"Multi-Sword Combination Technique?" Ling Xiao was somewhat puzzled.
He hadn't realized that Soul Masters in Douluo Dalu could operate this way. He had previously assumed the Soul Master system was quite monotonous; after all, based on his knowledge from his past life, the power system of this world seemed rather rudimentary.
Looking at it now, there were clearly many things about the Soul Master system he didn't know.
Then again, his previous knowledge was mostly based on Tang San and Yu Xiaogang. Setting Yu Xiaogang aside, Tang San was either being taught by him or staying at Shrek.
As for Shrek, Ling Xiao could only offer a dry "hehe" in response. In his view, rather than calling Shrek an academy, it was more like a few Soul Masters with decent cultivation levels huddling together in one place, each taking a disciple to train.
The problem was that these Soul Masters were all "wild paths"—they had reached their ranks through sheer talent and hard work without ever undergoing formal, systematic Soul Master Education.
Consequently, they had little to teach their disciples, allowing a half-baked scholar like Yu Xiaogang to be hailed as a "Grandmaster."
A glaring example was Ma Hongjun.
He was supposedly Flender's disciple, but setting aside the fact that his Martial Soul was called the Evil Fire Phoenix, it wasn't essentially a Phoenix yet.
To put it bluntly, it was just a powerful chicken; its physical form didn't fully match a Phoenix, and its flames contained impurities. Beyond that, it possessed a distinct "chicken" trait: it couldn't fly simply by possessing the Martial Soul.
Instead, it required a soul skill to take flight, and even then, it lacked agility. As the king of birds, a Phoenix Martial Soul owner who wasn't naturally adept at flying was a joke. The Martial Soul lacked both the form and the spirit of a true Phoenix.
Based on Ling Xiao's current understanding of the Martial Soul system, someone in Ma Hongjun's position should have absorbed soul rings from avian Soul Beasts possessing Fire Phoenix bloodlines to further evolve his Martial Soul.
Yet, for his fourth soul ring, he actually absorbed something called the "Giant Earth King."
Ling Xiao harbored deep doubts about that name. He seriously wondered if Yu Xiaogang simply didn't recognize the beast and made up a garbage name to fool everyone.
That didn't sound like a Soul Beast name at all.
Furthermore, judging by its "Magma Earth-Splitting Strike" ability, that beast was clearly of the Earth and Fire dual-attributes. It would have been suitable for Yan to absorb, but for Ma Hongjun, the attributes didn't fully align, and it wasn't even a bird.
Did Flender trust Yu Xiaogang too much, or did he simply not care about his own disciple?
Setting aside his personal thoughts on Shrek, Xie Yue noticed Ling Xiao's confusion and explained, "The Multi-Sword Combination Technique was created a thousand years ago by a Sword Sect Master; the title of 'Sword Master' was also established then."
"Today, after years of development, this technique has become extremely sophisticated. Like the Five Sword Lineages, it is the foundation upon which the Sword Sect stands."
"The so-called Multi-Sword Combination is actually divided into two forms. The first is 'Sword Skill Combination,' which is a Soul Skill Fusion Technique."
"This is the result of years of exploration and constant trial by the Five Sword Lineages. For example, the Red Flame of the Fire Lineage and the Ling Frost of the Ice Lineage can each use a specific soul skill and combine them, unleashing power far exceeding the original skills."
"Besides those two, the Fire Lineage can combine with the Lightning or Wind Lineages, the Lightning and Wind Lineages can merge, and even the Azure Light and Purple Cloud of the Lightning Lineage itself can perform Sword Skill Combinations."
"Moreover, if performed while in the Martial Soul Avatar state, the power is even greater. The drawback, however, is that this method is limited to two people."
"The second form is combination through the Martial Soul Avatar state. This doesn't use soul skills; instead, while in the Martial Soul Avatar state, the Soul Masters fully unleash the source power of their Martial Souls to fuse the strength of multiple Sword Lineages together."
"This method is far superior to the first. Not only can it include several people, but it is also extremely close to a Martial Soul Fusion Skill. Rumor has it that with this method, a Three-Sword Combination is equivalent to a two-person Martial Soul Fusion Skill."
"A Five-Sword Combination is equivalent to a three-person fusion, and a Six-Sword Combination exceeds the power of a three-person fusion."
"As for a potential Seven-Sword Combination in the future, the power would be even more terrifying—perhaps even comparable to a four-person Martial Soul Fusion Skill, something that has never appeared in the Soul Master world."
Ling Xiao swallowed hard, suppressing the shock in his heart.
He had tried to estimate the Sword Sect highly, but he had still underestimated them. This technique was truly formidable. Starting from the Three-Sword Combination, it was already no weaker than a Martial Soul Fusion Skill.
A Six-Sword Combination surpassed a three-person fusion, to say nothing of seven.
As far as Ling Xiao knew, the only three-person Martial Soul Fusion Skill currently in Douluo Dalu was the "Golden Resplendence" used by the Golden Triangle.
That fusion skill was excellent, but Yu Xiaogang held it back.
Liu Erlong and Flender were both Soul Saints, while he was merely a Soul Grandmaster. Being the weak link was too severe, which was why they were easily defeated by the Poison Douluo, Dugu Bo.
If Yu Xiaogang had also been a Soul Saint, they might have fought Dugu Bo to a standstill even if they couldn't win, rather than having to use Tang Hao's name to pressure him at the critical moment.
Unaware of Ling Xiao's wandering thoughts, Xie Yue continued, "I mentioned that about thirty years ago was the peak of the Sword Sect. The six Sword Masters were all present, and the Five Lineages were flourishing."
"Had they possessed a Titled Douluo at the time, they could have arguably been ranked among the Upper Three Sects. However, just then, a Titled Douluo with a cultivation of Rank 95 led an attack against the Sword Sect."
The eyes of Ling Xiao and the others lit up.
A Titled Douluo had actually attacked the Sword Sect?
While the sect had six Soul Douluos, they lacked a Titled Douluo. Hu Liena couldn't help but ask, "Brother, was it because of the battle with that Titled Douluo that the Yun Lightning Lineage declined?"
"You could say that, but it wasn't that simple. It wasn't just the Yun Lightning Lineage that was heavily damaged and weakened; every lineage suffered losses."
Xie Yue nodded and continued, "That Titled Douluo wasn't from the Upper Three Sects, nor was he from our Spirit Hall."
"He was the Sect Master of a hidden sect called the Black Tiger Sect. Their inherited Martial Soul is the Dark Abyss Tiger, a top-tier Martial Soul possessing powerful dark energy. It is the exact opposite light and dark of the White Tiger Martial Soul inherited by the Star Luo Imperial Family."
"Black Tiger Sect, Dark Abyss Tiger." Ling Xiao frowned.
This was another name he hadn't known in his past life, only learning of it now. It seemed he couldn't rely too much on his previous knowledge of Douluo Dalu, or he would easily be misled.
"The Black Tiger Sect is a hidden sect, so even though they had a Titled Douluo, they weren't listed among the Seven Sects of the continent."
"However, their strength was not weak. While they couldn't compare to the Upper Three Sects, among the Lower Four Sects at that time, only the Sword Sect could contend with them."