DD Black White [145-147] (Patreon)

Chapter 145: The Privilege of a Young Girl

In team battles, Soul Engineers do hold a significant advantage, which is a characteristic of the current environment in the Douluo Continent.

In one-on-one battles, Soul Masters generally have an easier time achieving victory.

But once Soul Engineers form a cohesive unit and coordinate well, even when facing a larger number of Soul Masters, they can often rely on overwhelming firepower and soul tool formations to defeat their opponents.

Now that the competition had reached the semifinals, Robin finally began to show her power. A celestial ring shone above her head, and a pair of pure white wings grew from her back.

Next, she began to sing a melodious and beautiful song. At the same time, her first, second, and third soul rings all lit up.

First Soul Skill — Flapping Wings Sound: Increases the soul power of the entire team.

Second Soul Skill — Hymn of Feathers: Increases the attack power of the entire team.

Third Soul Skill — Celestial Ring’s Melody: Increases the speed of the entire team.

All three of Robin’s soul skills are powerful percentage-based enhancements, and the boost amount adjusts according to the amount of soul power Robin expends.

With their soul power, attack, and speed all amplified, Lu Jingming and the others exuded an even more formidable aura.

Facing the overwhelming barrage of soul tool attacks from the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy, Gu Yue remained calm and composed. With a graceful gesture, she drew a magnificent silver spear from thin air.

With the Silver Dragon Spear in hand, Gu Yue’s aura changed, a natural nobility and majesty emerging from her cool demeanor.

“Fifth Soul Skill: Elemental Torrent!”

Gu Yue’s cold voice was like the music of the heavens. She raised the Silver Dragon Spear high, and in an instant, silver light shot up like a dazzling pillar, piercing the clouds.

Her fifth soul ring gleamed brightly, and complex elemental arrays quietly formed in midair.

In a flash, fireballs, wind blades, ice spikes, earth spears—all manner of elemental attacks surged forth, meeting the incoming wave of soul tool shells and beams.

March 7th and the others didn’t remain idle either, joining in to intercept the attacks.

For a moment, the sky became a dazzling stage, with explosions sounding in rapid succession, never ceasing.

Brilliant lights of all colors intertwined, colliding and bursting into dazzling displays.

Lu Jingming’s team were not the passive, defensive type.

Lu Jingming, Jinhsi, Firefly, and Castorice shot forward like arrows, charging at the Sun Moon team at incredible speed.

March 7th didn’t follow them into the charge; instead, she and Gu Yue remained behind, tacitly agreeing to protect Robin.

But she didn’t simply idle about. She quickly released her third soul skill.

As her soul ring glowed, a faint ice-blue mark appeared on each of the four charging teammates.

Third Soul Skill — Girl’s Privilege: Grants teammates an Ice Mark. When attacked, this mark automatically generates a sturdy ice shield to block damage.

Moreover, if the teammate isn’t attacked, the mark persists, providing ongoing protection until March 7th’s soul power is exhausted.

Even more impressive, the automatically generated ice shield damages nearby enemies with ice attribute damage.

Given March 7th’s extremely potent Ice affinity, any enemy who accidentally touches the shield could be instantly frozen and immobilized.

This soul skill perfectly combines defense, warning, and crowd control.

With the power of the Thunder Stigma, Lu Jingming’s speed soared—he was as fast as lightning, approaching the Sun Moon formation in a flash.

His black spear gathered energy, and Lin Xi’s previously cast golden shield crumbled like paper before his power.

A fifth-level soul tool shield couldn’t withstand Lu Jingming’s Black Abyss.

“Leave it to me!”

Meng Hongchen shouted, and in an instant, she donned a beautifully crafted, icy blue soul tool armor radiating a frosty aura.

She wielded two matching ice-blue swords, their blades gleaming coldly. She was like a valkyrie, valiant and imposing.

Meng Hongchen darted out from the Sun Moon formation, her swords slashing at Lu Jingming, intercepting his attack.

Spear and swords clashed, producing crisp, metallic sounds. Lightning crackled around Lu Jingming’s spear, while Meng Hongchen’s swords radiated cold. Their figures blurred, moving so fast they left afterimages.

