Douluo: Peerless Beastmaster King
Chapter 143 - 144: Martial Soul Fusion – The Universal Solvent

Chapter 143: Chapter 144: Martial Soul Fusion – The Universal Solvent

Zhou Sichen stood frozen in place when he heard Zhang Lexuan’s words.

Dating? Them?!

Did those words really just come from senior sister’s mouth?

Even if someone was dating, them?

Was it really that obvious?

Besides spending time training with them, eating meals, and strolling the gardens—weren’t the Shrek Seven Devils always together?

He looked at Zhang Lexuan, who wore a face full of curiosity and interest. For a moment, Zhou Sichen was at a complete loss for words.

Ever since entering the academy, Zhou Sichen had been like a magnet for affection, drawing the attention of countless beauties and winning their hearts.

Even some male students were attracted by his appearance. He was, in all respects, a top-tier charm demon—irresistible to both men and women.

But Zhang Lexuan was a clear exception.

This senior sister had never shown the slightest inclination toward romance. Her mind was always focused solely on cultivation and growing stronger.

Zhou Sichen knew that Zhang Lexuan had a pure heart and had never harbored romantic thoughts about him.

Seeing him silent, she continued, "I don’t mean anything by it. I just want to learn from you—how do you attract the opposite sex like that?"

Zhou Sichen’s eyelid twitched. "Senior sister, are you serious? Don’t you know how many people in the Inner Court dream of you as their ideal partner? They just don’t dare express it because of your status."

Zhang Lexuan blinked, startled. She quickly waved her hands. "Maybe I didn’t express myself properly. What I meant was, how do you manage to get so many people close to you?"

Zhou Sichen gave a small smile. He seemed to understand what she really meant now.

"Senior sister, let me ask you a question. Do you like someone... but that person doesn’t return your feelings?"

Zhang Lexuan glanced around, left and right, ensuring no one else was nearby. Then she gave a shy nod.

Zhou Sichen chuckled as he watched her expression. So it was because of Beibei and Tang Ya... was this what had thrown her into confusion?

In the original timeline, once Zhang Lexuan realized Beibei’s feelings, she let go of romantic thoughts altogether and focused only on getting stronger.

It seemed that transition was starting now.

"Senior sister," Zhou Sichen asked, "would you be willing to share your story with me? That way, I can give you a proper analysis."

Zhang Lexuan hesitated. To be honest, she found it hard to talk about...

Sensing her hesitation, Zhou Sichen said gently, "Feelings aren’t something that can be easily learned from others. Everyone’s experience is different. If you don’t want to talk about it, I won’t push you."

"I think I understand your general thoughts, but I’m not as perfect as I may seem. After all, you’re an exception. You don’t like me like the others do. You simply admire me. So in a way, we’re the same."

Zhang Lexuan nodded. Among the men in the Inner Court, Zhou Sichen was the only one she was close to—someone she thought was worth learning from.

After a long pause, she leaned closer to him and softly shared her childhood betrothal to Beibei.

Zhou Sichen listened quietly, letting her speak. When she finished, he gently patted her shoulder.

"Senior sister... have you ever considered that your relationship with Beibei might have already gone beyond romantic love and turned into something like family?"

Zhang Lexuan was taken aback. She didn’t argue, just listened as Zhou Sichen continued.

"You think you love him because you’re grateful to your teacher, and you’ve carried the weight of that childhood promise all this time. But after hearing your story... I think Beibei may see you more like a mother he lost long ago, or an older sister."

"And in your heart, he’s like a younger brother. The promise made by your teacher made you interpret those feelings as love, but maybe what you’re actually feeling... is familial affection."

Zhou Sichen’s words resonated deeply, sending Zhang Lexuan into a quiet daze.

Could that really be it?

But why did her heart only hold Beibei? Even if there was a nine-year age gap, that didn’t matter.

