So then, what is the price?
Huo Yuhao's voice rang in Jiang Nannan's ears as he transmitted a message to her privately, "Nannan-jie, hurry back. I can't split my focus for too long to fight them—otherwise, it'll affect my support for Senior Yan and the others."
Strength on one side means weakness on the other. There's gain and loss—only then is balance maintained.
Jiang Nannan's face changed dramatically. She quickly retreated, trying to flee back to Sea God Island.
However, a mass of dark Blue Silver Grass suddenly transformed into a blockade, stopping her.
Tang Ya emerged from within the dark Blue Silver Grass, her voice cold.
"Nannan, where do you think you're going? Our soul battle isn't over yet!"
Tang Ya: Today, Jiang Nannan, you're mine! I said even if Huo Yuhao shows up, he won't be able to save you!
Jiang Nannan's expression darkened. She forced herself to calm down, showing no weakness.
"You think I'm afraid of you?"
If she showed clear intent to retreat now, it might raise Tang Ya's suspicion—and in turn, expose Huo Yuhao's vulnerability.
As Tang Ya's best friend and former roommate, Jiang Nannan knew well how sharp Tang Ya could be in certain matters. Especially now, when Tang Ya had become even harder to deal with—she could not afford to show any cracks.
"My soul power is nearly depleted. If things become truly hopeless, I'll sacrifice myself to let Dean Yan and the others fight freely. They have the far greater duty—to protect all of Shrek City!" Jiang Nannan resolved in her heart.
Just then, a warm current surged from her heart, spreading throughout her body—rapidly replenishing her depleted soul power.
Jiang Nannan was stunned, then quickly realized—this was a measure Huo Yuhao had left within her heart.
But not to control her—instead, to aid her in the crucial moment.
That realization moved her deeply.
Even though she had been the one to ask him to leave behind that ability, Huo Yuhao's silent concern, gentle like silent spring rain, had touched her heart.
"No wonder he's always surrounded by so many girls… Maybe this is why they all choose to stay by his side and refuse to leave," Jiang Nannan thought.
With her soul power restored, Jiang Nannan regained her confidence and prepared to fight Tang Ya once more.
But someone intervened in their battle.
"Tang Ya, your opponent is me!"
The sudden voice drew everyone's attention. The Skydream Iceworm immediately stopped its attacks, settling in place to spectate.
Huo Yuhao was a little helpless—Feng Ling's focus was distracted too. If he took this opportunity to slash her twice, maybe the battle would've ended already.
"If only Brother Tianmeng worked half as hard as Tang Ya, I'd feel so much more at ease."
But it wasn't a big deal.
Everyone turned and saw—it was Beibei who had arrived!
Beibei was panting slightly—he had run here from the back mountain on foot. After all, his soul power had been sealed.
If the Sea God Lake hadn't been frozen over, he wouldn't have even been able to reach Sea God Island on his own.
"Beibei-ge!"
"Beibei?"
"The Holy Son?!"
Both sides—Shrek and the Holy Spirit Cult—were shocked by Beibei's appearance.
Shrek's side was surprised mostly because his former teachers had no idea when Beibei had returned. As far as they knew, he had gone missing long ago.
And now, judging by his current state—he didn't look like he was fit to fight. Where was his soul power?
To outsiders, it was a dramatic moment—former lovers, now enemies on the battlefield.
The Holy Spirit Cult side was shocked for a different reason—Beibei was still alive?!
"Since when did Shrek get so soft? Our Holy Son falls into their hands and still lives?" muttered Fifth Enshrined Wu Yun.
Zhang Peng whispered beside him,
"Fifth Brother, you don't know—our Holy Son is actually a descendant of Dragon God Douluo Mu En. His status at Shrek is… special."
"Ah, that explains it," Wu Yun nodded in realization.
Since Zhang Peng often worked for Long Xiaoyao, he knew a lot of insider information—such as Beibei's identity.
That identity also made Zhang Peng pay extra attention to Beibei—especially since he'd once been beaten up by Mu En. Though he was spared after being confirmed not to be an evil soul master, he was so scared that he fled overnight to the Sun Moon Empire and eventually joined the Holy Spirit Cult.
Most of the other Enshrined members only knew Beibei was Long Xiaoyao's disciple—they didn't know much beyond that.
Being secluded cultivators, the Enshrined rarely paid attention to the outside world or got involved in Cult affairs—unless Long Xiaoyao personally instructed them.
Now, after hearing Zhang Peng's reveal, Wu Yun and the others began looking at Shrek with strange expressions.
