"First soul skill—Frozen Snow!"
Oscar was the first to strike, but instead of attacking Sea Dragon Douluo, he swept his sword freezing a vast expanse of the surface.
This made Sea Dragon Douluo's eyes light up; this kid had some battle intelligence after all, knowing to remove the unfavorable terrain first. Even though Sea Dragon Douluo couldn't directly absorb the sea's power to strengthen himself like Sea Spear Douluo, he could still fight in the sea, which was a great disadvantage for Oscar, who was a land soul master.
"Heh, not bad, kid. Good tactics. Now it's my turn—be careful!" With a bang, Sea Dragon Douluo stomped his right foot heavily on the ground. The counterforce shot him forward like a cannonball toward Oscar.
As he launched forward, his scales all stood upright like sharp sawteeth, a vivid blue light exploding from his body, merging with his soul ring's release. Every part of him was covered in blue glow—this was his fifth soul skill, Divine Dragon Shakes Its Armor.
This skill comprehensively enhanced Sea Dragon Douluo's body. Leaning forward, he charged, body almost parallel to the ground in a perfect streamlined form, his right claw slashing toward Oscar's shoulder.
Faced with this attack, Oscar, having gained the power of Tianlin, now showed a strong will to fight worthy of an assault-type soul master. He swung his demon sword with his right hand, stabbing straight at Sea Dragon Douluo's claw.
The two sharp forces clashed, and as they scraped past each other, faint sparks flashed across the demon sword's blade and Sea Dragon Douluo's claw.
After passing by each other, Oscar immediately turned, "Second soul skill—Ice and Fire Seal!"
"Second soul skill—Deep Sea Cold Current!" Sea Dragon Douluo, after all, was a Super Douluo, his reaction faster than Oscar's, allowing him to strike first.
From Sea Dragon's mouth came a stream of icy air, cold enough to freeze an opponent's blood.
Oscar, however, remained calm. It didn't matter if he was a second late; as long as he could act, it was enough. The demon sword's second soul ring flashed, and the icy air that was about to hit Oscar completely dissipated as it approached.
Oscar seized the moment, slashing out two sword energies, striking Sea Dragon Douluo's chest and leaving an X-shaped wound.
"What?!" Sea Dragon Douluo clutched his chest, clearly caught completely off-guard by the blow. "It's actually Ultimate Fire and Ultimate Ice! The attribute suppression rendered my cold air useless, and these two sword energies… they seem to seal soul power!"
Sea Dragon Douluo realized his soul power was now reduced to level 94. This was bad. Even at 60% strength, there was a world of difference between 94 and 95.
A level 95 Super Douluo, even using only 60% strength, could easily defeat a level 94 Titled Douluo. But a 94-level Douluo, even at 60% strength, would struggle to challenge a 92-level opponent.
That's the qualitative leap of that vital level.
"Looks like I need to end this quickly. Eighth soul skill—Deep Sea Dragon King Transformation!" Sea Dragon Douluo powered up again.
With the triple boost of his fifth and eighth soul skills and Martial Soul True Body, Sea Dragon Douluo's strength surged back to Super Douluo level. Normally, using these three in succession would even allow him to contend with a level 97 Super Douluo for a short time.
"Sixth soul skill—Dragon Roar Wave Break!" Powering up complete, Sea Dragon Douluo launched a fierce assault.
"Heh, just as Xiao Bai said, Sea Dragon Douluo is excellent at boosting himself. This time, I've got this in the bag." Oscar smiled confidently. "Watch my Mirror Skull—Clone!"
The Mirror Sausage could only copy martial souls and soul rings; the soul bone was still his own.
Oscar sent his clone to block Sea Dragon Douluo's blow.
Meanwhile, he plunged the demon sword into the ground. "Third soul skill—Flowing Wind and Water!"
A wind-water barrier quickly expanded, enveloping the entire Sea Dragon Sacred Pillar.
This wasn't an offensive move. As Sea Dragon Douluo wondered, he suddenly found all three of his power boosts instantly nullified. Oscar had activated Flowing Wind and Water under the Demon Sword's martial soul true body, so even Sea Dragon Douluo lost his own martial soul true body.
"Fifth soul skill—Phantom Water, Startling Thunder!" Oscar now buffed himself. This skill could temporarily boost a seventy-seven to seventy-eight level Soul Sage to level eighty. For a Titled Douluo, it could forcibly break an eighty-eight or eighty-nine level Soul Douluo into the next realm.
This move pushed Oscar's soul power up to level eighty.
And now, Tianlin had its eighth soul ring. As Oscar's level rose, the previously dim eighth soul ring shone brightly.
Sea Dragon Douluo's eyes grew grave. Another godly skill—one that could forcibly break through to a higher level. But he couldn't figure out why Oscar would do this. That sword was formidable, but ultimately, it didn't belong to Oscar.
After using the Mirror Sausage, casting so many skills and soul bone techniques, Oscar's soul power must be running low.
The moment his three boosts vanished, he should have used all his remaining soul power to attack—his chances of winning would've been at least sixty or seventy percent.
Oscar smiled slightly. "Senior Sea Dragon, I know what you're thinking. But the martial soul I'm using now belongs to Xiao Tian, so of course I must inherit his fighting style. He loved to take a sixty or seventy percent chance and force it up to a full hundred percent."
"The reason I made the eighth ring shine is precisely this—Eighth soul skill: EExtreme Curse Returns Yin and Yang!"
A deep blue light surrounded Oscar. When it faded, his fatigue was gone, and both his spiritual and soul power were fully restored.
Just as he was about to be overwhelmed by Tianlin's bloodline, and the demon sword was about to dissipate, he could hold on for another two minutes—just enough time to decide the winner.
"Fully recovered… Just what is this sword? Its attack is terrifying, its control effects are strong, and it has both boosting and recovery abilities. Even the High Priest's Sea God Martial Soul isn't this powerful!" Sea Dragon Douluo couldn't believe there existed a martial soul surpassing even the Sea God's.
"Senior, I'm making my move. This is my final round of offense!" Oscar didn't give Sea Dragon Douluo time to be shocked. His fourth soul ring lit up, and he unleashed Glimmering Immortal-Slaying Slash.
With his level weakened, all boosts removed, and soul power heavily depleted, Sea Dragon Douluo was thoroughly on the back foot. How could mere fists withstand the demon sword's true damage? In no time, Sea Dragon Douluo was covered in wounds—not fatal, of course, since this was just a trial. Oscar couldn't kill him.
With about ten seconds left before the demon sword dissipated, Oscar shouted, "Let's end it here! Sixth soul skill—Three Talents Demon-Breaking Array!"
A powerful sword formation surrounded Sea Dragon Douluo. Under the onslaught of endless sword energy, the outcome was decided.
["Oscar, Black Rank Six Trials—Fifth Trial Passed. Reward: Soul power increased by one level, now at seventy-eight!"]