Wang Dong stepped down from the arena, his face still flushed with unspent shame and embarrassment.
With both sides having expended considerable soul power, a thirty-minute rest period was granted—crucial for the Tang Sect's recovery.
The moment they returned to the Tang Sect's rest area, Bei Bei rushed over with concern: "Dong… Dong'er, are you alright?" He stared uncertainly at the handsome yet gloomy-faced youth before him, his voice hesitant.
Sensing his companions' confusion and worry, Wang Dong forced down his discomfort and explained: "It's Yin Wansheng's soul skill effect. He seems to wield some kind of yin-yang power. Once he breaches your defense, he can temporarily reverse your gender. But he said it's only temporary."
Xu Sanshi pictured himself transformed into a woman and shuddered violently. "What kind of cursed soul skill is this? Way too dangerous!"
The instant he spoke, all eyes turned to him. Xu Sanshi's spine went cold. He clutched his chest and took two steps back:
"W-why are you all looking at me? What are you planning?"
Bei Bei slapped his shoulder with forced "kindness," his tone heavy: "Sanshi, look—you're our most reliable defensive soul master among the seven of us."
"During the team battle, that Yin Wansheng… we're counting on you to focus on defending against him! Don't let us down!"
"Bei Bei!" Xu Sanshi wailed in despair. "You really are a closet pervert! I don't want to turn into a girl!"
Bei Bei struggled to suppress his laughter. "Don't worry. Look at Wang Dong—no real harm done. And he'll change back."
Jiang Nannan added coolly from the side: "Mm, I wouldn't mind… being sisters with you for a few days."
Xu Sanshi felt like he'd been struck by lightning. His face turned ashen—betrayed by the entire world.
Their antics eased much of Wang Dong's crushing embarrassment and shame over the gender shift.
"What's all this commotion?" Huo Yuhao murmured, rubbing his throbbing temples as he slowly regained consciousness.
Seeing him awake, Wang Dong instinctively froze, hesitant to approach.
Bei Bei sighed and stepped forward, explaining what had happened—including Yin Wansheng's bizarre soul skill.
Huo Yuhao listened in astonishment. "Gender reversal? Such a… shameless soul skill exists?"
He imagined himself as a woman and shuddered—utterly unacceptable.
Yet when he looked at Wang Dong, he felt no repulsion. Back when they were still "good brothers," their bond had been incredibly close—even sparking Xiao Xiao's misunderstandings. He only felt heartache and fury for Wang Dong.
Seeing Wang Dong's humiliation, Huo Yuhao stepped forward and draped an arm around his shoulders. The texture beneath his fingers was harder, more angular than he remembered. Softly, he comforted:
"Don't worry. Once we're on stage and defeat Natural Sect, we'll make them reverse the skill!"
Wang Dong's face flushed deeper. He muttered, "No use… he said the skill can only revert naturally. Forcing interference could permanently scramble the yin-yang balance… locking the gender change forever…"
Huo Yuhao's arm stiffened slightly. 'So… I won't be able to be intimate with Dong'er for a long time…' he lamented inwardly.
But his face showed nothing. He squeezed Wang Dong's shoulder firmly. "It doesn't matter. No matter what, you're still you."
The team scrambled to finalize tactics. Soon, rest time ended—the team battle began.
Both sides took the arena, forming battle arrays.
Tang Sect's lineup: Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, He Caitou.
Their formation was clear: Xu Sanshi and Bei Bei—both Soul Emperors—anchored the front line. Jiang Nannan and Xiao Xiao flanked the sides for support. Huo Yuhao held the center, overseeing battlefield control and spiritual sharing. Wang Dong stood close to Huo Yuhao—both a powerful combatant and ready to unleash martial soul fusion skills. He Caitou took the rear, providing cigar soul skills and heavy soul device firepower.
Natural Sect fielded seven fighters: Bai Yuan, Mu Yi, Yin Wansheng, Liu Niandao, Qing Liuli, Bo Xi, Ming Baixue.
Their formation radiated overwhelming, direct dominance: Bai Yuan, Mu Yi, and Bo Xi—three physically robust soul masters—lined the front like unbreachable mountains. Yin Wansheng, Liu Niandao, Qing Liuli, and Ming Baixue stood behind.
"Begin!"
At Referee Zheng Zhan's command, seven identical black soul rings flared beneath Natural Sect's feet.