Two of the Holy Spirit Cult's top figures—a Holy Son and a Holy Maiden—had both originated from Shrek Academy.
Was Shrek some kind of sanctuary for evil soul masters?
In fact, in the original story, all three Holy Sons and Holy Maidens of the Cult had ties to Shrek—that was truly astonishing.
If Tang Ya and Ma Xiaotao hadn't been redeemed in the original, the Cult might as well have been called "Shrek Academy – Evil Soul Master Branch."
As everyone's thoughts were tangled up, Beibei looked up and shouted to Huo Yuhao,
"Little Brother Huo! Remove my restraints! Shrek is in mortal danger—I cannot sit idly by!"
Huo Yuhao didn't hesitate at all—he trusted Beibei unconditionally.
"Alright! But Beibei-ge, I'll need to borrow the power of the Golden Ancient Tree to help remove the restrictions the Elders placed on you. It'll hurt—a lot. Please bear with it."
"Bring it on!" Beibei answered firmly.
"Here I come!"
A golden pillar of light descended from the sky, enveloping Beibei and cleansing his body. The next second, Beibei screamed in agony, dropping to his knees on the ice as veins bulged across his face.
Back then, the Elders had used the Golden Ancient Tree to seal Beibei's martial soul and soul power—so now, it had to be unsealed the same way.
Under the wash of the Golden Ancient Tree's power, a tiny golden tree-shaped mark appeared on Beibei's forehead—and then, it shattered.
The seal was broken!
A surge of evil power burst from Beibei's body. His long-suppressed Evil Dragon Martial Soul erupted, roaring toward the sky—venting its years of rage.
Everyone on Shrek's side was shocked and horrified.
"What's going on? What kind of martial soul is that? It's so evil!"
"That's an evil martial soul! Is that senior a… an evil soul master?!"
"This is bad! That senior is an evil soul master! The other senior is in danger!"
"How did Beibei become an evil soul master? What happened to his Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon?!"
On the other hand, the Holy Spirit Cult was nodding in admiration.
"As expected of our Holy Son. That aura—it's wicked indeed," remarked Second Enshrined.
"Oh, my dear Second Brother—he's not one of us anymore, you know~" Zhang Peng chimed in.
Wu Yun gave him a sideways glance,
"Old Six, you really think a seventy… no, eighty-level quasi-Soul Douluo can stop us?"
"Our Holy Son isn't simple," Zhang Peng replied with a shake of his head. "He's someone on par with Huo Yuhao—equal potential."
That statement made Second Enshrined and Wu Yun's expressions change at once. They began to take Beibei seriously.
Immediately, all the evil energy returned to Beibei's body. He fully entered Evil Dragon Possession, his body transforming into a two-meter-tall draconic humanoid form, complete with a pair of evil dragon wings sprouting from his back.
Beibei's expression was cold, his eyes glowing blood-red—like a demon lord emerging from the abyss.
All this time, even without cultivation, Beibei's suppressed martial soul had not weakened—instead, upon being unsealed, he had immediately broken through to level 80, becoming a quasi-Soul Douluo.
It was the backlash of the Evil Dragon Martial Soul.
The source of that soul power was the Evil Dragon consuming and absorbing the Golden Ancient Tree's sealing energy over time. Even without anyone lifting the seal, the dragon would have eventually devoured it entirely—growing even more powerful, even more evil.
A martial soul of Ultimate evil is no joke.
In the next moment, Beibei moved—not falling into madness, but more lucid than ever.
He would protect Shrek Academy—and kill all enemies!
Beibei charged directly at Tang Ya—his dragon claws unflinchingly aimed at her heart!
Chaos erupted in front of Sea God Island.
Tang Ya and Bei Bei had clashed in fierce combat.
Although Bei Bei's level was lower, his ultimate evil attribute posed a severe threat to Tang Ya and other evil soul masters, effectively countering them.
What's more, Bei Bei's combat strength was no less than that of an average Title Douluo.
Ultimate attribute soul masters—Soul Saints can challenge Title Douluo!
To deal with Bei Bei, other evil soul masters were forced to join the fray to support their Saintess against their former Holy Son.
Even with superior numbers, casualties were inevitable.
More importantly, after some hesitation, those from Shrek Academy on Sea God Island who had seven rings or more also stepped forward to join the battle, siding with Bei Bei to fight against the evil soul masters of the Holy Spirit Cult.
To everyone's relief, Bei Bei indeed stood with Shrek and made no move against its members.
