Chapter 74: The Icy-Inferno Fiendish Tiger

Chapter 74: The Icy-Inferno Fiendish Tiger

AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Heart-wrenching wails reverberated throughout the training ground, emanating from Zhu Zhuqing.

Unfazed by the commotion, Wang Si calmly sipped his tea, his preference leaning more towards foxes than cats. The allure of the fox was simply irresistible.

While a kitten's cuteness could captivate, it also hinted at toying with its prey.

Wang Si wasn't a fan of tactics like feigning weakness or letting the enemy flee only to lure them into a trap. He preferred direct and proactive approaches.

As Wang Si fetched a herb to nourish Zhu Zhuqing, two distinct yet vaguely familiar energies suddenly clashed within the training ground.

Sensing these familiar energies, Wang Si's fingers paused momentarily. Without hesitation, he made his way to the training ground's entrance.

Inside, Zhu Xie pinned Zhu Zhuqing beneath him, his left hand restraining her wrists while his right fist was raised high, poised to strike.

Behind Zhu Xie, a powerful white fox with a black-and-white coat loomed, exuding a chilling aura as tendrils of frost seeped from its body.

Zhu Zhuqing, devoid of any strength to resist, lay prostrate on the ground. Yet, surrounding her was a black cat enveloped in black flames, its deep dark eyes glaring defiantly.

It seemed neither was willing to back down.

A cat and a fox, locked in a standoff.

Ice and fire, on the brink of collision.

Meow!!!!

Squeak!!!!

The ice element quickly gained the upper hand, overwhelming the black cat's flames.

Sensing the turn of events, the black cat instantly retracted its flames and pounced towards the white fox.

Caught off guard by the black cat's desperate move, the white fox hesitated for a moment before lowering its head to meet the charge.

In the instant their bodies collided, a white mist arose, and the extreme ice and fire attributes rapidly spread throughout the vicinity.

Ice crystals and black flames instantly engulfed the entire training ground.

As the mist dissipated, a towering figure stood in the center of the arena—a two-meter-tall white tiger with black-and-white wings, its body sheathed in ice crystals and black flames.

It was a white tiger, not a white fox.

"ROAR!!!!!"

The tiger unleashed a thunderous roar, the force of which blew off the roof of the enclosed training ground.

Shockwaves rippled outward from the tiger, carrying with them traces of ice and fire.

Caught in the blast, Wang Si felt his skin tingle from the icy and fiery energies.

Thanks to his early acquisition of immunity to both elements, he only suffered a slight ringing in his ears. Anyone else in his place would likely have been knocked unconscious.

The white tiger, seemingly bewildered by its own transformation, flapped its wings experimentally and took to the sky. However, it soon descended back to the ground.

Retracting its wings, the tiger seamlessly merged them into its body, leaving only a layer of ice crystals and black flames along its flanks.

"Master, this seems to be our combined battle soul skill. It's not the Netherworld White Tiger, but the Icy-Inferno Fiendish Tiger!"

A voice that blended Zhu Zhuqing's and Zhu Xie's tones emanated from the tiger's mouth.

However, only Zhu Xie would instinctively address Wang Si as "Master."

Undeniably, Zhu Xie was the dominant personality controlling the combined battle soul skill.

"How is Zhu Zhuqing holding up? Can she manage the strain of using this combined soul skill in battle?" Wang Si asked, his eyes fixed on the towering two-meter-tall tiger. He was eager to gauge their strength now that they had achieved this transformation.

"Master, I'm fine. In this fusion, I'm only responsible for controlling the wings and tail, which are beyond my capabilities for the moment," the Icy-Inferno Fiendish Tiger replied, this time in Zhu Zhuqing's voice.

As Zhu Zhuqing explained her role, the tiger obligingly spread its wings and swished its tail, demonstrating her words.

Since Zhu Zhuqing couldn't fly, the tiger's wings were useless for now. As for the tiger's tail, Zhu Zhuqing was adept at using it to flirtatiously tease others rather than for combat...

Wang Si eyed the scorpion-like tail, composed of ice crystals and black flames, and shuddered involuntarily.

He had a slight fear of sharp, venomous things like this tail, having nearly lost his life to a similar weapon in the past.

"Don't worry, we can take it slow with your special training. For now, I just want to gauge the power of your combined soul skill. When you've truly mastered this ability, we'll spar properly!" Wang Si assured them.

In response, the Icy-Inferno Fiendish Tiger nodded, signaling for Wang Si to enter the training ground.

Stepping into the arena, Wang Si eyed the towering two-meter-tall tiger with a grin. "Now that you're a Soul King and have a combined soul skill, you can't accuse me of bullying you if I fight you, right?"

Wang Si clenched his fists, the muscles bulging noticeably.

His fists, already the size of sandbags, swelled further, the bones cracking and popping with the exertion.