She’d never seen age as an obstacle—she was, in truth, a brave person. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have confided in Zhou Sichen like this, nor come to him for advice in the first place.

Zhang Lexuan sighed. "But I feel like..."

Zhou Sichen interrupted, not wanting to hear more overthinking. "Actually, the solution is simple. Since your teacher already revoked the old engagement, then try to let go of it too. Start meeting other outstanding men."

Zhang Lexuan frowned. That didn’t sound like something she would do.

Seeing her reaction, Zhou Sichen added, "If none of those men can move your heart, and you still can’t forget Beibei, then be honest with yourself—and confess your feelings to him."

Her eyes lit up at that, but quickly dimmed again. "But... he already has a girlfriend."

Zhou Sichen chuckled. "If you truly love someone, you shouldn’t betray your own heart. Or you might regret it for the rest of your life."

"Even if you’re rejected, at least you’ll have no regrets. Right?"

Zhang Lexuan nodded, though she found it hard to accept this outcome.

Zhou Sichen continued, "Of course, if you eventually realize what you feel for Beibei isn’t romantic love, then that’s even better. You two won’t feel awkward, and you’ll remain close like siblings. Once that’s clear, you’ll both be free."

Zhang Lexuan nodded again. His words made sense.

Zhou Sichen sighed. "Honestly, once you start interacting with other men, I think you’ll quickly understand your true feelings. Maybe you’ll even find your real soulmate."

Zhang Lexuan was skeptical. "Really?"

Zhou Sichen nodded. "Of course. Sometimes the one involved can’t see clearly, but an outsider can."

"And besides, even if you don’t find someone right away, just knowing what you truly want is the most important thing, isn’t it?"

Zhang Lexuan’s eyes lit up. "I get it now. Thank you, Sichen."

Zhou Sichen waved his hand. "No need to thank me. I won’t tell anyone about today. Just act like nothing happened, and don’t let it mess with your mindset."

Zhang Lexuan smiled. "I only told you because I trust you. You really are a master of emotions. No wonder so many beauties in the Inner Court are crazy about you."

Zhou Sichen looked helpless. "Other people might not see it, but you should know—I’m not in that kind of mood these days."

Zhang Lexuan giggled. "Ruoruo used to be completely indifferent about relationships. Ever since she met you, she talks about you all the time!"

Zhou Sichen replied, "Sister Ruoruo just appreciates my talents. It’s not romantic."

Zhang Lexuan raised an eyebrow, smiling slyly. "Really?"

Zhou Sichen nodded firmly. "Truer than gold!"

Then he stood up to leave. "I need to get to training with the pre-selection team. I’ll be off."

Zhang Lexuan nodded. "Thanks for your time!"

Zhou Sichen waved as he walked away. "It was no trouble."

As she watched his figure disappear, Zhang Lexuan’s smile slowly faded. Her eyes deepened with thought, fixed on his departing silhouette.

"What does it truly mean to like someone... Zhou Sichen..."

Back at the villa, Ye Guyi had just finished her bath, stepping out wrapped in a robe. The sight nearly made Zhou Sichen’s eyes pop out of his head.

Noticing his expression, Ye Guyi rolled her eyes. "Pervert."

Zhou Sichen chuckled. "Sister, you’re looking more and more beautiful. Absolutely captivating."

She glared at him. "Flatterer."

After changing clothes, she came back out to find Zhou Sichen already busy in the kitchen.

She went over to help, and together they started preparing dinner.

In a gentle voice, Ye Guyi said, "I should be able to break through to Soul Douluo before twenty, and reach Titled Douluo before twenty-five. We’re getting closer to our goal."

Zhou Sichen smiled. "Yeah. When the time comes, we’ll see whether we’re fighting alone or joined by a gathering of heroes."

Ye Guyi thought for a moment. "With your charm, it probably won’t be a solo effort."

Zhou Sichen chuckled knowingly. "How’s that matter going?"

