Under normal circumstances, it usually took soul masters anywhere from half an hour to several hours to fuse with a soul ring. The stronger a soul master's physical constitution and meridians, the shorter the time required to absorb the immense energy contained within the soul ring.
However, when the Silver Scaled White Whale voluntarily became Xu Zihuang's soul ring, it resulted in a flawless fusion with no energy leakage whatsoever.
The most noticeable outcome was that Xu Zihuang felt no pain during the process. Instead, he experienced an unprecedented sense of comfort. Moreover, he didn't need to carefully comprehend the soul skill granted by this ring; the knowledge seemed naturally imprinted into his mind, as though it had always belonged there.
After understanding the effects of his first soul skill, Xu Zihuang became almost certain that the Silver Scaled White Whale was indeed an auspicious beast.
Additionally, when their foreheads touched, not only did his spiritual power surge, but he also seemed to gain a new, unique ability.
Given the current circumstances, Xu Zihuang suppressed the urge to meditate and fully explore the changes within him. There would be plenty of time for that once the surrounding area was secure.
Meanwhile, within the battle zone a few hundred meters away from the warship, the five Evil Spirit Orcas had been completely suppressed by Wang Xiao and his team. Aside from the one with over 20,000 years of cultivation still thrashing in rage, the remaining four Evil Spirit Orcas were weakly floating on the blood-stained sea surface.
The one Evil Spirit Orca with a cultivation of just over 10,000 years had already been killed by the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion soldiers. A deep black soul ring hovered above its massive corpse, exuding a savage aura unique to the Evil Spirit Orca. Even from a distance, Xu Zihuang could feel its oppressive intensity.
As expected of one of the ocean's apex predators. Even a soul ring from a barely 10,000-year-old orca would likely be too dangerous for most Soul Kings to absorb due to their physical limitations.
Though soul ring power was determined largely by age, the type of soul beast also mattered significantly.
Thanks to the keen vision granted by his Golden Eyes martial soul, Xu Zihuang could clearly see the full appearance of the Evil Spirit Orcas. Compared to the Silver Scaled White Whale, the Evil Spirit Orcas were veritable behemoths. One of the orcas, with a cultivation level of about 1,000 years, was already twice the size of the Silver Scaled White Whale.
Its robust body lacked any streamlined elegance, yet it radiated raw, overwhelming strength. Its skin was dark gray and black, and its disproportionately large head bore a terrifying maw filled with blade-like teeth.
The two orcas with cultivation levels exceeding 10,000 years were even more massive, each over 20 meters long.
This sheer size was one of the reasons Wang Xiao had avoided letting the two strongest orcas get too close to the warship. Their physical power alone, without even considering their soul skills, could easily capsize the vessel.
The seawater was now stained deep red by the Evil Spirit Orcas' blood.
Known for their bloodthirsty nature, the scent of blood seemed to awaken the remaining lead orca's most savage instincts. Its monstrous jaws opened wide, and it began tearing into the corpse of its fallen mate—the recently killed 10,000-year-old orca—devouring it to recover its energy. Its enormous dark red eyes gleamed with a deranged light.
"Hummmm—hummmm—"
With the leader's massive body thrashing about, the sea began to tremble violently.
Countless dark red water blades shot into the sky, forming an endless rain of deadly attacks. The soul-powered shield protecting the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion soldiers shimmered under the onslaught, barely holding on. The overwhelming impact and pressure from the water blades left them no opportunity to deploy their flying-type soul tools.
In an instant, waves of red energy rippled outward, enveloping the soldiers in midair. Only Wang Xiao, the strongest among them, managed to escape the zone of influence in time.
This was one of the Evil Spirit Orca's most powerful innate soul skills: Evil Spirit Orca's Absorption.
The skill's most terrifying trait was its ability to bypass physical defenses entirely. Once a target's body was touched by the red ripples, they would be forcibly stunned for one second, regardless of their strength. Only those with extraordinarily strong spiritual power could shorten the duration of the stun. Energy-based defenses could block the ripples, but any soul master using energy-based soul skills would find their soul power consumption tripled during the skill's duration.
If the Evil Spirit Orca was a 100,000-year soul beast, the stun duration could even reach three seconds.