When Bei Bei unleashed his Evil Dragon Power, it suppressed the strength of all evil soul masters by at least 30%, giving Shrek's soul masters a distinct advantage.
Under this overwhelming power, the elite troops led by Tang Ya began to falter.
Meanwhile, the Elders were besieging Huo Yuhao and Jiang Nannan.
More accurately, the Elders were trying to take down Jiang Nannan. But the Mutant Frost Centipede Martial Soul defended her. The Elders quickly realized that taking it on required all of them combined, along with Feng Ling, a Super Douluo.
Thus, four Super Douluo and six Title Douluo joined forces to besiege the Mutant Frost Centipede Martial Soul—yet it still had the strength to protect Jiang Nannan.
"Is this the power of an ultimate attribute soul master? The gap is that wide?"
Even the Second Worshiper was stunned, as the strength shown by the Mutant Frost Centipede Martial Soul far exceeded his understanding.
"Maybe it's also due to the power of the Golden Ancient Tree?" guessed Zhang Peng, "After all, that's the power that's allowing those Title Douluo to stall the cult leader and the others."
"Even so, this Huo Pavilion Master only just reached Title Douluo this year, right? And he's only twenty?"
sighed Wu Yun.
"Such a young prodigy—why did Shrek get him and not us? The Holy Spirit Cult isn't weak either! Even descendants of the Dragon God Douluo came to study with us!"
"Enough chatter—defeat him first. He's powerful, but not invincible!"
snapped Feng Ling, scolding the three for slacking.
The Second Worshiper burst into laughter and charged forward:
"Fine! Let this old man test the strength of this Pavilion Master!"
As he surged forward, blood burst from the Second Worshiper's skin and rapidly transformed into a massive blood-golden bear, five meters tall, charging toward the Mutant Frost Centipede Martial Soul.
It resembled a true giant bear.
This blood-golden bear wasn't an ordinary bear-type soul beast but a subspecies of the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear—called the Dark Gold Bear.
These beasts share all the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's attributes except for the terrifying claws—top-tier in strength and defense.
Perhaps because the bear was made of blood, the dark gold took on a reddish hue, becoming blood-golden.
The Second Worshiper, Sun Xiaoyu, title Beastblood, had a self-blood martial soul, a type of body martial soul.
His blood martial soul had a unique trait: it could devour the blood of soul beasts and absorb their traits to strengthen himself.
If he absorbed the blood of soul beasts corresponding to his soul rings, he could transform his blood into that specific beast—like the blood-gold Dark Gold Bear now.
In this form, his strength synchronized with his own—not limited by soul ring age—and he could even use the beast's innate abilities.
Of course, the higher the soul ring's quality, the stronger and more complete the transformation would be.
That's how he earned the title Beastblood.
However, absorbing beast blood made him more beastly—brutal and violent in battle.
In his youth, Sun Xiaoyu's rampage during training led to exposure. Mistaken for an evil soul master, he was persecuted and fled to the Sun-Moon Empire.
By the time his spiritual power grew enough to resist the beast's instincts, returning to the three great empires was no longer feasible—or necessary.
Had the Body Sect discovered him, his potential and training could've let him reach Limit Douluo status.
He might have had more than one 100,000-year soul ring.
Currently, his soul ring configuration was two yellow, two purple, four black, and one red, with one 100,000-year ring—still powerful at Rank 98, second only to Long Xiaoyao in the Holy Spirit Cult's Worship Hall.
His fifth soul ring came from a ten-thousand-year Dark Gold Bear.
But now, the blood-golden bear exuded the fierce aura of a 200,000-year-old beast.
The Skydream Iceworm, watching the charging bear, was reminded of the Bear Monarch, igniting his fury.
"Can't get revenge on the real beasts yet? Then I'll start with you!"
His eyes gleamed red.
"If someone resembles you even a little, I feel the urge to kill."
"Frosty rain falls… ecstasy enters dreams…"
"Spirit Domain—Dreamland of Bliss!"
A spiritual domain, undetectable to ordinary people, spread from the body of the Mutant Frost Centipede Martial Soul.
The Skydream Iceworm, having no body, bloodline, or soul power—cultivated only spiritual power. After a million years of cultivation accumulation, he formed his own spiritual domain, infused with demonic-Buddhist truths.
A formless force lifted the Second Worshiper, preventing the blood-golden bear from falling.
Centered on the Frost Centipede, the area lost gravity—everything not touching the ice floated.
"Is this… buoyancy?"
the Second Worshiper wondered.