But as the fight dragged on, Meng Hongchen’s expression suddenly changed.

To her horror, she found her beloved swords had suffered irreparable damage at some point.

The once razor-sharp blades now had many tiny nicks.

She cursed silently, recalling the troublesome abilities of Lu Jingming’s martial soul from the reports—her heart ached for her custom-made sixth-level soul tools, now damaged in battle.

As Meng Hongchen engaged Lu Jingming, Firefly transformed into a blaze, soaring towards the Sun Moon team like a blazing meteor, her heat warping the air.

She compressed the flames into a massive dark-red fireball, hurling it above the Sun Moon team, where it exploded spectacularly.

The scorching shockwave forced Ma Rulong and the others into a sorry state, shattering their orderly soul tool formation.

Firefly wanted to press the attack, but Ma Rulong suddenly threw a ring at her.

A white halo spread from the ring, its repulsive force throwing Firefly back over ten meters.

This was a fifth-level soul tool—Repulsion Ring—a single-use tool with tremendous effect at critical moments.

Not only that, Ma Rulong quickly threw a purple ball, which burst apart in midair into countless arcs of lightning, forming a massive electric cage around Firefly.

Sixth-level soul tool—Prison of Lightning, both control and offense.

Though Sun Moon had sold many precious soul tools to buy the Mountain-Moving Ape’s stigma, they kept several powerful tools in reserve for the competition.

Seizing the chance, a massive cannon appeared on Ma Rulong’s shoulder, charging up with a dark-red glow.

A thick red beam blasted from the cannon, headed straight for Firefly.

This was a seventh-level soul tool cannon, Ma Rulong’s trump card. Though the team battle had only just begun, he immediately used his ace.

Boom!

The beam hit Firefly dead-on, merging with the Prison of Lightning’s power for a terrifying secondary explosion.

The blast rocked the entire arena.

But before Ma Rulong could feel pleased, a silver-white figure shot out of the explosion.

Firefly’s mecha was now covered in green patterns—her fourth soul skill—Lesser Combustion had been activated.

She still bore traces of the ice shield, but the ice mark was gone—March 7th’s shield had just been triggered.

Taking Ma Rulong’s onslaught head-on, even a seventh-level cannon, Firefly emerged completely unharmed.

Clearly, March 7th’s defense, plus her transformed mecha’s armor, were even stronger than anyone imagined.

Just then, Jinhsi appeared behind Ma Rulong in a near-instantaneous movement.

She swung her blade, golden sword light slashing at Ma Rulong.

The sudden attack left Ma Rulong pale, unable to react.

But Lin Xi had been watching Jinhsi closely.

The moment Jinhsi’s soul ring flashed and vanished, he sensed the danger and prepared himself.

Ma Rulong didn’t react, but Lin Xi, ready, activated a soul tool.

A circle of white light appeared, pulling Jinhsi’s golden sword light off course so it struck Lin Xi instead.

At the same time, a golden shield enveloped Lin Xi—an Invincible Shield.

The golden sword light flickered, making the shield dim, but it didn’t break.

Jinhsi was surprised, but quickly accepted it.

After all, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy was the top soul engineering school. Its representatives were elite, and such a response was understandable.

She had just used her second soul skill—Flowing Light Evening Shadow, which allowed her to move freely between the cracks of time, much like teleportation.

She had planned to ambush Ma Rulong with it, but hadn’t expected Lin Xi to intercept her attack with a soul tool.

Chapter 146: Paralyzed?

Now, Ma Rulong, having regained his senses, broke out in a cold sweat, his heart pounding.

He hurriedly took a black helmet from his storage ring and put it on.

At the same time, he released his martial soul—the Bigheaded Spirit Ape.

With its release, his head visibly enlarged, giving him a strange appearance.

Most of Ma Rulong’s soul skills enhance his soul power and soul tools.

He quickly used his soul skill to boost the helmet-shaped soul tool.

The red gem on the helmet flashed, and a dark-red beam shot out, transforming into a small monkey that charged at Jinhsi.

Ma Rulong’s reaction was quick, but Jinhsi was faster.

