Under normal circumstances, the process of fusing with a soul ring typically takes anywhere from half an hour to several hours, depending on the soul master's physical condition. The stronger one's body and meridians, the better they can endure the immense energy contained within a soul ring, resulting in a shorter fusion time.
However, the silver-scaled white whale had actively chosen to become Xu Zihuang's soul ring. This was essentially a perfect fusion—there wasn't a single trace of energy overflow.
The most direct result? Xu Zihuang experienced no pain whatsoever. In fact, it felt unusually comfortable. He didn't even need to consciously comprehend the soul skill granted by the ring; everything was as if it had already been etched into his mind, smooth and complete, as if it had always belonged there.
And it was precisely because he now understood the effect of his first soul skill that Xu Zihuang was nearly certain of the white whale's identity—it truly was a Rui Beast.
When his forehead had touched the whale's just moments ago, not only had his spiritual power surged dramatically, he had also gained some kind of special ability—though now wasn't the time to explore it. He suppressed his urge to enter a meditative state. There would be plenty of time for that once the surroundings were secure.
Meanwhile, several hundred meters from the ship, the five Devil Tiger Whales had been completely overwhelmed by Wang Xiao and his team. Only the one with over 20,000 years of cultivation was still putting up resistance. The others had collapsed, their massive bodies floating weakly on the surface.
The one that had just broken through the 10,000-year mark had already fallen under the joint attack of the Royal Dragon Soul Engineering Corps. A deep, dark soul ring condensed above its corpse, radiating a savage aura unique to Devil Tiger Whales—an aura that even made Xu Zihuang's heart tighten slightly.
As expected of one of the ocean's apex predators—even a soul ring that barely passed the 10,000-year threshold would be extremely difficult for most Soul Kings to absorb.
Though soul ring age matters most, the species the ring comes from matters too.
Through the powerful visual acuity granted by his Golden Eyes martial soul, Xu Zihuang was able to clearly see the whales' full appearance. Compared to the silver-scaled white whale, the Devil Tiger Whales were absolute behemoths. One of them, also around 1,000 years old, was nearly twice the size of the white whale. Its body was thick and bulky, lacking any streamlined grace, yet it exuded sheer brute power. Its hide was charcoal gray, and its massive head—lined with sword-like teeth—was truly terrifying.
The two with over 10,000 years of cultivation were even more astonishing, each over twenty meters long.
That was why Wang Xiao had forbidden those two from getting anywhere near the ship. With bodies that massive, even without soul skills, they could easily flip the vessel with brute strength alone.
By now, the seawater was stained red with blood.
Bloodthirsty by nature, the scent of blood triggered something feral in the lead Devil Tiger Whale. Its monstrous mouth suddenly clamped down—on the corpse of its fallen mate—tearing it apart and devouring it to replenish itself. Madness gleamed in its dark red eyes.
"Wooooh—!"
The beast's massive form sent tremors through the water as it moved.
Countless blood-red water blades shot into the sky like a torrential rain. The soul barrier shields on the Royal Dragon Soul Engineers shimmered under the intense impact, and the force behind each blade was so great that they couldn't spare a thought to activate their flying soul tools.
Then, in an instant, rippling red light spread out like a net, enveloping them mid-air. Only Wang Xiao, with the highest cultivation, managed to escape just in time.
This was the Devil Tiger Whale's ultimate innate ability: Demonic Suppression.
Its most terrifying trait? Physical defense was useless. Once the red ripples touched the body, the target would suffer forced dizziness for one second, regardless of their strength—unless their spiritual power was especially high, in which case the duration might shorten. Energy shields could block the effect, but any soul skill used within that zone would consume three times the soul power. If the whale had a 100,000-year cultivation, the stun could last up to three seconds.
A group-control skill. And an absurdly overpowered one at that.
Even top-tier Soul Douluo like Yao Yang feared it. Whether you chose to block or dodge, you'd either get stunned or rapidly drained of energy.
This ability was one of the main reasons Devil Tiger Whales stood among the Three Rulers of the Sea.
One by one, the soul shields of the Royal Dragon soldiers shattered under the energy assault. In the next instant, all of them fell into a state of forced dizziness.
Then, another wave of crimson blades shot toward them.
"This beast is going all-in for a final counterattack."
Yao Yang, who had been closely monitoring the battle, prepared to act. The seven soul rings around him pulsed rapidly—he was ready to intervene and disrupt the whale's skill by force.
But then—
Xu Zihuang stepped forward.
He walked to the ship's railing, golden eyes calm and focused on the chaos ahead. The single purple soul ring around him burst into radiant light.
"First Soul Skill: Song of the White Whale."
That serene, ethereal whale song returned. The silver-scaled white whale's phantom appeared behind Xu Zihuang, joyfully circling his form.
His long black hair fluttered without wind, and his cloak billowed behind him. An otherworldly wave of spiritual energy surrounded him—his entire presence took on an almost illusory quality.
The stunned soldiers suddenly snapped back to awareness. A sharp jolt coursed through their minds, and the moment they saw the red blades coming their way, they instinctively reactivated their shields.
Wang Xiao, who had been about to shield the group with his fourth soul skill, froze for a moment. Then he spun in midair and dove straight at the Devil Tiger Whale.
His speed had clearly increased.
Unleashing his fourth soul skill again, both tiger claws pierced deep into the whale's massive head. Black-green wind blades exploded beneath its thick skin.
Already heavily wounded, the beast's movements began to slow.
"Linlong!" Wang Xiao called out.
A lean middle-aged man hovering nearby responded instantly, pulling a soul-guided spear from his storage and driving it straight into the whale's blowhole—the final blow.
Linlong had only recently broken through to rank 70. The others had delayed the battle this long just to help him acquire this precious soul ring.
Standing atop the beast's corpse, Wang Xiao finally let out a breath. But sensing the dense wind and dark elements swirling around his wings, his gaze turned back toward the ship—toward Xu Zihuang.
"That was the young master's first soul skill?!"
Even with his experience, he found it hard to believe.
This soul skill reminded him of a legendary sect on the Douluo Continent—the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, known as the world's strongest support-type martial soul.
Their core ability was attribute amplification. But that only enhanced one stat, increasing the strength of soul skills.
Xu Zihuang's soul skill, however, elevated the very nature of the martial soul itself. His Bawang Xiao martial soul's wind and darkness attributes had clearly ascended to a higher tier.
It wasn't just a quantitative boost—it was a qualitative one.
While the amplification effect wasn't as strong as the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's, the essence of the enhancement was fundamentally different.
Yao Yang, too, sensed this.
Xu Zihuang's soul skill had instantly shifted the tide. Though he and Wang Xiao could've handled the situation on their own, this intervention had made everything far easier.
Retracting his martial soul, Xu Zihuang smiled and explained to the others:
"This is the first soul skill I just acquired—Song of the White Whale. It's a domain-type soul skill. With me at the center, it covers nearly 100 meters. It dispels all negative effects and boosts allies' spiritual power and martial soul attributes by 10%."
He didn't need to say much more.
The fact that it was a domain soul skill said everything.
Though its amplification wasn't extreme, it came with very low soul power consumption. Once his cultivation rose, the cost would be almost negligible.
More importantly, no matter how powerful the ally, the bonus effect remained the same—without increasing Xu Zihuang's soul power cost.
In other words, even though he was only at rank 20, he could still assist a Titled Douluo.
That was the terrifying potential of domain-type soul skills.
It had no offensive or control capabilities, yet it made him the core of any team.
(End of Chapter)
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