No—it was a spiritual force field.
Everything within the area was under the Skydream Iceworm's control.
Drip, drip—
The blood-golden bear felt something fall on it. Raising its claws, it saw raindrops.
"Rain? Why is it raining? And why isn't it floating like everything else?"
Rain began falling within the spiritual domain—chilling but refreshing.
Soon, it turned into a gentle, misty drizzle. Fog rose, blurring the surroundings.
The Second Worshiper's consciousness slowed—his thoughts grew sluggish.
BOOM!
The blood-golden bear crashed onto the icy surface—and didn't get up.
It reverted to the Second Worshiper's true form.
He lay there, sleeping like an infant—never to awaken.
His brain had died, his consciousness lost in a boundless dream, doomed to fade from spiritual exhaustion.
The Skydream Iceworm, controlling the Mutant Frost Centipede Martial Soul, stepped on the Second Worshiper's body and coldly faced the stunned Worshipers.
Skydream Iceworm: "Who's next?!!"
Huo Yuhao: "Brother Skydream, tone it down! At least pretend you're not overacting!"
Skydream Iceworm: ￣□￣｜｜
"Brother Hao, what do we do now? Say something quick~" The Skydream Iceworm was panicking. Acting on impulse, he had just killed the Second Worshipper instantly. That move shattered the balance of the battlefield.
Huo Yuhao tried to reassure him, "It's not over yet, Brother Tianmeng, we can still recover from this!"
The situation on the ground exploded—now the skies were going to suffer the consequences.
In the skies above, Yan Shaozhe and his group, who were locked in combat with Zhongli Wu and two others, suddenly felt the empowering strength from the Golden Ancient Tree begin to weaken.
Gong Changlong was shocked. "What's going on?"
Yan Shaozhe's expression changed drastically. "Not good! Something's happened on Sea God's Island!"
"Yuhao? Are you okay?" Xian Lin'er tried to contact Huo Yuhao via the Golden Ancient Tree's leaves.
Thankfully, Huo Yuhao's voice still echoed in their minds.
"Saintess Tang Ya has led the Holy Spirit Cult's Worshippers and elites to break through the academy's defenses. They've surrounded the Sea God's Pavilion. Sister Nan Nan is in danger, so I had to divert some of the tree's power to protect her and the others."
Hearing this, no one blamed Yuhao—instead, they all grew anxious.
Everyone immediately retreated, pulling away from Zhongli Wu's group.
"How is the academy holding up? Is Jiang Nannan safe?" Elder Lin asked anxiously.
"Some staff have been killed or injured, but I've secured most of the students and faculty inside Sea God's Island. Sister Nan Nan is also safe. Brother Bei Bei is leading the remaining forces against the Holy Spirit Cult." Yuhao replied quickly.
"Bei Bei? That child is truly admirable! Yuhao, you did the right thing." Elder Lin praised, then turned to Yan Shaozhe with a serious look. "Shaozhe, the academy must receive support! Sea God's Pavilion, Jiang Nannan, and Yuhao—none of them can fall!"
The Sea God's Pavilion was the foundation of Shrek.
Jiang Nannan and Huo Yuhao were its future.
Not one of them could be sacrificed.
"But…" Yan Shaozhe's face was grim. He wanted to help, but would Zhongli Wu and the others allow them to retreat?
Clearly, that was not possible.
Seeing Yan Shaozhe and his group suddenly withdraw, Zhongli Wu and the others quickly realized something had happened at Shrek Academy.
"It seems the Saintess's plan is progressing well," Zhongli Wu remarked with a smile. "From here on, we control the pace of battle."
At this point, Ye Xishui spoke up. "Xiaoyao, go support Tang Ya. Leave these people to the cult master and me."
Hearing this, Long Xiaoyao didn't hesitate. Assuming Ye Xishui was going to fight with full power, he nodded and sped toward Shrek Academy without looking back.
Yan Shaozhe and the others quickly tried to stop him.
However, a swarm of blood spirits appeared, blocking their path.
The blood soul clone that had been concealing Ye Xishui's true body suddenly split open, revealing her real form.
Only then did Zhongli Wu realize: Ye Xishui had come in person!
The next moment, she blocked Yan Shaozhe's path. Smiling mischievously, she looked him up and down and said, "Child, let this old lady test your strength, shall we?"
"Old witch, get out of my way!" Yan Shaozhe cursed angrily.
