Normally, the process of fusing with a soul ring takes anywhere from half an hour to several hours. The stronger a soul master's physique, the more their meridians can withstand the vast energy contained in a soul ring, and the shorter the fusion time required.
Earlier, when the Silver-Scaled White Whale had willingly become Xu Zihuang's soul ring, it had been a perfect fusion, without a trace of energy leaking out.
The most direct result was that Xu Zihuang suffered no pain at all; instead, he felt extraordinarily comfortable. Beyond that, he didn't even need to carefully comprehend the soul skill granted by the ring. Everything seemed to be deeply imprinted into his mind, smooth and flawless.
Because he understood the effect of his first soul skill, Xu Zihuang could almost confirm the identity of the Silver-Scaled White Whale as an auspicious beast.
Moreover, when he had pressed his forehead against the whale's earlier, not only had his spiritual power surged, but he seemed to have gained some special ability as well.
Given the current situation, Xu Zihuang suppressed the urge to enter meditation to explore it further. There would be plenty of time once the area was secure.
Hundreds of meters from the warship, the battle circle had already seen the five Evil Demon Killer Whales suppressed completely by Wang Xiao and the others. Aside from the one that had cultivated for over twenty thousand years, which still thrashed in fury, the other four floated weakly on the sea's surface.
One of them, which had only just reached the ten-thousand-year threshold, had already been slaughtered under the siege of the Imperial Dragon Soul Master Regiment soldiers. A deep black ring condensed above its massive corpse, emanating the fierce aura unique to Evil Demon Killer Whales—enough to make Xu Zihuang shudder.
Truly worthy of their title as ocean overlords—even a mere ten-thousand-year ring from them would be nearly impossible for most Soul Kings to absorb.
Though a soul ring's age was most important, the type of soul beast it came from mattered just as much.
With the powerful vision of his Golden Pupils martial soul, Xu Zihuang saw the whales clearly. Compared to the Silver-Scaled White Whale, these Evil Demon Killer Whales were absolute giants. One of them, only about a thousand years old, was nearly twice the whale's size. Its body was thick and muscular, lacking any streamlined beauty but radiating raw strength. Its whole body was gray-black, its head massive, and when it opened its mouth, terrifying blade-like teeth flashed.
The two that had surpassed the ten-thousand-year level were each over twenty meters long.
This was one of the reasons Wang Xiao dared not allow them near the warship. With bodies so large, even without using soul skills, sheer physical strength could capsize the vessel.
The sea was dyed red with their blood.
The Evil Demon Killer Whales were bloodthirsty by nature. The stench seemed to trigger the savagery of the last, leading whale. With its ferocious maw, it tore at the corpse of its slain companion, replenishing its energy. Madness gleamed in its dark red eyes.
Buzz, buzz, buzz—
As it thrashed, the sea trembled.
Countless dark-red water blades surged upward like endless rain, striking the soul tool barriers around the soldiers, sending out ripples of light. The immense force and pressure made it impossible for the men to focus on controlling their flying soul tools.
Then, in the blink of an eye, a wave of red light rippled outward, enveloping the soldiers in the air. Only Wang Xiao, with the highest cultivation, escaped at once.
This was another of the Evil Demon Killer Whale's innate soul skills—Whale Demon's Enchantment.
Its most terrifying trait was that physical defense was useless. Any flesh touched by its ripples, no matter how strong, would be stunned for a full second. Only with immense spiritual power could one shorten the duration. Energy barriers could resist it, but any energy attack unleashed during the skill's effect would consume three times the normal soul power. For a hundred-thousand-year whale, the stun could last up to three seconds.
It was a group control skill—an extremely tyrannical one. Even Hai Xiao, a peak Soul Douluo, feared it. With it, even if you had a protective barrier, your soul power would be drained rapidly, and if not, you'd be stunned outright.
This soul skill was one of the key reasons why Evil Demon Killer Whales were among the ocean's three overlord species.
Now, as the soldiers' soul tool barriers shattered under the assault, they fell into a daze.
Another barrage of dark-red water blades shot toward them.
"This whale intends a final desperate counterattack."
Yaoyang, who had been watching closely, instantly activated all seven of his soul rings, preparing to forcibly interrupt the attack.
But at that moment, Xu Zihuang suddenly stepped forward to the railing.
His golden eyes stared calmly ahead. The single purple soul ring around him flared with regal light.
"First Soul Skill—Song of the White Whale."
The melodious whale song sounded again. The phantom of the Silver-Scaled White Whale appeared behind Xu Zihuang, swimming joyfully around him.
His black hair lifted as if by wind, his cloak billowing. Strange waves of spiritual energy made him seem ethereal.
The stunned soldiers suddenly jolted awake, regaining clarity. Seeing the crimson blades nearly upon them, they hurried to channel soul power and restore their soul tool barriers.
Behind them, Wang Xiao, who had been ready to shield the group with his wings, froze for an instant. Then, decisively, he redirected his dive straight at the whale.
His speed was clearly faster than before. His fourth soul skill activated again, and his tiger claws plunged deep into the whale's massive head. Green-black wind blades churned furiously beneath its gray-black skin.
Already battered and bleeding, the whale's struggles grew weaker.
"Lin Long!" Wang Xiao barked.
Instantly, a tall, lean middle-aged man—about Wang Xiao's age—understood. From his soul tool, he drew a long spear and drove it down into the whale's blowhole, delivering the final strike.
Lin Long had recently broken through rank seventy, and this kill was meant to secure him the precious soul ring of the whale.
Standing atop its corpse, Wang Xiao exhaled in relief. But sensing the dense dark and wind elements still coiling around his wings, he glanced toward Xu Zihuang on the deck.
"This… is the young master's first soul skill?!"
Even with his experience, it was hard to believe.
Xu Zihuang's soul skill reminded him of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect on the Douluo Continent, famed for its unparalleled auxiliary-type martial soul.
Their core ability was attribute amplification. But theirs only strengthened specific attributes, boosting the power of skills. Xu Zihuang's skill, however, seemed to elevate his martial soul itself, raising the wind and darkness attributes of Wang Xiao's Overlord Tiger Soul to an entirely higher level.
One was quantitative change, the other qualitative change. The gap was obvious. Though Xu Zihuang's amplification was weaker than that of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, the nature of it was on another level.
Wang Xiao was not the only one to realize this—Yaoyang did as well.
It was no exaggeration: Xu Zihuang's soul skill had turned the tide in an instant. Of course, even without it, he and Wang Xiao had the strength to handle the whale.
Withdrawing his martial soul, Xu Zihuang smiled and explained to the others: "This is my first soul skill—Song of the White Whale. It's a domain-type skill. Centered on me, it extends about a hundred meters. It removes all negative effects and increases allies' spiritual power and martial soul attributes by ten percent."
There was no need to say more. The words "domain-type" alone proved its power. Though its amplification was modest, its soul power cost was also low. As his cultivation grew, the consumption would become negligible.
Most importantly, the effect was the same no matter the ally's cultivation level, and Xu Zihuang's expenditure did not increase. In other words, even with his current mere rank twenty, he could still support a Title Douluo.
That was the terrifying nature of domain-type skills.
Though it had no control or offensive ability, it was destined to make him the core of any team.