A wide-area control skill of this level was terrifyingly overpowered. Even a peak Soul Douluo like Wang Xiao would tread carefully against such an ability. While it was technically possible to defend against it, doing so came at the cost of massive soul power consumption, leaving the defenders at a severe disadvantage.
This skill was one of the key reasons the Evil Spirit Orcas were considered one of the three dominant species of the ocean.
At this moment, the soldiers' soul-powered shields finally shattered under the relentless assault of the demonic ripples.
The team was left stunned and vulnerable as the dark red water blades closed in.
"This Evil Spirit Orca is making one last desperate counterattack."
Yao Yang, who had been monitoring the situation, activated his martial soul, causing his seven soul rings to flash in sequence. He prepared to forcibly disrupt the orca's soul skill.
But just as Yao Yang was about to intervene, Xu Zihuang stepped forward, positioning himself at the edge of the deck.
His golden eyes radiated a calm, indifferent light as the single purple soul ring around him began to glow brilliantly.
"First Soul Skill: Song of the White Whale."
The melodic whale song that had graced the sea earlier rang out once more. A faint projection of the Silver Scaled White Whale materialized behind Xu Zihuang, swimming joyfully around him.
His black hair fluttered despite the lack of wind, and the cloak draped over his shoulders billowed softly. The peculiar fluctuations of spiritual energy emanating from him gave him an otherworldly, ethereal aura.
Those who had been stunned moments earlier felt their spirits jolt as clarity returned to their minds. Seeing the dark red water blades hurtling toward them, they quickly reactivated their soul-powered shields to protect themselves.
Hovering in midair, Wang Xiao paused briefly, sensing an unprecedented surge in the wind and darkness elements within his martial soul. With newfound vigor, he redirected his assault, diving straight at the lead Evil Spirit Orca.
His speed was noticeably faster than before. Activating his fourth soul skill, he plunged his tiger claws deep into the massive orca's head. The green-black wind blades generated by his attack tore through its thick, gray-black skin, churning violently within.
The already heavily injured Evil Spirit Orca struggled less and less, its enormous body gradually going limp.
"Lin Long!" Wang Xiao shouted, prompting a thin middle-aged man nearby to respond instantly. Drawing a soul tool spear from his storage soul tool, Lin Long drove it directly into the orca's blowhole, delivering the killing blow.
Lin Long had recently advanced to rank 70, and the team had intentionally delayed ending the battle to secure this precious soul ring for him.
Standing atop the orca's corpse, Wang Xiao exhaled deeply, relieved. However, as he felt the lingering effects of Xu Zihuang's skill amplifying his attributes, he turned toward the deck, astonished.
"Was that the Young Lord's first soul skill?!"
Even with his vast experience, Wang Xiao found it hard to believe.
Xu Zihuang's soul skill reminded him of the legendary Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect from the Douluo Continent—a sect known for its unparalleled support-type auxiliary martial soul.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's core ability was Attribute Amplification, which increased a single attribute to boost soul skill power. However, Xu Zihuang's skill seemed to transcend simple amplification. Instead, it elevated the essence of a martial soul's element attributes, creating a qualitative transformation.
The difference between these two types of enhancement was immeasurable. Although the boost provided by Xu Zihuang's skill wasn't as high as that of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, its unique nature made it even more valuable.
Yao Yang, standing nearby, shared the same thoughts as Wang Xiao.
Without exaggeration, Xu Zihuang's skill has almost instantly reversed the situation. Of course, even without Xu Zihuang's intervention, his and Wang Xiao's combined strength would have been sufficient to handle the previous situation.
While Xu Zihuang retracted his martial soul, he offered a calm explanation to the others:
"My first soul skill, Song of the White Whale, is a domain-type skill with a range of nearly 100 meters around me. It removes all negative effects from allies and increases their spiritual power and martial soul attributes by 10%."
There was no need to elaborate further; the power of a domain-type soul skill spoke for itself.
Although the amplification wasn't particularly high, the soul power consumption was relatively low. As Xu Zihuang's cultivation advanced, the energy expenditure for this skill would become negligible.
The most crucial aspect, however, was that the amplification applied equally to soul masters of any rank, without increasing Xu Zihuang's energy consumption. Even at rank 20, he could already support Titled Douluo-level soul masters.
This was the unparalleled strength of a domain-type soul skill.
Though it lacked offensive or control capabilities, this skill alone guaranteed Xu Zihuang's position as the core of any team.