Witnessing Wang Si's transformation, the Icy-Inferno Fiendish Tiger, controlled primarily by Zhu Xie, trembled imperceptibly.

Zhu Zhuqing, linked to Zhu Xie through their mysterious heart connection, caught a glimpse of the scene playing out in Zhu Xie's mind at that moment.

Before Zhu Zhuqing could question Zhu Xie about what had transpired between her and Wang Si, Wang Si, standing opposite them, spoke first.

"You'll definitely need time to adjust to your new power. Let's take it slow. I'll channel my martial soul into you bit by bit to see how much you can handle."

With that, the 1.8-meter-tall Wang Si charged forward, his fists as large as iron hammers.

Zhu Xie steadied her mind and rushed towards Wang Si.

In her current state, with the White Tiger bloodline activated, her strength and defense were at their peak.

If she couldn't defeat Wang Si now, then the reputation of the Evil Eye White Tiger as a revered martial soul in the Star Luo Empire would be unfounded.

Initially, Zhu Xie's martial soul had been the Evil Eye White Fox.

Evil Eye White Fox, Evil Eye White Tiger—the two martial souls differed by just one word, and in a sense, Zhu Xie's older brother was the current Emperor of Star Luo.

He possessed the genuine Evil Eye White Tiger martial soul.

From this, one could deduce that Zhu Xie had a high concentration of the Snow Eye White Tiger bloodline, which was why she had become the dominant personality in their merged battle soul skill.

Empowered by this realization, Zhu Xie exuded unparalleled confidence!

As she closed in on Wang Si, she abruptly halted half a meter away and unleashed her right fist with full force.

The Ice-Inferno Fiendish Tiger raised its right claw and brought it down with tremendous force.

Boom!

The tiger's claw paused briefly before continuing its descent.

Smack!

A palm struck the ground, leaving an impression in the earth—a claw mark alongside a fist protruding from the soil.

"Ptooey! Ptooey! Ptooey! This ground is too flimsy! Dock that worker's pay!"

Switching from a fist to a palm, Wang Si exerted force and pulled himself out of the indentation.

Gazing at the crater beneath his feet, Wang Si felt a twinge of disappointment.

"Where's the construction team? This training ground under the supervision of the dean himself is shoddily built! Subpar work!" he grumbled.

After his brief complaint, Wang Si chuckled as he regarded the Ice-Inferno Fiendish Tiger, stretching his arms and shoulders.

"To be honest, I underestimated your strength, but it's not as powerful as I imagined it would be.

However, at this rate... oh, let's say one and a half times your current power, you'll be able to take on one and a half Soul Emperors."

As Wang Si moved, his arms visibly swelled.

The Ice-Inferno Fiendish Tiger paced back and forth, adapting to its newfound power and gathering strength for the next strike.

The moment Wang Si's arms stopped expanding, the tiger pounced without hesitation.

Once again, it swung its palm downward.

Wang Si's goal was to test the tiger's strength, so he didn't even attempt to dodge.

He lifted his hand and grabbed the descending giant claw, sliding backward four to five meters and carving a deep furrow in the ground.

Was Wang Si's strength insufficient? It was just that his stature was too small.

Many things could hammer a nail into the ground, but would you call the nail weak?

Wang Si pulled his legs out of the furrow, and his legs began to swell, adding to his bulk.

At this moment, Wang Si's appearance was rather odd: his arms and legs were robust and powerful, but his chest remained small, giving him a disproportionate look.

Zhu Zhuqing, however, now understood their gap in strength: it was merely a matter of size, which was why Wang Si looked a bit disheveled.

"Again!"

Wang Si beckoned to the Ice-Inferno Fiendish Tiger with his finger.

Zhu Zhuqing gritted her teeth and let out a roar before charging forward once more.

The tiger unleashed its palm strike.

This time, with the increased surface area of Wang Si's legs, he didn't sink into the ground.

"Although the strength isn't that great, size can sometimes be a natural advantage," Wang Si commented as he grabbed the tiger's claw.

Zhu Zhuqing's expression turned bitter, but she continued her assault.

When her right claw was caught, she swung her left claw horizontally towards Wang Si.

In response, Wang Si propped up her right claw with his left hand and extended his right hand to effortlessly block her left claw.

This was a stark demonstration of their immense power gap!

"Master, Zhu Zhuqing can't take it anymore. Let's call it a day," Zhu Xie interjected.

Zhu Zhuqing quickly spoke up and proactively released the merged battle soul skill with Zhu Zhuqing.

As they disengaged, a blinding white light flashed.

Two figures emerged from the light.

One of them fell in Wang Si's direction.

"Master, take care of Zhuqing. I'll practice the merged battle soul skill with her again after she's fully recovered.

Today, she affected my performance, so let's leave it at that..."

After hastily giving instructions, Zhu Xie made a quick escape...

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end