Inside the Soul Arena, Zhu Ziyang and Beibei stood facing each other.
"Beibei of Class One, First Year, challenges Zhu Ziyang of Class One, First Year. The match begins!"
With that clear announcement, the referee immediately withdrew from the arena.
Both combatants released their martial souls at the same time. Zhu Ziyang extended his right hand, and the Scythe of Silent Judgment appeared, accompanied by one yellow and two purple soul rings—drawing admiration and envy from all those watching.
Beibei also released his martial soul. His body grew slightly taller, and his right arm, from shoulder to fingertips, swelled into a massive, powerful dragon claw. Blue-violet dragon scales shimmered with arcs of electricity, his entire aura growing increasingly wild and fierce.
Dragonification—the mark of a top-tier dragon martial soul. Compared to his first soul skill, Thunderclap Dragon Claw, this transformation brought even greater enhancements, especially in raw power.
Floating behind Beibei were two yellow rings and one purple. His face glowed with fighting spirit as he shouted, "Ziyang, take this!"
The moment his voice fell, his third soul ring lit up. He had no intention of holding back. He knew that facing Zhu Ziyang meant only one option: go all out and end it quickly!
The third soul skill activated instantly. Blue-violet lightning surged across Beibei's body, and his already-dragonified right arm swelled even more—its sheer force now overwhelming to behold.
Third Soul Skill: Wrath of Thunder!
This skill significantly enhanced his lightning attributes, amplified soul power attacks, and boosted the destructive traits of lightning elementals. A powerful enhancement-type ability, it came from a two-thousand-year-old draconic soul beast—the Thunderclap Dragon Crocodile.
With Wrath of Thunder boosting him, Beibei charged toward Zhu Ziyang and simultaneously activated his first soul skill.
Seeing Beibei's all-out offensive, Zhu Ziyang smiled slightly. His second and third soul rings lit up together, and his Scythe of Silent Judgment burst into radiant golden light. Under the dual effect of his soul skills, Zhu Ziyang entered peak combat form and charged forward.
The enormous blue dragon claw and the gleaming golden scythe collided with a thunderous boom. Sparks exploded from the impact, scattering across the arena floor.
The scythe quickly gained the upper hand, pressing forward and forcing Beibei's claw to yield step by step. Sensing the momentum shift, Zhu Ziyang pressed the advantage.
Beibei gritted his teeth and planted his feet, but the sheer force of the scythe drove cracks into the ground beneath him.
Realizing he couldn't hold on, Beibei let out a roar, channeled all his strength, and managed to knock the scythe upward. The Scythe of Silent Judgment was launched into the air, spinning wildly.
Zhu Ziyang's expression darkened slightly. He flexed his wrist, regaining control of the weapon. With a twist of his waist, he brought the scythe level with his shoulder, then without hesitation, swept it sideways in a powerful arc—golden blade gleaming as it struck Beibei clean across the body.
Beibei, still recovering from his push, had dropped his guard. He barely caught a glimpse of the golden flash from the corner of his eye before it slammed into him. He had no time to defend.
He was sent flying more than ten meters through the air before crashing heavily to the ground. Though uninjured, his face had gone pale—he knew it was over. He had lost again.
"You alright?" Zhu Ziyang retracted his martial soul without fanfare. Strength and confidence spoke for themselves. He walked over and extended a hand.
"I'm okay," Beibei said with a bitter smile as he withdrew his own martial soul. He grabbed Zhu Ziyang's hand. "Looks like I've still got a lot of catching up to do."
Zhu Ziyang helped him up with a quiet chuckle.
The match was clearly decided. No explanation from the referee was needed. Cheers erupted from the first-year spectators, while students from the second and third years exchanged stunned glances.
Just how strong are this year's freshmen?
Sea God's Pavilion
Three days after the duel, Zhu Ziyang arrived at the Sea God's Pavilion per Mu En's instructions.
"Teacher, I'm here," he called from outside.
"Come in," Mu En's voice replied. The pavilion doors opened automatically.
Zhu Ziyang stepped in calmly. At the far end of the long table, Mu En lay relaxed on a recliner. Upon seeing him, a smile spread across the elder's weathered face.
"Good, very good. Looks like you've used these past three days to rest properly," Mu En said, pleased. "Balance between tension and relaxation is the key to longevity."
"You flatter me, Teacher," Zhu Ziyang replied humbly.
"No need for modesty." Mu En waved a hand, then grew serious. "Your spiritual power has reached the formless-yet-substantial realm faster than I expected. Excellent. That means it's time for me to pass on my ultimate technique."
"Your ultimate technique?!" Zhu Ziyang's eyes lit up. He had heard from Yan Shaozhe that Mu En had three signature skills: Dominion Over the World, Dragon Emperor's Holy Cleave, and Dragon Emperor's Domain. The first was the most essential—and most powerful.
"That's right," Mu En nodded. "In all my years, I've left behind little of real value. But I did create some battle techniques worth teaching you. Learn them well."
"Yes, Teacher." Zhu Ziyang bowed respectfully.
Of Mu En's three ultimate techniques, the priority was clear—Dominion Over the World came first.
Technically, it wasn't a soul skill or even a martial technique. At its core, it was a method—a way to combine spiritual power with soul power, merging the two into physical combat.
This requires some explanation: on Douluo Continent, soul masters generally use two types of attacks—physical attacks, which damage the body (the most common), and spiritual attacks, which damage the mind and soul (much rarer and typically reserved for spiritual-type soul masters).
Dominion Over the World was a technique that infused spiritual power into physical attacks, creating an oppressive force field-like presence. Once used to defeat someone, the impact wasn't just physical—it shattered their confidence as well. Upon facing the user again, opponents would feel an innate fear, a sense of hopeless inferiority.
This effect was known as soul-level intimidation.
To learn Mu En's other two ultimate skills—Dragon Emperor's Holy Cleave and Dragon Emperor's Domain—Zhu Ziyang first needed to master this technique. Only by truly merging soul power and spiritual power could he build his own version of Dominion Over the World.
The other two skills were created for dragon-type martial souls. Yan Shaozhe, whose martial soul was the Radiant Phoenix, couldn't learn them, while Xian Lin'er, with her Blueflame Dragon, had successfully adapted them into her own combat techniques.
Dragon Emperor's Holy Cleave was a battle skill based on Dominion Over the World and the Holy Light Dragon martial soul. Its divine aura served as a blade to destroy all evil. As the user's strength increased, the move would evolve.
Dragon Emperor's Domain, also built upon Dominion Over the World and the Holy Light Dragon soul, was a domain-type soul skill that drastically suppressed all evil abilities within its range. It had been created specifically to counter evil soul masters.
While powerful, these two weren't as foundational as Dominion Over the World. Mu En advised Zhu Ziyang not to focus on replicating them, but to adapt them like Xian Lin'er did—into something uniquely his. After all, his dragon martial soul was the Heavenly Frost Saint White Dragon, with an ice attribute quite different from the light-based Holy Dragon.
"Alright," Mu En said after finishing the lesson. He looked tired, but his voice remained firm. "From now on, you'll remain on the island and focus solely on fusing your soul and spiritual powers."
"I understand, Teacher," Zhu Ziyang answered.
Mu En gave a warm smile. "Good. Now let's move on to the next lesson!"