"I thought you were furious; since when did you start understanding them?"
When Xiao Wu suddenly brought it up, Yu Yan looked at her oddly—she wore an 'I understand them' expression.
"It's all because your mutated Companion Spirit is just too broken." After grumbling at Yu Yan, Xiao Wu added, "Understanding is one thing; if it happens again I'll still be mad. They're shameless, so…"
Walking beside Yu Yan, the usually soft-spoken Xiao Wu faltered, unable to find words foul enough for people without the slightest bottom line.
"No point wasting brain-power on how to curse them. Come see my Second Martial Soul Fusion Skill—truth be told, I'm curious what it actually is."
Seeing the adorable Xiao Wu wanting to swear yet unable to, Yu Yan felt terrific.
To lift her mood he decided to show off the Fusion skill he'd been anticipating, hoping to distract her from those thoughts.
Once a spirit ring is absorbed, the rules of Douluo Continent let you instantly know what your Spirit Ability is.
But a Martial Soul Fusion Skill can only be sensed vaguely before you actually use it; the specifics remain unknown.
Hearing him mention a second spirit ring Fusion skill, Xiao Wu finally understood why those nobles had lost their minds.
Fortunately they still didn't know Yu Yan's Companion Spirit let him perform a Fusion skill solo.
Merely learning he had two abilities in one ring had driven them crazy.
If they discovered one ring granted a Fusion skill, she couldn't imagine how insane they'd become.
Powerful Spirit Masters, apart from ascetic monks devoted to cultivation, usually kept several wives. Yu Yan clearly wasn't an ascetic—would he…? While her thoughts wandered, Yu Yan steadied himself.
As the saying goes, the first time is unfamiliar, the second is smooth; no stranger to Fusion skills, Yu Yan found his rhythm within minutes.
The Ice and Fire Twin Fish spiralled together like a taiji symbol, the two fish of one soul now a single entity, the purple second spirit ring hovering above them and glowing.
With preparations complete, the general method for the second-ring Fusion skill surfaced in his mind.
Knowing how to use it, Yu Yan aimed the Second Martial Soul Fusion Skill at another boulder ahead.
The terrifying fluctuations of spirit power drew Xiao Wu's full attention.
Four chains shot from Yu Yan's hands, weaving an intricate three-dimensional cage around the boulder.
Ice-and-fire energies that had never merged on Frost Ash Remnant Dragon now fused perfectly along the chains; the resulting shockwave blasted inward, pulverising the enclosed rock.
"That's your second-ring Fusion skill? Looks kind of… underwhelming."
After seeing the damage from the shockwave, she felt the skill was merely mediocre.
"If that were all, it'd be weak—but there's more. Watch closely: Ice Flame Exploding Chain."
"Explode!"
Yu Yan clenched his fist; the intertwined ice-and-fire energies violently collided, neither yielding.
The chain of ice and fire then detonated segment by segment like New-Year firecrackers, finally forming a small blue-red mushroom cloud.
The blast sent gusts in every direction, scattered ice-and-fire energy damaging the surroundings.
When the cloud dispersed, a four-metre-deep pit lay where the chain had exploded, ice and flame strewn throughout in jarring yet harmonious beauty.
"S-so amazing!"
Watching the blue-red mushroom cloud rise, Xiao Wu's feelings could be summed up in two words: shock and broken.
Prodigy!
"Well? My Second Martial Soul Fusion Skill, Ice Fire Profound Mechanism: Ice Flame Exploding Chain, isn't bad, right?"
Proud of her stunned reaction, Yu Yan dismissed his Spirit, walked up, and waved a hand before her eyes.
"Yu Yan, you're insane—you're only a Two-Ring Great Soul Master, yet that damage rivals Four-Ring Spirit Ancestors in the Soul Fighting Arena."
She gave her honest appraisal: newly promoted level-23 Xiao Wu was confident she could beat most peers and claim invincibility within her rank—only to find this monster already comparable to a Spirit Ancestor.
Compare goods and you toss them; compare people and you die.
"We're teammates; I'll only use Ice Flame Exploding Chain on our enemies. Why so gloomy? You should be happy I've got something so powerful."
He flicked her forehead, scattering her chaotic thoughts.
"Right! Yu Yan, if anyone tries to kill me, you blast them hard with Ice Flame Exploding Chain."
Snapping out of it, she giggled and looked at him expectantly.
"We're together all day; anyone wanting to kill you wants to kill me too. No need to remind me—I'll blow them up."
Patting his chest, he promised to obliterate anyone who tried to harm them.
"Hehe, I knew you're the best."
His answer made her eyes crinkle with delight.
"I was only joking and you're over the moon. When it really happens I might just run and leave you to cover the rear."
Knowing he was teasing, she played along: "Then I'll run faster—my Comprehensive Amplification Spirit Ability isn't for show."
"I'll block you with Profound Ice Chain so you can't run fast."
"My Moonlight Attachment can change form; I can make chains to block you too."
"I'll slow you with Ice Fire Vortex."
"I'll lock you with Soft Technique—then if I run, it's you who runs."
The two mature kids launched into a heated debate over this silly, impossible scenario.