Her soul skills were nearly instant; her first soul skill—Floating Light, Clear Cold—activated as her soul ring flashed.

Four golden sword lights sliced through the air.

The little dark-red monkey was struck by two blades, growing dim and weak.

Ma Rulong himself was also hit by the other two.

The powerful strikes shattered his soul tool armor, sending fragments flying.

Ma Rulong was flung away like a broken kite, crashing heavily to the ground.

Firefly appeared behind him, punching hard. Ma Rulong hurriedly activated his invincible shield.

Mi Jia, Xiao Hongchen, Xiao Xiafeng, Chen Fei, and others were all shocked.

The battle’s pace was too fast. They’d only just reacted, and had no time to continue bombarding with soul tool cannons, scrambling to rescue Ma Rulong instead.

Boom!

A ghostly purple light burst out, enveloping Xiao Hongchen and the others.

They felt a bone-chilling cold, sudden weakness, and their movements grew sluggish.

Castorice approached carrying her Scythe, her second soul ring shining with a purple glow.

She had just used her second soul skill—Nether Domain, a powerful area effect.

Within its range, everyone suffers deathly corruption, drastically lowering all attributes.

If they stay too long, they may even die outright.

Boom!

Flames erupted again, engulfing Ma Rulong.

Even with his invincible shield, the heat melted and deformed his soul tool armor.

Finally, Firefly punched him into the arena floor, leaving a deep pit.

“It’s over!”

In the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy’s rest room, Elder Ma could only clutch his forehead in bitter resignation.

He knew that with the generally fragile bodies of soul engineers, facing such a ferocious duo as Jinhsi and Firefly was nearly impossible.

Xiao Hongchen’s veins bulged in anger.

He released his martial soul—the Three-Legged Golden Toad—his first four soul rings shining.

He quickly used four soul skills: Metal Control, Gold Boiling, Gold Shaping, Gold Sacrifice.

His soul power boiled and burned.

Countless golden lights appeared, arming him into a terrifying soul tool turret—over a hundred cannons, a shocking sight.

For reference, fifth-level soul engineers like Mi Jia could only control a dozen soul tool cannons, but Xiao Hongchen controlled ten times that amount.

Clearly, he had reason to be proud.

Xiao Hongchen roared and fired wildly, venting his frustration as countless golden energy balls bombarded Firefly, Jinhsi, and Castorice.

Mi Jia and Xiao Xiafeng followed suit.

Ma Rulong’s invincible shield only lasted three seconds—he couldn’t rely on it.

Chen Fei, a melee soul engineer, charged at Jinhsi with dual daggers.

They no longer bothered with formation, each fighting alone to salvage the situation.

Explosions rang out again, as if the arena was hosting a grand fireworks show.

The audience was thrilled, cheering in waves, pushing the atmosphere to a climax.

Clang!

Lu Jingming calmly deflected a sudden ice attack from behind.

Meng Hongchen emerged from the ice—her third soul skill: Ice Refraction allowed her to move within ice and attack unexpectedly.

She looked heavy and confused, glancing anxiously at Xiao Hongchen and the others.

“Wondering why your ice poison didn’t work?”

Lu Jingming saw through her confusion, smiling faintly.

With Jinhsi, Firefly, and Castorice on his side, he had everything under control and chatted with Meng Hongchen.

“You know?” Meng Hongchen was shocked.

She’d never appeared in earlier matches, keeping her abilities secret, yet Lu Jingming seemed to know everything about her.

“Of course. Your martial soul is rare, but not unrecognizable.”

He glanced calmly at the snow-white, red-eyed frog on her shoulder.

He had recognized her martial soul, and even if he hadn’t, he still knew what it was—from past life memories and information from the Simulation Universe.

“It looks cute. Hard to imagine it’s the dangerous Rey-Eyed Ice Toad.”

Hearing him say “cute,” Meng Hongchen blushed, her mind spinning on those words.

For some reason, although he was talking about the toad, she subconsciously projected it onto herself.

Lu Jingming noticed, thinking if he attacked her now, she wouldn’t even know how she died.

