Half an hour later, Dai Mubai suddenly opened his eyes. Feeling the immense soul power surging within his body, he was immediately excited.
"My soul power has broken through three levels in a row! It's now Level 44!"
Upon hearing this, Flander, Zhao Wuji, and the others were shocked. He had actually broken through three levels of soul power in a row, saving at least a year of bitter cultivation time.
"The improvement in soul power is nothing; the most important thing is the transformation of the martial soul."
Yu Xiaogang stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes blazing, and his tone filled with arrogance, as if everything was within his calculations.
"Martial soul transformation?"
Dai Mubai's eyes were full of shock and doubt. Their Dai family's White Tiger martial soul was already a top-tier beast spirit; how could it become even stronger?
However, he did feel that his martial soul had undergone some fundamental changes.
'Could it be that my White Tiger martial soul has really evolved?'
Thinking of this, Dai Mubai was so excited that he almost fainted. As long as his martial soul advanced further, he might be able to contend with Dai Weisi or even surpass Lin Mu's terrifying power someday.
"White Tiger, Possess!"
With a soft shout, Dai Mubai instantly completed his Martial Soul Possession. His physique swelled considerably, his muscles becoming even more robust than before.
However, his martial soul underwent a drastic change.
The originally noble and domineering White Tiger, with its pure white fur and black stripes, had transformed into a pitch-black tiger, exuding a strange, sinister, and corrupt aura.
Everyone was dumbfounded by Dai Mubai's transformation.
"Xiao Gang... is this what you call Martial Soul Transformation?"
Flander looked up at Yu Xiaogang, his tone laced with accusation. From a holy White Tiger to a sinister Black Tiger, Dai Mubai's status as the Star Luo Prince was essentially ruined. The Royal Family would never accept a corrupted variant as the heir.
"This is Martial Soul Evolution. By altering the martial soul's origin with potent energy, it gains greater offensive power. The original White Tiger was balanced but didn't offer an overwhelming advantage among top-tier spirits," Yu Xiaogang explained, feigning composure despite his own surprise.
However, this extremely far-fetched explanation failed to convince Dai Mubai. His eyes flashed red, and his second soul ring suddenly lit up without his command.
"Second Soul Skill: White Tiger Light Wave!" (Now Black Tiger Light Wave)
The next moment, a blast of incredibly sharp, black energy shot toward Yu Xiaogang.
Startled by the sudden attack, Yu Xiaogang, with his pathetic Level 29 soul power, had no time to dodge.
At that moment, Flander reacted quickly, stepping in front of Yu Xiaogang and activating his own soul barrier.
"Whoosh!!"
Even with Flander's timely response intercepting most of the blast, a stray blade of energy slashed a gruesome wound across Yu Xiaogang's arm.
"Ahhh!"
In excruciating pain, Yu Xiaogang clutched his arm. His eyes were bloodshot as he panted heavily and roared, "Dai Mubai! I kindly helped you improve your strength, and this is how you repay me?!"
"Sorry, Grandmaster... I suddenly lost control just now."
As he spoke, a barely perceptible cold glint flashed in Dai Mubai's eyes. 'This old man clearly used me as an experimental subject. Does he deserve gratitude after ruining my royal lineage?'
As for his pledge of loyalty earlier, he had no intention of fulfilling it if this was the result.
"Dai Mubai! You dare to hurt my teacher? Do you want to make an enemy of the entire Spirit Hall?!"
Ma Hongjun stepped forward threateningly, eager to defend Yu Xiaogang.
Dai Mubai shrugged, vehemently denying intent. "I really didn't mean to just now. The power surged uncontrollably."
"Alright, stop arguing!"
Seeing the two locked in a fierce standoff, Flander once again acted as peacemaker. "Given Dai Mubai's personality, he probably didn't do it intentionally. It's likely just a side effect of the herb settling in."
Just then, Oscar finally stood up from the ground, dusting himself off.
With Dai Mubai as a cautionary tale, everyone turned to look at Oscar, worried he might have mutated too.
"Little Oscar, how are you feeling?"
"I feel more relaxed than ever before... even a little lightheaded. My soul power has even broken through to Level 40 in one fell swoop!" Oscar said excitedly.
Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned. Such a massive increase in soul power at once! Five levels!
At this moment, Yu Xiaogang, enduring the pain in his arm, asked, "What about your martial soul? Has it changed?"