Although Ye Xishui was still among the most beautiful on the continent—her power allowing her to maintain her looks with a certain mature charm—Yan Shaozhe saw her as nothing but a sinister evil soul master, who had slaughtered countless innocents. Her beauty was just a façade; to him, she was a cruel, wicked hag.
Ye Xishui's smile didn't fade at his insult. In fact, it became more dangerous.
"Looks like Mu En failed to teach you manners. Let this old lady give you a proper lesson today!"
She attacked instantly.
Yan Shaozhe was no match for Ye Xishui—but fortunately, he had allies.
With the Golden Ancient Tree's support weakened, it took more people working together just to stand up to Ye Xishui. And with Zhongli Wu and the Bone Dragon King still lurking nearby, they couldn't spare a single person to aid Huo Yuhao.
So even though Long Xiaoyao had left, they were still stuck—and growing increasingly anxious inside.
"We have no choice now but to trust Yuhao!" Yan Shaozhe thought to himself.
Outside Sea God's Island—
The Skydream Iceworm's instant kill of the Second Worshipper stunned everyone, shaking the Holy Spirit Cult's morale and boosting Shrek's.
For a while, no one dared to challenge the mutated Frost Centipede Martial Soul.
None of the other Worshippers had any intention of avenging their fallen comrade. Despite all their talk of brotherhood, their loyalty was shallow at best.
They felt some gratitude to Long Xiaoyao—after all, it was thanks to him they joined the Holy Spirit Cult without becoming full-blown evil soul masters.
Soon enough, Long Xiaoyao arrived on the scene.
He immediately noticed the Frost Centipede Martial Soul standing atop the Second Worshipper's body, and narrowed his eyes.
"Looks like your operation was interrupted," he said to Feng Ling and the others.
"The Golden Ancient Tree's power is too strong!" Feng Ling tried to explain.
But Long Xiaoyao didn't bother responding. He directly attacked the Frost Centipede Martial Soul. "I already tested Mu En's other disciple—nothing impressive. Now let me test the so-called most talented one."
He released his Dark Holy Dragon Martial Soul, unleashing overwhelming darkness.
The battlefield instantly fell silent under the crushing aura.
Tang Ya seized the opportunity. She summoned a massive cage of Dark Blue Silver Grass, trapping both herself and Bei Bei inside, cutting off all interference. She wanted to talk to Bei Bei alone.
Without Bei Bei's suppressive power over the evil soul masters, the tide of battle shifted back in favor of the cult.
Inside the Blue Silver Cage—
"Bei Bei, are you truly so heartless toward me?" Tang Ya asked softly.
Bei Bei's expression was icy, his gaze devoid of emotion. He didn't attack, but said coldly: "Bind yourself, remain imprisoned in Shrek forever, and I may spare your life."
Meanwhile—
Outside the cage, Long Xiaoyao's attack struck the Frost Centipede Martial Soul.
The massive creature's body trembled, shielding Jiang Nannan with its own form and enduring the blow head-on.
The Skydream Iceworm had already retreated back to the Wisdom Realm.
Skydream Iceworm: "My fight's done, I'm out—don't want to be a third wheel~"
Cause trouble, then bail—typical Skydream Iceworm behavior.
But upon returning to the Wisdom Realm, he was immediately grabbed by the Sacred Spirit Feathered Serpent and forced to write 10,000 words of battle reflection.
The Skydream Iceworm now felt it would've been better to stay outside and keep causing trouble.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The Frost Centipede Martial Soul endured Long Xiaoyao's blows, body quaking, but shielding Jiang Nannan from any harm.
At this moment, it was being directly controlled by the Martial Soul spirit itself, not Huo Yuhao. It was nervous—worried its performance wasn't convincing enough.
Truth be told, even if Long Xiaoyao used his full power with a 100,000-year soul skill, the Centipede would barely flinch.
Because the Frost Centipede Martial Soul was a true deity. Once it replenished enough divine power, it could ascend to a First-Class God.
Even now, in its weakened state, it had the power of a Third-Class God, and its body—having undergone divine tempering—was nothing short of a divine body.
No proper god gets hurt by a mortal's attack.
They can't even break through its defense. Got it?
Yan Shaozhe: Ye Xishui, you're just a crazy old hag!
Author's Note:
Here, I've set Yan Shaozhe as Ye Xishui's son, based on the timeline. The timing of his birth aligns with when Ye Xishui could've had a child. In the original story, she even said her child was taken in by Mu En, and she had always been watching over him.
There was a reason for the Frost Centipede Martial Soul martial soul to act this way.
