"I lost."
After emerging from the Blue Silver Grass, Huo Wu's expression was very unpleasant.
Her flames could easily burn Tang San's Blue Silver Grass, but the vines regrew too quickly and couldn't be eliminated completely.
This fighting style was so shameless.
Tang San smiled and said, "It's normal. After all, my Blue Silver Grass can take root in the ground. Unless you burn the underground roots too, you won't be able to burn it clean."
Wildfire couldn't burn it all. The spring breeze would bring it back to life.
In fact, even if the surface grass was completely incinerated, Tang San could just plant it again.
Blue Silver Grass consumed very little soul power, and as long as it was rooted in the earth, it could absorb the power of the land—making its cost minimal.
Besides, he hadn't even used his second soul skill.
If he had, Huo Wu's all-around attributes would've been reduced by over 20%.
How could she have been his opponent then?
"As expected of the Martial Soul Theory Grandmaster. You've not only redefined how soul masters perceive themselves, but you've also made Blue Silver Grass perform like this."
Fire Phoenix watched as Tang San used his first soul skill to help Huo Wu recover her soul power.
She couldn't help but admire him even more.
This young man was already worthy of being called a genius—and he had a healing ability.
She really wanted to take him home.
"I'm just standing on the shoulders of those who came before me and doing some deductions."
Tang San said modestly—before raising his chin with pride.
"That said... I am pretty powerful."
Huo Wu was speechless for a moment.
But her frustration slowly turned into a kind of appreciation.
"I don't know whether to say you're modest or arrogant, but you're kind of my type."
After that, the two groups fetched water and rested at the oasis.
Although they had grown more familiar, they still camped separately and kept a respectful distance.
Xiao Wu walked over and glanced at Huo Wu in the distance.
Then she asked, "Why did you tell Huo Wu about the soul beast that suits her?"
Tang San replied calmly.
"We're all kids. If Fire Phoenix tries to force us into her family, it'll be a hassle. It's better to reveal our identities early—it has a deterrent effect. And then give them a few non-critical benefits to lower tension. As long as they're not greedy, there won't be trouble."
"If we can avoid disturbing the Spirit Bird, we should."
"Also," he added, "the Huo Family is a prominent clan. They probably have soul beast records that aren't available on the open market. If they really find the Blazing Sun Lion King and Huo Wu's martial soul awakens fully, I'll have an easier time trading information with them."
"And..."
Tang San's gaze became sharp.
"Their family has a secret technique for ring fusion. If Huo Wu succeeds, I might be able to trade for it and study it myself."
Xiao Wu didn't expect Tang San to have thought so far ahead.
Her mind buzzed slightly.
She asked quietly, "What about your martial soul fusion skill with her?"
"Fusion skills aren't just about compatibility," Tang San replied.
"They also require tacit understanding. That's the most important thing."
He thought for a moment, then continued indifferently,
"I've never actually seen a martial soul fusion skill in person. I'm just theorizing based on Spirit Hall's documented cases."
"Maybe, in theory, as long as two people share a strong bond and their soul power can begin to blend, any two martial souls could fuse. But if their personalities clash too much, even a compatible fusion will be unstable."
"As for Huo Wu... my Blue Silver Grass simply responded to the hidden light attribute in her martial soul. That was enough to form a faint resonance, but not enough for fusion. If we were to fuse, it would probably take more than ten years to cultivate the necessary bond."
"I'm not interested in wasting time on side paths. I'd rather spend that energy researching other things."
Xiao Wu sighed in relief.
Then she teased, "My Soft Boned Rabbit martial soul eats Blue Silver Grass. Can we fuse?"
Tang San gave her a meaningful glance.
"Yes. But it'll probably take a long time to build the right tacit understanding."
"Also, I may need a deeper grasp of vitality before it could work. Martial souls have their own spirituality. No martial soul rejects life force. Even death-type and life-type attributes could fuse if they reached a certain balance."
Speaking of martial soul fusion skills, Tang San divided them into three distinct categories in his mind:
Soul Power Fusion
Soul Skill Fusion
Martial Soul Fusion
In the original work, the seven-in-one fusion skill of the protagonist group belonged to the first type—soul power fusion.
All soul power was channeled into the protagonist, allowing him to wield the Haotian Hammer's full potential.
Essentially, this meant concentrating everyone's strength into one top-tier martial soul.
How the soul power actually fused remained unclear.
But Tang San believed that different martial souls had different soul power attributes.
For example, his original Blue Silver Grass had neutral, gentle energy—no attribute.
But once it awakened and received soul rings, it gained the attribute of life.
So, soul power fusion likely required a dominant martial soul capable of overriding the soul power of others.
The Haotian Hammer happened to meet that requirement.
The second type, soul skill fusion, was simpler.
If two people had the same soul skill, they could release it together, allowing the attacks to merge and amplify.
Even soul skills with different attributes could be fused—though this required experimentation.
Some elements conflicted, others complemented each other.
The most representative case was Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo.
Tang San believed their fusion skill was a strong example of soul skill fusion.
It combined their opposing attributes and formed a Two Extremes Static Domain.
The keyword here was domain—proving it wasn't a traditional martial soul fusion, but rather an advanced, attribute-based fusion.
The third and rarest type was full martial soul fusion.
The classic example: the Nether White Tiger of the Star Luo Empire.
Two completely different martial souls fused into a new form.
True martial soul fusion was rare, hard to control, and not always beneficial.
Among the three types of fusion, Tang San ranked them like this:
Rarest: Soul Power Fusion
Rare: Martial Soul Fusion
Common: Soul Skill Fusion
Unfortunately, many soul masters on the continent didn't classify weak fusion skills as legitimate fusions.
But that was a flawed view.
Just because a fusion wasn't flashy didn't mean it wasn't real.
Power alone shouldn't define what counted as a fusion technique.
"Next, I'll tell you where the Irontooth Fish are most likely to appear."
Tang San shifted topics.
"When the time comes, we'll go to those areas."
He explained calmly.
"The Irontooth Fish usually move in groups. They're gregarious creatures that live in quicksand zones. A hundred-year-old Irontooth Fish has red copper-colored iron teeth, and two horizontal fangs grow from its upper jaw, extending to both sides. The front tips are incredibly sharp—like twin daggers..."