matter how many wounds she suffered.
At the same time, Assad himself was puzzled.
His Martial Soul was the Black Fate Butterfly, an evil spirit that specialized in stealing the fortune of others.
He had long relied on its deceptive soul skill to confuse opponents, making them believe in his foresight. Then, when they lost confidence, he would steal their luck.
Once stolen, his own fortune would grow stronger.
Against ordinary Soul Masters, he often didn't even need to fight. Those who dared to attack him would be struck down by "misfortune" and die miserably before his eyes.
Up to now, only Soul Emperors and above, or exceptionally talented Soul Kings, could resist him — their destiny and fortune too great to be stolen.
But this young girl before him? She was only a Soul Ancestor. Yet she had not fallen to bad luck, nor did she seem to believe his fate-reading tricks.
Could it be… her fortune was far greater than he imagined?
If so… then stealing her luck might grant him the chance to break through to the rank of Soul Emperor!
Assad's perverse smile widened at the thought.
"You're pretty good, little girl. How about becoming my woman? Stick with me, and you'll live the good life — wine, meat, riches, everything you could ever want."
He voiced his obscene thoughts without shame, trying to provoke her further.
But Donnie didn't even glance at him. His filthy words were useless.
"If you really saw my destiny… you wouldn't still be standing there."
Donnie sneered coldly. She understood this was a fight to the death.
If she were to fall here, her soul bone would be exposed. Worse — her secret as a transformed soul beast would be revealed.
No matter what, this man would never ignore the temptation of a soul bone.
Which meant only one thing — Assad was bluffing.
He wasn't seeing destiny. He was deceiving her, trying to confuse her with some unknown trick.
With that thought firm in her mind, Donnie raised her Golden Dragon Spear once again and charged.
She refused to believe that this ugly wretch could keep evading her strikes forever while leaving her to bleed.
With the might of the strongest beast-type Martial Soul, the Golden Dragon, Donnie did not believe she could lose to some strange control-type.
Boosted by her four soul rings — yellow, purple, purple, black — her speed rivaled that of an agility-type at the same rank.
In less than a second, she was upon Assad, thrusting her spear.
The sheer force tore the air apart, creating a sonic boom. At such speed, the dragon's head carved into the spear seemed to breathe fire.
The spearhead blazed as it burned.
Like Xiao Lin's third soul skill, it was an attack so fast and powerful that friction against the air itself ignited it.
Of course, it also stemmed from Donnie's own Extreme Fire attribute.
"Pointless, pointless! I told you, you'll never hit me!"
Assad taunted again, his black wings flickering as he twisted aside at the very last instant.
Her blazing spear grazed past his ear, missing by a hair's breadth.
No matter how late he moved, he always managed to evade.
Donnie narrowed her eyes. But the next instant, her lips curled upward. She swept her spear sideways in a golden arc.
Assad bent backward, narrowly dodging again.
"Hah! As I thought. It's getting harder for you to evade. Which means your little trick has failed… You never saw my destiny at all, did you?"
Her spirits soared as she pieced it together.
This man hadn't predicted her fate. From the very beginning, he had simply confused her with words, trying to script her responses and guide her attacks.
It had worked at first. But now…
There were two things Assad didn't know:
First, Donnie never truly believed his lies.
Second, the longer Donnie fought, the stronger she became. With each injury, her body only grew fiercer, her strength sharper.
Now, Assad could barely dodge her blows at all.
"You damned bitch!"
Assad roared, his ugly face twisting with fury and shame at being seen through.
In that instant — shhk! — the Golden Dragon Spear pierced through his abdomen.
Its devastating devouring power swallowed his very life force.
In moments, Assad's eyes dimmed into lifeless glass. His body crumpled as all vitality drained away.
(End of Chapter)