Didn't you see? Jiang Nannan had already been moved~
Although Long Xiaoyao's attack terrified Jiang Nannan, under the protection of the Frost Centipede Martial Soul, she remained unharmed. Her inner fear was soothed.
Amid this intense emotional fluctuation, Jiang Nannan began to develop strange feelings for Huo Yuhao. Coupled with her earlier emotional stirrings, this unfamiliar feeling gradually turned into a spiritual reliance, successfully imprinting Huo Yuhao in her heart.
And Jiang Nannan finally made her choice.
She pressed one hand on the Frost Centipede Martial Soul, injecting her soul power into it. Closing her eyes, she said earnestly,
"Yuhao, I don't know if what I'm doing is right. I don't even know what kind of feelings I have for you.
But if you need it… please don't reject my power!"
Her eyes were closed, lashes trembling slightly as if she were nervous.
Though she said "don't reject," in truth, this was Jiang Nannan wholeheartedly choosing Huo Yuhao.
In this moment, her soul power fused with Huo Yuhao's.
Huo Yuhao replaced the Frost Centipede Martial Soul in controlling the body and carefully felt the power of the fusion of the Goddess of Love.
"So this is it—this too is a type of attribute power. Filling the gaps, merging and elevating—affecting both body and mind.
The power of the Goddess of Love is a power of spirit and fusion."
The spirit is the main element; fusion is secondary. It is the choice of the heart that forms the foundation of this fusion.
As long as he grasped the components of this attribute power and replicated the essence of the Goddess of Love's power, Huo Yuhao would theoretically be capable of creating fusion techniques with anyone's martial soul.
But such a feat was still far from his current reach—and honestly, not worth researching in depth.
Because martial soul fusion techniques are merely supplementary methods. The fusion is only temporary. Rather than wasting effort studying it, it would be better to build bonds with talented individuals.
Moreover, the power of the Goddess of Love implies a strong sense of emotional dependence on one's partner.
This didn't suit Huo Yuhao.
At most, he could use it as reference.
As Huo Yuhao was comprehending the power of the Goddess of Love, it also began to affect the Frost Centipede Martial Soul.
A pink-gold light enveloped the Frost Centipede Martial Soul and Jiang Nannan, and then a colossal golden-red beam of light shot toward the sky—drawing the attention of all in Shrek City.
"A martial soul fusion technique?"
"Something's off—why is this fusion technique generating such a massive phenomenon?"
Apart from the golden-red beam, the dark clouds in the sky were completely dispelled. All the plants across the city began to thrive, and even out-of-season flowers started blooming.
Evil soul masters were repelled by an invisible force.
Meanwhile, non-evil soul masters found their pain and fatigue soothed, their spirits rejuvenated.
Although Long Xiaoyao wasn't blown away, when he tried to interrupt the fusion, a rebound force from the light column struck him and sent him flying.
This stunned him.
He had never heard of a martial soul fusion process being protected by such powerful defenses—especially ones strong enough to affect someone at the Limit Douluo level.
The golden-red pillar seemed like an unbreakable heavenly column—harder than any material in the world.
Huo Yuhao and Jiang Nannan were fully immersed in the martial soul fusion. As it completed, the two spoke in perfect harmony:
"Goddess of Love Fusion Technique — Descent of the Goddess of Love!"
Their fusion technique wasn't just a combination of martial soul traits—it summoned the projection of the previous Goddess of Love.
As the golden-red beam disappeared, a ten-meter-tall female figure of divine light appeared above Sea God Island. She wore a majestic golden-red gown, her figure graceful and concealed in holy radiance. Her face couldn't be clearly seen—but anyone who looked upon her saw the image of their beloved.
What Long Xiaoyao saw… was Ye Xishui.
To him, the Goddess of Love appeared in Ye Xishui's form—sacred, pure, and breathtakingly beautiful.
"Xishui…" Long Xiaoyao murmured, eyes unfocused.
The next moment, he snapped out of it—realizing this was merely an effect of the fusion technique.
Long Xiaoyao's eyes were now wary, though his fighting spirit had been greatly weakened. He even found it difficult to attack the projection of the Goddess.
That was one of the passive effects of Descent of the Goddess of Love—it disrupted the enemy's will to fight, possibly even making them lose the will to battle entirely.
In simple terms, this fusion technique could potentially win without a fight—if the opponent's heart was not steadfast.
Of course, Long Xiaoyao's mind was resolute. Still, his expression turned serious and cautious.
"This… is our martial soul fusion technique?"