Ye Guyi finished slicing vegetables and neatly arranged them on a plate. "There shouldn’t be any surprises. Now it’s just a matter of time."

As she spoke, a hint of hesitation flickered across Ye Guyi’s face.

"With the depth of my current foundation, I still can’t sense the energy limit of the Golden Tree. I fear that the energy contained within it might even surpass that of Teacher himself. Are you really confident about this?"

Zhou Sicheng paused while stirring the food.

"Honestly, not entirely. But there’s no rush. Who can truly predict the future? For now, at least, that step in the plan is viable."

Ye Guyi sighed softly.

"Let’s hope the future unfolds as we desire."

Zhou Sicheng chuckled.

"No need to overthink it. Let’s just focus on what’s in front of us. Ah Xuan and Ah Yue will soon join us for training. We should aim to get them noticed by Teacher as well, so they can receive more support from Shrek’s resources."

Ye Guyi nodded.

"Cao Jinxuan’s Clock of Fleeting Time is indeed powerful. You should make good use of his martial soul when you can and get in some practice."

Zhou Sicheng smiled at the memory of asking Cao Jinxuan for some blood back then.

"Ah Xuan’s got guts. He’s bound to accomplish great things."

The two of them chatted casually as they prepared dinner. After eating, they went to the Inner Court’s enclosed training facility and requested a private room.

The training room was quite spacious—over a hundred square meters. Zhou Sicheng immediately fused with his Mirror Shadow Beast and copied Ye Guyi’s martial soul.

As his martial soul was released, Zhou Sicheng transformed into a Holy Angel. Two yellow, two purple, and one black soul ring rose around him. Ye Guyi, meanwhile, was surrounded by two yellow, two purple, two black, and one red soul ring—a total of seven.

The two angels exchanged a glance, brought their palms together, fingers interlocked. Their soul power—originating from a shared source—began to merge. A radiant, divine light burst forth, filling the entire room with overwhelming brightness.

No one knew how long it had passed, but eventually, only a single figure remained floating in the center. It was impossible to distinguish whether it was male or female, with waist-length golden hair and an overwhelming aura of holiness and light.

Behind the figure, the illusion of a Six-Winged Angel quietly floated. The holy aura was so intense, so dense, it almost seemed tangible.

Martial Soul Fusion!

Ever since Ma Xiaotao had casually mentioned it once, Zhou Sicheng and Ye Guyi had been experimenting together—and they discovered they could indeed achieve Martial Soul Fusion.

Compared to traditional Martial Soul Fusion Techniques, Zhou Sicheng’s fusion—enabled by the Mirror Shadow Beast copying Ye Guyi’s martial soul—was more like purifying her bloodline.

Two top-tier Holy Angels combined into something even stronger—a Six-Winged Angel!

After fusing, Ye Guyi remained the primary controller, and during the process, her martial soul evolved into the Six-Winged Angel. All of her attributes were maxed out.

The divine and light attributes reached their peak, and her overall strength more than doubled. The might of a god-level martial soul was on full display.

It was a pity that Zhou Sicheng didn’t have any clone abilities. If he did, he could have let his clone copy Ye Guyi’s martial soul and fuse with her regularly, allowing her to experience the Six-Winged Angel more often—potentially accelerating the future evolution of her martial soul.

For now, although he lacked a clone, Zhou Sicheng fused with Ye Guyi once a day, letting her familiarize herself with the feeling of evolution and the power of the Six-Winged Angel. This deepened her understanding of her martial soul.

When the Six-Winged Angel possessed her, she had two yellow, two purple, two black, and one red soul ring—seven in total. With Ye Guyi as the primary controller, Zhou Sicheng acted more like a catalyst for fusion.

However, he could also clearly sense the strength of the Six-Winged Angel. Familiarizing himself with this martial soul meant that even if he copied it solo in the future, he could unleash its full potential.

Apart from Ye Guyi, Zhou Sicheng also experimented with Ma Xiaotao—and the results were surprising.