But then he realized Meng Hongchen was only fourteen, and this continent is full of lovebrains, so he let it go.

As for her ice poison, it had no effect on him.

His Black Abyss’s decomposition, and White Flower’s cellular-level healing, let him ignore most poisons.

Few toxins could actually affect him.

“I know it’ll be hard for us to turn this around, but I still want to try.”

Meng Hongchen’s gaze turned clear and determined as she spoke seriously.

She had hoped her ice poison would work, but since it didn’t, she could only go all out for one last try.

“Okay, go ahead.” Lu Jingming nodded, calm and confident.

He knew she still had a trump card, so he’d let her give her all, so she’d accept defeat willingly.

Meng Hongchen glanced at Xiao Hongchen—most of the Sun Moon team had already fallen, most with burns, showing Firefly was again the main damage dealer.

She took a deep breath, calming herself.

Her fifth soul ring glowed black, as ice and fire elements swirled around her.

She jumped into the air, her twin swords combining as ice and fire spun into a huge red-blue tornado, enveloping her.

“Fifth Soul Skill, Ice-Fire Poison Dragon Drill!” she shouted, and the vortex, like a roaring dragon, swept at Lu Jingming.

Hearing the skill’s name, Lu Jingming’s expression grew odd as strange thoughts flashed through his mind, but his hands didn’t slow.

He activated the Thunder Stigma—lightning surged, his spear wrapped in dazzling electricity, transforming into a giant thunder spear.

Boom!

Lightning split the sky, piercing the red-blue vortex, leaving a hundred-meter-long mark in the sky.

As the lightning penetrated, the vortex faded, and Meng Hongchen, exhausted, began to fall from the sky.

She was about to activate her invincible shield to cushion her fall, but strong arms caught her.

Stunned, she realized she was being carried princess-style by Lu Jingming.

“Are you alright? I’ll put you down,” he said, feeling the position too intimate.

“No, I’ve been paralyzed by your lightning, I can’t move. This is fine,” Meng Hongchen quickly hugged his neck, refusing to let go.

Lu Jingming looked at her arms around his neck, speechless. “You call this paralyzed?”

Chapter 147: Harem Harmony

Lu Jingming was confident in his control.

After all, under his sword instructor, he had mastered precise control. His earlier attack was only enough to break her skill, not harm her—so what paralysis?

But since Meng Hongchen didn’t mind, Lu Jingming was happy to hold her soft body. After all, he was hardly at a disadvantage.

Boom!

Meanwhile, Xiao Hongchen was dodging Firefly’s attacks.

Suddenly, a purple blade flashed at him with a chilling death aura.

Xiao Hongchen’s face went pale with despair. He had no choice but to activate his trump card—his fifth soul ring’s Fifth Soul Skill: Gold’s Attachment.

He instantly turned into a pool of golden liquid, dodging the fatal strike, then retreated from Firefly.

Reforming his body, tired, he looked up—only to see his sister lying in Lu Jingming’s arms, blushing.

Boom!

The sight was a thunderbolt to Xiao Hongchen’s heart.

He stared, trembling, and could only stammer, “Meng, you, you—!”

The next moment, everything went black for Xiao Hongchen. Having exhausted his soul power and seen his sister in Lu Jingming’s arms, he collapsed.

“Brother!” Meng Hongchen cried, leaping from Lu Jingming’s arms, moving with no sign of paralysis.

She ran to Xiao Hongchen, anxiously helping him up.

Lu Jingming looked at the fainted Xiao Hongchen, feeling sympathy.

He knew Xiao Hongchen wasn’t beaten by Firefly—they’d simply shocked him into fainting.

“Match over! Semifinal team battle: St. Freya Academy wins!” Dan Heng announced calmly to the cheering crowd.

The cheers erupted, almost shaking the arena.

Ma Rulong and company, exhausted and injured, were carried off.

Lu Jingming led St. Freya’s team off the stage.

As they left, the arena’s memory metal repaired itself, piecing together the broken floor and sealing cracks as if the intense battle had never happened.

After all, Shrek Academy and Dou Ling Academy’s team battle was next, and the arena had to be in perfect shape.