Jiang Nannan was still sensing the power of the goddess's projection. She could feel that this power was fundamentally different from normal soul power—but she couldn't identify what it was.
Huo Yuhao, however, understood perfectly.
Within the Goddess of Love projection… was divine power!
That force, unlike a soul master's soul power, was godly power.
"Sister Nannan, let's go together!" Huo Yuhao's voice echoed in Jiang Nannan's ear.
"Okay! Yuhao, you take the lead!" Jiang Nannan responded.
Though she was the default controller of the fusion technique, she willingly handed control over to Huo Yuhao.
Without question, he was better at battle.
Huo Yuhao didn't hesitate.
The ten-meter-tall goddess projection shrank to about two meters, appearing solid and lifelike.
Then, she charged at Long Xiaoyao. Her opening move carried the aura of a ruler descending upon the world, divine power surging in her fist as golden-red light shone.
"This is… Dominion of the World? No—it's even more dangerous!" Long Xiaoyao's heart clenched. He dared not take it head-on and could only dodge.
But Huo Yuhao wasn't about to let him escape.
He had been acting before—but now he needed to win for real.
"Let's test the goddess projection's abilities."
Yes, the Goddess of Love projection came with several soul skills—or rather, divine techniques once used by the true Goddess.
"Goddess Divine Skill — First Glance of Love!"
The goddess projection opened her left palm, releasing a powerful gravitational force. Long Xiaoyao, trying to flee, was instantly drawn in. His soul power became chaotic, making it hard to execute any techniques.
He immediately activated his true martial soul—Dark Holy Dragon—breaking free from the pull.
But by then, he was already within the goddess projection's attack range.
She raised her hand.
"Goddess Divine Skill — No Coming, No Going; No Leaving, No Abandoning!"
Golden-red rings of light encircled the Dark Holy Dragon, locking it in place. No matter how he struggled, Long Xiaoyao couldn't break through.
Finally, the goddess projection gently raised her hand and pushed forward, unleashing a storm of falling petals.
"Goddess Divine Skill — Parting of Beauty!"
Her palm loomed in Long Xiaoyao's eyes, and in that instant, he felt the threat of death.
Huo Yuhao: "Hungry? No? Then eat this palm!"
"I once feared deep feelings would hinder Buddhist practice, yet I dreaded parting from a beauty when entering the mountains.
In this world, how can one have the best of both worlds — to be true to the Buddha and not fail in love?"
The poem may not be a perfect description, but the attack from the projection of the Goddess of Love indeed contained a Zen-like Buddhist aura, naturally stemming from Huo Yuhao.
Under the blessing of the Goddess of Love's power, the Buddhist techniques infused with it became something entirely different.
The originally emotionless and sexless intent of Buddhism now held love and feeling, forming a unique and profound artistic conception.
The Goddess struck the true form of the Dark Holy Dragon. All Long Xiaoyao could do was give everything he had to defend.
A golden-red palm turned into a rainbow light, piercing the body of the Dark Holy Dragon. The dragon's true form spat blood and fell, its martial soul shattered, revealing a severely injured Long Xiaoyao.
His eyes were filled with deep fear and shock — fear at the overwhelming power of the attack, and shock at its sheer force.
As one of the continent's top-tier powerhouses, to be so easily crushed and gravely injured could only mean one thing:
God!
The attack just now was a divine-level strike!
The Goddess of Love's true form vanished after unleashing that one strike, leaving only a sky filled with pink flower petals, under which two figures slowly descended from the sky.
They were none other than Huo Yuhao and Jiang Nannan.
Huo Yuhao was channeling his Mutant Frost Centipede Martial Soul martial soul, which had transformed to look like himself, clad in a brilliant Centipede armor. Holding Jiang Nannan in a princess carry, they descended amidst countless radiant flowers.
Like a war god and his cherished consort.
The remaining energy from the dissipated martial soul fusion technique turned into a cascade of floral light, as if rewarding the pair.
Their eyes met. In Jiang Nannan's gaze was a light difficult to put into words, and in Huo Yuhao's, there was only infinite tenderness.
When they landed on the ice, the flower illusions from the fusion technique vanished, and all returned to normal.
Jiang Nannan, exhausted, had unknowingly fallen asleep in Huo Yuhao's arms, a serene smile on her lips.
The fusion technique had ended because channeling the Goddess of Love's power required not only Huo Yuhao's effort but also a tremendous drain on Jiang Nannan's spiritual and soul power.
Those few powerful moves had completely drained the soul and spiritual energy she had just recovered.
