Seeing the two martial spirits and the aura they released, Dugu Yan—who had walked up to stand beside Zhao Wuji—nodded slightly.
"With martial spirits of this level, and soul power like theirs, perhaps they really can pose a bit of a threat to Xiao Ao."
Zhao Wuji turned to look at her.
"You have that much confidence in him? Forget Mumbai—right now, Hongjun is in no way inferior to Xiao Ao at the same stage. In fact, he might even surpass him."
Dugu Yan smiled faintly.
"Teacher Zhao, Xiao Ao has improved a lot during this time. You'll see soon enough. Let's just wait and watch."
As her words fell, Oscar slowly raised his left hand. A jade-colored longsword appeared within his grip. The moment the Heavenly Azure Spirit Jade Sword materialized, Oscar's entire aura sharpened, like a blade drawn from its sheath. Ma Hongjun and Dai Mubai both felt as though a peerless sword edge was pressing against their throats.
Meanwhile, his right hand—hidden behind his back—gripped an orange sausage, concealed from sight. Behind him, two yellow and one purple spirit rings rose slowly into the air.
At that instant, Oscar himself seemed like an unbending, indomitable sword, facing the pressure of the phoenix and the white tiger without the slightest change in expression—indeed, faintly even suppressing them.
"Oscar. Martial Spirit: Heavenly Azure Spirit Jade Sword. Thirty-seventh rank, Attack-Type Battle Spirit King." Oscar's voice rang out clearly.
Hearing this, Ma Hongjun and Dai Mubai glanced at each other. They both knew Oscar's real martial spirit was the Supreme Sausage, but what he said wasn't wrong.
After all, his sausage martial spirit was well hidden, and the jade sword in his hand looked no different from an ordinary weapon spirit. Without knowing Oscar's secret, anyone would have been fooled.
But it didn't matter—what he called it wasn't important. What mattered was that the soul power level could not be faked.
Both were shocked that Oscar had advanced from rank thirty to rank thirty-seven in just a year, though they had already been mentally prepared.
After all, the Phoenix Nirvana Pill Oscar had given Ma Hongjun had allowed such a leap. Oscar himself had spent the year studying under Poison Douluo Dugu Bo—how could his own growth be any less?
So though surprised, it was still within reason. Zhao Wuji thought the same.
But none of them knew the truth—that though Oscar had indeed taken immortal herbs, their direct effect on his soul power was limited. His leap to rank thirty-seven came mainly from absorbing a third soul ring far above his level, which had instantly raised him to rank thirty-three.
Combined with the immortal herbs' transformation of his body, his cultivation speed had sharply increased, explaining his rapid progress.
With all martial spirits released, Zhao Wuji's voice echoed across the stage:
"Spirit battle… begin!"
The moment his words fell, flames surged around Ma Hongjun. On his back, a pair of flaming wings condensed from fire and soul power spread wide. With one flap, he soared into the sky.
Oscar was slightly surprised. Hongjun hadn't even used a soul skill—the wings were purely condensed from soul power and flames.
Hovering above, Ma Hongjun let out a piercing phoenix cry. For a moment, it was as if a massive fire phoenix appeared in the sky. His legs turned into blazing phoenix talons, and with a swipe, he unleashed several blazing claw strikes at Oscar.
"Flame Phoenix—Phoenix Claw!"
The fiery talon-prints, wrapped in blazing scarlet flame, tore through the air toward Oscar.
Oscar immediately recalled the scene when Hongjun had gone with Flender to obtain his third soul ring in Sunset Forest—how much he had trained and struggled this past year.
The Hongjun before him was no longer the chubby boy from the original timeline. His mastery of his martial spirit had reached incredible levels. Even without soul skills, he could unleash powerful techniques.
At the same time, Dai Mubai attacked as well. His jaws opened wide, and a golden beam of destructive light burst forth, locking onto Oscar together with Hongjun's strike.
"Second Soul Skill: White Tiger Intense Light Wave!"
Facing their combined assault, Oscar swung his jade sword. In an instant, several razor-sharp sword beams cleaved out, cutting apart Hongjun's claw strikes. Then, with two light sidesteps, he narrowly evaded Dai Mubai's beam.
Though Dai Mubai's second soul skill was powerful, its greatest flaw was its singular direction of attack. Against someone agile, it was easier to avoid than Hongjun's Phoenix Fire Line.
But Oscar had barely defended against their first wave when the second came crashing down. Hongjun dove like a comet, opening his mouth to spew blazing flames straight down toward Oscar's head.
It was his first soul skill—Phoenix Fire Line.
The instant the fire erupted, the surrounding temperature spiked once more.
Yet Oscar's reaction was lightning fast. He darted several steps backward, narrowly dodging the flames.
But Hongjun knew how well Oscar understood him. The moment Oscar retreated, Hongjun swooped again, chasing after him with the fire stream, forcing Oscar to keep moving. The flames licked at his heels, only a breath away.
Meanwhile, Dai Mubai had already activated his first soul skill—White Tiger Body Barrier. His attack, strength, and defense instantly rose by fifty percent as he charged directly at Oscar from the front.
Oscar continued retreating quickly, circling the stage with long strides. Behind him, the Phoenix Fire Line chased relentlessly; ahead, Dai Mubai closed in, preparing to pincer him.
Oscar immediately saw their intent—to trap him in a two-pronged assault and finish it in one move. Of course, he wouldn't allow that chance.
Ma Hongjun's phoenix flames were indeed fearsome. Even though his soul power was two levels lower, Oscar dared not take the flames head-on.
Yes, the Eight-Petal Ice Grass and Fiery Apricot he had consumed had given him a body immune to poison, but not to ice and fire. That resistance existed only within his martial spirit—when he produced sausages with soul skills. Eating them granted temporary dual immunity.
Once the effect ended, the immunity vanished. Just like Tang San's Blue Silver Grass in the original timeline, his body wasn't naturally immune—it was conditional.
Still, it came with a great advantage: from now on, all his sausages would carry this effect automatically. Though limited, it costs no extra soul power—effectively a passive ability. For Oscar, that was a great gain.
But right now, he didn't even need to use that sausage. Even without dual immunity, he had his ways of dealing with Hongjun. His retreat was not fear, but waiting for the perfect opportunity.
After all, while Hongjun had improved tremendously this past year, Oscar himself, with the aid of an external spirit bone, already possessed strength enough to rival a Spirit Ancestor.