Especially striking were the three at the front—Bai Yuan, Yin Wansheng, and Bo Xi. Their seven profound black soul rings radiated visual and soul power pressure that stole the audience's breath. Roars of awe erupted across the stands.
"Three Soul Saints! All with hundred-thousand-year soul rings!"
"Natural Sect is terrifying! No wonder—they have a Limit Douluo backing them!"
Facing such a horrific lineup, Huo Yuhao knew he could hold nothing back. He took a deep breath—and to everyone's shock, rose from his wheelchair.
"He… he can stand?!"
"Was he faking it all along?!"
Ignoring the murmurs, Huo Yuhao gripped Wang Dong's hand tightly.
Instantly, dazzling light enveloped them. The Spirit Eyes and Hao Tian Hammer—two top-tier martial souls—began to merge!
Martial Soul Fusion Skill: The Divine Truth Among The Emptiness, Spiritual Storm!
This was Huo Yuhao's desperate gamble.
The opponents were too strong. He needed this wide-area, indiscriminate spiritual assault to clear the field first. If he could eliminate Ming Baixue—whose healing domain threatened them most—they might still have a sliver of hope.
But just as the invisible, soul-rending Spiritual Storm prepared to erupt—Bai Yuan, at Natural Sect's front line, moved.
"Not so fast!"
A low roar escaped him. The blurred black phantom behind him swelled, solidifying into something indescribably terrifying—a nightmare born of the cosmic abyss, radiating ultimate greed and darkness that devoured all. This was his martial soul: Abyss Devourer!
Devouring Domain—Fully Open!
A darkness that swallowed even light erupted from Bai Yuan.
Eerily, this domain devoured even intangible spiritual energy.
Third Soul Skill: 'Ultimate Devouring!' Enhanced all devouring abilities.
Fourth Soul Skill: 'Abyssal Feast!' Temporarily or permanently strengthened himself based on devoured power. Swallowing spiritual energy granted him proportional spiritual boosts—around one-fifth—for at least an hour. Enough for this battle.
Sixth Soul Skill: 'Abyssal Maw!' Vastly expanded devouring range. The Abyss Domain and black holes around Bai Yuan grew several times larger.
In that moment, Bai Yuan transformed into the Abyss itself!
The opened maw was no longer physical—it became a manifestation of law.
The surging Spiritual Storm, its torrential spiritual energy, flowed like rivers into the sea—devoured whole by the abyssal maw without a ripple.
On the high platform, Xu Tianran's face twisted in shock. "National Preceptor, what martial soul is this? To so easily nullify a Soul Saint's martial soul fusion skill?"
Zhongli Wu remained silent, his eyes flickering with uncertainty.
Beside them, Long Xiaoyao's voice cut through, thick with astonishment: "It's a Devourer! An extremely rare variant infused with primal darkness! Its bloodline pressure… even from hundreds of meters away, I feel its weight… Its bloodline quality likely rivals true dragons!"
Xu Tianran's initial shock curdled into icy resolve. 'A dragon-bloodline cultivator who pressures even a Limit Douluo?'
'This child must not be allowed to live!'
'Otherwise, he'll become another "Natural Sect Master"—a terror beyond imagining!'
Zhongli Wu's mind also seethed with murderous intent—but his thoughts turned to extracting Bai Yuan's bloodline to feed his ninth soul skill's bone dragon, cultivating a stronger Bone Dragon King.
Somewhere in the stands, Xuan Zi stared at the Abyss Devourer phantom, lost in thought.
This was the absolute superior martial soul to his own "Taotie Divine Ox." Its pure, terrifying devouring origin even suppressed him—a Taotie Divine Ox wielder.
"Before Bai Yuan, I doubt I could even display my full Titled Douluo strength…" he sighed. "Pity he isn't a Shrek student… Though, fortunately, he's not with the Sun Moon Empire either. A blessing in disguise."
On the arena, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong were stunned.
They'd anticipated their fusion skill might be blocked, weakened, or endured—but never devoured entirely.
Worse, Bai Yuan's Abyss Devourer bloodline pressure began to manifest. All beast martial soul users on the Tang Sect side felt their breath catch, soul power sputtering.
Especially Bei Bei. His Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul suffered most—nearly losing its will to fight.
He frantically awakened a trace of Golden Holy Dragon blood within him. His Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon briefly evolved into a Light Holy Dragon, barely countering the suppression. But his movements remained heavily hindered.