Huo Yuhao then looked up at the remaining members of the Holy Spirit Sect.
Though the fusion technique was gone and he exuded no terrifying aura, just one glance from him made the sect's elders instinctively step back.
"Retreat! Retreat! Get out of here!" yelled Zhang Peng, scared out of his wits. Always a coward, he had no mind for battle and fled immediately.
Just as he turned to call for the others, he saw that Wu Yun had already escaped with the rest. With his Dark Crow martial soul specialized in speed, Wu Yun had bolted — now only a small black dot in the distance.
Even Long Xiaoyao had vanished.
Zhang Peng paused for a moment, the silence deafening — then bolted too.
"Wait for me!"
Feng Ling, seeing all the elders fleeing, was furious. She could see that Huo Yuhao and Jiang Nannan were likely too drained to fight again — a perfect moment to strike and finish them off.
But with everyone else gone, Feng Ling didn't dare to take the risk either. What if Huo Yuhao had another trump card?
"Retreat!" she finally shouted, then turned and fled without a second glance.
As for the remaining evil soul masters, they were abandoned to their fate. Feng Ling had no intention of saving them.
That included Tang Ya.
Tang Ya had been watching everything unfold from within.
Seeing Huo Yuhao and Jiang Nannan perform such a powerful fusion technique, her eyes reddened — whether from envy, jealousy, or something else entirely, it was unclear.
"Tang Ya, how long are you going to keep deluding yourself?" Beibei questioned her.
He did not attack her — rather, he tried to persuade her to surrender. This was his final gesture of kindness toward her.
Perhaps because he had once walked the path of an evil soul master himself, he now had more empathy and tolerance for Tang Ya.
Beibei believed that if Tang Ya surrendered, with Mu En's lingering influence, he could protect her life.
But Tang Ya only smiled at him — a smile tinged with madness and destruction.
"Beibei, do you know how I became the Left Prime Minister of the Sun Moon Empire?"
Beibei's eyes darkened, but he said nothing.
Tang Ya continued, "Of course it's because I became Xu Tiancheng's woman. My Prime Minister's residence is right in the imperial harem!"
Beibei remained silent, but his fists clenched tightly, and then he closed his eyes in helpless resignation.
Satisfied by his reaction, Tang Ya pressed on.
"But what Xu Tiancheng doesn't know is, he wasn't my first man. Do you know who was?"
Her smile deepened.
"No guess? Then I'll tell you — it was Huo Yuhao!"
"Enough!" Beibei's eyes snapped open in rage, glaring at her. His normally cold face was now filled with fury. "Even now, you're trying to sow discord?"
"Discord? No — I'm just telling the truth~ Hahaha~" Tang Ya laughed wildly. "Beibei, you're mad now~"
"Well, let me add this: I was willing. A man like Huo Yuhao — what woman wouldn't want a taste?"
"I SAID SHUT UP!"
Beibei, finally enraged, lunged at Tang Ya, clawing at her.
But all he destroyed was a Dark Blue Silver Grass clone. The prison of dark vines dissolved — Tang Ya's true body had already escaped.
Her wild laughter echoed in Beibei's ears until the prison completely vanished.
The Holy Spirit Sect's elite force was decimated. Most were killed; a few managed to flee.
Shrek's defenders had successfully protected Sea God Island, and cheers rang out.
But not from Beibei.
He looked toward Huo Yuhao, who was also gazing back at him.
After a long pause, Beibei dismissed his martial soul, opened his mouth to speak, but said nothing in the end. He turned and walked away, as though he'd made a difficult decision.
But he did not head toward the mountain — instead, he walked toward the outskirts of Shrek City.
"Beibei, where are you going?" someone asked.
"Brother Huo… I'm going to find Tang Ya. There must be a conclusion between us. I made mistakes, and now I must correct them."
And with that, Beibei departed.
Some people tried to stop him, but Huo Yuhao held them back.
"Pavilion Master, he's an evil soul master! We can't just let him go!"
"No — he's also one of Shrek's own. I trust him. I'll vouch for him with my own reputation," Huo Yuhao said seriously.
They hadn't spoken quietly — Beibei, not far away, heard every word. His heart churned with emotion, his eyes red and wet with unshed tears.
"Brother Huo, I will not fail your trust!"
"Even if what Tang Ya said was true — I believe you were innocent!"
"Forgive my cowardice… I couldn't face it all. But I'll take Tang Ya and disappear from your world — forever!"
Beibei: How could Brother Huo ever be wrong? Of course I choose to forgive him!