"This is… a martial soul fusion!"
Wang Dong exclaimed, his eyes darting toward the ever-calm Neuvillette.
"Teacher, how did you know our martial souls could fuse?"
"Heh, I could feel it."
Neuvillette gave a faint smile.
Tang God-King had schemed to foster a deeper bond between these two youngsters, placing them in the same dormitory so they would, by 'chance,' discover their martial souls could fuse. From there, everything else would progress naturally.
But Huo Yutong's appearance had disrupted this entirely.
With their different genders, they could not possibly share the same dormitory.
So…
Could it be that even the will of this very plane had grown tired of Tang God-King's antics?
Neuvillette smiled lightly.
"One of your martial souls is the Radiant Goddess Butterfly, the other is Spirit Eyes. I once saw in an ancient tome that they may share a certain connection."
"I see…"
The three little ones widened their eyes, gazing at him with open admiration.
"What about me, Teacher Neuvillette? Which martial souls could my flute and cauldron be connected to?"
The petite Xiaoxiao's eyes sparkled with expectation.
"Heh, that I do not know."
Neuvillette spread his hands.
Martial soul fusion was always something rare and elusive. Even in the original history, achieving it required extremely demanding conditions.
And these two… were gods' handiwork.
"Oh… alright."
Xiaoxiao looked a little downcast, but soon her eyes lit up again.
"Wang Dong, quickly see what your martial soul fusion skill with Yutong is! Then we can adjust our tactics for tomorrow's freshman assessment!"
"Alright, let's go right now! Teacher Neuvillette, come with us, won't you…"
Wang Dong's eyes shone as he released Huo Yutong's hands and looped his arm through Neuvillette's, playfully pleading.
"I can."
Neuvillette glanced at the 'exquisite young man' beside him and shook his head.
If he didn't already know this was a cross-dressing girl, he might have felt this was rather strange.
Besides, he was genuinely curious about the martial soul fusion skill of this pair of protagonists from Douluo Dalu II.
This was, after all, a soul skill that had once given even a Soul Douluo like Du Weilun a hard time.
Inside the Training Hall
The two youngsters stood poised for battle while Xiaoxiao watched from the side.
"Teacher Neuvillette, we're starting!"
Wang Dong called out.
At that, the two embraced.
The moment they circulated their soul power together—
A strange sensation arose.
Light flared around them—Huo Yutong's Spirit Eyes manifested in a pale golden phantom, while behind Wang Dong spread the magnificent wings of the Radiant Goddess Butterfly.
Their auras surged sharply.
The radiant butterfly transformed into a human shape, drifting toward the golden Spirit Eyes. Both forms merged amidst pale blue flames.
"Wow!" Xiaoxiao cried out.
"So this is a martial soul fusion skill!"
Neuvillette's eyes narrowed slightly.
If his memory served, this particular fusion skill combined mental disruption with control and sealing effects.
These two had once used it to escape the Duke Dai family's pursuit in Shrek City.
That dazzling scene in the night had indeed been unforgettable.
The next instant—
The attack had already been unleashed.
Brilliant light flared, like a blade of radiance shooting straight toward Neuvillette.
This blow all but drained the two's soul power. Thanks to Neuvillette's recent "hellish training," they didn't immediately faint like in the original history.
"Not bad."
Neuvillette murmured, extending his right hand.
A faint violet soul ring shone beneath his feet.
Frost instantly filled the training hall.
The temperature plummeted nearly a hundred degrees, making Huo Yutong think back to the bitter cold of the Extreme North.
"First Soul Skill — Ice Barrier."
In an instant, several towering, ten-meter-thick ice shields formed before Neuvillette, encasing him in absolute defense.
Boom!
A deafening blast rang out.
The brilliant beam slammed into the first ice shield, but—
It only sent shards of ice scattering, like a superficial scratch.
The hall's floor, forged from refined steel, was now covered in a thin layer of frost.
"Not bad."
Neuvillette nodded, impressed that even the first shield had held firm.
"Feels a bit weak…"
Huo Yutong looked a little disappointed—their full-power attack hadn't even broken through one layer, only scraped it.
"Heh. Don't underestimate this as just my first soul skill. Even Ma Xiaotao and the other current Shrek Seven Devils, going all out, could only break through the second layer. And that was before I returned from the Extreme North. As for now…"
Neuvillette pursed his lips.
"They'd be lucky to even shatter one layer."
"Senior Ma Xiaotao and the others?" Wang Dong was stunned.
"Even those Soul Emperor-level powerhouses can only break one layer? As expected of Teacher Neuvillette, truly…"
"A monster," Xiaoxiao finished for him, swallowing hard.
"Heh. But… the main strength of your martial soul fusion skill isn't its physical attack, is it?"
Neuvillette walked to the fractured shield. Faint golden traces lingered there like corrosion, stubbornly refusing to fade.
He immediately brushed his hand over them—a faint mental disturbance rippled through his mind.
Enduring the psychic dissonance, Neuvillette plucked off a shard, rubbed it between his fingers, and—under the stunned gazes of the three—popped it into his mouth, chewing thoughtfully.
A rush of cool pleasure shot straight to his mind, like chewing mint gum while downing ice-cold water.
Neuvillette's expression turned odd as he nodded.
"Mmm. Not bad at all…"
Seeing his calm demeanor, Xiaoxiao unconsciously swallowed as well.
It… looked delicious?
The petite beauty shuffled over on her short legs, reaching toward the ice shield to break off a piece for herself.
But the instant her fair hand touched it, the terrifying psychic shock hidden in the pale golden light struck her. Her eyes rolled white, and she fell straight back, unconscious.
Neuvillette had just returned from his pleasant aftertaste when he noticed the petite girl going stiff and toppling backward.
His mouth twitched.
Am I, the God of Life, really being treated like a nursemaid?
With a thought—
Xiaoxiao fell into a large, soft water droplet. Pale blue light glowed as water-element healing washed over her, gradually restoring her consciousness.
"What… just happened?"
Xiaoxiao still hadn't realized the danger hidden in that golden glow.
"Huh? Why can't I use my martial soul?!"
The petite girl stepped out of the water droplet, eyes wide in shock.
(End of Chapter)