"You little brat!" Yao Lao scolded. "Didn't I tell you not to mess with dangerous things?"
Yang Fan had succeeded—but only because his current strength was too weak. The energy orb formed from merging Dou Qi and soul power hadn't been powerful enough to overwhelm Yao Lao's defenses.
If Yang Fan had been stronger, even Yao Lao couldn't have blocked that blast today.
Then again…
Judging by how smoothly Yang Fan fused the energies just now, this clearly wasn't his first attempt.
The brat had been secretly experimenting behind his back!
Yang Fan just grinned sheepishly—no excuses.
He had succeeded. The Soul-Qi Bomb's power even surprised him.
But he wasn't satisfied.
His bomb had hovered for half a second before detonating—a delay he couldn't accept.
Against a battle-hardened opponent, that half-second would be enough to turn the tables.
It wasn't the Soul-Qi Bomb's fault—it was his.
He'd failed to master its timing or achieve true surprise.
"How does it feel… merging two different cultivation energies?" Yao Lao asked.
Despite his scolding, Yao Lao always encouraged Yang Fan's creativity in cultivation.
After all, every technique in his ring was born from some ancestor's sudden inspiration.
Of course—such inspiration needed limits.
"It's…strange!" Yang Fan described. "At first, they repel like opposing magnets. But once fully fused, they cling together like attracting poles."
"When completely merged, they become unfathomably deep—I can't even sense when they'll explode."
That was why he couldn't control the detonation timing.
"Your soul strength is too weak," Yao Lao concluded. "You can't perceive the energy's internal turbulence. Train harder."
"And no more sneaking around with that energy orb without my permission!"
Yao Lao's stance was clear: he approved of the fusion experiment—but only under supervision.
"Soul strength, huh?"
Indeed.
Strong soul perception allowed precise skill execution and revealed opponents' weaknesses mid-combat.
Yang Fan pulled out the 10,000-year Illusion Wisdom head bone from his soul tool.
This was his fourth soul bone in two years.
For a soul master, absorbing it would grant a minor head-bone skill and slight level boost.
But in Yao Lao's hands? It could restore his fragmented soul and grant Title Douluo-level power.
Of course—they still needed a 10,000-year Ginseng King for the full transformation.
Yang Fan immediately thought of the Speed Clan's Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng.
But…
When the Speed Clan was starving, Bai He wouldn't sell that ginseng. Acquiring it? Nearly impossible.
Yang Fan once thought the soul bone would be hardest to obtain. Now he knew better.
"Yang Fan!"
Huo Wu's voice made him hastily stash the soul bone.
Three months had passed since her last herb delivery.
In that time, Yang Fan had thoroughly crushed Huo Wu's "unreasonable demands"—beating the fiery girl senseless.
He'd assumed she'd stay away. But he'd underestimated her stubborn, almost masochistic persistence.
Instead of quitting, she'd idolized him as an "unbeatable final boss."
"How'd you find me?" he asked.
"Can't I visit?" She plopped onto the room's only chair—one she'd brought herself weeks ago.
"Is Blazing Flame Academy ready for the tournament?"
As a top Tian Dou team, they'd secured lodging and training grounds early.
"We're set!" she said dismissively. "They don't need me anyway."
As the headmaster's daughter, she'd been included in the squad—but as a Soul Grandmaster, she couldn't compete. Just here to "gain experience" for next year's tournament.
"The more I look at you, the more you remind me of someone," she mused.
Yang Fan's eyebrow twitched. "Who?"
"A guy I fought twice in the arena. Fought as weirdly as you do—but his martial soul was a giant black ruler."
"His name was Yao Chen."
"What a pity you never go to the arena—you'd hear legends about him."
"He was the Soul Grandmaster most likely to earn a Gold Battle Badge. He just needed one more win! His skills were strong enough… but he vanished a year ago."
"Know him?"
Huo Wu sounded wistful.
She'd lost both duels to Yao Chen.
Planned to challenge him again upon reaching Soul Master—but now, that chance was gone.
"Never heard the name," Yang Fan said coolly—internally laughing like a goofball.
Even though I've left the jianghu (martial world), my legend lives on!
"Forget it!" Huo Wu waved a hand. "Talking to you is like playing a flute to cattle. You wouldn't understand the arena's thrill."
Yang Fan had to admit—after a year in the arena, he was bored stiff.
Given a choice between arena and soul beast forest? He'd pick the forest ten thousand times over.
"Hey—is this your new cauldron?"
Alchemy finally sparked her interest.
"It's alright," he said modestly.
He'd spent 1,000 gold soul coins on it today.
In Douluo Continent—where alchemy was undervalued—that was a fortune.
"Mediocre," Huo Wu scoffed. "Our family's cauldron is way better."
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