Chapter 154: Soul Skill Fusion Technique
These images—unbelievably—they were memories from Blue Star.
So long ago!
Familiar memories surfaced one by one.
Painful ones, of course.
The Seven Shura Illusion Realm was very similar to Shi Nian's spirit skill Nightmare, or rather, it had been born from it.
The more painful the memory, the clearer the illusion became.
Beside him, Shi Nian had quietly approached without Dugu Feng noticing.
"Dean, the Young Master is trapped inside the illusion. Should we have them stop the exercise?"
Shi Nian asked cautiously.
Old Snake gave him a strange look. "The Young Master wants to experience the power of your Seven Shura Illusion Realm. Let them unleash it fully and show their strongest state!"
Shi Nian's expression grew even stranger. If not for his faith in Old Snake's loyalty to the Dugu Clan, he would think the man was trying to get the Young Master killed.
Dugu Feng's spirit power was only at the Soul Ancestor level. Entering the Seven Shura Illusion unconsciously meant he was certainly affected.
His spiritual power might even take damage—and Old Snake still wanted to intensify it.
"Don't worry. Don't underestimate the Young Master. His fourth spirit ring is a ten-thousand-year spirit ring," Old Snake said mysteriously.
Shi Nian's eyes widened in shock.
"Ten thousand years..."
Those words echoed endlessly in his mind.
Normally, a fourth spirit ring's upper limit was five thousand years. The Young Master had at least doubled that.
A ten-thousand-year spirit ring came with mental shockwaves.
That meant Dugu Feng's spiritual power was astonishingly strong.
He immediately relaxed.
He gestured toward the forest—it was time to let Dugu Feng feel the true might of the illusion.
In the forest, seven soul masters wearing Canghui Academy uniforms stood in a circle, their martial spirits held before them.
Six surrounded one at the center.
Each wielded a gem-type martial spirit—some round, others diamond-, triangular-, or teardrop-shaped, and all of differing colors.
They each unleashed the same spirit skill: illusion control.
"Their spirit skills are all illusion control. When the seven combine their soul skills, the fusion forms the Seven Shura Illusion Realm. Its power multiplies—strong enough to rival a Soul King."
Shi Nian said proudly.
Among the seven, the strongest had reached level forty-two; the weakest, thirty-eight.
Yet together, their combined strength could threaten even a Soul King.
"For the Young Master, still not enough," Old Snake sighed, patting Shi Nian's shoulder.
After all, when the Young Master had taken the Yearning Heartbroken Red, he'd already sensed his Sea of Spirit at the Soul Elder stage—a state normally reached only by Soul Emperors.
And now, he'd even endured the mental impacts of a ten-thousand-year beast's consciousness.
The Seven Shura Illusion's power was modest in comparison.
Sure enough, Dugu Feng soon opened his eyes.
"Being able to threaten a Soul King is already sufficient to handle most academy teams," he commented.
Shi Nian brightened but quickly frowned. "Is the Young Master concerned about the Spirit Hall team?"
"We can perform a seven-person skill fusion, but they can perform martial spirit fusion techniques. From what I know, their fusion can reach Soul Emperor-level power," Dugu Feng explained.
He was, of course, referring to Xie Yue and Hu Liena's martial fusion.
Once they combined, Xie Yue became the dominant force, boosting their strength to well above level sixty.
"Soul Emperor..."
Both Old Snake and Shi Nian's faces changed drastically.
A Soul King in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Tournament was already rare enough.
A Soul Emperor-level opponent would be unprecedented.
"Is there any way to push the Seven Shura Illusion Realm to an even higher level?" Dugu Feng asked, looking at Shi Nian.
Shi Nian could only give a wry smile. He hadn't imagined that Soul King-level power would still be inadequate for dominance.
"My Seven Shura Illusion Realm is based on the same illusion control skill used by seven soul masters.
This spirit skill converts their soul power into spiritual energy. Then, with seven minds linked, they jointly cast Illusion Control again.
Essentially, it's an amplification based on their soul power."
He didn't finish, but his meaning was obvious.
Dugu Feng understood clearly—this was a soul skill fusion technique, distinct from a martial spirit fusion technique.
The latter, such as those of the Golden Iron Triangle or the Dai and Zhu families, merged both soul power and martial spirits, fundamentally altering the martial spirit—like a serpent transforming into a dragon, a qualitative change.
The soul skill fusion, however, only merged abilities—purely a quantitative power stacking.
To further increase its might, the base soul power of the seven participants had to grow.
"Young Master, the Clan Head already provided them with the best herbs available; otherwise, the four weaker members couldn't have reached level thirty-eight," Old Snake said helplessly.
Dugu Feng pondered. Naturally, he wouldn't squander immortal herbs on them.
But even non-immortal herbs had strengthened their bodies and raised their soul power by over a level each.
"By the way, Teacher Shi, how did you ensure all of them obtained the same Illusion Control skill?" Dugu Feng asked curiously.
Shi Nian quickly explained, not daring to conceal anything. "That's largely thanks to their gem-type martial spirits. These are rare spirits with great adaptability.
Gem spirits depend heavily on spirit rings. Depending on the rings absorbed, they can develop toward power, control, agility, or support.
There's a type of spirit beast specializing in illusion attacks, called the Nightmare Beast. Based on my research, gem-type soul masters who absorb its ring always gain the Illusion Control skill."
Shi Nian's research into illusion-type beasts was deep. Combining them with gem martial spirits had indeed produced results.
"So any gem spirit should work?" Dugu Feng asked mildly.
Shi Nian nodded confidently. "I've found more than just those seven with gem spirits. These seven simply have the greatest talent. Everyone who absorbed a Nightmare Beast's ring gained Illusion Control!"
"Not bad," Dugu Feng praised.
Relieved, Shi Nian's heart finally settled. He hadn't expected such recognition.
Even if the championship seemed out of reach, at least he had earned the Young Master's approval.
Dugu Feng knew well that a maverick soul master like Shi Nian had already reached his limit with this achievement.
During the tournament, when the Seven Shura Illusion Realm appeared, even Ning Fengzhi had been astonished.
If Tang San hadn't cheated fate itself, Canghui's team would certainly have held a spot in the finals.
"Continue the special training. There are still four months before the Soul Master Tournament.
The competition lasts several months as well. I expect by the finals, each of them to reach at least one level higher.
After the tournament, they can all join the academy as instructors—I'll see they're well rewarded.
And one more thing—rename Canghui Academy to Gem Academy. Compete under that name in the tournament."
Dugu Feng ordered firmly. He wasn't one to give up easily.
(END CHAPTER)
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