"Yuhao, I can't face him head-on!" Bei Bei urgently signaled through spiritual sharing. "Switch places with Sanshi! I'd rather fight Yin Wansheng!"
Huo Yuhao's heart sank.
Bei Bei's crucial combat strength crippled—the situation grew dire. He instantly adjusted tactics, directing Xu Sanshi: "Second Senior Brother, execute Plan B. Target Ming Baixue!"
Xu Sanshi obeyed. Guided by Huo Yuhao's spiritual detection, he locked onto Ming Baixue's position in the rear ranks.
Fourth Soul Skill: 'Mysterious Replacement!'
Light flashed. Xu Sanshi and Ming Baixue's positions swapped instantly.
Landing, Xu Sanshi felt Bai Yuan's suffocating pressure behind him. No time for hesitation. Remembering Bei Bei's suppression, he roared—activating his Black Tortoise bloodline. His martial soul transformed into the Black Tortoise Shield:
Sixth Soul Skill: 'Black Tortoise Domain!'
Black, mercury-like water spread from him. Within this domain, all his abilities gained 100% amplification. The crushing water pressure inflicted dual mental and physical strain on enemies.
Second Soul Skill: 'Black Tortoise Shield Array!' Four giant tortoise-shell phantoms encircled him.
Third Soul Skill: 'Black Tortoise Might!' Defense tripled instantly. Amplified by 'Black Tortoise Domain', this equaled a sixfold boost!
He'd pushed his defenses to an absolute peak—confident he could withstand even a Soul Saint for a long time.
But he'd underestimated Natural Sect's strangeness and power.
The moment his defenses settled, Liu Niandao struck. His soul rings flared in unprecedented rapid succession—his Heavenly Stem and Earthly Branch Knife Array already primed:
First Soul Skill: 'Thousand Cuts!' Massive boosts to knife sharpness, penetration, and speed.
Second Soul Skill: 'Blade Shadow!' Knife attacks created afterimages, inflicting secondary damage.
Third Soul Skill: 'Heavenly Blossom!' Knife count multiplied—108 base knives × soul ring count = 648 knives. With 'Blade Shadow', this doubled again!
Fifth Soul Skill: 'Blade Soul Resonance!' Attacks carried razor-sharp spiritual damage.
Sixth Soul Skill: 'Blade Soul Liberation!' The martial soul entered a phased state—physical defense became nearly useless. Only spiritual defense could counter it!
This was intelligence the Tang Sect lacked. Who'd expect a seemingly physical knife martial soul—amplified by Liu Niandao's terrifying "blade intent" and resonance with his second spiritual martial soul—to evolve such devastating pure-damage soul skills?
He'd stacked every effect onto a single point: 'lethality!'
Huo Yuhao "saw" the sky-darkening, spiritually vibrating phased knives through spiritual detection. 'Disaster!'
But he and Bei Bei were locked in combat with Ming Baixue's summoned undead—Black Warriors, Death Knights. Worse, the moment Ming Baixue was teleported in, she'd used some spatial ability to summon Mu Yi and Bo Xi to her side, forming an impregnable defensive line.
"Senior Brother, swap back!" Huo Yuhao urgently transmitted.
Too late.
The dense, intangible yet razor-sharp spiritual knives poured like rain onto Xu Sanshi's seemingly unbreakable Black Tortoise Shield Array.
No physical collision—only soul-deep cutting.
"Ah—!"
Xu Sanshi screamed—a shriek of agony from the soul itself.
His prized, maxed-out physical defense meant nothing before these spiritual knives!
In one second—before his Black Tortoise Domain and shields could activate—countless spiritual blades shredded his consciousness. Darkness swallowed him; he collapsed heavily.
Yin Wansheng glanced at the unconscious Xu Sanshi. A wicked smile curled his lips. A casual flick of yin-yang energy struck Xu Sanshi's body.
In a soft glow, Xu Sanshi's form shifted. His frame grew slender; his features softened… Within moments, a female "Xu Sanshi"—still clad in male attire—lay on the arena floor.
Yin Wansheng kicked him (her) toward the arena boundary like discarded trash.
Tang Sect—down one member.
And it was their defensive core. Their formation crumbled instantly!
------------------------------------------------------
40+ Chapters Ahead: patreon.com/EphemeralShadow
There's something for free patrons too! Free Patrons receive 1 chapter in advance :)