When fusing with Ma Xiaotao, the results were almost identical to his fusion with Ye Guyi.

He acted as a catalyst, directly evolving Ma Xiaotao’s Fire Phoenix martial soul into the Seven-Headed Fire Phoenix, with Ma Xiaotao remaining in control.

Beyond those two, Zhou Sicheng also tried fusing with Du Gu Xianmeng and Ling Luocheng.

Du Gu Xianmeng’s Jade Scale Snake martial soul evolved into the Jade Phosphor Serpent Queen, while Ling Luocheng’s ice element—just a step away from the Ultimate Ice—was instantly pushed to that peak through the fusion process.

After experimenting with the four girls, Zhou Sicheng realized something: as long as he copied someone’s martial soul, he could serve as a catalyst for that soul’s evolution and fusion.

So far, the success rate had been 100%.

Thus, aside from fusing daily with Ye Guyi, he would rotate fusion sessions with the other three girls.

However, none of them enjoyed Ye Guyi’s privileges. Each of them got one fusion session every three days, scheduled in the morning to avoid overlapping with Ye Guyi.

Ye Guyi remained the only one with a guaranteed daily fusion.

After confirming the success of these experiments, Zhou Sicheng shared the good news with Elder Mu, intending to try fusing with him as well.

Elder Mu agreed to try, but the fusion failed. The main issue was that as a Title Douluo, Elder Mu possessed a soul core. While Zhou Sicheng had copied his martial soul, he hadn’t replicated the soul core.

Without the soul core, perfect fusion was impossible.

Technically, soul cores could be copied—but Zhou Sicheng hadn’t yet mastered their power, so his current replication skipped that component.

Only once Zhou Sicheng formed a soul core of his own would he be able to perfectly replicate another’s full state—including the soul core.

But fusing with Elder Mu would be even harder, as the old man possessed two soul cores.

Whether Zhou Sicheng would form a Dual Resonance Core or a Yin-Yang Complementary Dual Core, it was still too early to tell.

So for now, fusing with Elder Mu was out of reach. He’d have to see how the evolved Holy Light Dragon developed.

This revelation also helped Zhou Sicheng realize the main flaw in his role as a "martial soul evolution catalyst": without a soul core, he couldn’t fuse with Title Douluo.

But aside from that, it was nearly all advantages. As long as both parties lacked soul cores, Zhou Sicheng was the ultimate support.

He could randomly pick anyone and help them become stronger!

Of course, the fusion process still required training—it wasn’t something that could be perfected on the first try.

Moreover, fusion required deep trust from the other party for Zhou Sicheng to function as a proper catalyst.

Even though the other person was the dominant controller after fusion, Zhou Sicheng was in control before and during the process.

What made Ye Guyi and the others especially happy was Zhou Sicheng’s massive soul power reserves.

Normally, martial soul fusion techniques consumed enormous amounts of soul power, making it nearly impossible to sustain for long periods.

But Zhou Sicheng was different. Not only did he possess immense soul power himself, he also had a fleet of contracted soul beasts to constantly replenish his energy.

After fusion, soul power between the two was shared. Zhou Sicheng’s soul beasts would refill his power, and he’d transfer it to Ye Guyi and the others.

This made the whole setup a living bug.

While fusion burned through power quickly, it didn’t matter when you had an unlimited battery on standby.

In a way, anyone who obtained Zhou Sicheng—this ultimate catalyst—would be hitting the jackpot.

However, the girls all understood one thing: with Zhou Sicheng’s strength, he didn’t actually need martial soul fusion techniques in combat. He alone was enough to overpower his opponents.

So for now, Zhou Sicheng’s true value as the ultimate support lay not in battle, but in helping others experience martial soul evolution.

With each fusion and evolution, they caught glimpses of enlightenment—flashes of insight—that might one day allow them to complete their own martial soul breakthroughs.

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