Seated at the place of honor, Pope Bibi Dong's eyes brightened. "A seven-in-one fusion technique." As she spoke, her gaze drifted—without the slightest ripple of feeling—toward Yu Xiaogang, who stood beyond the arena with a twisted grin.
It was not the mythical, heaven-defying Seven-in-One Martial Soul Fusion Skill, yet even fusing the power of seven people into a single strike was astonishing. After all, every spirit master's martial soul and skills are different.
Normally, such fusion appears only among spirit masters whose martial souls and techniques are highly similar—like the seven from Blue Sunshine Academy in years past.
But Shrek's seven were the opposite: entirely different martial souls, with entirely different specialties.
That such a disparate group could still unleash a seven-in-one fusion stunned even the Pope and the Titled Douluo beside her.
And Shrek truly did it—when the multicolored radiance linked all seven, the fusion was complete.
'Chang'an, what will you do? Will you reveal everything?'
Everyone who knew Li Chang'an's identity wondered the same.
Li Chang'an, however, was unruffled. He waited for Tang San to strike, having already positioned all the girls—Hu Liena included—near the edge of the platform. He alone stood quietly at center stage, without releasing a single soul ring.
Tang San finished gathering power—and moved.
A surging black light erupted from his left palm, and a small, heavy hammer appeared from thin air. He jerked his head up as violet-gold light flared from his eyes—not an attack, but a sharpening of perception.
Twin martial souls.
That was every expert's first thought. Then they saw the hammer and fell silent: Haotian Hammer—the Clear Sky Hammer itself.
Even Bibi Dong's hands clenched faintly, but the thought that Li Chang'an was present calmed her inexplicably.
With Purple Demon Eye active, Tang San saw everything as if time had slowed. Data and vectors converged in his mind. His left hand moved.
Drawn by the black radiance, the Haotian Hammer shot up from below and flew straight at Li Chang'an. It did not spin; it simply grew, swelling in midair until the hammerhead was the size of a water jar. Luminous patterns rippled under the sun, oppressive power flaring in a long black tail across the sky.
Li Chang'an moved as well—merely raising his right hand. A pitch-black Pangu Axe appeared in his grip. No soul rings pulsed around him, yet the pressure it exuded was indescribable.
What is that?
The students watching were bewildered. Wasn't Li Chang'an's martial soul the Taibai Sword? What was this?
Another twin martial soul?
Two twin-soul wielders in one day?
Li Chang'an did not posture. He simply gave the axe a light sweep—
—and the massive Haotian Hammer was knocked aside.
No soul rings. No charge-up. One man bearing the weight of seven fused powers.
That was the Pangu Axe. That was Li Chang'an.
The number-one tool martial soul even above Divine realm…
Tang San staggered, barely catching the hammer. Forcing down the numbness in his arms, he drew a deep breath and began a second attack.
The hammer did not shrink. In his hand it loomed larger than his entire body. Tang San closed his eyes and slowly raised it one-handed. The profound lines along the hammer erupted in full, casting a dazzling dark-gold glow. Something immense and savage seemed to roar within.
Tang San himself became like the hammer's haft—man and weapon merging into one.
Even Bibi Dong shifted in her seat, uncertainty flickering in her eyes. She knew this vision all too well.
"Tool Soul True Body," Ning Fengzhi whispered, unable to help himself.
For beast-soul masters, the seventh ring unlocks Martial Soul True Body—transforming into the soul's original form for explosive power.
For tool-soul masters, the seventh ring grants Tool Soul True Body—pouring the soul into the weapon and driving its nature to the extreme.
Given a weapon of terrifying caliber, Tool Soul True Body can be even more fearsome than a beast's true body.
Before Rank 70, beast-soul masters often outpace tool-soul masters (non-control). But after Rank 70, the latter can surpass the former on the strength of Tool Soul True Body alone.
No one expected to witness such a rare state in a continental academy semifinal—let alone with the so-called number-one tool martial soul, the Haotian Hammer.
Truthfully, even Tang San hadn't expected this. Boosted beyond Rank 70 by the seven-in-one fusion, with the hammer in hand, he acted on instinct—and the True Body answered.
Power cycled between him and the hammer in a mysterious loop, as if it would burst through his skin.
The hammer shifted: the black metal turned wholly dark-gold, the shape compressing—the haft to about a meter and a half, the head to barrel-size—then halted.
Dark-gold light now coated Tang San as well. The aura from man and hammer was indistinguishable.
He lifted the hammer and pointed. A mass of dark-gold radiance swelled before him—the infinite hammer shadow of the Haotian.
Li Chang'an only smiled, lightly.
He set both hands on the Pangu Axe's haft. The axe swelled too, and a world-rending pressure—far beyond the hammer's—poured across Spirit City.
This axe could split the Sky.
Li Chang'an entered a profound, ineffable state. The Pangu Axe tripled in length. A faint black aura coiled about him. A gray phantom of the axe magnified before him—and Li Chang'an himself seemed to grow vast.
Martial Soul True Body—Pangu.
At that sight, anyone with a shred of knowledge understood: Li Chang'an could not possibly be two rings—he was a seven-ring Spirit Saint.
Who would have imagined that an academy tournament would witness Martial Soul True Bodies on stage?
Thankfully the platform had been reinforced to withstand Contra-level strikes—truly far-sighted engineering.
"He still isn't showing his soul rings… why hide so much?" Ghost Douluo murmured.
Yes, Li Chang'an was powerful—but a True Body without ring skills should be weakened manyfold. And against the Haotian Hammer? Prudence would suggest concern.
Li Chang'an showed none. The gigantic axe blade dipped in a gentle cut. Space itself thrummed, as though that slice had sheared the world.
A titanic axe met a titanic hammer.
Clang—!