“Xiao Ming, was it comfortable being hugged by Meng Hongchen?”

Back in the rest room, March 7th stood hands-on-hips, glaring at Lu Jingming.

“Hmm? Little March is jealous?” Lu Jingming was surprised.

In his mind, March 7th was always lively, so what was this? Had she finally become a lovebrain too?

“Jealous your head, you big playboy!” March 7th gritted her teeth, exasperated.

To her, Lu Jingming was surrounded by girls, yet still flirted outside—he was a real scoundrel.

Lu Jingming could only shake his head. He’d never hidden his intentions; he just wanted a big harem, since every one of these girls was his 2D wife—how could he pick just one?

“Alright, little March, you like Meng Hongchen too, don’t you? I see you two get along well,” Robin interjected to smooth things over.

“That’s different, Robin!” March 7th sighed.

She didn’t understand how Lu Jingming’s harem was tolerated by most girls around him—it annoyed her.

“Fine, I give up!” March 7th sighed, giving up the struggle.

If she couldn’t change things, she might as well go with the flow.

Gu Yue looked a little disappointed.

March 7th, can’t you show some fight and rein in this scoundrel?

Meanwhile, Jinhsi silently observed everyone’s reactions.

Robin was accepting, March 7th pouted, Firefly was focused on her cake but still glanced at Lu Jingming, Castorice seemed unconcerned, while Gu Yue and March 7th were both frustrated but resigned.

Lan Susu, Lan Luoluo, and Ye Guyi were outsiders, just watching.

As for Jinhsi herself, she thought, “Like Master said, just go with the flow.”

She took out a steaming basket of soup dumplings and began to eat—after all, after such an intense fight, she was hungry.

To her, there was no point worrying about such things. Life was long, and this was just the beginning.

If she took it seriously, every time a new girl showed up, they’d be cheated again.

So, best to relax and be herself; let everything else happen naturally.

Shrek Academy and Dou Ling Academy’s team battle went as expected—Shrek dominated handily.

Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yaoheng, and Ling Luocheng all participated, their advantages clear.

Dou Ling’s Jiang Peng was strong, his martial soul—the Shaking Heaven Axe—famous among Soul Masters.

But he could only match Dai Yaoheng, and quickly lost to Soul Sage Ma Xiaotao.

The first day’s semifinals ended in high spirits, and next came the individual knockout rounds.

The next morning, sunlight bathed the city of Haiyuan, giving it a golden glow.

Lu Jingming led his team early to Sea Abyss, ready for the individual matches.

Sun Moon Academy, having lost in their specialty—team battle—knew their journey would likely end at the semifinals.

But as the Soul Master world’s eternal runner-up, they were resilient and didn’t give up, deciding to compete in the individual rounds.

Xiao Hongchen even challenged Lu Jingming by name.

To him, Lu Jingming was the man seducing his sister, and he refused to lose.

But reality was harsh.

Lu Jingming readily accepted the challenge, but the result was a crushing defeat for Xiao Hongchen.

Xiao Hongchen’s famed metal manipulation was perfectly countered—Lu Jingming’s decomposition could easily destroy his soul tool cannons, and his electromagnetic control left Xiao Hongchen completely suppressed.

In the end, as Xiao Hongchen was knocked off the stage, he was filled with disbelief.

He couldn’t believe Lu Jingming was so ruthless, not even sparing his future brother-in-law.

He decided—he’d never agree to this marriage!

But Lu Jingming didn’t know about Xiao Hongchen’s thoughts and showed no mercy, swiftly defeating the rest of Sun Moon’s contestants.

When Meng Hongchen’s turn came, she quickly chose to forfeit.

She knew that even if she wasn’t distracted by his looks, she couldn’t win.

She didn’t want to lose like her brother had.

Thus, the individual rounds ended smoothly, and St. Freya advanced to the finals.

In the afternoon, Shrek also won decisively, securing their own finals ticket.

Just like the last tournament, St. Freya Academy and Shrek Academy would meet in the finals.

The only difference was that last time, St. Freya had the Soul Sage; this time, it was Shrek.

The audience eagerly awaited the showdown—which of the two academies was truly stronger?