"Let me try," Oscar said impatiently. He immediately chanted his incantation, "I have a... Giant Poisonous Sausage?!"
The next moment, a completely black sausage floated in his palm, emitting a pungent, acrid smell.
Seeing the charred, toxic-looking sausage, Oscar was dumbfounded, exclaiming in disbelief, "How could this be? Wasn't my first soul skill supposed to be the Big Recovery Sausage?"
Seeing that Oscar's martial soul had also mutated into something grotesque, Dai Mubai felt a surge of schadenfreude.
Since he had already been tricked by Yu Xiaogang, he naturally didn't want Oscar to fare well; otherwise, the comparison would only make him feel worse.
"Little Oscar, what about your other soul skills?" Flander asked hurriedly.
Hearing this, Oscar carefully examined his soul skills, his expression growing even more grim. He said in a deep voice, "My second soul skill has changed too. Only the effect of my third soul skill hasn't changed."
Everyone was completely dumbfounded. Only his third soul skill hadn't changed? Was Oscar still considered a food-type soul master?
At this moment, Flander's face was so dark it could drip water.
He slowly walked up to Yu Xiaogang.
"PAH!"
He slapped Yu Xiaogang hard across the face. "What exactly happened?! Do you even know the effects of these herbs?!"
"Flander! I did this all for your Shrek Academy!"
A trace of blood seeped from the corner of Yu Xiaogang's mouth as he argued righteously. "Oscar's future as a pure support was limited. Now he has offensive capabilities! He might as well change his path as soon as possible and become a Poison-attribute Control/Food hybrid!"
Hearing this theory, Flander fell silent.
Undeniably, Yu Xiaogang's words had a twisted logic. A food Soul Master with offensive poison capabilities was unheard of and potentially powerful.
Now, although Oscar's martial soul had mutated, his soul power had broken through to Level 40. Changing his path was indeed a viable solution, albeit a forced one.
Just as everyone fell silent, Yu Xiaogang added, "I need to choose a fourth spirit ring for Hongjun, so I can help Oscar choose one while I'm at it. With Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo helping me, we can choose any soul ring under ten thousand years old perfectly suited for them."
Hearing that Yu Xiaogang could mobilize two Titled Douluos, everyone was incredulous. 'Just how much power does he have in Spirit Hall now?'
At this moment, Oscar finally came to his senses. A resolute glint appeared in his eyes as he said, "Grandmaster... I'm willing to switch to poison attribute cultivation."
Since things had come to this, there was no point in sticking to the original path. He had to become strong enough to protect himself and maybe win Ning Rongrong back, regardless of the method.
Seeing Oscar's acceptance, Yu Xiaogang nodded slightly and said, "After this match, you'll come with us to the Star Dou Great Forest."
Oscar nodded in agreement.
Seeing this, Flander sighed, hoping that Yu Xiaogang would be reliable this time and not cause any more irreversible mutations.
As for the upcoming match against the Heaven Dou Royal Academy Second Team, Dai Mubai, whose strength had greatly increased to Level 44, should be enough to secure a win.
The VIP Section.
As the match preparations began, Yu Xiaogang went to the VIP seats alone, his arm bandaged.
"And who is this?"
Emperor Xue Ye looked at the suddenly arriving Yu Xiaogang with suspicion. Why had the gatekeeper let this disheveled man in?
At this moment, Platinum Bishop Salas stood up from his seat and solemnly introduced, "Your Majesty, this is our Spirit Hall's newly promoted Elder, Yu Xiaogang."
"Greetings, Your Majesty."
Even facing Emperor Xue Ye, Yu Xiaogang did not bow. He stood exceptionally straight, his hands behind his back, channeling his arrogance.
Seeing this, a hint of displeasure flashed in Emperor Xue Ye's eyes. 'Did this guy think he was Lin Mu? How dare he be so disrespectful?'
"So it's Elder Yu. It's a pity we didn't prepare any extra seats in the front row. I'll trouble you to stand for a while or sit in the back."
In the past, Emperor Xue Ye wouldn't have dared to offend a Spirit Hall Elder so openly.
But now, the Crown Prince had almost won over Lin Mu, and the Heaven Dou Empire was rising. He didn't need to kowtow to every arrogant Elder.
"Elder Yu, if you don't mind, you can sit here."
Salas immediately gave up his own seat. This was the Pope's "old friend"; he had to curry favor with him regardless of the Emperor's attitude.